laundry Archives - Dunne Interiors

May 15, 2020

Laundry Gallery

The Laundry Gallery

Photography: Janis House Photography

Home Tours

In Detail.

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Create The Look

April 3, 2020

The original house was devoid of all street appeal – in fact, when we purchased it you couldn’t even see the house from the street, it was just a metal fence and trees with concrete pavers leading up to a typical 1980s greeny-beige garage door. What I loved about the original house was that it had this symmetry to it with a pair of dutch gables, it had this cottage type character despite being ugly as all get out!

The house was perfectly positioned on the block with such a generous set back that we were able to extend two sections at the front of the house to create a pair of garages and an internal office and leave the entrance to the house where it was originally.

The original house had a really quirky entrance, you entered the home on an angle and walked into a little nib wall which served no purpose. We straightened off the entrance and then created a series of landings out of cypress decking leading up the now central front door.

I love that amongst all of the new, as you walk up to the front door we saved the original corner window – with a fresh architrave it’s the perfect blend of old meets new. Another resurrection of sorts is the planter pot that sits underneath the window. An original terracotta pot that was left at the front door when we purchased the home. Much to all of my trades disgust, that pot was one of the only items that didn’t make the skip, rather they had to drag the thing which weighs a ridiculous amount as it was full of soil, around the worksite to keep it out of the way. But I always had a vision for it, a connection point to the original home with a fresh new look thanks to a coat of paint or two.

We knew that we could make a bold change to the facade by changing the cladding. We pulled the bricks off what was remaining of the front and then clad the entire facade and extension with James Hardies Linea weatherboards. Linea is a fibre cement board, which means they’re resistant to shrinking, swelling and cracking and hold paint better than timber – in short, these are the ultimate low maintenance cladding. With the practical perspective ticked, I love that these weatherboards bring that classic Hamptons coastal feel, but have a modern touch with the clean lines and the deep shadows.

Whilst we picked up on that signature coastal look with the gable ends and the weatherboards, I knew that we were going to give it a real twist when the colour palette came to life. The bold facade is Oolong by Dulux, which came as a shock to (apparently) everyone on site and to every neighbour who walked past who all graciously commented ‘Ooh I didn’t expect that colour’ after they’d been watching the progress. Despite everyone’s initial shock, it’s now the number one element that people comment on and tell me how much they love our bold choice. The colour is a blend between a charcoal and the darkest shade of navy, I love that because of these strong undertones that the colour appears to change depending on where it’s used and the varying light that hits it throughout the day. Its these elements of intrigue that make us stop and pause, to really contemplate is it blue or is it not that I Iove about design.

We contrasted the dark cladding colour with a really crisp Vivid White for all the trims. One of the reasons I settled on Oolong was that it works perfectly with the Colorbond colour Ironstone – the two colours are a couple of shades apart, which means they sit really nicely next to each other, and it meant that we could use a standard colour for all of our gutters and the garage doors rather than having to custom powder coat everything.

We added the brass gooseneck lights from Lighting Collective to really accent the colour palette, and to add a bit of character. This renovation proves that you can take even the ugliest duckling on the street and with some simple cladding changes and attention to detail you can create a home with maximum street appeal.

Laundry Walk Through

Home Tour

Anyone who spends as much time in the laundry as I do will agree that the laundry does not need to be boring. The laundry is often the most overlooked space in a renovation but for a family home this is one of the most hardworking rooms.

The original house had a tiny corridor off the hallway in the kids wing which divided the bathroom and laundry, and had one linen closet – the only storage cupboard in the entire home. The layout was such a waste of floor space, leaving a small pokey laundry with only enough space for cabinets along one wall. By moving one wall we were able to remove the wasted space and create a bigger bathroom and a much bigger laundry which was big enough to have cabinetry running along both sides which is what storage dreams are made of!

I am a huge fan of having oodles of storage in a laundry – this is the workroom of our house, and with adequate storage we are able to keep all of the sports bags and sports shoes, work boots and so much more in this one room. The best bit? All of it is tucked neatly away behind closed doors so that I don’t have to look at it when I come in and out.

Integrated pull out hampers means there is plenty of space for both dirty and clean laundry, which means the ironing doesn’t even have to be up to date, but you wouldn’t know it if you passed by! The hanging rail was a bit of a DIY hack, I used 2 of the rope drawer pulls from Hepburn Hardware that we used on the laundry hampers, and fixed them to the base of the overhead cabinets and ran a simple pine towel through the loops.

With the storage and practicalities of the space sorted, I wanted the laundry to be as beautiful as every other room in the house. I started with the terrazzo flooring from Perini. I love the big chunks in this particular pattern and the mix of greys along with the bolder gold gives it a warmth that most terrazzo doesn’t have. The gold sections picked up the tone in the timber flooring which it butts up to at the junction to the hallway creating a seamless transition. We picked up on this golden colour when choosing the splashback tile, the gold NYC herringbone mosaic. I love the texture in this tile, and the herringbone pattern connects it back to the tile patterns in the ensuite as well. It’s these little connections throughout the home that make it feel so cohesive.

We carried the cabinetry style from the kitchen, using the same colour Dulux Knowing, and same base door profile, but this time without the V-groove in the infill panels. This connects the laundry back to the rest of the home, but gives it its own identity as well. We used a mixture of knobs, handles and pulls, bringing in the hint of black as in the kitchen with the Atticus knobs on the overhead cabinets, as well as the brass jute handles on the full length cabinets and the drawer pulls. I love the mixture of metals and textures in this room and the addition of the jute in this space adds an earthiness to the room.

This laundry renovation proves that practical and pretty are not mutually exclusive.

Laundry Renovation Reveal

Episode Six : Laundry Reveal

Episodes

Need a little inspiration to get the laundry done? Episode six is here and we’re revealing a laundry that I am more than happy to hang out in. If you spend as much time in the laundry as I do then you’ll agree that a laundry should be as beautiful as the rest of your home.

Laundries are often overlooked in a house. It’s that leftover space, it’s a utility room and not a whole lot of budget is given to it. But in a family home it’s probably the most worked space particularly in our family, so we thought why not make it beautiful as well.

We got rid of the old quirky linen closet and storage space and made a much bigger laundry with a whole lot of integrated storage. I wanted the laundry to feel just as much a part of the home as every other room so we’ve carried the cabinetry through that we’ve used within the kitchen and living space to tie the spaces together. I’ve gone with a really detailed floor in the terrazzo pattern which we’ve then picked out the colours from to create the splashback, but also brought it back to just that grounded neutral palette. So it’s got a little bit of character but it’s still really simple and feels like it should fit within the rest of the home.

See more of the laundry

Laundry Gallery

In Detail.

Facade Walk Through

The facade is one of the biggest transformations of this whole renovation. We’ve taken a quirky 1980s house that was lacking street appeal and brought our spin on a modern Hamptons style.

Laundry Walk Through

Anyone who spends as much time in the laundry as I do will agree that the laundry does not need to be boring. The laundry is often the most overlooked space in a renovation but for a family home this is one of the most hardworking rooms.

Laundry Renovation Reveal

Need a little inspiration to get the laundry done? Episode six is here and we’re revealing a laundry that I am more than happy to hang out in. If you spend as much time in the laundry as I do then you’ll agree that a laundry should be as beautiful as the rest of your home.

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