When Remodelista contributing editor Meredith Swinehart began planning for a big move from her longtime San Francisco Victorian apartment into her boyfriend’s early 2000s condo in nearby Emeryville, she started by scoping out available real estate for her furniture and essentials: a niche for her rolling desk, pantry shelves for her baking tools, and empty wall space for favored artwork. But there wasn’t an obvious available spot—or any spot at all—for one particularly unglamorous necessity: the litter box for her two cats.
On the plus side, the new digs had a dedicated laundry closet—a major improvement from the SF apartment’s coin-op basement laundry—and, almost fortuitously, its existing washer and dryer had seen better days. So Meredith and her boyfriend agreed to upgrade the appliances with a stacking set, buying the cats some unobtrusive toilet space in the process. Let’s take a look at the transformation.
Above: The finished laundry closet has a new high-efficiency stacked laundry set (the LG electric Washer and Dryer are $764 each from the Home Depot), plus wood shelves, a pegboard, and a plywood laundry-folding table that doubles as housing for the litter box. Two wood peg rails—a long rail mounted overhead on the closet’s inside wall, plus a shorter one at left—are painted in Behr Coliseum Marble and hold hangers used for air drying clothes. (Meredith covered the hangers using an old cotton bedsheet; see $10 and a Day: Justine’s DIY Closet Makeover, Fabric-Wrapped Hangers Included for details.) Above: Meredith took the DIY route with the overhaul, and started by painting over the closet’s cream-colored walls with a medium gray: Behr Granite Boulder. Above: The left half of the closet is hardworking: It’s designed around a tall table that serves as both a laundry-folding surface, with the space underneath serving as a niche for the cat litter box, which is concealed by a linen curtain mounted on a 28-Inch Tension Rod ($4.27 at the Home Depot). Meredith chose black waterproof Phenolic Plywood for the tabletop. The sides are made of a single 3/4-Inch Maple Plywood 4 x 8 Panel cut to size, painted in Behr Limousine Leather in a semi-gloss finish so they’re easy to keep clean. Above: For close-access storage, Meredith had two shelves cut from a single 6-foot Pine Common Board from the Home Depot (price varies by region), and painted them in gray-white Behr Coliseum Marble finished in a water-based Polyurethane ($15.97) for durability. The closet lacked lighting, so a single Incandescent Clamp Light ($8.59) spray-painted in Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel in Almond ($4.25) now illuminates the space. (For step-by-step instructions on this classic Remodelista DIY, see The $15 DIY: The Hardware Store Clamp Light Improved.)
Above: The simplest solution for keeping small items organized and at hand: Pegboard ($9.11 at the Home Depot), cut to size and painted with Rust-Oleum 2X General Purpose Spray Paint in Stone Gray ($3.98). It holds a spray bottle and towels, scissors, and a miniature trash can for dryer lint and wayward threads. Just like the table, the pegboard serves a surprise dual purpose: It hides the unsightly laundry hookups and their accompanying tubes and hoses. (This is typically a job for the stacking washer/dryer, but in this closet, the condo’s emergency water shutoff is on the left wall and couldn’t be blocked.)
Before
Above: The “Before” closet was perfectly functional, but with the remodel, Meredith and her boyfriend gained an aesthetic upgrade and a clever, inconspicuous space for the kitty litter box.
(Visited 1,183 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
What inspired the pet-friendly laundry closet overhaul?
The inspiration for the pet-friendly laundry closet overhaul came from the homeowner's desire to create a space where their two dogs could be bathed and groomed easily.
What were some of the key features of the renovation?
Some of the key features of the renovation included a dog shower, built-in dog bowls, and a custom-built dog bed.
What type of tile was used in the renovation?
Porcelain tile was used in the renovation, which is a durable and waterproof material that is perfect for a pet-friendly space.
Were any custom pieces created for the renovation?
Yes, a custom-built dog bed was created specifically for the space. It features a removable cover for easy cleaning.
How was the storage optimized in the small space?
The storage was optimized with the installation of custom-built cabinets and shelving. The cabinets were designed to fit around the dog shower and provide ample storage space for laundry supplies and pet grooming products.
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.
v5.0
×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.
Full Access Individual Subscription
Benefits include:
Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive the full-text daily newsletters
All features that Members have access to
Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Congratulations on becoming a Subscriber to Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Unlimited access to all three sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive any of the newsletters, including the the full-text daily Remodelista and Gardenista newsletters
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Congratulations on joining as a free Member of Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Access to all posts published in the past year
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
If at any time you want to become a Subscriber and enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to all our content, just go to the My Account link and choose Subscribe.
Advertising funds our work at Remodelista and helps us provide you with a daily dose of design. We hope you’ll consider disabling your adblocker for Remodelista so we can continue our mission: a well-designed home for all.
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation (1)