the laundry room {practicing patience.}

Today, I'm going to show you photos of my laundry room.  {That was your chance to bail.}

I've spent a great deal of time in this room recently.  It's the room we chose to remodel first in our new home. We chose it because it could be done on the cheap while we saved to renovate the downstairs bathroom.

This is the only shot I have of it before.  It was crammed full of junk, green, dark, had a crooked closet, no trim, pathetic laminate flooring, no storage space and no character whatsoever.

I started by painting it white - back in June or July - with a free can of paint.  - $0

Then, Britton and I went out to our barn.  We looked around for something that could be repurposed into shelving of some sort.  We found this old chicken coop. - $0

Since I was thoroughly disgusted with the idea of chickens having lived in it {ie, chicken poop}, I made Britton load it onto the trailer and haul it to the car wash.  He thinks I'm crazy, but he did power wash it for me.  I was a much happier gal.  - $5

Then I painted it with the rest of that white paint I used on the walls.  I ran out, so had to go buy some more paint.  - $15

After I gave it a fresh coat of paint, I took the sander to it ...you know, so it wouldn't look like it had just been painted.  

Then, Britton, his dad, and his brother hung it on the wall above my desk.  

Then, the next day, we decided it wasn't hung low enough, so Britton and two very nice friends of ours moved it.  

Much better.

Then, we pulled up the laminate and tiled.  -  $150 (tile & supplies)

Peek-A-Boo Ella!

Britton did a fantabulous job with the tile.  I love it so.  He also did some woodworking to straighten the crooked closet area and trim out the room.  - $75 (wood & supplies)

It has taken me MONTHS to get things the way I want them.  And actually, I'm still working on that.  I keep moving things around, trying to find the perfect spot.  Getting rid of stuff, organizing, etc...

But ever so slowly, my things are finding suitable homes...

Where I can see them.  They make me happy.  This is really my space after all.  We all know Britton doesn't do laundry.  I actually don't like doing laundry either.  But if I can do it in a cute space, well, it helps.

All that to say, for 9 months, the other side of the laundry room was so sad looking.  I needed a cabinet to hang above the washer/dryer.

I searched at garage sales, flea markets, junk shops, the side of the road...  I wanted something unique.  Old.  Cool.  Different.  Something you might see in Junk Market Style Magazine or something.

Two weeks ago, I was just about to the point of going to Lowe's to just buy a plain ol' wooden cabinet for $89.00.  Wasn't what I wanted, but I was desperate to finish this bare wall.  Desperate.  I can't explain it.  I needed this room to be finished.

My husband said...."Give it a couple more weeks."  He's very discerning about such things in his old age.

I said... "You've got 14 days and I'm going to Lowe's."  I can be very discerning too.

He took me to a little corner of downtown Shawnee last Saturday afternoon and look what we found!!

It's not at all what I had in mind.  Not what I pictured.  But when we saw it, we knew it would be perfect.  It's missing a door, but I didn't care.  It's the cutest little metal cabinet I've ever seen.  I imagine it hung in a doctor's office or a pharmacy somewhere.  

When I asked how much, the guy say... "Oh, $50.00."  He also had some cute little black knobs that matched so the total was... - $62

So there you go.  The moral of the story is patience.

I'm not sure that's where I was going with this blog when I started, but the munchins are calling and I have to wrap it up somehow.  

"Patience is the companion of wisdom." - St. Augustine