As crazy as it sounds, the room that "sold" me on buying our house was the laundry room. Not because it had a top-of-the-line washer and dryer. It didn't. And, shockingly, it wasn't the wallpaper adorned with clothespins. It was because of these...
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| Photo taken when we bought the house in 2007. |
The laundry room/mudroom is accessible through a small hallway off the kitchen. The hallway includes a door to the side entrance of the house, a door to the back deck and a door to a half bath. The mudroom has a door that leads to the garage. That's a lot of doors!
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| Before: Hallway leading into Mudroom |
A lot of doors means a lot of foot traffic! We are in and out to the garage several times a day. Visitors always enter the house from the side door. In the summer, kids come and go from the back door. (Usually running inside in wet swimsuits to use the bathroom.) The dog is let out and back in a hundred times a day. This small area of the home is a hub of activity!
It didn't take us living here too long to realize that the white floor tile wasn't going to cut it. Well, maybe it wasn't white. Perhaps it was off-white. Let's just say it was never any shade of white for longer than 5 minutes. I'd clean the floor, and inevitably, muddy shoes or pawprints would follow. So our first house project was to replace the tile with something a bit more forgiving.
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| Before: Dirty White |
If money were no object, I would have done the floor in antique terra cotta tile. That's the look I dreamed of for this space.
I seriously considered travertine, until I realized it doesn't tolerate water spills too well. Even if I was super careful in the laundry area, there was a toilet and boys who don't always aim to please. Know what I mean?
So practicality and durability won out, and I settled on porcelain. I chose these tiles in varying tones of, well, dirt...
Can you tell how clean the floor is now? No? Well, I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. That's the beauty of dirt-colored floors :)
Next time I'll show you what happened to the clothespin wallpaper :)
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The new tile floor looks great, even if it is in different shades of dirt. Seriously though, that tile is really nice. Our bathroom tile looks like it literally has dirt embedded into the different cracks within the tile. When we first moved in I seriously though it was dirt and was down on my hands and knee's with a toothbrush and cleaner, scrubbing away... to only find out it wasn't dirt, but the actual tile. ick!
ReplyDeleteHowever that clothespin wallpaper is just GORGEOUS! ;)
LOVE your new floor!! Can't wait to see the other changes! Martina
ReplyDeleteOh how I wish I had a mudroom. I tell my husband all the time that my next home will have to have one. It would be what sold me on a house too. The new floors look great!
ReplyDeleteI think the new floor looks perfect! I love the color and love that it probably doesn't show the dirt like a lighter color. Dogs and kids can get messy! Good job finding something that works so well!
ReplyDeleteI'm visiting from Wow Us Wednesday and looking forward to following you.
Have a great day.
Pam
If only we could find a good looking pizza-colored couch too, right?! I also have 4 boys (18,14,13&7) so I am right with you on choosing surfaces for durability and its ability to camouflage the dirt.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you, cuz, gee, I have to!
The tile is beautiful. I love the rustic look. Perfect for boys. I have two teens and I always went with durable. Thanks for visiting me, and the compliment. I'll be back to see what other changes you make.
ReplyDeleteNice looking tile floor here. You sure have been busy!
ReplyDeleteWhen we built our mud room I must of been possessed. The "rage" at that time was white tile with little colored tile diamonds. Who the helll puts white tile in a mudroom no matter how many kids??? It has since been changed to what we call the dirt road gravel mix.
ReplyDelete~Bliss~