A "Downright Ugly" Bathroom Is Saved Thanks to Added Laundry and Clever Storage

In-unit laundry saves time, money, and trips to a laundromat, especially for households with many clothes or kids. A bathroom with both a standing shower and a tub felt inefficient because the tub was rarely used. Laundry needs led to repurposing the tub space by building a deck on top of the tub casing, using the existing cutout to fit laundry appliances. A plumber adjusted the bathtub faucet to match washing machine fittings, and a vanity with storage replaced the sink. Additional shelving was added, and cosmetic upgrades were done by sanding, priming, and painting tiles to replace intense blue with white and gray, along with painting surrounding drywall a light mint green.

"Those who don't have it might know best: In-unit laundry is a blessing, saving time, money, and trips to the laundromat. If you have a lot of clothes or a lot of kids (or a lot of both) and there's a way to add a laundry station to your apartment or home without breaking the bank (think: portable options or carving out a spot to install a washer), it might be worth it - even if that means creating a hybrid or multifunctional space."

"In Australia resident Jenny Norderyd's bathroom, where there was a standing shower in addition to a tub, the tub felt like a waste of square footage. "With teenagers in the home, none of us ever used the bathtub," she says. What was lacking was laundry, so Jenny decided to build a "deck" on top of the tub casing. It seemed almost meant to be, as the cutout for the tub was the perfect size to house the appliances."

"She hired a plumber to change the bathtub faucet to suit the washing machine fittings. The plumber also helped her to swap out the sink for a new vanity with storage in the bathroom, and she hired a handyman to install some extra shelving in the space. But Jenny also worked on some upgrades of her own, particularly cosmetic ones, as she thought the "before" was "downright ugly" and a "vivid eyesore.""

"For a big visual impact, she sanded, primed, and painted the tiles, changing them from the intense blue to white on the walls and timeless gray in the shower. She also painted the rest of the drywall a light mint gree"

Read at Apartment Therapy