Behind the Scenes of a Laundry Room Remodel

What goes on behind the desk and in the field at Stauffer Design Co. is more than just the pretty pictures you see once a week on Instagram. Stauffer Design Co. shares the nitty gritty behind the scenes for an upcoming laundry room remodel.

I, personally, have never been blessed with a spectacular laundry room. Through several homes that we have lived in, our spaces for laundry have been quite cramped. In fact, in our last house, our laundry room was so small that you only had room to enter with the laundry basket in front of you, slide in on your left, load the laundry into your basket, and slide back out to your right. There should most definitely be a viral TikTok of this little shimmy trending. So, when we were called upon to remodel this client’s new home’s laundry room, I completely felt her desire for a space that made you want to do laundry instead of dreading the chore. While other areas of her new home were also getting some updating, she wanted to keep most of the main living areas in a simple understated neutral palette, however, in the tucked away laundry room she felt a little freer to add some color. While we toyed around with adding a fun wallpaper to add character to the space, we ultimately landed on a design that brought a thoughtful, effortless elegance with a soft polished blue paint scheme to a space that she would use as a mudroom, laundry, and small workspace.

At Stauffer Design Co. we expertly mix styles and eras to create spaces that are layered with textural interest and are filled with a warm and collected yet fresh and modern vibe.

A laundry room remodel: Knowing what you need and want

After reviewing the client’s homework (read more on client homework here), I learned the details of what this client really wanted to see when her project was completed. Aside from just adding a pop of color to her otherwise neutral home, we discovered the tiny details she needed me to pay close attention to in order to make the best use of the space and provide functionality for her family of five. Though the laundry footprint wasn’t a small space, there were three main uses that needed to come in to play in this 11’ x 8’ laundry room. The client and her family needed to use the laundry room for cleaning the clothing of 5 people, it should provide a desk space for the client to have room for a laptop, lamp, and desk accessories, and the laundry room should house the families drop station for coats, shoes, backpacks, and such (when was convenient since the laundry room is located just off the home’s garage). Since the homeowners own a laundry services business, other special requirements were that the laundry room cabinetry be built custom to fit a commercial grade washer and dryer. To retrofit this washer & dryer required, because of the unique size of the washer/dryer, the plumbing needed to be moved as well as a few electrical outlets.

Design Tip: When remodeling a space, keeping the existing footprint the same is much more cost effective. Sometimes, however, certain elements will have to be moved, so keep that in mind when planning a remodel.

How a designer can help with your laundry room remodel

The laundry room has been properly Demo’d, electric and lighting has been moved to its new home, and drywall has been patched and prepped for cabinetry installation. In all construction projects at Stauffer Design Co., I do my part to provide quality construction support. What this means is, per our agreement, I will be present for a set number of site visits to observe the work of the contractors on the job to make sure it is following along per the design and on schedule and budget. It’s also my duty to bring solutions to unforeseen circumstances that can arise during remodels such as this one. We were fortunate that this demo did not unearth too many surprises. Only one unexpected was found during the demo when we discovered that a closet that was to be removed was also hiding some water lines. Thankfully, these lines were able to be moved into the ceiling and we were able to carry on with the design as planned.

I also made a visit to the cabinetry workshop to check on the progress of the cabinetry. I was so excited to see the blue live and in real color! It is the perfect cozy, calming, and welcoming color, and I cannot wait to share how well it will look with the rest of the selections made for this client. I love that this client was open to new ideas and including some unexpected elements in their project. My most favorite unexpected feature is the coat cubby. While the rest of the room is a soft blue, including a contrasting grey/blue on the walls, I decided to branch out and do a little something fun inside the cubby. The inside will be a nice surprise of dark stained paneling with unlacquered brass coat hooks for a little rich depth. The floor continues the feeling of upscale traditional vibes with a washed antiqued brick paver, and to mix styles I threw in a modern touch of quartz on the laundry room countertops. All of these finishes are carefully considered during the design phase, but it’s so much to see cabinetry in the workshop. It feels like a present that slowly gets unwrapped as each new piece of a design comes to life.

what the designer wants for your next remodel

Laundry rooms tend to be those spaces we overlook or just “live with”, but my hopes for this client (and all of my clients) is that in changing this space, we change her life. That’s the goal. At Stauffer Design Co. we bring a fresh perspective to traditional style, and we think you’ll see when this project is complete that in following a signature process, listening to our clients’ needs and wants, and taking the overwhelm out of design, we exist for the sole purpose of changing your space to change your life. Stay tuned to see how this transformation becomes a place where laundry being a dreaded chore becomes a thing of the past.

If you’d like to know more about my design process or if you need a little guidance before starting your next project, please reach out! Let’s start with a free phone call to get started.