Wohoo! The organization station is done! I introduced you all to the project here. It has been slower going then I would prefer. Lets be honest, I would have preferred this was done the day I started it. I am not a very patient person. When I make a decision, or a plan I want to put it in motion right away. We decided to start having kids, and we had 3 within 3 years. We wanted a family and kept going to get that family. Short of having multiples (which I could not control no matter how much I tried) that was the quickest way to having my family set. You see the theme in wanting things done yesterday?
For better or worse this laundry room and mudroom redo has taken a little longer then desired. Life happened, vacations happened, a new puppy, kids, you know “life”. However, this space is done and just in time. We are on a two week countdown until school starts in our home. Let me tell you, after the day I have had with my three littles. School is a welcome idea. I love them, adore them, but am so sick of cleaning up after them and breaking up fights. Yes, school brings up a whole new set of tasks and problems. But, starting something new, changing things up always makes things fresh again. I will be praising the lazy days of summer and 24/7 with my kids come spring. Mark my words.
This is how the space started out. Here is a list of things with links to what we have done. A homework wall organizer, a new wall decal, and finally the hooks for the organizer .
This is such a bright and cheery space. I am so happy it feels that way because there is zero windows, which means no natural light. It can feel very cave-like. I really pushed the white and turquoise touches in here to brighten it up. I am bringing in elements of a dark walnut to ground all of this white. It is always about balance, and without the natural dark wood you might need sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare of all of the white happening in here. I felt for the sake of the look of the room as well as preventing me from wearing sunglasses in the laundry room that it needed to be done. I am not the kind of person that wears sunglasses on inside, no one should be.
Ah, this beautiful built in bench makes me swoon. It was a dream of mine to make this happen for this space. These dark wood boxes have already gone through a few changes since I took these pictures over the weekend. Just a few customization pieces have been added. I will be breaking down this bench, how I built it. As well as the how’s and why’s of these cute wood boxes. They house and hide my kids shoes. The ones that can never make it into their rooms. Now they have a extra step to do. Fling them off when walking in the door, me tell them to move them, they pick them up off of the floor, put them in these boxes, and eventually move them from here into their closets. Kids are weird, but this is the process my kids choose to take when taking off their shoes. It makes no sense, but now the mess is hidden.
These hooks were purchased from Home depot, and I painted the words in white to make them pop more. It was worth the work. It took a steady hand, a tiny paint brush, and concentration. I also had to ban my kids from being around me while painting these letters.
We made this barn door last year. This space was so awkward with a regular door. To use the nook you had to fully close the door. But to work in here with the washer and dryer it needed to be open. Talk about worst layout ever. So I made this barn door to add style (obviously) as well as function. You can find the tutorial here. Now the room feels bigger, has a sliding door, and makes the organization function to it’s best ability. It also now looks really pretty because barn doors are awesome like that.
The true test of this organization station will be in a few weeks, when the chaos of school, papers, homework, books, and coats gets thrown into this corner. I am thinking it will hold up to the pressure. I mean, I personally designed it to work for my kids and their needs. No pressure, if it does not work or is lacking I only have myself to blame. Or the kids, I can just blame the kids. That will work.
This nook is also a great place to hide when I am on the phone or trying to eat chocolate in secret. I close the barn door, leave the light off and rest on this bench. They never think to look in here. That reason alone is why this space is awesome.
We ripped out all of the laminate flooring and added these beautiful big and bright tiles. The full tutorial is here. It was our first floor tiling job and it was a beast of a undertaking. I am so happy with the results, but it kicked our DIYing booty.
Yes, before you ask this mudroom will always be this neat, organized and clutter free. I mean, of course it will be.
For those of you that need a reminder, this is what the other side of this room looks like. We painted and hung these upper cabinets. That is all we have done with this area. I have big plans for this. I am going to be adding a counter top, a wall of built in open shelving and a ton of organization options on the side of the washer. I also plan to not ever have to use this space, because I am over laundry. I am always over laundry and the irony of the fact that I am putting all of this time and energy into a room that I loathe is not lost on me. I hope that if I make it pretty enough the time I spend in here will not hurt as much. When planning your future family, remember with each child comes a new pile of dirty clothes that get dropped in the hamper…. daily. You have been warned!
Regardless of the work still to be done, and my hate for laundry in general. I am so happy with this space. The organization station is off and running. Shoes are stuffed in the boxes, backpacks are packed with school supplies to be taken to the back to school night. On a side note (because I like to ramble) we went back to school supply shopping with the designated list for Nora and Caleb and spent some crazy money on them. The school is getting some serious loot from us. I shared a picture on Instagram of what we purchased and a person who follows me mentioned that in some schools the supply list is optional. As annoying and bank busting as the supplies were, I know they are necessary for my kids to have a good year in school. I also now know that if the supplies are not provided the teachers have to go out and purchase them, with their own money. Craziness. So if you get a school supply list, buy what you can, extra if you can. Also, be prepared to have to replenish it all halfway through the year.
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| Me and my feet. I am hiding out and setting on the built in bench. Mom time! |
Welcome to parenthood. Where a land called the organization station has to exist for the sanity of the family, and for the sake of finding and doing homework on time. How do you organize your kids school things? Are you ready for school to start? Most importantly…. how much do you all hate laundry?
Love your laundry room!! Those hooks are awesome!
Thanks Meg! I instantly fell in love with those hooks.
Love the hooks, great idea!
Thank you!
Love this!!! I want them hooks!!!
Thank you! The hooks were purchased from Home Depot.
So cute! Love the color you added! Gotta love the extra spot for storage! Thanks for sharing this post!
Having storage is always a must with kids and their gear. The more the better.
Love that space! I have a little nook that could so use this idea! I try to stay so organized but my fiancé is a hot mess! I can't even imagine what our kids will be like! haha
If you have a little nook for this, I think it would be a great addition. Not just kids but people need this. coats, purses, bags, it all has to have somewhere to go.
What a great idea! This looks so cute! 🙂
I am happy you liked it!
I adore this space! My husband and I were just talking about making an area like this. Our son starts Kindergarten next week and I think having a space like this will help keep us all organized. Yours is great. Thanks for sharing…you've inspired me to get this going.
Ahh you have one starting Kindergarten, so do I! They grow up too fast. Having a space like this will help me and the kids stay organized for the school year.
Love it! It is so cheery, inviting and organized! Your hand is much steadier than mine, mine would have looked like I had handed the paintbrush to my four year old lol
It was hard to make the painting of the letters work, but luckily I made it happen. Without them painted they would have blended into the background.
Love it! Your kids should have no problems keeping it looking good, since you've put all the essentials in there to keep them organized. It's such a bright and cheerful space!
Thank you! I hope you are right and my kids can take this set up and run with it. The test comes next week when school starts!
I love the little nook and the barn door?! Swoon!! Love it all!
thank you! I love that you are swooning over my home!
A secret chocolate eating room?? Sign me up!
Right?! It is all about those little moments, the secret chocolate eating moments 😉
So neat that I am jealous! Excellent job:) Pinned 🙂
Thank you so much!
Nice tidy space, but why have you left New Zealand off your map of the world? So sad 🙁
That was not my intention, I was provided this wall decal from The Decal guru and noticed that it was missing. It was a oversight.
I am very interested in where you got the chevron baskets! I need to do something similar to this to my family and I LOVE this idea!