I am on a decision-making kick. I think with my creative headspace being freed up from most of the river house being done, I’ve had more time and desire to dig in again on the farm (more to come on the river house, obviously, but the renovation is done and decorating is so much easier). A few spaces in the house have low-key bugged me – they just didn’t feel finished but they also weren’t a mental priority. So here are a few of them and what I’m thinking…
The Laundry Closet
She’s boring and doesn’t need a lot but could use storage and either paint or wallpaper. This is on the second-floor landing and it’s where we do the bulk of the laundry (adjacent to the kid’s rooms). I realize that as a design blogger, I have a very basic-looking washer/dryer but I don’t care. Listen, I’m a little fearful of front-loading washers because they are harder to keep mold out, I’m also fearful of smart appliances because it seems like more can go wrong. So I asked my sister (who used to work at an appliance repair shop for years) which washer/dryer never needs repair (and still has big capacity) and she said without hesitation “Get the Speed Queen and only the Speed Queen”. A plumber who had to be repeatedly been called to service our front-loading washer/dryer in LA also told me the same thing. So yeah, these aren’t beautiful but we are very happy with our Speed Queens (and y’all stop it with the smart appliances and just make really, really simple and basic hardworking and long-lasting appliances again that do their actual job really well, please?).
For this project, we are going to attempt to use Spoonflower’s pre-pasted wallpaper which is supposed to be easier to install than peel-and-stick or unpasted (traditional). So I ordered a ton of samples that felt fun, and yet appropriate in a laundry closet. You might not be able to notice that there is a very subtle ticking stripe wallpaper on the landing walls (up the stairway, too) so this needed to contrast well with it.
I wanted something more fun this time – NOT subtle because this is a laundry closet and a place to do something more interesting (I was inspired by my own art barn, TBH so ready to take some risks again). Spoonflower has a ton of amazing florals but I wanted one that felt more Scandinavian than William Morris (…just for this house, I love William Morris and just used one in another project I’m excited to show you). Also, the color needed to work well with our vintage doors that lean periwinkle. I have a lot of blue in the house so I want to stay within my curated palette and also it needs to look good with the adjacent bathroom (right to the left) that will also have wallpapers (yes, that’s three wallpapers right next to each other).
1. Wonderful World of Scandi Blooms Mid-Century | 2. Chiara Rustic Green | 3. Scandinavian Flowers | 4. Pale Pink Sage and Blue on White Emma Stripe | 5. Americana Floral Stripe Blue Green | 6. Americana Floral Stripe Green | 7. Olive Green on Cream Emma Stripe | 8. Mughal Flowers Cornflower Blue | 9. Portsmouth Blue Stripe | 10. Fancy That Wispy Wildflowers Mint
For this, there is a clear winner. I loved it most when I pulled it out of the packet, then when we hung them all up Gretch had the same #1 pick. Reveal coming early January:)
Kids Bath – FINALLY
It’s ALWAYS bugged me that the creamy white tile just goes into creamy white trim, then drywall. But I was out of design steam for a while so we revealed the room as-is. The last year (no joke) I’ve had these samples up there and I finally made the decision a couple of weeks ago. Now staring at these I’m wondering if I chose the right one!!!! I love them all so much.
Left: Ruskin (Green) | Middle: Folklore Tree (Blue) | Right: Folklore Tree (Sage)
When you look at this photo, the blue one in the middle pops the most, but that is because it works so well with the curtains and the painting (and my shirt). But I actually went with the one of the right (Folklore Tree it’s called, both by Graham and Brown) that has blue undertones in the “trees” but leans more overall green. I also liked the negative space of the creamy white in between the trees and thought it would keep it from being too dark and heavy, which I was worried would just feel sandwiched with the darker tile floor. We are NOT doing the ceiling so I’m likely going to need to add some trim, i.e. crown molding. I felt so 100% about this choice (playful for a kids’ bath, but still Scandi and the organic pattern works really well with the tile, etc). I still think it’s the right choice (and it’s arrived so we aren’t going back) but staring at these here I’m jealous of the blue…
Primary Bath Toilet Room
Left: Coppice (Blue) | Right: Coppice (Sage)
I knew years ago that this tiny water closet would eventually get a wallpaper, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because the endless house projects felt chaotic (and I just loved the quiet negative space in some of the rooms). But these walls always wanted something “fun”. I’ve loved this pattern forever and felt like it was time to just do it. TBH, I love the blue trees and leaves better than the green, but I was worried that with the blue tile on the floor (and the blue bedroom nearby) that this would feel like just too much. The trees outside all of the pretty windows in the bathroom are part of the color palette of the house and so my hope/thinking is that the green is overall the better choice to offset all the blue.
Our Tiny Hallway Before The Bedroom
1. Verte Dew | 2. Fig | 3. English Garden Blush | 4. Borastapeter Ester Grey | 5. Waldemar Blue | 6. Shirt Stripe White | 7. Waldemar Green | 8. Peonia Forest | 9. Verte Mink | 10. Verte Fennel | 11. Sorry, can’t find the link!
This has been kicked down the road for a couple of years now – mostly because in certain lights (daylight with a lot of sun) the blue paint in the bedroom is too intense for me so I want to repaint (which I quote a quote for and it was $6k so I gave up). Eventually, I want to repaint a softer color in here, paint the ceiling back white, and customize a patterned bed (this bed was designed for the guest room, not this room). So with all those design decisions up in the air (and not really a priority), I want to continue to wait on this little space.
Excited to get these done! xx
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
I clicked through to read this solely bc of the Speedqueen photo. I love my Speedqueen! They are basic, but more features= more things to break. For me, I haven’t missed any of the fancier features as I have found that my laundry is not all that complicated a project. Neither is keeping my food cold or cooking my food- I wish Speedqueen would make apply their strategy of basic machines that last to all appliances. Maybe you could become a Speedqueen influencer and revolutionize appliance design and manufacturing.
You are so right. I look at these fridges that are $20k plus and think “is your 4C temperature different than my $1000 fridge’s 4C temperature?” Way too many bells and whistles on things these days!
came to say the same thing. seeing those photos was so validating.
Speed Queen all the way for me! I’ve had mine for 8 years and LOVE it.
Surely one appliance company can see the huge potential in offering appliances that LAST. They could charge more $ for them if it was a 20 year investment. And there could be service people to do repairs as needed. From washing machines to refrigerators to televisions, I am so tired of things being built to be replaced every 5-10 yrs. Please use your influence towards this goal!!! Speed queen might really appreciate the shout out you are giving them.
Yes to all the wallpaper! I’m excited to see how all of these spaces turn out! We have 2 wallpapered rooms currently (a sitting room and our powder room) and I love them both so much! If it wasn’t such a big investment I would do the whole house. Prepasted is definitely less daunting to put up, and with the right prep (using a wallpaper primer) you get the slip you need to align everything easily. Also, I absolutely love your real talk on your washer/dryer. We’ve had the same basic washer and dryer for going on 13 years, and because they aren’t “smart” appliances, the minor repairs that have been needed on each my husband has been able to do himself. I have been tempted to paint them (House of Esperanza had a great tutorial) to zhush them up, and maybe someday I will.
Amen to having dumb washer and dryers! Right there with you, Em. Lol.
I’m thinking for the kids’ bath you should do #8 from the laundry room! It is such a nice balance of both blue and green and is calm yet interesting. Also, I have Speed Queen as well and LOVE them!!
The white of the toilet room is kind of a nice break. Maybe keep it white.
Wowowowowow that peony Kelly Ventura paper is beautiful! #8
First just have to say something about seeing that laundry closet made me feel very – “Design Bloggers – They are JUST like us! ” in the best way!! SO excited to see what you do with that space (wallpaper and storage wise) because it looks an awful lot like my basement laundry situation. Second – why do I have a weird fear of blue and green together?? Can’t wait to see how you blend them (if i’m understanding some the selections above).
Find the défense of the basic washing machine and dryer funny. Who cares what they look like? They are a washing machine and dryer, at least I presume the white machine with the metal door is a dryer. I’ve never seen one like that and I don’t know the Speed Queen brand, which I presume is American. I’m not sure what would even constitute a stylish washing machine but I agree this household workhorse needs to be functional and reliable above all. I know there has been a lot of discussion re wallpaper and bathrooms over the years and I still don’t fully understand how paper stands up. I have pretty short showers and usually have the window open as well as a fan and still find condensation builds on the mirrors and walls, especially when I wash my hair. But laundries really get steamed up! I rarely use our dryer because I mainly line dry but when I do, the condensation is high. As beautiful as those papers are, I feel like it’s tiles all the way for a laundry, and LOTS of ventilation. Looking forward to the reveals. I’ve been looking at wallpapers myself for different rooms lately… Read more »
Very much here for the dumb appliances thing. I don’t want every object in my house to have an iPad built into that requires me to operate it via an app. Give me a button. Give me a knob. My issue with the more technologically advanced ones is this – we replace our iPhones and other small tech all the time. When you add too many computer based tech things to a huge piece of metal/plastic/etc (appliance), you’re basically ensuring it will be obsolete in five years. Then ALL THAT JUNK goes into a dump. No. Maybe I need a Speed Queen LOL.
Amen to your comment about “smart” appliances! I do not need a fridge that speaks to me; I need a fridge that lasts 20 years. I really miss our top loading washer (we had to stack for space reasons). But enough about appliances…the WALLPAPER. I love the choice for the kids’ bath. I think the blue is so pretty, but the green one on the right is IT. Can’t wait to see how it looks!
Thank you for the appliance PSA. The way things stand right now is that we have “improved” appliances that cause far more maintenance and effort from humans. I loathe my front loading washer. I have a modern electric stovetop that comes with instructions to never get water on it, among other stressful requirements.
Humans unite!
The wallpaper will look great.
I used Spoonflower pre-pasted wallpaper upstairs in our home away from home farmhouse and had a great results! The wallpaper was high quality and fairly easy to hang.
I really hope that some appliance manufacturers are reading these comments! Enough with your blue tooth enabled clothes driers. All I need is something that has low, medium and high settings. Same goes for washers, fridges, stovetops. It’s craziness.
I’m wondering if my guess for the laundry room wallpaper (#4) is the one your chose! I’ll have to wait and see….
#4 is perfect with the stripes in the hallway and those fabulous laundry room doors.
I’m very impressed with and support your washer/dryer position
Sweet mother – no wonder you feel overwhelmed with design choices! I was excited to see the laundry closet options….and by the time I got to the bedroom hallway I couldn’t take any more samesamedifferent choices!
So I will just say that: a) I love #10 for the laundry closet and I hope that was your pick; b) front loaders get such a bad rap – you just have to do a quick post-load wipe of the door and seal, and leave the door ajar to dry out; c) fully agree that appliances should last far longer, and consumers need to get behind the ‘right to repair’ which is more common in Europe. Good luck!!
My current set of LG front loaders is 7 years old, I definitely don’t wipe the seal down after each cycle (that’s ridiculous) and I have never had a problem with mold or strange odors. I think people are doing laundry wrong? All bedding and towels should be washed on the sanitary cycle. Then your machine will never smell funky. Plus our LG has a magnetic latch that leaves the washer door ajar one inch. Don’t all front loaders have this. Why buy one that doesn’t?
I have a front loader and love it after years of doing laundry in traditional top-loading washers. I’m short and can finally reach the bottom/back of the tub easily, plus I think the front-loader agitation is gentler on all of my delicates (I machine wash as much as possible but also like to wear nice clothes made from natural fabrics). Wirecutter actually did a test showing that front loaders are the best for your clothes. For longevity though, I agree that top loaders seem to do better overall… I guess I’d rather preserve my clothes and bedding (expensive linen bedding) than get an extra few years out of my washing machine. I also wash everything on cold for the same reason. I do live in a very dry climate (dishes in the dish rack dry within a couple of hours) so I’ve had no problems with mold or smell, no need to wipe down, just leave it open to dry for a day.
In my state, Connecticut, there are codes that require a closed door closet/laundry room have ventillation thru the door when closed. Has anyone else found that in their state(s)?
Just here in support of plain old washers!!! I’ve had mine for years and dragged it around the country, literally, as a military spouse. Hold tight to the things that stay working! 😉
As a surface pattern designer working for a textile and wall-covering company, I approve of this post 🙂
I know it’s not specifically design-related, but I would love some kind of “dumb” appliance product round-up. With the threat of tariffs and it being sale-season, I was going to buy a new oven now even though we won’t renovate our kitchen for a year. Then I got overwhelmed by the internet of all the options. I don’t want to run my whole life from my phone! And I second all the opinions about smart appliances becoming obsolete or irreparable landfill fodder. Oof! Sorry this turned into a rant! Can’t wait to see what you do with the wallpaper!
Beware of buying appliances in advance of reno projects. You won’t install them and know if they work until it’s past the return window. Proceeded with caution.
For the laundry closet, floral #3 I think would be great, such a pop of fun when you open the doors .
On the small hallway I love the simplicity of number 1 while it still picks up on the blues/greens but has a more clean and simple fresh look– House looks amazing by the way!!!
Whoo Hoo wall paper! Excited to see what you chose and the reasoning, which really helps. In advance of that, how did you decide not to do the ceiling in the kids bathroom niche? Is it practical or aesthetic? Also, can you recommend the easiest install if one ONLY wants to do the ceiling? I have a small office I’d like to try this with but it feels a little nutty to choose a ceiling as my very first project. or, is it perfect? It’s a smallish room 9 x 9.5 with paneled walls and a center light to workaround.
I know you didn’t ask for opinions but absolutely #3 for the laundry!
Yes to the wallpaper!!! I’m very interested to see how this laundry closet turns out! I moving into a place with the same laundry closet and desperately need ideas!
I adored patterned wallpaper. I haven’t been bold enough to decorate a room with it for some years now but you have convinced me to give it a try.
I have a Speed Queen too! We owned a Maytag that was made a few years before Maytag was bought by Whirlpool and every repair man we had told us to keep the Maytag as long as possible and then buy a Speed Queen. We did and plan on keeping them for 30 years just like our moms did before appliances were made with Planned Obsolecence.