The Dapper Du Bois: Laundry Room
PROJECT REVEAL
KEITH'S DAPPER HOME
We have toured the Great Room and the Kitchen at The Dapper Du Bois, and now it is time to see the laundry room. It sits just off the garage on the way into the kitchen, and it has a door out to a lovely shared courtyard with a lemon tree. As far as laundry rooms go, this one had pretty good bones.
To be honest, I don't do much laundry. (I know, I know...Feel free to leave a comment below.)
So this interview was the one I was least looking forward to.
Would there be cocktails? Dinner?
Probably not, I figured.
Nonetheless, I made my way over to Keith's home to learn all the details about what is -- typically -- my least favorite room in any home.
Grab a laundry basket, friends. Read on as I ask Keith to dish on every dirty detail...
The Laundry Room - Before
CK: Let's start with the Before. Describe it for us.
KF: One word: Basic. Don't they say that a picture is worth a thousand words? I will let the real estate listing photo do the talking.
Must Haves and Must Go's
CK: What were your must haves for this room?
KF: A sleek, stackable washer and dryer was at the top of my list. Until Todd finally retires, I am living here alone, and I only do one or two loads of laundry a week, so I did not need two machines taking up a wall. Stacking them gave me more counter space, and that mattered because I often do flower arrangements in here and wanted room to spread out. The sink was originally closer to the center of the counter, and we slid it further down the run to open up a bigger workspace, which also turns out to be a great place for folding clothes and towels. A convenient drop zone was also important, with room for keys, phones, mail and whatever else I have dragged in with me. That is the hallway cabinet, and we floated the cabinetry there so I can kick off my shoes and tuck them away.
CK: And the must go's?
KF: All of it. Nothing about the old room was practical. The one thing I added was a tall pantry cabinet, just to the left of the washer and dryer, to hold the brooms, the mops and my Dyson stick vac, so there are no more trips through the garage to find them.
Enter Joseph, Again
CK: Joseph DeCasperis of The High End designed the kitchen, and he is back for the laundry room. How did he help you with this design, and what makes it special?
KF: Joseph suggested tying the cabinetry in to the buffet in the breakfast nook, so we used the same slim shaker cabinet in a walnut finish here, and we beefed up the countertop to a 4-inch thickness to match. We chose a painted finish for the uppers to give the room its own identity, and then set it off with a grasscloth printed wallpaper from Schumacher, Raze Sisal. Moving the sink was my call, but adding the hanging rack and the pull-out trash was Joseph's idea.
CK: And The High End built the cabinetry?
KF: They did. Joseph makes the whole process really simple and handles everything. Which was perfect for me because we are busy enough taking care of our own clients!
CK: 100%
Above: The sink wall in Joseph's concept
Below: The washer and dryer tower, the tall pantry cabinet, the shelf and the walnut base cabinets all made it from the drawing to the room.
CK: How close did the finished room get to the rendering?
KF: Very close in the layout, and then we dressed it. The uppers got a painted finish to give the room its own identity, and the walls got wrapped in a Schumacher wallpaper.
Above: The hallway cabinet in Joseph's concept, which serves as a drop station between the garage and the kitchen.
The Laundry Room - After
CK: Okay, tell us about the floor, the counters and the hardware.
KF: Starting at the bottom, the floor is Pietra Italia in White from Arizona Tile, a 24 by 48 tile in a matte finish. It runs through the laundry room and the hallway, so the two read as one space.
CK: And the counters?
KF: The counters are Caesarstone in Lumena, built up to a 4-inch thickness to match the buffet in the breakfast nook, with the same material running up the wall as the backsplash. It has a soft, quiet vein, and it gives me a generous place to fold
Above: Above: Caesarstone Lumena counter and backsplash, with the light oak shelf above and polished nickel hardware from Art and Forge.
CK: Tell me about this hardware! It's beautiful.
KF: The pulls are all from Art and Forge, the Olney collection, in polished nickel.
All About the Details
CK: Now the question everyone is going to ask. Where is that amazing faucet from?
KF: It's Brizo, from the Jason Wu collection, in Matte White with a concrete handle. It's the Smart Touch Square Pulldown prep faucet.
People may not realize that fashion designer Jason Wu and Brizo introduced the world to matte black finishes over a decade, and they have been incredibly popular ever since. Jason decided to mix things up and recently introduced matte white!
Above: The Jason Wu for Brizo faucret in matte white, with a concete disc-shaped knob.
Keith's neatly-labeled jars are giving me organization envy!
CK: And this wallpaper? People raved about it during your first housewarming party.
KF: It's Raze Sisal from Schumacher, a grasscloth printed wallpaper, in the color Dust, which seemed appropriate for a laundry room. We painted the uppers so the room would have its own identity, and the wallpaper sets them off. We also chose the Zane light fixture from Hudson Valley Lighting to match it.
Above: The LG Wash Tower from WDC Kitchen and Bath Center, with the tall storage cabinet to its left, and the Schumacher wallcovering beside it.
CK: So how does it feel to do laundry in here now?
KF: I've never been so happy doing laundry in my life. If you have to do it, do it somewhere as beautiful as this.
Resources:
Cabinetry Design: Joseph DeCasperis of The High End Kitchen & Bath
Photography: Public 311 Design
Interior Design: Keith Fortner
Faucet: Brizo, Jason Wu for Brizo Collection, Smart Touch Square Pulldown Prep Faucet, Matte White with concrete handle
Flooring: Arizona Tile, Pietra Italia, White, 24 x 48, matte
Cabinet Hardware: Art and Forge, Olney collection, Polished Nickel
Wallcovering: Schumacher, Raze Sisal, Dust
Paint (uppers): Benjamin Moore, Pismo Beach
Lighting: Hudson Valley Lighting Group, Zane
Washer and Dryer: LG Wash Tower, from WDC Kitchen and Bath Center
Sink: House of Rohl, Allia
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