Creating a new laundry room with old parts

Have you happened upon this blog for the first time? Are you new here? I have been hosting a house tour of my home here at my blog for about 3 years...not really, but it feels like it. But speaking of 3 years, that is how long it has taken my husband and I to remodel this house. We are finally done and I am taking you on a walk through, click here if you want to go back to the beginning.

Today we are moving on to the laundry/mudroom, but in order to move forward, let's quickly look back. Remember this picture below, this is the old kitchen. We had a laundry "closet", as opposed to a laundry "room". The laundry closet was in the kitchen, which if we are keeping things practical I personally think is a great idea. Why not? In fact, add in a toilet and a sewing machine and I would have myself a room I would never have to leave. We digress...let us move on.
Here's that weird picture again of me smiling while demolishing the old kitchen, still no clue why I am smiling. What I want you to notice in this picture is the door in the background. This is the area of the old kitchen that becomes the new laundry room.Here is the new space. We reused the old kitchen cabinets for the new laundry room. We salvaged the sections we could, and then my cute carpenter husband pieced them together to make usable storage for the laundry room. Also, notice the black tile on the floor. I installed that, and there is a story. Laying tile is a physically exhausting job. My husband was in charge of cutting the tile, and I was in charge of creating the puzzle on the floor, spreading the mud, and laying the tile. Towards the end of the project my body was aching and my knees were bruised and throbbing. The cute carpenter thought that would be the appropriate time to say "you know, I have knee pads you could wear if you want them". Really? Really??

See, there's that door...do you know where you are now?

We added a small amount of trim to the top and bottom of the cabinets to tie everything together. I painted the cabinets the same color as the new cabinets in the kitchen, and then glazed them.

Though I know painting with oil based paint is less than desirable, my Dad is an old school painter and insists upon oil paint for cabinetry. Here is a trick: thin the paint with a touch of paint thinner and the paint will "spread" onto the surface. You will notice very few brush marks, which will result in a more professional looking finish.

Glazing. Easiest thing in the world. Benjamin Moore sells an oil based glaze that can be tinted any color. We tinted ours a chocolaty color and I spent about 30 minutes glazing these cabinets. Brush on the glaze into all the cracks and crevices where you want it to show, and then wipe it off. You can leave the glaze on heavy or you can wipe most of it away.

This is my answer to the ridiculous amount of art work that comes home everyday with my kids from school. You just can't keep it all, but heaven forbid the emotional breakdown that will occur if I have the audacity to throw something away. Instead, their work is displayed here for a few weeks and then is replaced with newer works of art as they come home. And because this is the door we come in and out of all day, we get to admire it often. Two things to notice here. I keep my unmatched, ever growing pile of socks nicely displayed on a tray in the laundry room; it kind of makes the pile look a little less ghetto. Also, that candle's scent is "Island Palm" and I highly recommend it if you are anything like me and longing for the weather to be warmer. It smells like sun screen and I can't get enough of it while the outdoor temperatures are hovering in the 30's.

Have an awesome weekend. Go paint and glaze something, or if you are lazy, just go buy an island candle. It will make you smile as much as freshly painted cabinets.