When I first bought, My Old Historic House, in 2006, there were no real working utilities and especially , no laundry room. At first I only camped out there on weekends, so having no washer and dryer was not a big problem. There was a space for a laundry room. In 1945 the second owners of the old house, the Bankhead Sisters, closed in a small section of the side porch and made a first floor bath room. This was the first time the old place had a working, inside bath. I chose to rip that bath room out, as the space was right off the kitchen. I chose to use this space as a pantry/laundry room. It was not much of a room, only 6 foot by 7 foot. The floor was full of holes where the bath room plumbing had once been, very roughed in. The walls were cheap paneling and there was no insulation. After a massive overhaul. new sub floor and floor, new drywall and then bead board paneling, new electric, new plumbing and fresh paint, the new laundry room/ pantry was ready to move into. While I had my carpenter there and had his full undivided attention, I added a small broom closet, lots and lots of shelves and installed a wonderful old antique, step back, pantry cabinet. This all took place in the fall of 2008. The two years before that, I spent a lot of time and all my money, buying and collecting for the new room. I chose to use English Brown and White Transfer ware, brown pottery, brown and white French Toile and brown and white gingham fabric. because I was always buying this stuff there never was a budget for the actual work on the room. I was moving into the house full time and there was no way I was going to a laundry matt, so it was important to get this done. It took about 2 weeks, a few days I actually slept in the house with a wall missing, where we had removed a window
.
Transfer ware is a process where, a design, printed on tissue is applied to wet ceramic. When the ceramic is fired, the tissue burns away, transferring the pattern to the ceramic item. This was made mostly in England for the American market. Some American companies made it as well. It was an iron stone ware, or soft paste pottery. Was most often used as everyday ware. Some house holds, in rural areas used it daily and was the best they had.
Brown pottery was made by many companies. Most common ones were, USA, Morscroft, Bennington and Rockingham. It is so named for the dark brown glaze. Some times darker than others. The only design was usually a pushed out pattern on the clay before the glaze was added.
Toile is a type of fabric that is well know and most originally came from France. It can be many different types of fabric, linen, cotton, silk or even velvet. It is a simple definition. One color on white with a pastoral design. I chose brown and white, to go with the transfer ware. In these pictures it looks a little burgundy. I had a really hard time finding the brown and white. I found it on Ebay.I also used brown and white gingham,2 sizes of checks. My Dear Sister made the curtains and I had her line them with the larger check size. . The curtains on the side are in place of a door for the small broom closet I added at the side of the Antique built in cabinet. I also lined the Antique cabinet, inside with the smaller brown and white check fabric. I cut foam board to size, glued on the fabric and pushed them into place. Easy to change some day.
I chose and antique oil hanging lamp for the ceiling light. The micro wave is on the top of the step back antique cabinet. I used white washer and dryer. I hide the laundry stuff in a white metal laundry box with lid, that I found at World Market. Not an antique, but looks right and every thing is out of sight.
The laundry room is always a favorite when I have tour groups. Some say they have never seen a prettier one , anywhere. Others say it would be fun to do the laundry if you had a room like this. The last pictures are of the view of the laundry room from the kitchen, so you can see where it is located. Also ending with Buddy Boy, asleep in his basket, by the kitchen fireplace. Please come for a tour anytime. Bring your laundry if you want. I will leave the light on and Buddy will always have time to say hello.
