My Favorite Room in the House

...isn't even a room. It's this guy right here.

A laundry room nook! Mike and I lucked out that our apartment complex had multiple washers and dryers available to us so we never had to actually go to a laundry mat but oh man, not having to scrounge for quarters every time I need clean clothes is going to be such a treat. Also, not that I'm a huge germaphobe, but finding pet hair on my clean clothes when I don't actually own an animal makes me wonder how clean are they actually getting?

As you can see by the partially slanted ceiling, the nook is located under the stairs. Below is a shot to give you more perspective on how the downstairs is laid out with the laundry nook to the right and the half-bath on the left across from it.

Although it's just a small part of the house, we have some big plans for this space - the most obvious being replacing the old washer and dryer with something more energy and water efficient. When we transferred over the utilities to our name this week, we asked for the average monthly bill so we could estimate total household expenses and were blown away by the PG&E bill - $268 a month!! We think either they consistently left every light in the house on or they were growing weed (which could also explain the intense security system they had going on in here). Of course we realize that electric is going to be more than the $25 a month it costs us now, but anything we can do to reduce our energy consumption is a win for earth and our pocket books.

Other than nerding out over home appliances, Mike and I have plans to make the space more functional by adding shelving and a place to hang-dry clothes. I also would love to make it so I'm not embarrassed to open the doors if company is over. Jenny over at Little Green Notebook did an amazing laundry room transformation a few weeks ago (which you can see here) and now I'm feeling inspired. On the consideration list is tile all the way up the back wall like they did below. Subway tile and stainless steel has always been a favorite of mine and I like how they used grey grout to tie it all in. I'm also digging the steel back splash in the second picture with the bar in the middle.

via Kitchen Lab

Via Casa de Valentina

Overall, the plan is to live in our space for a while to see how we use it and then dive in to the bigger projects but in the mean time, I am dreaming about my clothes spinning round and round in one of the beautiful front-loaders. Anyone have washer/dryer recommendations or know of any killer sales? I've been stalking craigslist for any deals on a set but so far, no dice.