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Decorating help: Laundry/entryway


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We are moving into an old farmhouse in a month or so, and I need some decorating help with a room. I usually have no trouble coming up with stuff, but this one is stumping me. We will be leasing this house with hopes to buy in a year. So, no renovations...but paint may be ok. (not sure yet)

 

Anyway, my trouble room is the laundry room. Due to the location of the front door and the driveway, the back door will be the main entry. Which also happens to be the laundry room. Which will also probably have to house my office. Top it off, it is a small room :tongue_smilie:Have any ideas for decor/ storage that would go with that lovely floor...and make the entry a little less laundry? (and none of that stuff is ours...and is no longer there)

 

 

 

 

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I'd paint the walls a cheerful yellow or blue and the trim a bright white. The area next to the door, under the window would house shoes. I would either use white shelving with wicker baskets or perhaps a dresser in that spot. I'd try to keep the wash area contained to the designated wall by adding a shelf above the washer and dryer for storage of anything laundry. Also, I'd hang the ironing board if possible with one of those hangers that also holds the iron.

 

Is that a rug on the floor? I don't have any ideas for the floor yet. Also, where are you planning on putting your desk?

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Great ideas! That is a rug....it won't be there.

 

I'm hoping that my desk will fit there where I have the 5ft wall section marked. (don't have a pic). I have to wait until I get there (I'm 15 hours away!) before I'll know for sure if it will fit.

 

Btdt, when we moved from another city. My mind was busy re-decorating the spaces, trying to figure out if our furniture would fit, and deciding who would get the bedrooms.

 

I think the floors will look nice bare, but that rug might be hiding something. Ask me how I know, lol.

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I think a cheerful yellow mud room sort of entryway, with lots of hooks and pretty baskets/crates would be nice. You know, like nice storage. I think a lot of homes have a main back entry like that. I assume the floor is old lino? It's actually kind of funky cool. If you pair it with a neat rug, it'll be good.

 

If you can keep your office out of there though, I would.

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Btdt, when we moved from another city. My mind was busy re-decorating the spaces, trying to figure out if our furniture would fit, and deciding who would get the bedrooms.

 

I think the floors will look nice bare, but that rug might be hiding something. Ask me how I know, lol.

 

It isn't...we know the guy and have walked through the house. He spent a lot of time in the middle east, and has a big rug collection from there...they are all over the place :lol:

 

I think a cheerful yellow mud room sort of entryway, with lots of hooks and pretty baskets/crates would be nice. You know, like nice storage. I think a lot of homes have a main back entry like that. I assume the floor is old lino? It's actually kind of funky cool. If you pair it with a neat rug, it'll be good.

 

If you can keep your office out of there though, I would.

 

It is old lino....I kind of like it, and it kind of goes with my kitchen decor...but it isn't in there! (boring plain tile in there) I WISH I could keep my office out of there, but space is severely limited. We are going from 2400SQ ft to about 1400. (the plus is that we are going from NO yard, to acreage and a farm :D )

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Is the floor ceramic tile or is it sheet vinyl or vinyl tile?

 

ETA: As soon as I posted this I saw your post about old lino.

 

I do not mean to send you into a panic, but I think it very likely that your flooring contains asbestos. It looks like the same stuff that was in my former rental. In our case, the flooring was actually disintegrating--the edges were curling, and the layers were stratifying apart. If it is the same stuff we had, that particular pattern contains a "paper layer" that is more prone to disintegration. In our case, frequent flooding had caused the flooring to just fall apart, and we literally had asbestos dust. It was dangerous, awful, and we had to move again in a hurry. (Two moves in five weeks this past fall.) We also had to dispose of a lot of stuff that had had contact with the flooring/dust and could not be wiped clean.

 

If the flooring is firmly adhered to the floor, not cracking, and in good condition, you should be able to simply cover it with a rug. However, removal of such a floor is a HUGE deal because disturbing the tile can stir up the dust. Removal is elaborate and must be done painstakingly. It is time-consuming and VERY expensive.

 

If it is in fact the same flooring that I had, I would urge you NOT to buy this house without insisting on testing of the vinyl. Also I would urge you to consider NOT buying the house, period, or at least to only buy it if the owner will pay for remediation done by a certified asbestos removal firm. The testing is easy to do. Some facilities will allow you to collect the sample yourself using the proper procedure; others will charge more and send someone to collect the sample for you. If you are considering a purchase, I would recommend going with a firm that will send someone to collect the sample.

 

If the flooring is asbestos, I can tell you more about proper procedure and your rights. I sincerely hope it isn't. However, when I saw the pattern I had to say something as I would not want your family to suffer as mine has.

Edited by strider
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Is the floor ceramic tile or is it sheet vinyl or vinyl tile?

 

ETA: As soon as I posted this I saw your post about old lino.

 

I do not mean to send you into a panic, but I think it very likely that your flooring contains asbestos. It looks like the same stuff that was in my former rental. In our case, the flooring was actually disintegrating--the edges were curling, and the layers were stratifying apart. If it is the same stuff we had, that particular pattern contains a "paper layer" that is more prone to disintegration. In our case, frequent flooding had caused the flooring to just fall apart, and we literally had asbestos dust. It was dangerous, awful, and we had to move again in a hurry. (Two moves in five weeks this past fall.) We also had to dispose of a lot of stuff that had had contact with the flooring/dust and could not be wiped clean.

 

If the flooring is firmly adhered to the floor, not cracking, and in good condition, you should be able to simply cover it with a rug. However, removal of such a floor is a HUGE deal because disturbing the tile can stir up the dust. Removal is elaborate and must be done painstakingly. It is time-consuming and VERY expensive.

 

If it is in fact the same flooring that I had, I would urge you NOT to buy this house without insisting on testing of the vinyl. Also I would urge you to consider NOT buying the house, period, or at least to only buy it if the owner will pay for remediation done by a certified asbestos removal firm. The testing is easy to do. Some facilities will allow you to collect the sample yourself using the proper procedure; others will charge more and send someone to collect the sample for you. If you are considering a purchase, I would recommend going with a firm that will send someone to collect the sample.

 

If the flooring is asbestos, I can tell you more about proper procedure and your rights. I sincerely hope it isn't. However, when I saw the pattern I had to say something as I would not want your family to suffer as mine has.

 

I had considered that already. It is in very good shape, with no signs of degeneration. We have also dealt with asbestos in the past..so we are familiar with it. It wouldn't be something that would deter us from purchasing the property. Even if we had to bull doze the house...the property is what we are after ;)

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I had considered that already. It is in very good shape, with no signs of degeneration. We have also dealt with asbestos in the past..so we are familiar with it. It wouldn't be something that would deter us from purchasing the property. Even if we had to bull doze the house...the property is what we are after ;)

 

I took a look at your blog, and have to say the property is really beautiful.

 

I'm glad you have considered asbestos. It may be a bargaining chip in your eventual purchase. I'd just say to carefully monitor the condition of the vinyl, using liquid nails to seal any cracks, pronto. If you see dust accumulation, then liquid nails will not help because the dust indicates that the matrix of the vinyl is disintegrating--at that point removal is the only option. But as long as the vinyl layers are intact it's okay.

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  • 2 months later...

An update ;)

 

Ok, now that we've moved in, I have slightly better photos of the area in question, and you can see all the junk I have crammed in there..lol.

 

We will be putting a couple of shelves over the washer and dryer soon for more storage. We are pretty limited at the moment, due to the fact that we are leasing. If we end up buying it, there will be some minor remodeling done.

 

IMG_1051.jpg

 

(please feel free to awwwww over my cute dog winking at you in this next one)

 

IMG_1049.jpg

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Wow. I would say that you did an amazing job of fitting in a bunch of functional items without making it look terribly over crowded. And it must be incredibly convient to have your laundry right there in the office as far as keeping it moving.[/QUOTE]

 

 

:lol: Yep. I can roll my office chair from my computer right to the dryer to fold. Doesn't even interrupt my forum time.

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That looks wonderful, Apryl! I love how you arranged it and made it so functional and pretty. I think you need one of my "Laundry today or naked tomorrow" vinyls over your washer/dryer, LOL. Don't you love the white cubby type shelving? I have a bunch of that in my living room.

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