Instead, I live vicariously through my friend Ester, who has one of the brightest, happiest laundry rooms of anyone I know. I've always loved her bold, confident use of color and pattern. So many of you enjoyed seeing other rooms in her house a few weeks ago that I thought I'd share more photos with you. I might not mind laundry day so much if I had a place like this to make me smile:
Photos courtesy Ester Jowett
If you look closely enough, you'll see vintage clocks and a mobile tucked among the more utilitarian objects. Did you spot them? Did you find anything else? I might have missed something.
wowzers. is there anything that Ester doesn't do 110% ?! that is one inspiring room! I don't have a laundry room either, the machines are right in the garage with a set of cabinets and usually a mountain of laundry next to them. *le sigh*
ReplyDeleteOMG - the bathroom we kids had that kind of wallpaper (I think the dots were smaller) in one of our homes (we moved a lot) - my folks thought it was funny, I thought it was classssss-eeeee. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to do my laundry there! =D
ReplyDelete@stacey: I'd say 110% is being conservative. Ester is more a 200% kinda gal. :) She's working on a couple of rooms upstairs now, and I can't wait to see them when she's done. The master bedroom has been a year or so in the planning stage so she could find just the right paint colors and accessories. She's told me that the light fixture is a large Dale Chihuly-inspired red glass number, so I'm expecting nothing short of spectacular.
ReplyDelete@DearHelenHartman: Ester is crazy about polka dots, and she can pull them off in a way I never could. She manages to make them look classy and a little stark and edgy. I think it's the way she pairs them with unexpected paint combinations and accessories.
ReplyDelete@1950sarh: Me too! It's such a cheerful place that I'd almost look forward to laundry day.
ReplyDeleteCan I do laundry at Ester's also? Tell her she has the cutest and prettiest laundry room I've ever seen.
ReplyDeletecute cute cute
ReplyDelete@Tanya and Bandita: I'll pass the message on to her. She's always a little leery about posting pictures of her house, because she took part in a home tour several years ago, and someone who had no manners (and even less understanding of mid-century design) wondered loudly why the house had been selected and said, "I threw out junk like this!" I'd give my next-born child to have "junk" like Ester's. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! That makes me want to do laundry - seriously. My laundry room is very small and lame. This inspires me to do something with it though. I too admire her use of bold colors and patterns!
ReplyDelete@Rhan Vintage: I've always told Ester that she's the most fearless person I've ever known with color. She has an art degree, and she knows far more about color values than I do. One of her greatest joys is poring over paint chips, figuring out just which violet looks perfect for the ceiling in her blue room and what the sunlight will do to the colors at certain times of the day. That's why her house looks fabulous, and I'm known as Ms. Blah Tan Walls/White Ceilings here! :)
ReplyDeleteWow that is fabulous. I don't have a laundry room, but if I did I'd want that one. I love the polka dots. And what a great idea, to take major risks with a small room that guests don't alway necessarily see.
ReplyDelete@monogirl: I think what I like best is the way the polka dots look with the black and white tile floor. I would have been afraid to try to pull that off for fear it would be too much, but it actually looks great. Ester can visualize things so much better than I can.
ReplyDeleteOf course Im lusting over the polka dots plus the unexpected color/pattern combos, but the dork in me is loving her indoor clothes line!!
ReplyDelete@JessicaLeAnne: I've been waiting to see if anyone else thinks that the clothesline is as cool as I think it is. I've got to talk her into taking pictures of the other side of the room too. It has even more good stuff!
ReplyDeleteGee, I am overwhelmed at the positive comments! Thank you all!
ReplyDeleteThis laundry room is the smallest room in our house and I spend a LOT of time there. My intention was to make it a happy place to be, and to find a way to store the enormous amount of stuff I use in this room, without it looking cluttered, as well as keeping continuity with the rest of the house. It's not just a laundry room, but a sewing/craft/gift wrapping/fixit center, and there is a place to do each of those things.
That is terrible to hear people said unkind things about Ester's home. People can be rude. I think your blog is a "safe" place to show more pictures of what I am sure is a gorgeous and jealousy inducing home. Hint, hint. (More pictures, please)
ReplyDelete@Tanya: Did you see the post I did about a month ago called Wretched Excess? It had several pictures of her house. When she finishes the upstairs remodel and redecorating, I'll ask her for photos of what she's done.
ReplyDelete