The Farm Chicks: Great Finds

My Laundry & Mud Room

I'm a big believer in wallpaper in the laundry room. I think it adds a happiness to the room and makes me want to be in there. Good thing, because we go through a lot of laundry each week!

Because I'm short, I needed to keep the counters as low as possible. Rather than build a countertop over the washer and dryer, I opted to simply use the tops of the washer and dryer as counter space. It works great.

The shelf on the left (shown above) doubles as a hanging rack for freshly ironed clothing. I can iron and hang each piece as I go along. When I'm done, I take the clothing off the hanging bar and into the closets where they belong. It also works really well for hanging items I need to air dry. The shelf is really high, so it's not practical to store things on top. I'm on the lookout for just the right decorative piece to place there at some point.

The shelves on the right began with a mistake. When the cabinet installers hung what was supposed to be the only shelf on that wall, they hung it too high, as I'd be unable to reach any laundry products up there. Rather than have the shelf removed, and have wallpaper damage, I had them hang another shelf, just below. I had originally planned on hanging artwork above the lower shelf, but now just use the higher shelf to hold rotating art.

The room doubles as a mudroom, as it's the entryway from the garage.

I made the bench out of an old wooden box I found at the Funky Junk antiques show. I use a standard pillow and pillowcase as the cushion.

Just to the left of the bench is a big closet which holds coats, shoes, hats, gloves, and the ironing board.

And to the left of that is the entryway cabinet, perfect for setting down armloads when we walk in the door.

It's also home to one of my favorite finds ever - this great old key rack I found at Hunt & Gather in Minnesota.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing the closer details of the room and my favorite features.

Wallpaper: Wallflowers, Spokane, WA

Farm Painting: Forget Me Not, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Small Basket near window: Funky Junk Jennifer, via the Funky Junk show, Sandpoint, ID

Towels: Walmart

Washer & Dryer: Bosch

Large Laundry Chute Basket: Silver Suitcase, via Roost, Spokane, WA

Wooden Box: Funky Junk Hollie, via the Funky Junk show, Sandpoint, ID

Cowboy Boots: Forget Me Not, Sandpoint, ID

Entryway Rug: Ikea

Keyrack: Hunt & Gather, Minneapolis, MN

Countertops: Fabricated by Carlson Sheet Metal, Spokane, WA

Beadboard Wall Tile, Tile Trim, and Tile Design: Dirk Elliot Tile, Spokane, WA

Our home was designed by Nancy McKennon.

Our builder was Craig Powell of Powell Custom Homes. (509) 994-2831 (He doesn't have a website).

A note about my sources: I try and identify my sources as often as possible and love promoting other businesses. My policy is that if I love something or have had a good experience with a product or service, I try to promote it, when possible. Sometimes, I'm disappointed with a product or service and won't provide that source. I understand that thousands of readers visit my blog every day and I realize that if I were to say something negative about a product or source, my opinion could have a negative impact on a business, and that's not what I want. If I don't list a source, it's not because I'm stingy, I just choose to keep it positive here. Thank you for understanding.

Posted at 08:59 AM in Decorating, Great Finds, My Farmhouse | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

The Perfect Little Bench

I always find it interesting to watch the trends that come and go in the world of antiques. I remember when trunks were popular. Now they're not. But these old pieces shouldn't be overlooked. In fact, they are so useful for turning into entryway or mudroom benches. (And they have storage space!)

I bought this old trunk/box from my friend, Hollie, at her antiques show.

I simply topped it with a standard pillow covered in my favorite vintage Christmas pillowcase and it was instantly transformed into a little bench.

I can easily change the pillowcase to fit the season.

Have a large trunk? Use two pillows or several toss pillows. It's as easy as that!

I found the trunk here.

My floor tile is from Daltile.

My beadboard wall tile, tile base trim, and tile cap is all from Dirk Elliot Tile.

I purchased my wallpaper from Wallflowers in Spokane. I'm sorry, I can't remember the brand.

Posted at 12:01 AM in Decorating, Great Finds, Holiday: Christmas, Projects, Re-Purpose Re-Use | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

Junking

I had an interview of sorts the other day, and was asked about my passion for junking. And you know, it's not something I often stop and really think about. It's just the way I grew up.

I can't explain how much I love when someone calls me to tell me about an old barn they'd like to let me to come and dig through or when I roll up to a farm sale. It makes my heart skip a beat. What will I find?

I found this old toy truck at a farm sale a few weeks ago. The place had been picked over but I couldn't help but wonder about what may be sitting in their enormous barn across the field. So I asked if I could take a peek. "There's nothing in there but junk", they said. Well, that sounded perfect to me.

When I enter a barn, I stop at the entrance and do a 360 degree scan. Then I look up, which is something my dad always taught me, because wonderful things are often stored in the rafters.

On this day, while looking along the wallboards, I saw this filthy old toy truck.

I have a thing for these trucks. I think it's because my parents always used them as vessels in our gypsy wagon. They'd use them for holding various things like onions or buttons... basically anything that could hold something was used and old toy trucks were easily found in the landfills my parents would dig through.

Anyway, back to the barn.

When I emerged from the barn, I showed the truck to the owner who said he had been looking for that toy for 50 years! It had been set down one day and he could never remember where he put it. And after he told me about his memories of that truck when he was a child, he told me he'd be happy to sell it.

So now it's mine. This junky old truck that needs to be cleaned up. It may go into my collection, or who knows, maybe I'll sell it someday.

Someday, I'll have to tell you about the shirt I found at a yard sale for .10 cents and later sold for $860. dollars.

It's true!

Posted at 08:38 AM in Collecting, Great Finds | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)