Planning: The Laundry Room

OK - most folks don't get excited about a laundry/utility room.  But, when revised architectural drawings made clear that this was possible by cheating a bit of space from newly-created basement guest bedroom/walk in closet - I leaped.  Alternatives - laundry vertically on the 2nd floor in a small closet (fear of leaks, desire for full sized units and dedicated space) and in the basement in a wide shallow closet (pretty confined, no sink) were easily discounted with this option - fairly cost neutral given the basement floor was being broken up to accommodate the new bathroom.

Also to keep in mind - I've had less then desirable laundry accommodations the last several years:

• London 1:  centrifuge washer/dryer (one unit) in the kitchen (which was about 6ft by 10 ft!)
• New York:  college-esque basement units or "same day send out"
• London 2:  centrifuge washer/dryer (one unit) under the stairs in the unheated ground floor foyer
• Chicago Apartment: college-esque communal units

So -- I'm disproportionally excited about a laundry/utility room.

Goal for this space:  Airy, light, bright, open-feeling - and functional.  I don't want to put my money here - so the choices will be fairly budget-friendly.

Tile:  ($4/sq foot)  white porcelain rectangular shaped tile with pale, pale grey lines.  It is actually much more white then the photo depicts.

Sink:  ($300) - a deep wide basin.  I'm stealing the faucet from the old kitchen. (free!)

Countertop:  A simple stainless counter - running seamlessly over the washer/dryer and sink basin to create a great workspace - similar to that shown below (houzz):

Shelf:  No expensive cabinetry here - a couple of simple white-painted shelves will run the length of the room, similar to this example (houzz).  I love open shelving, but couldn't make it work in the kitchen.  Here's my shot!

Lighting:  The lighting will be pretty "wow" - but not at a wow price ($85/each).  It's the middle fixture (Troy) below - in that fabulous blue (the blue should be roughly the same color as the accent on the furniture in the basement family room):

The fun accents in the room will be red (detergent container, stool, artwork).  So - the bones will be pale - grey, stainless, white - but with some serious pops of color!

Now off to find my washer and dryer!