Refreshing the Laundry Room in the City House

Have you ever walked through a room in your house and all of the sudden get hit with the knowledge it's well, awful? That happened to me this past week. I usually come into the city house through the laundry room as it is the pass through from the garage to the house. Just a warning - these aren't pretty staged photos...they're real life.

Here's some before pics:

door goes to garage

cat food on top of the dryer...keeps the dogs out of it :o)

opposite the washer and dryer, shelves for storage with a curtain to hide it

I see it so often (going out to my car, doing laundry), I've become "blind" to its flaws.

That is until last week. Something finally clicked and I saw how shabby it had become. Yikes. Time to make a plan and give this space a makeover.

First thing I did was take a look on how the space was used. Here's the list I came up with:
1. My major way in and out of the house - it would be nice to utilize the space with that in mind.
2. Obviously laundry
3. It's where the cat litter box is kept
4. Storage shelves

Here's a diagram of the space:

The niche where the freezer is supposed to go (we have always had it in the garage) has been used for all sorts of things: it was our Office in a Hole (the name our children gave it) when we needed an office spot, it was a crafting area, a sewing area, and finally it's where the litter box is. There are shelves above for storage.

It just wasn't working for me anymore. It was cluttered and dirty (I swear I clean in there but it certainly didn't look like it. Gross).

Niche area - I'd already started clearing it when I realized I hadn't
taken a picture. There were 3 shelves all a full as the one shown.

Here's the plan I came up with:
First, find a cabinet or bench the litter box would fit in/under to hide it from view. Secondly, go through everything and get rid of the excess. And third,  provide some kind of hook or shelf to put my purse and keys on. Perhaps like this old window only with the shelf at the bottom.

source

Ok, now that I gave a plan, I can start. First up is to find something for the litter box. I was in IKEA and came across their Trofast.

Hm, it was just the right size and will work as a bench too. I figured I didn't have to use the middle pieces. I grabbed one and came home with it.

I took the curtain down I used to hide the litter box and shelves and pulled all the stuff out.

Of course in doing that I noticed how scratched up the walls were. (Thought process....I think I need to paint...do I really want to paint?...yes, it needs it... I don't want to buy paint...surely I have enough already?)  I found a gallon of the living room color and about 3/4 gallon from the master bathroom closet redo a couple of years back. Ok, those will work!

So much for an easy refresh. The whole laundry room is getting a fresh coat of paint and I have stuff to go through and get rid of. I'll be working on it the next week or so. In the meantime, the breakfast room window seats are full of junk useful items.

And in case you're wondering about the gallery wall, I have a couple of minor things to take care of (while paint dries, perhaps?) and then I'll be able to share it.

I've always said I have decorating ADD and I think this proves it...I can't finish one project before I jump into another. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that!