One Room Challenge: Week 2 | Blank Slate Laundry/Office

After a week of recovery, I am feeling much better. Although the flu gave me the lingering gift of vocal fry and it stole my awesome (not awesome) shower singing voice, my physical stamina seems to be back nearly 100%. Last week, I gave a general picture of the full project.

Every BHH project starts with a lot of scrubbing. We all knew that the woodwork looked grubby, but I was not expecting what I found while I was washing it. That layer of grime was mildew! The previous fiberboard walls trapped in moisture and created a bad situation. I am so glad we took it out.

In addition to scrubbing the walls, I also removed the windows so I can restore them. The bottom sashes were functional, but the top sashes were painted shut. I plan to strip, repair, and repaint them as well as add weatherstripping. There will be a full tutorial post coming. In the meantime, I added a bunch of answers to double-hung window questions and some video in the highlights section of my Instagram Stories. Instagram is an excellent way to follow this project in real time.

Decor & Maintenance Updates

The feeling I am going for is the laundry/office is completely uncluttered. I want everything to have a place so I can put it away. Cords? Hidden. Office supplies? In drawers. Dirty laundry? What dirty laundry? You get the picture.

Cabinetry: The original plan was to use stock cabinets from Lowe’s, but then my friend Dale asked if I might want to build some with his help. That’s right. We are getting the band back together. Dale is the friend who helped me so much with the infamous Street Side Front Porch project. Remember that mess? If you do not remember, the short story is that we uncovered so much rot that by the end of the six weeks, all I had was a big hole in the floor and handfuls of mushy wood fibers. It made for an unconventional reveal,

Dale and I are still friends and running buddies. So, expect more cameos from him in the next three weeks. Since time is at a premium, it will probably be best to use stock cabinets as lowers and build the uppers.

Paint: After a lot of thought and internal debate, I’m painting everything white. *ducking* I promise there will be enough going on in the room that it won’t be boring. White feels like the best fresh start for this room.

Electrical: Next week, the electrician will stop by to look at our project and give me a bid. I want to add overhead lights (four of these lights), terminate the electricity in the wall sconces and two outlets plus add two new outlets in better locations.

Here are a few nuts-and-bolts items I am considering to solve some of the problems I mentioned in week one.

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The link-up for the guest participants will be live late tonight so visit the One Room Challenge blog for more inspiration and projects to follow. The official design influencers are talking about week two today.

Let’s talk about your project. How is it going? Some of you are first-timers, and please know that I am your biggest cheerleader. Course correct when you need to, and keep on swimmin’.

-Stacy

Be sure to take a look at our past One Room Challenge projects.