I never had a utility room growing up, and so when I was viewing this house and saw that it had a utility room, I nearly died! To me, a utility room is a real luxury, and I couldn’t wait to make the space our own.
The existing utility room when we moved in was a little sad, and definitely did not utilise the space as well as it could.
The space could have fitted a lot more storage than it did, the storage that was there was pretty challenging to use everyday (think very deep, very high cupboards), and there was a wall that sliced the small space down the middle, really restricting options and taking up precious room.
When I was thinking about how to renovate this space, there were a few considerations that absolutely had to be taken into account:
- We needed to maximise storage space as much as possible. There was a LOT that needed to fit in here, from all of Zola’s food, treats, medicines to storage for our everyday household essentials.
- We needed a fairly large sink. As the utility room is right next to the front door, I was imagining that it would be a great place to be able to wash Zola’s paws after a muddy walk. So I wanted a sink that she could comfortable stand and turn around in, as well as a sink with one of those taps that come out and extend quite far for easy washing!
- We should re-use leftovers from our Bathroom reno, where possible. Because we had recently renovated our bathroom, we had a few items unexpectedly left over, like the beautiful Porcelanosa tiles. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t wasting any of this and so this informed some of our decision making.
- More plug points please! The existing utility room had very few plug points, whereas the new one would need quite a few to be fit for purpose.
After I had designed the optimal layout in conjunction with our supplier, work could begin! The first things to do were get rid of the wall and completely rip out everything in the room!
It was so good to see the true size of the room without that damn wall in the middle 😅 (and every little helps!!)
Now, all the new wiring and plumbing could go in, and then of course, the room started to take shape as the units began arriving!
Getting the main unit carcasses in was another really exciting moment, because at this point you really do get a true sense of how the room will be coming together.
The work overall didn’t take too long because the room is pretty small, so it felt like a hop, skip and a jump before the room was *nearly* complete, with the floors in, the tiling on the walls, and all the units in place!
The very last thing to get done was the electricals, including our amazing electric laundry rack on the ceiling. This was the final result:
I couldn’t be happier with how we have utilised the space, and its working so well to extend our storage capabilities on the ground floor. I’m also extra pleased with the extra wide sink for Zola to splash around in, and the fact that I now have a candle cupboard!! 😍
Every time I use this room, I get a little buzz of excitement thinking about how we have transformed the utility of this space (no pun intended!). Here’s to many more years of organisation, storage, and clean paws!
