Bathroom/Laundry Room Reveal!

On Monday July 18th exactly one month after demo day we actually had a functioning bathroom/laundry room again! Hallelujah! 

In the last post I showed you the view from the living room toward the bathroom. On Monday I moved the coat tree into the entryway. It really feels like that's where it should have gone the whole time, but with the bathroom door where it used to be it just didn't work. 

One of the requirements for the new bathroom was that the towel hanger be mounted low enough so the kids could actually....crossing my fingers...hang up the towel! I also love how there is that extra bit of room for the stool to be on the side of the sink instead of in the front. I can't tell you how annoying it was to have to straddle the stool when I needed to wash my hands in the old bathroom. 

I was also able to move in some of the normal bathroom stuff like the garbage can, toilet brush and tissue box. It's starting to look homey! 

The ironing board was also in it's new home! 

And now for the best kept secret.....

I got a new washer and dryer!!!!! 

Aren't they lovely! 

At one of our many, many trips to Lowe's a few weeks before Michael was looking in the plumbing section and I was browsing the appliances. Lowe's was having awesome sales! I knew that we would probably need new machines soon. The ones we had were almost 11 years old and the washer had been leaking. I was sure that Michael could most likely fix the leak, but it worried me that it might start leaking again and then mess up the hard work we just finished. Of course I asked Michael and he just told me to buy it. He's not very helpful when I'm wanting someone to talk me off the ledge! I was talking it out with him and he told me I didn't have to justify buying it to him. At first I was going to get them in white because they were $50 cheaper a piece in white. Michael told me to get what I wanted. I wasn't sure if they would look good with the tile so he told me to go get one of our tiles and check. Oh my goodness I put the tile down and I loved it! The above picture is what I sent to my Mom on our way home from the store. 

They ended up not having one of them in stock so they couldn't deliver them until Tuesday the 5th which actually was fine by us!

On Sunday after grouting we started moving them in. Michael was super nervous about this part. There had been a few things along the way that had been super close to fitting and some things that didn't fit so this was stressful for him. 

Michael had already had to fix the placement of the dryer vent because he accidentally measured from the wrong side so the vent was off. He's so amazing though he always figures out how to work around things like that! Such a problem solver! 

Then it was on to the washer. Here is where things got a little frustrating. Michael installed 1/2 inch water lines for the cold and hot, but that wasn't the size for the hook up we had for the washer. Since the Lowe's card is in my name I ran up to the store and tried to find the right thing. This was the second time I almost cried during the remodel. I was frustrated because Michael was frustrated. I felt helpless because I couldn't locate the right thing we needed and I didn't feel like I had any support because the only plumbing guy I could find at Lowe's was this super old guy that honestly just made me angry every time he tried to help me. It was the only time I went to Lowe's and actually walked out with nothing!!! Michael ended up going back and finding what he needed and he just paid for it with our debit card and not the Lowe's credit card. 

The main reason I wanted this particular washer and dryer was because of the Activewash feature. It has a built in wash board! Coming from someone that has 4 kids and used to have front loading machine without the capability to soak clothes.....I'm so ecstatic about this feature!!! I actually saw this machine for the first time at my friend Starr's house and I fell in love right then and there. 

On Monday I got to wash my first load. I washed towels and I used heavy duty so it used hot water...you can see how the top got all fogged up. One of the things that makes me smile is when I turn either of them on it does this little chiming song and I feel like they are singing to me. It's the little things! 

One of the funny things is when I went to dry the towels I opened the dryer and found the manual and then I found a box with a water supply hose in it. I read in the manual that we needed to connect the dryer to the cold water supply line. I was so confused! A dryer connected to the water! I thought maybe it was a fire suppression system just in case. Then while I was on the phone with Michael it dawned on me....my dryer has a steam cycle and it has to make steam from water. So cool!!! 

My laundry basket cabinet is doing it job! I love that I have clothes all ready to be washed but no one would really know unless they pulled out the baskets! I don't have dirty clothes spread all over the floor! 

My cabinet above the washer has all the washing supplies. 

The cabinet above the dryer has all the ironing supplies, floor cleaner, rags and some Windex. 

The cabinet over the toilet has extra toilet paper, garage bags, sunscreen, baby powder, flush-able wipes and baby wipes. 

Now for the before and after photos! 

My dining room before with my laundry closet! 

My dining room after with the built in cubbies! 

The entryway before with the cubbies in the closet and the door to the bathroom. 

The entryway now....no closet and a new placement for the door. I took this picture before moving the coat tree. 

My bathroom before...the view from the entryway. 

My view of the bathroom now from the entryway. 

The inside of the old bathroom. 

Old location of the sink. 

New location for the sink. Honestly the sink didn't move all that much. It's almost in the exact same place it just move a few feet back. 

The new view....the toilet is right where the old door to the bathroom used to be. 

And again the beautiful view of my new washer and dryer! Ahhhhh!!! 

Now there are still a few more cosmetic things that need to be finished....shelves to be hung, decoration put on the wall and a curtain needs to be sewn for the utility garage. All in good time....of course I'll post when those things are finished! 

On Sunday when Michael was installing the trim outside the bathroom I said to him....."You did it again...you made another one of my dreams comes true!" He's such a wonderfully amazing husband and I'm so thankful for all the hard work and sleepless nights that went into making this new bathroom/laundry room possible!