After painting the walls and putting everything in its place, I was crazy excited to work on the details of the laundry room.  The room totally functioned after re-organizing it, but it needed style.  Looking at the space, it dawned on me that there are a lot of unsightly things in a laundry room.  Mainly, the appliances and all that goes with them:  metal water hoses, the hot/cold water shut-off valves and the ginormous electrical cord/outlet for the dryer.  I’m all for the ‘industrial’ look but this was a little more ‘utility’.  Handy hubby was afraid I was going to paint it all!  I had a better idea…

I considered adding some sort of backsplash below the cabinets to disguise the hoses and cords.  However, after looking at the options, I decided it was too much money to spend in a room that was rarely seen.  (Plus, I’d rather save the moolah for a kitchen backsplash.)  I got to thinking it’d be nice to hide the uglies all together but still be able to access them.  Since our laundry room is on the second floor, I only turn the water on when I’m using the washer.  (Handy Hubby and I had waaaaay too many bad experiences with water mishaps from our first home that we’re over-conscious about leaky hoses.)  Instantly, it hit me!  I could hide them with fabric…a curtain-esque backsplash.  And since I had picked up a bunch of clearanced linen last summer, I could use something I already had!

I can sew but I’ve never used a pattern.  Then again, I’ve probably never made anything intricate enough to need a pattern.  Basically, I just make curtains, bags, aprons, slipcovers and shades.  Pretty easy stuff.  For the laundry room, I cut two rectangles (out of the solid fabric) to fit the width of the back wall.  I made them just long enough to reach the tops of the washer and dryer.

Then I sewed on a 2″ border of the geometric fabric and finished the edges.  I made sure to leave a small envelope at the top for hanging purposes.

I simply hung them from a tension I got at Walmart.  The two ‘curtains’ hid the uglies perfectly.  Here’s a glimpse.

I’m still able to reach the hot/cold water valves…

…the dryer controls and electrical cord.

Pretty nifty, heh?  If you were paying close attention, you may have noticed that I had Handy Hubby add hardware to the cabinets, too.  They’re similar to the ones we used in our kitchen renovation.

Once the uglies were hidden, I turned to the walls for added style.  In a room without furniture, the walls are about the only place to inject some personality.  Believe me, I thought about throwing some pillows on the washer!  I hunted down a few mirrors at Goodwill for $10 total.  They were brassy in color but I knew a little spray paint could turn things around.  Here’s the “Oh, crap!  I almost forgot to take a before picture!” picture.

I hung them to the left of the washer in hopes of bouncing light around the tiny, dark room.  Well…I had Handy Hubby hang them for me.

To the right of the dryer I hung some happy artwork that Layne made in preschool.  It makes me not so upset when I’m washing his “accident undies”.

Last, but not least, in the detail department was recovering my ironing board.  I fell in love with a handmade cover from Etsy.  At $24, it was my splurge for the laundry room.  Ironic, considering I HATE ironing.  Here’s a sneak peek.

Sorry, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the rest…along with full room views of the complete makeover!  And a twisted surprise.  Know what it is?