Our laundry area has had me stumped for a while. I finally committed to creating a Laundry “Room” Closet. I was trying to incorporate barn doors but decided on double closet doors, because honestly it is a very tight space! It has certain access requirements because our electrical panel, crawl space access and washer and dryer have to fit behind those doors. I’ll share how I have made the space function on another day. Today I am going to show you how we framed it out to become a closet.
We built the tall cabinet to the left of the doors you see in the photo above- about 3.5 years ago, using a sheet of plywood. I will find a photo of how this space looked when we moved in- and share it with you when this hall is complete- as I know I have one somewhere! It has changed a lot, and I think we all love a good before and after. Don’t mind our make shift shims- nothing in this entry is level which always keeps things interesting.
In order to accommodate the swing of the washer and dryer doors we didn’t have a ton of wiggle room for framing. The doors are 28″ each- and I wanted them to match the 3 panel mission style doors we used throughout the addition. We framed right up to the tall cabinet. Matt framed in the space above the doors, and we used original shiplap we had saved from demo.
I determined to paint the entire thing out in my fave Benjamin Moore Simply White. Just adding the trim really cleaned things up. We used a pre-fab jamb, and Matt chiseled out the doors for the hinges. He also built a header to match the rest of our trim work. It gives that sweet farmhouse style I love so much, and is totally worth it for adding a custom feel to the home.
Don’t you love it?!! Filling all the holes, caulking the seams and applying all the paint is always tedious- but it is so worth it! It surprised me how much bigger this space feels now that we have defined the area with doors. The key to these double doors is this style of hardware for the catch:
It is installed on the top portion of each door- 2 inches from the inside edge. Removing everything from our pantry to paint also gave me a great opportunity to clean out the pantry and get it organized! We will eventually move our food storage into the kitchen, but until we reno there is very little storage in there.
I also adore how clean and fresh the ceiling looks now that it is all pined! I can’t wait to carry it through to the kitchen and dining room.
You can catch a glimpse of the lumber we are using to create our beams for the encased opening to the kitchen- don’t you love that grey against the white?! Just a little more trim work to finish on the tall built in and door knobs for the closet and this part of the hallway will be complete.
I love these 2 shots because they really demonstrate the power of finishing. Trim and paint make a world of difference!
I love how this space is coming together. Next up we need to finish up the beam install, replace the flooring and add the last of the baseboards and trim. I’ve got a fabulous old light I’ve been saving for years that will be going up in here- and then we will call it a wrap. Who knew a closet could be so satisfying!?
And just in case any of that sounds easy… the flooring is a bit of a mess. Oh the joy of old houses.
-Miss Ash