Awash In Vintage

Joyce Foster was thrilled to move her laundry room to the first floor from the basement after she and Allen remodeled. Because the space is much more visible to visitors, Joyce went all out decorating it with a “Day of the Week” theme along with washboards, flat irons and other wash-day paraphernalia from yesteryear. Use her ideas to inspire a vintage look for your modern laundry.

SET A HOMESPUN STAGE.

Employ ironing boards, clotheslines, soap packaging and advertising signs to transport your laundry room to the past. Joyce, who prefers her collectibles in tidy arrangements, positions washboards as backdrops for smaller items. She also assembled a nostalgic vignette of two glass jars—one filled with colorful dye packets and the other with wooden clothespins—a sprinkling bottle and a flat iron.

CLEAR EVERYDAY CLUTTER.

Recruit a weathered hutch or cupboard to store detergents and other laundry necessities. Open shelving attached with industrial hardware works, too. Line the shelves with metal pails, wood crates or wicker baskets to create cubbies and impart a rustic mood.

FOLD AND FLUFF.

Include a flat surface to simplify the chore of folding clothes right out of the dryer. Joyce’s Hoosier cabinet has a pull-out shelf at counter height, but you can improvise. Reclaim a bygone door, butcher block or tabletop, and attach contrasting legs. If you’re short on space, place the wood slab atop your appliances.

TUNE INTO TEXTILES.

Sew simple window curtains or appliance skirts from materials like calico, gingham, gauze and pillow ticking. Scatter a couple of worn towels or folksy pieces of apparel, perhaps aprons or prairie dresses, for a lived-in feeling. Joyce amped up textural interest with clothespin bags that double as wall art, a collection of clothing-shaped pot holders and a braided rug.