Do you have a Monica from Friends style junk cupboard? We do. It’s also known as our utility room. It’s the place where we put all of the random bits and bobs that don’t have a home.
The Random Stuff in Out Utility Room
There is a lot of stuff in there, including:
- Oneย comedy Australian hat, complete with corks
- A buggy we haven’t used for well over a year
- Bits of high chair that we will need when we sell the chairs in about ten years
- Spare car seat covers
- Bottles of champaign
- One cool bag
- One picnic set
- Lots of Vanish
- Several cans of spray paint
- Loads of old shoes
- A stairgate
- A pool noodle
- A camera tripod
- Loads of pieces of stuff, screws and tools
Here it is, in all it’s glory.
The people who lived here before us made the room out of a section of the garage, so it has no natural light and no temperature control, so it is incredibly dark, dingy, drab, and damp. All the Ds.
Now it may sound like I am whinging – after all I am very lucky to have a utility room, I didn’t in our last house and being able to shut the door on the washing machine is amazing. But it needs a serious makeover.ย From the awful cracked, flickering strip light, to the cold, uneven concrete floor, to the nicotine-yellow walls. It is horrible.
The only thing we’ve done to it since we moved in two years ago is put the washing machine and freezer in, and added a ladder radiator, so we can dry clothes in there one day. That day is still some way off, as we need to get the room insulated first, otherwise all the heat will escape into the garage. So for now, we just pile stuff in front of it and hang coats onto it.
To insulate the room, we need to empty the garage. But it is fullย up to higher than I can reach with, well, what can only be described as (more) JUNK. My husband may disagree. But in the main, I am sure we don’t need it, as we haven’t used any of it for the past two years, as we can’t even get to it. Marie Kondo would have a field day. None of it sparks joy, let me put it that way.
Anyway. Back to the utility room. Lately, the washing machine has been leaking even more than usual, and has now stopped heating the water. It did this last year, and because we are trying toย live a more sustainable life, we got it fixed. But it has broken again. So we really need a new one. But the only way to get it in to the utility room is… you guessed it, though the garage. ARGH! We are going round in circles here.
What Plans Do We Have For Our Utility Room?
When weย replace the washing machine, we are going to take the opportunity to move the freezer, and put the new washing machine against the far wall – it makes so much more sense, I don’t know why the previous owners didn’t have it like that. Then again, the rest of the house was even worse. We’ll need to remove that hideous bit of worktop from above the washing machine, but I think it will be worth it.
Naturally, I’ve been scouring Pinterest for ideas,ย I have quite a few pins saved on my Utility Room Board. But they are mainly for much larger rooms than out teeny space, so I will no doubt be popping to IKEA (again) for some storage solutions.
We have some ALGOT drying racks already (just being used to put junk on at the moment) so I think we will get some more of them, and hopefully some boxes or something to hide the junk in! We don’t want to spend a lot of money on it, as I am the only one who goes in there. But just because I’m the only one that sees it, it doesn’t mean it should beย a total disgrace. ย I do go in there quite a lot looking for peas, or tackling the never-ending washing.
So now I’ve shared my grubby little secret with you, do you have any words of wisdom about how to make the most of this teeny space? I’d love to hear them please!
Aren’t utility rooms supposed to be messy? I love your decor so I look forward to seeing the finished affect I am currently boxing up our downstairs which is going to be decorated next week.
I think they probably are Laura ๐ It’s coming along nicely but the light has just started flickering, so it’s kind of like a strobe light, not ideal! xx
Aaah I’d bloody love a utility room!!!!! I wouldn’t care how small it was either!!!! Having an old listed property is fab buy sometimes I’d love it to be a little more modern!! If we manage to get permission for our kitchen extension, I’m going to push for a utility room and downstairs loo!! Thanks for linking up with us lovely ๐ Caro xx #HomeEtc
I think you should definitely put a utility on your kitchen wish list, they are so useful! Even if it is just for storing junk! xx
Pinterest has a lot o answer for! I have a Utility Room , it’s tiny but we always manage to fill it up with lots’ of random junk.
I think a lot of storage / racks is key to make sure you can put all the bits and pieces
#HomeEtc
Ha ha I’m glad it’s not just me that has an issue with junk! We’ve spent a lot of time and money in IKEA over the weekend so I’m hoping the racks we got will help xx
Good luck! Pinterest is great for ideas but these people seem to have the most enormous houses with huge rooms don’t they?!
My best tip is have lots of cupboards- as many as you can squeeze in, you can hide all the crap then. And in a light bright colour, maybe pop a mirror in there, that really does work in making spaces feel lighter and bigger.
I’m sure it’s going to be fab!
Thanks Julie, great tips, especially adding a mirror, I would never have thought of that. We have just spend a small fortune in IKEA so we are making progress, yay! xx
I am also tackling my utility room. We may be the only ones to see it but we sure have to spend time in there with all the washing so let’s go beautiful! #MakingHome
Ooh I look forward to seeing the results Annie, we have just spent a lot of time and money in IKEA so I am looking forward to getting it all in place xx
We have a very similar room on the bottom floor of our townhouse that holds the washing machine and tumble dryer. I think we have to paint it white and put up lots of shelves!!Hide the clutter in some lovely matching boxes. Those are are my plans, it probably won’t happen though ๐ #HomeEtc
We have painted it now and it already looks a hundred percent better, it’s exciting to see it coming together, even though it’s taking ages! xx
Maybe I will stop dreaming of having a utility room as they do seem to attract junk – and lots of Vanish ! But sounds like you will get it sorted and Pinterest-worthy in no time! Not having a utility room, I have no tips, but wish you best of luck! #HomeEtc
Good luck with your project! I would love a utility room. I’m sure you can make it a really lovely functional space. I’m obsessed with decluttering I kind of want to come over to your house and help you clean out your room and garage!
I would LOVE it if you came to help, I am trying to apply the Marie Kondo principles and we have sold/given away three bikes, a table and two chairs so far! And quite a bit to the dump too. It feels good! xx
Why do utility rooms collect so much random stuff??! Mad! Ours is SO practical and I love it but it is always full of our things. I am forever tidying it ๐ I recently cleared all mine out and put tonnes of storage in. Definitely hides it all away. Thanks for linking up #HomeEtc
I saw your post the other week and it’s spurred me on to make a nice space, even if I’m the only one to see it! xx
Oh my goodness, this is my thing at the moment. There are so many gorgeous American utility rooms on PInterest and I got rid of my utility room to create an open plan kitchen diner. I long to have it back again, just so I can have jars labelled up with powder on them and an organised system in place, for laundry.
Ah I am so jealous of the space people have in America! I love the labelled jars too, you could have some in your kitchen couldn’t you? I bet your open plan kitchen/diner looks fab though xx
Yay for Pinterest, I too gather utility room plans there! I think sometimes the frustrating thing is when previous owners tackle a project but perhaps not in the same way that you would or with the same care/attention, we have so many examples of this in our home. Is there a possibility to put a window anywhere or would it just be into your garage? It’s a tricky one! We don’t have a utility room but eventually want to build a new kitchen on the back of the house and turn our existing kitchen into a utility room, one day! X #HomeEtc
A window would be amazing but I think it would cost too much unfortunately. But you’re right, natural light would help enormously wouldn’t it! What would we do without Pinterest? I am addicted. Your plans sound amazing, I hope you can pull it off! xx
I love anything house related with our move at the moment. I love the IKEA photo you pinned. We looked at houses with utility rooms but went for one without, hopefully we won’t regret that decision. We are planning on putting chest freezer & tumble dryer in garage. Look forward to seeing how you get on xx
I must say I love being able to close the door on the washing machine, but having your dryer and freezer in the garage is a good idea. We are currently painting away so I’m hoping it will be finished soon! xx
This post came up just at the time we’re doing our utility room, it’s also the downstairs WC which I find very weird… having a loo next to the washing machine (pet hate!) Anyway, we came home a few weeks ago to find the downstairs toilet cistern was hanging off the wall (where previous owners had installed it incorrectly!) and there was quite a large lake forming in the utility room – so we’ve also got grand plans – hopefully something like your utility board on Pinterest. ๐
Oh no, what a nightmare! I hope it didn’t cause too much mess. Sometimes it amazes me what people do to their houses. Sometimes it take a bit of a disaster like that to give you the incentive to get it sorted so hopefully you’ll get a silver lining! Good luck xx