Sometimes I feel sorry for all the rooms in our homes that we never show any love. At the top of that list is the laundry room. A room relegated to the deepest recesses of our home, destined to house dirty clothing lit by unflattering fluorescent bulbs, practically preparing us to dread our time spent sorting lights from darks.
A few years ago, I was honored to design the laundry room in Traditional Home’s Modernism Week showhouse in Palm Springs, California. I think it was the one room no other designers wanted to design, but I was just so happy to be asked that I immediately said yes. As it turns out, that room became the most Instagrammed space of that showhouse! I showed how treating this room as a place worthy of thoughtful choices transformed it into a space people might actually want to do laundry!
The Christopher Kennedy Compound Modernism Week Showhouse, sponsored by Traditional Home magazine | Design by Rachel Cannon Limited Interiors
Naturally, when my friends at Ivy Lifestyles asked me to participate in this year’s Designer Showhome, I immediately said, “I’ll take the laundry room!” I love the challenge of taking a room most people will ignore and turning it into a space that will draw people into it!
Working with the team at Ivy Lifestyles and Colony Builders was a pleasure. First of all, the home they’ve created is absolutely stunning. I can say without a doubt that there is NOTHING like this in Baton Rouge. Second, we were given a few parameters to work within – like the flooring, countertops, and cabinet colors that had been pre-selected could not change.
No big deal! They were all beautiful and I knew we could make them work. The countertops are a gorgeous carrera marble, and the flooring is Fire Rock Ore. The cabinets are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Cornforth White No. 228. All of these finishes created a great neutral base for us to work from, knowing we’d want to introduce some color where it would make the most impact.
Now, to the real reason you’re here: the design! I knew wallpaper had to make an appearance in this space. I went straight to my favorite source for prints: Schumacher. We toyed with a few different options, including the Pyne Hollyhock and Fuzz patterns (available here and here).
Schumacher’s Pyne Hollyhock in Blush
Schumacher’s Fuzz Wallpaper
But in the space, which has no windows, I felt like we needed a lot more energy and color.
I went with Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon wallpaper in blush (available here).
This is one of my all-time favorite wallpaper prints, so full of energy and joy! An instant hit from the moment it was introduced, this is one of Schumacher’s best-loved designs. The chinoiserie motif was inspired by an Art Deco print and is a classic in any designer’s repertoire.
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
After I selected the wallpaper, I realized I’d been holding onto a chandelier for years that would be the perfect light fixture in this space. With rose quartz crystal beading and a gold-leafed frame, it brings just the right amount of elegance and style to our laundry room. While this particular fixture is no longer being produced, here’s a similar version.
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
Unwilling to let any detail go overlooked, I began thinking about cabinet hardware, and how those kinds of touches – when they’re intentional – can make a room feel like so much more than just “a room.” I turned to one of my favorite vendors, Worlds Away, who has recently introduced cabinet hardware as part of their offerings.
I fell in love with the Hive knobs, featuring brass details with cream bone inlay. It might seem like an unnecessary thing to go to the trouble of choosing special hardware for a laundry room, but when you’re standing there, holding one of these in your hand, and feeling the weight of it – you know it’s something special. And we’ve already hung a glittering chandelier in the room, so why not layer on some more pretty shiny things?? In a small space like this, I say more is more!
Hive Knobs from Worlds Away, available here.
The combination of these elements elevated what is commonly considered to be a completely utilitarian space into one that is cheerful and bright – and just might make you want to do laundry!
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
With a laundry room this chic, I couldn’t just stop at the wallpaper, chandelier, and hardware. The accessories needed to be on-par with the space itself, so I turned to one of my favorites: Ballard Designs. I chose their Honeycomb Woven Baskets to showcase how laundry can be corralled once it’s clean and ready to be stored.
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
Ballard Designs Honeycomb Baskets (similar style here).
In keeping with our blush color palette, I styled the baskets with gorgeous blush and white colored towels from Target, available here and a similar style here.
I turned to high-end, eco-friendly laundry brand The Laundress for non-toxic products that live up to the gorgeous style of this space. This highly effective, nontoxic line of laundry and home cleaning products is carefully crafted to work its magic on a specific fabric or surface with outstanding results.
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
I am a huge fan of the following products:
Wash & Stain Bar: https://bit.ly/3gYcYKK
Stain Solution: https://bit.ly/3iZTHu4
Stain Brush: https://bit.ly/2CahMxJ
All Purpose Cleaner: https://bit.ly/2AVE2e1
Fabric Conditioner: https://bit.ly/2Cz9oHH
4-Pc On the Spot Stain Remover: https://bit.ly/3ftaeV9
And because I’m a Southern girl through and through, I couldn’t resist adding a set of Weezie’s monogrammed towels in pink with the Hudson monogram style! I’ve held onto them for months, waiting to use them in the showhouse. Now I can’t wait to use them at home! They’re so plush and soft, and while I chose the Hudson style because of its classic serif font, they offer tons of options and towel styles!
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
The Piped Edge Starter Pack from Weezie Towels
I styled the countertop with finds from one of my favorite local stores, The Foyer. The owner, Laura, is a dear friend of mine, and the shop is always full of gorgeous items – everything from original artwork and decorative accessories to furniture and gifts.
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
Lucite Tray (similar): https://bit.ly/32emogY
Brass Turtle (similar): https://bit.ly/30afsPn or https://bit.ly/2WhFi2z
Bone Box (similar): https://bit.ly/2C8nhgb
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
The finished space is much more than just a room where chores are done. It’s a space that elevates your mood and might even persuade you to keep up with laundry! Since most of us dread dealing with it anyway, I firmly believe in creating a space that will make you happy while you’re there. Our environments affect us on deep, emotional levels, and even rooms that we wish we could avoid can be transformed into space we love when we take the time to show them some attention!
Photo: Andrea Kinnear
Check out my IGTV series on the behind-the-scenes development of the design HERE!
I LOVE this laundry room. Makes me want to create a beautiful laundry room in my home! Beautiful work, as usual.