Finishing up the Utility Room in the Hallway...(mid January of 2008)

Okay, I looked and couldn't find any pictures of some work that we did before these pictures. These pictures are of me wiping the excess grout of the tiles. Then, we put a coat or two of sealant on the grout to make it waterproof. This wasn't the most glamourous job, nor very noticeable. I was very motivated to get this done though, because that meant we could order the new stackable washer and dryer and install the cabinet. Woohoo! 

I used a mixture of vinegar and warm water to scrub the tiles. You can see the front part is wet and mostly cleaned off. I had to scrub and wipe them down three or four times.

Ah, I think I'm all done now. Phew!

Don't they look like tumbled marble? They are actually ceramic.

Yay! We have our new washer and dryer! I'm thrilled! 

Also, a little later, we got our cabinets and shelves from Ikea. Of course the knobs on the cabinets came from Home Depot. So, here is the washer and dryer with their friends cabinet and shelves.

LIGHTS! Flourescents no doubt.

You can tell we haven't finished the doorway yet.

Our base boards that we cut ourselves and painted from MDF.

This is one of my favorite features of this cabinet. Lynette and I just happened upon it at IKEA. How cool is this, a pull out ironing board!

a close-up of the shelves and pull-down drying rack for sweaters and things...

at some point we will screw in the hanging rod that goes just below the bottom shelf, to hang up clothes that need to be hung before putting them away in closets.

My cool new LG washer...

A view above...

A view below...

The finished room minus the doorway finished and new doors (oh yeah, and hanging rod). We're waiting for doors to go on sale. Nevertheless, my finished utility room! Anyone is welcome to come and use the new room. You know, I have been toying with the idea of doing a clothes washing ministry in our neighborhood. Once we get the house more visitor friendly, I would love to do things with our neighborhood more. In the meantime, I can brainstorm what that might look like.