The first step was to rip out the awful shelving solutions we had been using for years, which left a great many (otherwise known as THIRTY) pencil-diameter-to-dime-sized holes in the drywall. I also ripped out the baseboards and the existing drain pan for the washing machine, for reasons explained in excruciating detail here. Here is a shot of the room in its most destroyed state - the before picture:
The impetus for getting all of this done was our defunct washing machine, which had decided it no longer wished to fully expel water used during the washing process, thanks to a faulty drain pump. While I figured this repair would constitute the most difficult task in the renovation, it turned out to be one of the easiest - 10 minutes to diagnose, 20 minutes to fix - though it did look pretty scary in the process:
While I was busy fixing the washing machine (and after repairing all of that drywall destruction), my friend Gretta Hansen was painting like it was going out of style, using a periwinkle hue chosen by Rachel herself:
Next up was flooring. The existing linoleum was very, very sad indeed, and needed an overhaul. Rachel and I have a dream of someday owning a house with its flooring entirely consisting of wood and/or laminate, so I figured this would be a good trial of my installation skills. My partner in crime was my brother Eric, with whom I often trade labor for household projects. It went in relatively easily once we figured out what we were doing:
The baseboards were probably the trickiest bit to figure out; for some reason they weren't terribly interested in adhering to the wall properly. So, we resorted to adhesive caulk in a couple places that (hopefully) will never again be beheld by human eyes. Eric spent nearly an hour making the only visible corner just right:
The next night my excellent father stopped by to lend his IKEA furniture assembling expertise. We carefully built two massive wardrobe frames in the tiny laundry room itself, as they were too large to build outside and then maneuver them into place. Action shot:
Post-assembly:
Meanwhile, my wonderful mother was laundering all of our disgusting clothing that had been sitting for, well, a bit, while our washing machine was out of commission:
Next up was the brand new, never-been-inhabited-by-cockroaches-swimming-in-laundry-detergent, washing machine drain pan, this laundry room being on the second floor and all:
It was then time for the moment of truth - installing the newly-repaired washing machine and (gasp) turning it on. It's worth mentioning that this particular model washing machine is of roughly the same girth and heft as a small Mongolian yak. After a bit of groaning and heavy breathing from my father and I, thankfully everything went perfectly on the very first try. And there was much rejoicing (yay). I installed some very nice wire baskets in the wardrobe frames, and the project was complete - at 11:00p, approximately eight hours before I left on a business trip to Orlando. (Of course it had to be done before I left because Rachel and our trio of children would return home before I would.)
The finished product:
I would like to again thank all of my helpers for their assistance - I could never have done this without you. Rachel absolutely loves it - and she was extremely surprised. Just how I wanted it. :)
