Reveal: My Laundry Room Makeover

Decor

Everyone always wants their house to be pulled together for the holidays. I’m no different. But since I can’t make couches or rugs magically ship faster, I’m making progress wherever I can. Case in point: Our laundry room! I’d neglected to actually design the space before we moved into our new house. But now that the room is all dressed up nice, I can actually smile while doing my chores!

You may have caught the before pic of the space in this post. But in case you missed here it is again.

It was essentially nothing more than a tiny box with a giant washer & dryer in it! When it came to actually designing this space, I focused on 3 main goals.

Make it Functional: In the rush of the move, I didn’t put thought into the laundry room. I knew I wanted a front loading washer dryer for their easy loadability and capacity. But I got mine and just plopped them in there. I didn’t spend anytime thinking about how to optimize space, storage or really make the room work.

Add Storage: Now that I’m mom, I’m dealing with every kind of laundry dilemma under the sun. So the amount of stain boosters, whiteners and laundry pre-treaters have exploded. I needed to create space in our laundry room so there would be room for it all.

Make it Really Really Good Looking: Utility spaces can look just as good as any other room in the house. A few design tricks can make even highly functional spaces chic.

And if I do say so myself, I think I was able to achieve all three of my goals – though I’ll let you be the final judge.

Let’s talk function first. I selected the LG SideKick for my laundry room. I adore them, but they are a pretty big washer and dryer. They both sit on pedestals making them nice and tall. They are also rather deep. We nestled them into the wall as much as possible, but the room is relatively narrow. To get the storage I was craving, I had a custom shelf built that just fits over the two units. That shelf allows me to have everything I use daily – detergent and boosters like Clorox Control Bleach Packs at arms reach. I like that I don’t have to open any cupboards or move things in and out. Everything is right at my finger tips.

I was also able to capitalize on storage built into the LG Twinwash washer/dryer system itself. For one thing, the washer pedestal actually conceals an additional washer! That lets me do a quick small load, wash delicates or soak stained items in my favorite pre-treaters without needing an additional tub or bucket. Winning! The dryer pedestal is actually a storage drawer. That’s where I house all my laundry secret weapons like Clorox 2 Stain Remover, Clorox 2 Darks and Denim, Oxi Max Radiant White and the like. I love that it keeps all the packaged goods tucked away where I don’t have to stare at any labels. Again, winning!

The design elements of the room are where the form and function really come together. I started by installing beautiful Erica Tanov wallpaper to create a dramatic feature wall at the back of the room. I’m in love with the gold foil. It’s the perfect backdrop for my storage system. I worked with local organizing guru Bliss Haus to design a beautiful laundry storage set up. Everything is decanted into glass jars for a clean, uniform look. There are even jars to collect dryer lint and lost socks! The custom print labels are so cool. It really took the room to the next level. A modern white and wood metal Japanese basket holds spray bottles and scented room spray. Because sometimes laundry rooms just get funky.

I used jars with wooden lids from the Jenni Kayne to mix in a modern touch. To add even more texture, I added a vintage Moroccan dhurrie from St Frank to the floor. The golden tones warm up the room and tie in with the Erica Tanov wallpaper’s golden hue. My favorite design idea in the space might have to be the Meghan Shimek weaving I found at local San Francisco boutique The Podolls. I needed something to conceal our electric panel. The wall hanging does the job perfectly. A fiddle leaf fig and white textured planter from Flora Grubb adds life and a pop of rich color.

All these elements come together to create my dream laundry room. I can do loads and loads while loving my surroundings. One more room down. Many more to go!

Check out our entire archive of house updates and all the rooms completed to date HERE.

For more of my favorite house tours, CLICK HERE.

original photography for Apartment 34 by aubrie pick

This content was created is in partnership with Clorox.

Take a Tour of My Guest Room

Bedrooms

In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago I shared the inspiration behind my guest room. Well today – you finally get the full guest room tour!

The online decorating service Decorist, and their head of design Ashley Redmond, helped me pull my wishlist together and create my dream room – a light and airy space that serves as a respite for our guests and provides me with an inspirational place to work. I think the room accomplishes both beautifully!

The Wyatt upholstered bed from Room & Board is the prefect place for friends and family to rest their heads. We dressed it up in classic linen bedding and used hmong pillows and a throw by The Citizenry to add texture. The large scale art print by Brian Merriam from Tappan Collective helps accomplish one of my primary goals for the space – a gender neutral color palette.

bedside table via ATG, light fixture by West Elm

I like providing guests with a little bedside reading and some yummy candles to help them feel at home.

This walnut dresser from ATG helps anchor the otherwise bright white space and offers some much needed extra storage. I leaned and layered art for now – I’m still not ready to commit to hanging a lot on the walls! It also gives the space a more casual vibe.

This room had to do double duty since I had to give up the Apt34 studios space (tear). But it was easy to tuck a a chic work area into a corner of this room. I’m obsessed with my Lostine desk, with its metal base and ash wood top. It has a refined industrial look. The Lostine wire chair adds a rustic, vintage vibe that we softened with a luxe sheepskin. It’s the perfect minimal space to focus and get things checked off my to-do list.

I love having extra seating in bedrooms. Whether it’s a spot to sit and put your shoes on, read or simply lay out some clothes – it’s just so nice to have somewhere to sit other than the bed.

The entire room seems to glow – its the perfect combination of light streaming in from my bay windows, the lovely white walls (Benjamin Moore’s White Whisp is my go-to color) and cool California vibe that Ashley helped me pull together. I love that the room feels relaxed but also very pulled together and cohesive. It’s currently my favorite room in the house – and not just because it’s the only one that’s actually complete at the moment. Here’s how you can incorporate this look into your space.

SHOP THE LOOK: satsuki shibuya art print / pendant light / occasional chair / black cashmere throw / wall sconce / throw pillows / log side table / wool rug / bedside table / desk lamp / desk / chair / leather catch all / icelandic sheepskin / nate berkus tray

And I thought I’d share a few more of my renovation resources. As mentioned above, the paint is Benjamin Moore in White Whisp in matte on the walls and high gloss on the trim and windows. Our door hardware is by Emtek. Our hearth is Dekton from Cosentino. We installed 5″ wide plank oak floors and stained them a light gray. The window’s roman shades are custom made by The Shade Store.

To see all my Before pics and the entire design process for this room RIGHT HERE.

To catch up on our entire renovation process, CLICK HERE.

photography by carol varizi

How to Have the Best Looking Refrigerator in Town

Decor

It’s a week of reveals around here. Or at least sneak peeks. Today, you’re getting a preview of my kitchen! I’ve teased about its design in the past (here, here and here to be exact), but I couldn’t’ be happier with the final result. One of the keys to creating a dream kitchen is picking the right appliances. There are a ton of choices out there, but I knew I wanted three things: the highest quality, great functionality and gorgeous design. Case in point: my refrigerator.

Don’t you just love it? Wait – you can’t see it!? That’s because I knew from the get-go that I wanted an integrated refrigerator. That’s when your refrigerator is covered to look like the rest of your cabinetry. Appliance trends tend to come and go and I wanted to ensure our kitchen would be timeless. Mission accomplished (if I do say so myself)

When it comes to amazing appliances there are only a few obvious options out there, but after doing my research I was sold on Thermador. The timing happened to be ideal – Thermador is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year – so they seemed fitting for my 100+ year old house! Thermador intentionally designs their their appliances to function as fully-flush integrated refrigeration that can seamlessly blend into virtually any design, and offer as much or as little refrigeration, freezer and wine preservation you desire.

We ended up selecting the Thermador Freedom® Collection refrigerator with french doors and freezer drawer below and I could not be happier. Thermador explains that their refrigeration system features technology that ensures better temperature management for optimum preservation. Basically, that means it keeps things really fresh for a really, really long time. Seriously, I’ve been so impressed. Our food doesn’t go to waste anymore. Th refrigerator drawers are sealed so the temperature flowing around the drawer keeps the contents fresher longer, up to twice as long. I used to hate opening the refrigerator only to have my chosen ingredient gone bad. Thing of the past!

But what I really love about my Thermador refrigerator is how it lets me store everything easily and most importantly, beautifully. The refrigerator features a full width meat drawer (which I’ve actually coopted for cheese), gallon door bins and adjustable shelves. It also has the best lighting of any refrigerator I’ve ever used. Turns out that’s all intentional too. Thermador placed its LED theater lighting on the sides of the columns to ensure that everything in the column can be seen and all labels are readable, making it even easier to spot those secret ingredients the cook has hidden way in the back.

Since I’ve been on an organizing kick lately (have you toured my pantry yet?), I turned to the professional organizing gurus at Neat Method to wave their magic want on my refrigerator as well. There are a few easy ways to take your fridge organization to the next level. I thought I’d leave you with Neat Method’s top refrigeration organization tips. I making use of them on the daily now and feel much more pulled together every time I open my fridge!

How should you approach organizing anything – fridge, kitchen, closet?

Don’t think it has to be all done at once. Organization should be done one space at a time or else you can get easily overwhelmed, burned out and quit. Even just getting one shelf or family of items, like nail polish, together, edited and binned, can feel like a major accomplishment. And it should!

When it come to creating an organized fridge what is the most important thing to consider?

Visibility. If you don’t see it, you won’t eat it and it will go bad.

What is the biggest complaint you hear about refrigerators?

Food is frequently lost/misplaced/forgotten. I have a two-fold strategy to combat this. One is clear glass food storage. Your prepared foods will always be visible. No more scary tinfoil package in the back corner everyone avoids. The second step is creating a leftover shelf or area in your fridge. If you need a quick lunch or dinner, you will know exactly where to reach and food is less likely to go bad. I even repackage take-out in my glass storage. This way I can see what’s in there and my refrigerator looks less chaotic with the coordinating storage containers.

How often should you “reorganize”?

A refrigerator should be “touched-up” every week or any time you do your big grocery shopping trip. All leftovers, produce and raw meat should be looked over to make sure they are still good. All new containers of hummus, cottage cheese, etc. should be rotated to the back so the partially full containers can be finished first. And it’s a good idea to take a quick peek in any vegetable or meat drawers to make sure nothing got “lost” in the back.

What are your top three tricks of the refrigerator organization trade?

1: Washing all refrigerated fruit immediately (besides berries) and placing them in an open container to encourage people to eat them. Something like a white ceramic berry basket or a pretty ceramic bowl. You can quickly pull the bowl out and set it on a table for a snack then it goes back in when done.
2: Make sure raw meat is in a drawer or separate bin that is easy to pull out and clean. No matter how on top of it you are, meat can leak and create havoc on your fridge.
3: Lazy Susans are a great way to corral condiments and encourage people to use them. If you see them, you will use them. (I love ours!)

SHOP THE POST

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Made in the Shade: Drapery 101

Decor

While renovating an entire house is a massive ~~headache~~ project, it’s actually the final details that will have a lasting impact. With the holidays around the corner, I’m working overtime to make our house feel as finished and as cozy as I can (even though we’re still a long way from complete – this is the house that will never end, I swear!). One way to help a space feel finished is with drapery. When looking at the work of interior designers have you ever noticed how often rooms include window treatments? All the time, right?! That’s because drapery can serve as a dramatic design statement. They can tie a room up with a chic bow.

But custom window treatments can be an intimidating thing. I’ve certainly never purchased them before (a piece of fabric and a rod from Ikea doesn’t count!) That’s why I turned to The Shade Store to help me figure it all out. While you can shop The Shade Store online, I’m lucky that there’s a Shade Store showroom in San Francisco – it’s certainly place to get inspired – it’s rather purdy.

There are a lot of options to consider when it comes to drapes. There’s the style of window treatment – roman shades, blinds, drapes – different types of folds, different options for hanging, all kinds of finials. And we haven’t even talked fabrics yet! If you love customization, you’ll be a kid in a window candy store in this place.

Thankfully, The Shade Store has their own in-house designers that can help you navigate all of these options. The process is actually quite fun. It starts by getting professional measurements of your windows – something that the Shade Store arranges for you. With those in hand, The Shade Store can create mockups of your rooms and help you cherry pick the perfect designs. With new fabric collections from designers ranging from Jonathan Adler, Kate Spade New York, Jeffery Alan Marks to Diane Von Furstenberg and the Novagratz, you can really get creative. While neutrals are certainly my comfort zone, you can actually use drapery to inject some print, texture or even color (gasp!) to a room. Decisions, decisions.

Did you spy that sexy Kate Spade New York stripe sneaking its way into my fabric samples?!

I’m so excited for my final selections to arrive. They’re going to be the perfect touch to make our rooms feel warm and inviting for the holidays. While I’d never claim to be a window-treatments expert, I did pick up a few key basics about classic drapery from The Shade Store that I thought would be helpful to share.

1. Maximize the Height. Drapes can actually make your ceilings feeling taller. Classic placement is half way between the top of your window and the ceiling – but you can go all the way up to the ceiling if you like the look!

2. Pick Your Fold. Ripple, pleats, invert pleats, grommets, rod pockets. There are all kinds of options for how your drapes will drape, but the Tailored Pleat is a timeless, sophisticated option that is equal parts traditional and modern.

3. Take a Risk. It is easy to just pick a basic fabric and call your decision making done. But don’t overlook the extra details you can use to make your window treatments pop. While you might not see a crazy print in our house, I love the idea of a contrast border to create

4. Go Low. You want to make sure drapes graze the floor. Some people like a puddle look, but that’s very dust bunny friendly. Measure to 1/2 – 1/4″ off the floor to get that long extended look that isn’t too puddled.

Check out the progress on the rest of our house RIGHT HERE.

original photography for apartment 34 by delbarr moradi, inspiration pic 1, pic 2 , pic 3

Fall Entertaining: How to Set a Simply Beautiful Table

Entertaining

One thing I’ve been looking forward to about moving back into a house after years of apartment life is having the space to entertain again. Sure, I crammed people into our loft, but we never had a table that sat more than four. Having a formal dining space dedicated entirely to entertaining feels like the ultimate luxury! And I plan to make damn good use of it. While my dining room is still very much a work in progress, I believe you don’t have to have every detail pulled together perfectly to play hostess. Spoiler alert – this is a major sneak peek of the space!

The whole point of having friends over for dinner is to make everyone feel at ease – and that includes you. A few simple tips and tricks make hosting a fall gathering quick, easy and most importantly fun.

Setting a chic table makes an evening feel a little special, but creating it doesn’t have be complicated. I like to stick to two to three colors to keep things from getting overwhelming. A simple white tablecloth – this one is vintage that I snagged from my favorite Bay Area shop Elsie Green – offers a nice blank slate on your table. A few wrinkles are no big deal. It gives everything a more rustic vibe. This table features a palette of blue, creams, and greens with just a touch of gold. Everything on the table, from the flowers to the flatware play off each other.

Place settings don’t have to be complicated either. I added color to the table with some gorgeous gray-blue plates. I simply stacked my dinner and salad plates to create bit of layering. Mismatched white cloth napkins with an off-center fold adds an interesting geometric angle to the plate. And I do love me some gold flatware. It quickly makes any table feel a bit more festive. If you haven’t already added a set to your collection, get these. They’re cute and crazy affordable. A touch of greenery and a little leaf charm on each setting helps make guests feel extra special.

Adding flowers to your table also shouldn’t be stressful. You can let your creative juices flow, combining whatever fits your color palette. This arrangement mixes all kinds of greenery – everything from Lambs Ear and grasses, to cuts of fresh hops and leaves. A few white blooms give you that plucked straight from your garden look. But if creating your own center piece feels overwhelming, head to your local flower mart or corner florist. There’s no shame in putting a pretty arrangement into your own vase. You gotta do what you gotta do.

If you’re not an expert chef, no big deal. Save the fancy cooking for the big Turkey-day. There’s really no need for a multiple course meal. A generous spread with a good crusty bread, charcuterie, samplings of cheese and a bunch of little bites let your guests sit back and snack at will. This gives everyone the opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Because ultimately, the most important thing about throwing a dinner party is to give yourself permission to sit back, relax and enjoy the evening too. Let go of any expectation that things will be perfect – instead plan for the opposite and simply enjoy the process.

For more of my favorite entertaining ideas CLICK HERE.

For my favorite Halloween tabletop, CLICK HERE.

For the best fall recipes, CLICK HERE.

photography for apartment 34 by Alanna Hale, florals by the wild ones

Before & After: Our Guest Room

Bedrooms

I have another fun reveal of our new house for you today! I’ve been working with the online interior design service Decorist to complete our guest room. I’m so excited to finally get to share the entire process with you.

I wanted to design our guest room to be both a respite for visiting family and friends, as well as a space I love to be in on the daily because the room also doubles as my home office. I worked with Decorist designer Ashley Redmond to achieve both of these goals. She helped me hone in the final vision for the space and pull together a look that makes me smile everyday. Here are the moodboards I initially created to get our process started.

I focused on three key things for this room: A warm, welcoming color palette with a mix of neutrals, natural wood and touches cool tones that would create serene space. Secondly, I wanted to make sure the room had a comfortable and inviting guest bed and thirdly, I wanted the space to feature both a relaxing seating area as well as accommodate a small office area I could escape to during the day (working on our dining room table has just not been cutting it!). I threw a few more things onto the wishlist at the last minute: a bit of storage (because even with my dream closet, there’s always overflow) as well as wanting to be sure the room felt like it was decorated with a minimal hand. I didn’t want the space to feel overwrought.

Ashley immediately got my vibe. I loved the room concepts Ashley provided. Decorist uses this cool 3-D imaging that really helps you visual what the final space could look like. Here’s how the plan for the guest room looked.

With the moodboards and initial room concept in hand, I was able to turn Ashley free to hone a sourcing list of pieces certain to make my vision come to life. That was amazing help for someone with a completely overpacked schedule such as myself. Ashely and I were able to bounce ideas back and forth until we found what we both loved.

Here’s how the room’s final shopping list turned out.

SHOP THE LOOK: satsuki shibuya art print / pendant light / occasional chair / st. frank throw / west elm wall sconce / throw pillows / log side table / wool rug / side table / desk lamp / desk / chair / leather catch all / icelandic sheepskin / nate berkus tray

And here is the before pic of what the guest room looked prior to any renovations (eek!).

To see the after, head over to Architectural Digest – they’re featuring our guest room reveal today (cue happy dance).

To catch up on our entire renovation process and all the reveals to date CLICK HERE.

How to Design the Pantry of Your Dreams

Decor

Last week I discussed how I’m surviving living in our unfinished renovation: trying to find places to organize amidst the chaos. Well, one of my best opportunities to do that was with my pantry. First off, I’m still in shock that I actually have a pantry. Nothing has ever made me feel more adult – not having the baby, buying the house…nope. It’s this massive space to organize canned goods that makes me feel like I just might finally have my sh** together. Jury’s still out.

But back to the design! So I have this large room – think of a giant shoe box, but with 10ft ceilings. I wanted the space to be highly functional and serve multiple purposes. Not only is it my primary storage for all food-stuffs, but I also wanted to create additional prep and work space for things like our coffee maker and kitchen tools we use less often like my KitchenAid mixer and my juicer (sadly. I keep swearing I’m going to start using it again!). To say I’m happy with the final result is a major understatement. But I won’t pretend to take all the credit for the final result. I called in the big guns for this job including California Closets to design the storage and Neat Method to help me get myself organized.

But let’s go back to the very beginning. Here’s where there room started out. This goes a whole year+ back to when our walls were still open.

You can kind of make out the frame of the pantry in the middle of the pic.

To make sure this space both worked perfectly and looked amazing I worked with designer Paige Gordon at the Bay Area California Closets to help devise the ultimate storage solution. It was not the easiest of tasks given the relatively narrow space, crazy ceiling height and the massive (original) window at the end of the room. Sadly, all that gorgeous molding actually limited some of our design options as we only had four inches of space along one wall.

To accommodate that, Paige designed a double stack of floor to ceiling shelving on the left hand wall as you enter the doorway. It left a little space between the shelves and the window (how we used it, I’ll get to in a minute). I also wanted to include wine storage because it’s real purdy (and it is how all mothers of toddlers survive). The x-shaped wine boxes Paige designed offer the maximum amount of space and look like a wine cellar. It’s also up off the floor to stay away from tiny fingers. Love.

On the right-hand wall we added closed storage for some of the less pretty things, a section of baskets for things like fruit, potatoes and linens as well counter space that runs wall to wall. Happy dance! A bit of open shelving at a lower height is perfect for things like art & crafts supplies for my kiddo. All the shelving heights are adjustable to accommodate changing storage needs. With this design, the room is fully utilized and maximized. All of the California Closets cabinetry is in white finish with a slight faux wood grain. Like I said about our laundry room, when I think of utilitarian spaces I think white and bright and I’m so happy with the result. But let’s get back to the fun part – the after!

I also wanted to put in open shelving as it’s my favorite thing ever. I turned to a carpenter to create shelves for the space above the California Closet cabinetry. I wanted to use natural wood to warm up the room and match some open shelving that will also go in the kitchen. I’m so thrilled with the result.

When it came to getting my organization game together as it pertains to everything that was actually going into this room, I turned to Neat Method. They are an amazing service staffed with professional organizers that will come to your house, inventory everything you already have, help you figure what else you should have and then devise a plan about how to store it not only effectively (aka easily accessible, easy to see, easy to keep track of what you need), but also to make your organization beautiful. Added bonus: they don’t just tell you how to to it. If you need, they’ll actually do it for you. Hello crazed, overworked, overbooked mom savior from heaven! I mean, just look at my shelves.

This is proof positive that everything looks better decanted. Packaging will just make your eyes cross. I love the uniformity and zen quality of everything being in the same type of container. We may have gone a bit glass jar crazy, but I love it. And each jar is labeled. I went with white written directly on the jar for a more subtle look. Cooking instruction for whatever is inside each jar is simply tucked inside at the back. (The label can be changed with a just a bit of rubbing alcohol). Baskets on the upper shelves contain more random things, cleaning supplies that need to stay out of a toddler’s reach and the stuff I use really infrequently. All organized and labeled of course.

The great thing about a pantry like this, as Lisa Ruff my Neat Method guru explained to me, is that everything is visible. When things are hidden you forget about them and don’t use them. This leads to things going bad and a lot of waste. Now I know what is at my fingertips at all times. All my food stuffs are organized into sections. Nuts, grains, pastas, baking, snacks, canned fruits or veggies. It’s made grocery shopping so much more efficient because now I know exactly what I need and I can avoid the annoyance of being in the middle of a recipe and not having a necessary ingredient.

Now I also have space for paper goods and my ever-growing collection of pitchers and vases. It is so amazing to finally have places for all that stuff to go!

One of my favorite moments in the room is right as you walk in the door. Just to your left I hung picture rail shelves to display my collection of cookbooks. It’s so fun to get to see the covers because that’s why you buy a cookbook half the time anyway, am I right? While I started with three shelves, my collection is so big I’m thinking I’m going to have to add a couple more above. Thank goodness for step ladders!

So there you have it. While the rest of my house looks like we moved in yesterday (not nearly 5 months ago), my pantry is currently my little happy place. I may just go and stand in there from time to time. No judgements.

Oh and if you are in need of some organization help, right now you can get a FREE consultation from the Neat Method. Just mention Apartment 34 when you contact them (which you can do right here).

For the rest of the updates about our remodel CLICK HERE or to read about the history of our historic San Francisco Victorian CLICK HERE

original photography for apartment 34 by michelle drewes

Remodel Update: Upgrading My Laundry Room

Decor

Have you ever wondered what happens when you move into a house undergoing renovation before the work is complete? Well, it’s certainly not the glossy beautifulness that I typically share around here. While I usually keep daily life’s messes off the interwebs, I thought it might be refreshing to give you a glimpse of what my reality is looking like these days. That’s why I’m excited to partner with Clorox over the coming months. They coined the phrase “life’s bleachable moments” after all. Our never-ending remodel certainly presents an endless supply those less polished real life moments. I’m thinking it’d be fun to give you some peeks behind the curtain of what I’m doing to (finally!) complete our dream home. I hope you don’t mind the less than perfect – I find a life well lived often happens in the messy!

Case in point – my laundry room. As you can see in the pic above, the room is currently in a functional, but not terribly inspirational state. Our LG Twinwash washer and dryer are holding court (thank gawd because we survived six weeks without laundry but just barely) but very little else is going on in the space thus far. It’s a vast improvement from our washer/dryer residing in the kitchen of our loft, but there’s currently no storage, no organization and certainly no design happening in this room. And you know with an 18 month old boy I’m in this room a LOT so I’m ready for it to make me smile.

So I’m challenging myself to get this room in tiptop shape ASAP. Since there are so many things about finishing this house that remain out of my control (subcontractors’ schedules, backordered fabric and oh yeah, a budget!), I want to organize and beautify whatever I can. It gives me a sense of calm. For the laundry room, I’ll feel so much better once I have a proper place to store all my cleaning supplies. I want to decant my detergents, put all my bleach capsules in a pretty container (apparently you can get virtually anything out of a kid’s white shirt with the right stain remover!) and use some aesthetically pleasing storage for my stain treaters. And I need a cute hamper! Perhaps a dry rack and somewhere to put my ironing board? And maybe an eye catching design element or two. I’m planning a lovely upgrade for this room that will take it from utility to utterly beautiful. Here are some of my current inspiration images.

For some reason I associate laundry with all things white (maybe because it’s one of my favorite colors) so that’s why I selected a white washer and dryer. I’m definitely going to stick with a light and bright theme for the space. To improve the organizational side of things, my current plans include adding a waterfall shelf to enclose the washer and dryer and provide counter space, mounting a hang bar for air dying delicate things and adding a bit of wall storage for chic bins and baskets. Just because laundry rooms are utilitarian spaces, that doesn’t mean you should skimp on fun design elements. I’m planning on adding more personality to the room with a throw rug, a killer piece of art and an eye catching accent wall (but I’m keeping the accent wall inspiration under wraps until I can reveal the final result!). My laundry room is a fairly small space, especially when considered in the context of our entire renovation, but sometimes baby steps towards progress actually feel like a giant leap.

Here’s my moodboard for my dream laundry room:

SHOP THE POST: ceiling mount light fixture / laundry basket / storage basket / art print / steamer / sweater stone / felt dryer balls /LG Twinwash washer and dryer / clorox control bleach packs / clorox 2 stain treaters / clorox 2 laundry booster

I’ll be partnering with Clorox to give you peeks into my progress along the way!

inspiration images: image 1 / image 2 /

This post is in partnership with Clorox. All thoughts and 0pinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that I’m excited about and that have kept apartment 34’s doors open

26 Tips for Tackling a Major Renovation

Decor

For the past two plus years, I’ve been talking about our “new house” on this blog. Yes, I just said two YEARS. I’ve shared the architecture plans. I’ve shared endless design inspiration. I’ve shared a sneak peek now and again. But to say my first gut renovation experience has been a far bigger undertaking than I could have imagined…is a gross understatement. This is the house that will never end.

I certainly didn’t think I’d be sitting here 26 months after this old Victorian officially became our home and still have unfinished projects and still be surrounded by moving boxes instead of furniture. Ideal scenario, it most definitely is not. Am I starting to pull my hair out? Yes. Am I still happy I took on this whole crazy project? Absolutely.

While I wish I could snap my fingers and have everything done now, I’m content in knowing that slow but steady will result in not just a house, but the home my family will grow into for years to come. To that end, I’m making very deliberate choices about what comes into the house. For example, the gorgeous Georgia Bench I selected from Kate Spade New York’s Home Collection. I want each piece to have strong style and a little something special that catches your eye. Upholstered in charcoal-y linen with a gorgeous brass cross bar and feet, this piece has given me a perfect little vignette in our dining room. A little layer of art and a prized family photo make me smile every time I walk past. Even if I only have one chic corner in the house thus far, that little sliver of design goodness helps me stay focused on the light that I know is at the end of this tunnel.

Since it is still going to be awhile before I can fully reveal the house, and it’s been a 26 month journey to get this far, I thought I’d run with the theme and share my top 26 Renovation Revelations to kick off the week.

1. In your architect you must trust. While I’ve wavered about a lot of design decision (cuz you have to make like 1,000) the floor plan designed by our genius architect from Porro Design is not one of them.

2. Know your materials. What is the difference between marble and quartz? How will oak vs walnut look and perform? What’s the difference between ceramic and porcelain tile? These little choices will have a dramatic effect on both the performance and the cost of materials in your house.

3. Understand construction timelines. Did you know you need to have all your light fixtures selected long before construction is complete because they all have to be roughed in when the walls are open?! Can you tell I didn’t know that? I was frantically picking lighting long before I’d actually given myself time to thing about room design. Not ideal. This leads directly to point four.

4. Have a vision going in. Design decisions can be very tough to make on the fly when you’re dealing the thousands you have to make, often all at once.

5. The work is only as good as your subcontractors. You may love your architect or your general contractor but it everyone else who touches your house that will affect the details.

6. Measure twice and cut once.

7. Double check everything. Don’t assume the “experts” will get things right.

8. Order things much further in advance than you think you need to. Then you’re not left waiting around when things ship late.

9. Cabinets always take twice as long as they say they will.

10. Order extras of things like door or cabinet hardware in case what you select is discontinued.

11. Try to make at least one bold choice somewhere. You want to feel a little uncomfortable with your design!

12. But stick to timeless choices for things that are expensive or hard to change later. A dramatic light fixture can always be swapped. A backsplash you’ll tire of in a year or two cannot.

13. There are 5,000 versions of white paint – test at least 5-8 of them before you pick one. I picked Benjamin Moore White Wisp btw.

14. Open boxes when things arrive – they might not always contain what you thought you ordered.

15. Trades only like to work when they have everything on site (think tile, plumbing fixtures, appliances) so make sure you have everything at the right time.

16. Grout lines should be about 3/16″ thick.

17. Your chandelier should hang 34-36″ above your table.

18. Kitchen pendants should hang 32-34″ above your counter.

19. Scale matters. Scale matters perhaps most of all, so if you don’t know how to determine appropriate scale for things like light fixtures or tile, hire a designer who does. Trial and error will be more costly in the long run.

20. Test paint colors on site to see what they’re going to look like in your space.

21. Floors finished onsite can take as much as 3 weeks to complete(!)

22. Don’t be afraid of black paint (spoiler alert!).

23. Know that good home furnishings take a long time to make/arrive.

24. Live in a house before you decide how to decorate it.

25. Order big things you’ll want, like beds or sofas far in advance.

26. Let your personality and style shine through your furnishings – they can evolve with your changing needs.

While my journey with this house is far from over, and I’m quite certain I still have a lot more to learn, I’m excited that the end just might be in sight! I really can’t wait to share the final product with you.

This post is in partnership with Kate Spade New York. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations I’m excited about and that have kept Apartment 34’s doors open.

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