Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

So, a little bit of housekeeping before I show you what we did to our laundry room. I really feel like you, my readers, let me down. I mean, how else am I supposed to react when I found out that there is a TV show called "Redneck Island," and not a single one of you let me know about it? At best, I feel neglected. At worst, betrayed. After I re-evaluate my so-called "friends," I plan on taking "Redneck Island" for a test drive. I mean, rednecks, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and a $100,000 prize? Sign me up.

You've seen the kitchen and bathrooms. Now, I want to take you on a journey through our laundry room transformation. This upgrade wasn't for me so much as it was for Courtney. But, before you start lecturing me on gender equality, allow me to share a little conversation we had last night.

Me: I'll switch the laundry out when the wash is done.

Courtney: OK, but be REALLY careful and do not put anything in the dryer that shouldn't go in there.

Me: Like the dogs, or actual clothes?

Courtney: On second thought, maybe I'll just do it when I get home. I don't trust you.

It's not that I don't know how to do laundry. Whites with whites. Colors with colors. Don't dry anything with a "Dry clean only" tag. Got it - I'm not an idiot (so far as you know). However, not being the primary laundry specialist in our house, I'm terribly unfamiliar with the laundry history of particular clothing items that are not mine. Certain items come with special instructions that might get overlooked when I dump everything in at once, add some detergent and hit "start." So, for once in my life, ignorance ends up working out in my favor. 

Anyway, here is what the laundry room looked like when we bought the house. 

Exciting, right? Normally, laundry rooms don't need to be showstoppers because they are hidden and not really high-traffic areas for guests.Ours? Right off the kitchen. I lose.

Here's the progress after we painted the walls, door trim and pantry shelves.

Better? Yeah, I thought so too. That is until I had to fish a sock out from behind the washer for the 700th time. When Court and I discussed the possibility of building the laundry in with a counter and cabinet, you would've thought I just proposed to her all over again. She was stoked.

I begrudgingly discussed options with our granite guy, Chuck, who (of course) was MORE than happy to provide a counter solution at "a reasonable price." Turns out he had some leftover remnants of Cambria, a type of quartz. All kidding aside, it was actually really cheap - you know, as far as stone countertops go. Cheap got cheaper when I told him I would build the supports. All he would have to do is drop the sucker in.

I attached some 2x4 cleats all the way around the wall to support the weight of the stone, moved the washer outlet below where the counter would sit and modified and installed the pre-assembled cabinet to fit the height of the space. 

In my infinite wisdom, I didn't realize that the washer outlet was the ONLY OUTLET IN THE ENTIRE ROOM until after I had moved it, re-patched and re-painted the wall. Crap. Not to fear...laziness to the rescue! Since we were replacing the light switch anyway, I got one that is 50% light switch, 50% outlet and 100% perfect for this particular problem. BOOM.

Then I got Campbell started on removing the hinges from the cabinet doors so they could be sanded and painted. BONUS: Plastic screwdriver handles make great teething toys. 

I hooked everything back up, got the counter installed, then added some 1x2 trim to fill the gaps and painted everything to match the upper cabinets. Oh yeah, and I also turned the bottom of the pantry into a double cabinet to hide the dog food/supplies.

I'm not gonna lie, this wasn't a very fun unexpected project to take on, but it's pretty awesome having all of that additional counter and cabinet space now. Plus, what's the saying...happy wife = happy life?

Sorry about the picture quality. Not sure why it got all Smurf-y on me.