2 MODERN RUSTIC
1. TASTEFUL TEXTURE “A laundry room doesn’t have to be serious; I wanted to have fun with texture and make it a playful space,” says designer Orsi Panos of her choice to include walnutlook veneer upper cabinets, heavily veined quartz countertops and slate-look porcelain floor tiles in her clients’ Whitby, Ont., home. She tempered the look with high-gloss grey base cabinets and sleek hardware, which provide a modern edge.
2. NEW NEUTRAL Using the clients’ existing navy washer and dryer as the jumping- off point, Orsi painted one wall as well as the laundry room’s exterior door in a corresponding blue hue. “At the end of the day, navy is a neutral to me,” she says. “The colour is subtle enough to work with different materials, and it also complements grey nicely.”
3. HANGING AROUND After draping damp clothes on cupboard knobs for a few too many years, the homeowners were desperate for an upgrade. Orsi installed a wall-mounted drying rack, which she says was a worthwhile trade- off for less cabinetry space.
4. FULLY FUNCTIONAL The designer was careful to maximize every square inch of space, adding a custom countertop above the washer and dryer for ample folding room, budget-friendly upper and lower cabinets for housing bulky items and pretty baskets and canisters for catch-all purposes. DESIGN, Orsi Panos Interiors, orsipanos.com; CONTRACTING, KMH Contracting & Design; Cloud White CC-40 WALL PAINT, Old Navy 2063-10 ACCENT WALL & DOOR PAINT, Benjamin Moore; CABINETRY, RUNNER, DRYING RACK, CABINETRY HARDWARE, IKEA; COUNTERTOPS, AABA Granite & Marble; Kenmore Elite WASHER & DRYER, Sears; FLOOR TILES, Whitby Tile Centre; LIGHT FIXTURE, FAUCET, The Home Depot.