A Colorful Place to Whiten Whites and Brighten Brights
This modern Minnesota laundry-mudroom gets a smarter layout and a more lively design
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“This is Minnesota! We have a lot of winter gear,” says designer Tamatha Miller, who helped this family reconfigure several inefficient and disjointed spaces involving an entry, mudroom and laundry area, and office. While improving the flow, adding a powder room, and providing ample and much-needed storage, she captured the spirit of the midcentury modern home through playful, bright colors and fun details like star-shaped cabinet hardware.
“This is Minnesota! We have a lot of winter gear,” says designer Tamatha Miller, who helped this family reconfigure several inefficient and disjointed spaces involving an entry, mudroom and laundry area, and office. While improving the flow, adding a powder room, and providing ample and much-needed storage, she captured the spirit of the midcentury modern home through playful, bright colors and fun details like star-shaped cabinet hardware.
The multicolored floor also nods to the home’s era. “I had fun with that floor — we wanted to be intentional with the desire for color pops and also pull off of the midcentury modern sensibility,” Miller says. White cabinets make the floor stand out, while the bright green paint behind the cubbies ties back into it.
The floor is Marmoleum. “It is made with natural ingredients without any harmful VOCs or other toxic chemicals, and the sheet goods are installed with solvent-free adhesives,” Miller says. This particular floor is Marmoleum Click, which was installed without any adhesive.
Tip: “Marmoleum comes in tile and sheet form, but not every color comes in every form, so be aware of this when you are looking to create a specific design using that perfect color for your palette,” Miller says.
Coat rack: Hang It All, Vertigo Interiors; wall color: Rainforest Dew in eggshell finish; trim, interior doors and ceilings: Simply White; accent color: Jalapeño Pepper; all paints Benjamin Moore
The floor is Marmoleum. “It is made with natural ingredients without any harmful VOCs or other toxic chemicals, and the sheet goods are installed with solvent-free adhesives,” Miller says. This particular floor is Marmoleum Click, which was installed without any adhesive.
Tip: “Marmoleum comes in tile and sheet form, but not every color comes in every form, so be aware of this when you are looking to create a specific design using that perfect color for your palette,” Miller says.
Coat rack: Hang It All, Vertigo Interiors; wall color: Rainforest Dew in eggshell finish; trim, interior doors and ceilings: Simply White; accent color: Jalapeño Pepper; all paints Benjamin Moore
Before. This “before” photo shows the same space as the previous photo — you walked in the door, and the washer-dryer were right there. “The washer-dryer area had no space to fold items or store detergent and other necessities,” Miller says. “There were no good places to store diaper bags and toys, much less adult jackets and other winter gear.”
Before. To understand how the space was reconfigured, let’s jump into the plans. This is the original floor plan. “The spaces were disoriented, segregated and inefficiently laid out — there was no way to avoid the mess,” Miller says. Before, the space seen in the middle was a disjointed mudroom. “It didn’t work with the natural flow of activity, and it ended up acting as a deep, endless pit of a closet,” the designer says. The room on the bottom right served as an office, which the family wanted to convert to a guest room-office. The room at the top right is a three-season porch that remained untouched. Making the access to this space easier for visiting in-laws, as well as adding a nearby powder room, was part of the project’s scope.
Here is the view toward the reconfigured guest room-office. The new powder room is past the sink on the left. “A sink to deal with messes was a must — the homeowners love the new sprayer faucet-utility sink because they can just throw in the filth and spray it away,” Miller says.
The family also needed a lot of storage. Besides laundry supplies, there’s room for bulk supplies of all varieties, everyday cleaners and cleaning tools, linens, beach gear, and craft project supplies for when the kids are stuck indoors.
Sink: MTI; faucet: Hansgrohe; cabinets: Bayer Interior Woods
The family also needed a lot of storage. Besides laundry supplies, there’s room for bulk supplies of all varieties, everyday cleaners and cleaning tools, linens, beach gear, and craft project supplies for when the kids are stuck indoors.
Sink: MTI; faucet: Hansgrohe; cabinets: Bayer Interior Woods
The new front-loading machines allow for a counter on top for folding and sorting. Undercabinet lighting illuminates this space.
On the left you can glimpse an interior door handle. “The door hardware was picked out very intentionally,” Miller says. It also nods to the home’s midcentury spirit.
“This family wanted to have some fun and show off their personality — that’s the best part!” Miller says.
Passage door hardware: Orb knob with modern rectangle rosette, Emtek; cabinet hardware: Dish knob with Star backplate, Rejuvenation
More: Where to Put the Laundry Room
On the left you can glimpse an interior door handle. “The door hardware was picked out very intentionally,” Miller says. It also nods to the home’s midcentury spirit.
“This family wanted to have some fun and show off their personality — that’s the best part!” Miller says.
Passage door hardware: Orb knob with modern rectangle rosette, Emtek; cabinet hardware: Dish knob with Star backplate, Rejuvenation
More: Where to Put the Laundry Room
Laundry-Mudroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family of four
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Size: 174 square feet (16 square meters); project total including the guest room-office, 325 square feet (30 square meters)
Here we see one of the homeowners actually enjoying doing the laundry. This colorful mudroom is part of a remodel that included an entry, guest room-office and new powder room. To suit the style of the midcentury modern home, Miller chose laminate countertops with ribbed-aluminum edges and simple slab cabinet doors adorned with chrome knobs and star backplates.