T w e n t y S i d e d

Alright, now it’s time to finally tackle the space I’ve been dreading the most. Our family is putting a laundry room upstairs, meaning, we need to know how they’re actually using this space.

See, what I have been doing is telling this story, and only furnishing rooms once they are in the form they will be taking in the final product (or at least, very close to.). A notable exception has been the nursery when Logan was born, but otherwise, that’s the deal.

This is for a few reasons, but the main one being that furnishing a room takes a lot of time. The average is about two hours per room for me, at how much I clutter and detail. Families minorly rearrange spaces semi-reguarly, so that adds up. If I need a screenshot for 2005, and then later in 2008, that would be decorating the same room(s), twice. The furniture would likely remain mostly the same, but every little clutter piece would need a full overhaul to check it’s still relevant to their lives. Not even to mention if I needed a Christmas or Halloween screenshot. For my time management, this just isn’t practical.

So, I’ve been working with a shell, but this room is…weird.

Their living space grew organically from remodels over the years, and this space never technically got ‘finished’. So, to figure out where they’re going to put the new laundry room, we need to figure out what parts of the space they’re actively using.

I’m going to use placeholder furniture for this project.

This was my first thought, since it’s out of the way of the stairs and creates it’s own ‘living’ space. Issue is…well, a lot of things. The accent chair is in a weird nook, the space feels tiny, there is a huge unused space right beside, and the backs of the chairs are all to the stairs. Uneasy feelings all around. Let’s try something else.

So this is a little better, but the backs of the chairs are still all to the entry way. I’d personally feel very uneasy sitting there. Hmm…

Wait, why is that one wall exterior siding? What the hell?

Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. The mystery outside-inside wall is no more, and the living space feels much cozier. From the couch you can see all three doors and the stairway in, but the living space isn’t also a walkway. Great.

Now we know where their main living space is, what are they doing with the rest of it?

That’s a lot of empty space.

Alright, dining room for more formal meals and hosting (since the one downstairs is more of a breakfast nook) and a computer ‘room’. I don’t envy them carrying plates up and down the stairs for things like Christmas and Thanksgiving (happy Thanksgiving BTW), but it is what it is. These builds get messy, this house has gone through a lot of hands.

Either way, we’ve found our construction zone. The office space is the least important, and our family is already all using their computers in their rooms at this point. In fact, despite the computer on the desk in the mock-up, by the time they’re choosing a space to redo, there hasn’t actually been a computer on that desk in years. Let’s do this.

Kelly and Michael have been meaning to overhaul this area since the BookNook first opened, it just never happened. The weird, wide-open space has been a subtle reminder of the abandoned project for over a decade now. The first thing they’re going to do is have someone come in and put up a wall for their new laundry room.

It might not seem like much, but that wall is a sigh of relief for our couple. The end of a long, long procrastination, at last.

So as not to close up the space too much, they opt for a glass sliding door, nicer than they would have originally afforded because someone else’s project didn’t work out and they sold it at a loss. Sad for them, but a win for our family.

Time to change out that light and paint. Also, maybe actually install the hardware for the washer and dryer, but, whatever. Mostly the light and paint. They opt to remove the trim at the floor and ceiling, rather than install it on the new wall to match like they have on the other side.

Cute…except…

Our family wants to ignore it, they avert their eyes and try not to notice. Maybe it’s fine, maybe it’s just…

Carpet in a laundry room…

Probably the next big thing?

Despite their best efforts,  as their washer and dryer sit outside, ready to be installed, at the very last chance…The machine sit on the carpeted floor, looking just vaguely wrong…Nope, they can’t do it, they’ll have to replace the floors. Dammit.

Bay Jubilee Oldest child of Shamus Young. They/Them