Laundry/Pantry Room

Off the kitchen of our new-to-us old farmhouse, there used to be a tiny dining room and a separate closet-sized laundry room. With no pantry and a massive farmhouse table I desperately wanted to keep, we decided to knock out the wall between the laundry room and dining room and add a wall between this new space and the kitchen instead, transforming it into a big laundry/pantry room. We got delayed when Lane discovered mold and dry rot in the subfloor. During this messy project, we leaned heavily on one of my cousins to help us get our laundry done each week (and with two young kids, we have a lot—thank you Crystal and Michael!).

When it was finally completed, we got to start laying the Lifeproof luxury vinyl plank flooring, paint the walls, and hook up my washer and dryer. Yay!!

It took a while to retrieve our shelving from storage and get this space organized, but once we did, wow! We have three shelving units in there now—the smaller unit sits between the washer and freezer and holds extra hand soap, lotion, candles, laundry detergent, toiletries, and the like. 

The two larger units act as our pantry for food such as flour, sugar, canned goods, rice, beans, breadcrumbs, and more, plus nonedible food-related items such as throwaway casserole dishes, paper plates, napkins, sandwich and freezer bags, etc. I have joked with my family and friends, telling them to go through our pantry before going to the store if they need anything. It’s a little embarrassing how ready we are for an apocalypse, but it did come in handy when COVID first became a thing.

Kitchen

The kitchen received a new microwave hood, oven/range, and dishwasher. We had to rearrange some of the cabinets to make space for the dishwasher as there wasn’t one previously, so we had to reattach the door to the cabinet with the pots and pans (completed after I took these photos). We’ve also bought drawer pulls and got those installed after the photos above (see below). One day, I’d love to do a complete gut and remodel of the kitchen with custom cabinets, quartz countertops, and a big farmhouse sink like we had in our previous home, but those are all big-ticket items and cosmetic rather than functional needs. Sadly, that project will have to wait.

But for now, we did order a single-basin fireclay sink that fits in the existing divided sink space and a matte black pull-down faucet, since the faucet was leaking really badly anyway. We also bought a garbage disposal, which the kitchen did not previously have, and a soap dispenser for the other hole in the sink, and got all of those installed. What a huge difference the new sink makes!

For the open space against the new wall between the kitchen and laundry/pantry that has no countertops or cabinets on it, we purchased a coffee and tea bar. Above it sits my beautiful oak wine rack, handmade by one of my closest friends (I still love it, Jason!), displaying my wine bottles and glasses. When the other projects slow down, Lane plans to create a foundation for the bar out of redwood and corrugated metal to match the farmhouse theme and raise it up to be counter height.

And as a side note to a previous topic, we also just got a new rustic chandelier to hang over my farmhouse table! Previously, there was only one light in that huge front room that we made into a living/dining combo, and we were quite literally eating dinner in the dark.

The Girls’ Room

Of course, during all of this, the entire house received a fresh coat of paint (except our master bedroom, which is currently acting as storage and will be completed last of all) and Lane continued to work on the flooring. While I chose one color for the whole house (the same Kelly-Moore Sea Glass color we had in our previous home), we let Ember and Karissa choose the color for their bedroom. They picked a soft lavender with pink polka dots. 

Fortunately for us, their bedroom was originally two rooms that had been merged into one by someone who came before us, making for a huge bedroom. Because of this, we have officially begun sleeping in the house by moving our family sleepover from the travel trailer into their room. Eventually, Lane and I will be able to move into our own room, and then, the girls will have plenty of room for their beds, desks, toys, book nook, bookshelves, and more. But for now, we’re having fun, and if I’m being honest, since sleeping up there for the past month or so, I have realized what a cool space it is and secretly want to keep it for myself…but I won’t. 😉 

To Be Continued…

Next time, I’ll discuss a cool find, a sweet surprise, and go over what’s left on our to-do list.