CANE DOORS + LAUNDRY NOOK
I’m back!!!! Sorry it has been too long, but I have been trying to play catch up mentally since my father’s passing. Grief is a sneaky S.O.B… I just couldn’t bring myself to create beauty in pictures, when I couldn’t find it in my heart. So thank you all for sticking around. Truly.
I was forced into creative mode a few months back. On New Years Eve to be exact our ancient, came with the house thirteen years ago, apartment style stacker washer and dryer unit died. Like DEAD. Happy New Year!!! Lol. Seemed fitting to end out 2018 like that honestly. I immediately went into research mode for new units. For the future addition (more on that soon) we have a dedicated laundry area and would need side by side front loaders. But for now we need something that would be able to stack. Fortunately most units are able to do this. The other issue we have with our current situation is the depth of this closet. After measuring about 30 times and looking at every model on the market, our decision was made for us. The LG Models that we ended up purchasing were the only ones that would fit… and could still potentially be too deep.
Here is what the original closet looked like when we added a storage shelf years ago… This was an upgrade to this inherited space, but still not a total overhaul.
Now that we had to get a new washer and dryer, the plan was to make it even more functional for my needs. This meant a place to hang a few things to dry. I was tired of hanging items up in our doorways…. and if I was going to have wet hanging clothes, I thought that tiling the back of the space would be ideal. I ran up to the Home Depot and grabbed some tile and grout and quickly got to work before the new units were delivered. I went with a small scale white herringbone mosaic for two reasons… 1.) This space is right off of the kitchen and this pattern would be a nice reference to our herringbone backsplash in there. 2.) It was crazy affordable and in stock!! Great things when you are on a time constraint.
I slapped the tile up in record time, let it dry overnight and then added my grout the next day. I almost went with black grout, but decided the space was so small that it would just feel too busy.
Then the new washer and dryer arrived!!! Wahoo!! They look like they fit right!!!???!! Yeah, about that… they didn’t. The doors would no longer be able to go back up due to the depth of the units. I could have left the space open, but this is our dining room and didn’t really love that idea. I played with the idea of a curtain… maybe something velvet, but that didn’t feel right either. So while I toyed around with a few other ideas, I figured I might as well finish this space out as best as I could just in case it was going to be left open for all the world aka myself to see.
I used the bottom half of our old shelving unit, because it fit and was still in great shape. But instead of reattaching the upper shelfs I decided to make this my hanging space. I ran back up to the Home Depot for some wood and continued to build out a frame out the space to have it feel more built in. By adding sides and a “ceiling” to this little nook it immediately amped up the finished factor.
For the rod I went through my hoard and pulled out a few of my lucite rod remnants. No matter what the size I hold onto them just for these moments. I found one that was the exact size needed. Done. I attached them to the sides using wood flanges from you guessed it, the Home Depot. Having them made out of wood, I was able to prime and paint the entire space so they just disappeared.
After many in depth discussions between my husband and I, we determined that if we built our own doors they would be thinner than a standard door. This would allow us the .5″ clearance we needed. Seriously! Half an inch. Building our own door also gave me complete creative control. They could be anything I wanted them to be. I knew I wanted some texture and some ventilation. I ordered a few products to test them out in the space.
First were these panels. I really loved the idea of this product. They are mdf panels that are only about 1/4″ deep. They have tons of designs and patterns. But once in the space I quickly realized that I wanted a little more coverage.
Next to arrive was a big roll of modern cane webbing. You know the stuff that is on antique chairs… I had never worked with it before, but love the cane furniture that is all over the place at the moment. The cane furniture that I have fallen for is $$$ so I thought that if this weave was tight enough I could get the look I love for less. I ordered the tightest weave they had. Again looking for the most coverage possible.
We propped them both up behind the new (and unfinished) doors to compare and contrast. The winner was obvious for our needs.
I still want to find a place to use those mdf panels though…
I started attaching the cane. I will share more on the actual method tomorrow. But as each of the panels went up I fell more and more in love.
I added some diy lucite door pulls using some brass pipe fittings from London and hung the doors using slow close cabinet door hinges. Actually the doors are more “see through” in pictures than in person. I absolutely adore the texture and natural vibe of the cane. They speak to my love of texture and neutral tones.
I also love the fact that the doors open 110 degrees. Allowing me to access every inch of this space. Before the bifold doors always felt like they were in the way.
And now after all is said and done, we decided we love this little nook so much that we are keeping it as is. Now we will be changing the dedicated laundry closet in the addition into a half bath. No need to recreate something we already love.
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Wow…amazing!
Hey there! This turned out to be a beautiful project. I’m going to attempt to do this in my own mudroom/laundry room. Can you explain more of how you went about building the doors? It does look pretty simple, but I’d love to know what type of lumber you used and how you made everything sturdy. Are they standard measurements for french doors? Mine seem to be a little shy of 48 inches wide.
Hi Ashley, This was all just stock 1×6’s and 1×12’s from our local Home Depot. To assemble & create structural integrity they were screwed together using Kreg Jig. That creates pockets for the screws to go in making the final result much more rigid. I hope this helps! and good luck!
I like this type of spaces, in Spain they are not very usual
I love every detail! I have a tiny nook for my laundry room too and am going to attempt to replicate most of yours. However, mine is outside off of the carport. 😡 I’m on the hunt for double exterior doors that can be used…. And where did you find your storage unit? Great job!!
Love the idea of some killer exterior doors!! I got the unit about 5 years ago from the Home Depot. I think it was Martha Stewart’s collection.
Thank you!!
Amazing use of the space! The caning and lucite pulls are my favorite!!
I love those doors!!!! We have the same kind of laundry set-up in our hallway. Our space definitely needs to be spruced up too and those doors are just the thing to make a boring hallway fabulous!
We have a small space issue for our laundry closet too. You gave me some great ideas. I love this space! So creative and a wonderful job you did!!
Love the entire space! The doors and your dining room look great! So glad that you are blogging again, so sorry for the loss of your father. Do you happen to know the name of the rug? Is it the Orwell?
I LOVE THAT CANE! And I love that all the old furniture is coming back. I’ve been hunting a place to put an old retro Emmanuel chair. (glad you’re back, grief can be an SOB)
So pretty! I’m so glad your back! I’ve been checking the blog a couple of times a week in anticipation of when you’d return. (I swear I’m not a stalker. Haha!)
Anywho, beautiful post! Can’t wait to see what else you’ll be posting. Take care!
Family comes first! Xo Prayers and condolences to your family. —The doors turned out lovely! All about the texture.
Amazing! It really turned out great!
Absolutely brilliant – never ever would I have thought to do that – seriously awesome. ♥
Thank you for wonderful details!
This is such a beautiful project! I appreciate your openness about your grieving process! It really is the S.O.B. of all S.O.B.’s!! I’ve been there and all I can say is feel it and face it and take care of yourself. Your work is stunning and it’s great to see you back at it!
Kristen, any chance you can share wheee the actual mdf doors are from? I don’t think the link is working for me. Thank you and beautiful job!
Sorry for the delayed response! I am not sure what you are referencing… I built the doors myself with stock lumber from the Home Depot.
Love how this turned out! How did you attach the wood divider between the machines and the hanging space? Is it secured to the wall? Thanks!
Yes, it was attached to the wall on the non washer/dryer side. I believe I used L Brackets… It has been a little while and we no longer live there, otherwise I would go take a look! Sorry!
I’m so sorry about your Dad. This is really a beautiful project! Wondering if you could share where you got yourLucite pulls from?
Thank you 🙂
Thank you. I made them myself. I ordered rods via Etsy & plumbing hardware from the UK via eBay.
Hi! Love this so much. What door hinges did you use? Love that they are concealed and I am having trouble finding ones that are intended for a door and are affordable (including install labor).
We actually used heavy duty cabinet hinges. Three per door. Added benefit was the soft close feature!