Once upon a time, we had a laundry room. It looked like this:

It was located here:

When we were house shopping, we looked for a place with as much storage space as possible. We both have several hobbies, and with soon-to-be 3 kids we have to stay organized. When we chose this house we knew that the strange location of the laundry room, the lack of pantry, and the cabinet space would be something to fix immediately.

So first things first, we called up a plumber and electrician to reroute some pipes and cables. Then we moved the machines under the stairs. (The room needs some love, but one thing at a time.)

Removing the shelving showed exactly why you don’t want a laundry room in your kitchen.

And left me with a few anchor holes to patch.

I had a brief bit of trouble with the access door cover, because ours is apparently an odd size. Rather than get a custom one made for a hefty sum, I decided to saw some plywood.

Some orange paint that I didn’t need to buy because I had bought a gallon more than I needed for a room at the old house. It happens to complement the shade in the kitchen perfectly.

Out with the old floor, in with the new:

My job was done and then it was Rob’s turn to transform the room. Shelving:

Aaaaand…done!
Total amout of space opened up for better uses: 4 kitchen cabinets, 1.5 kitchen drawers, and half a hall closet!

The finished product: