A Laundry Makes Room for a Diva Cat

This laundry room is done shades of understated grays and tans and topped by an elegant chandelier. Its functional features include a granite surface for folding clothes and an ironing board that folds out from the wall. But make no mistake, a cat lives here too — a fact made clear by the cutout in the cabinets below the sink.

Room at a Glance
What happens here: Doing laundry, paying bills, quickly consulting the computer; for the cat: eating and using the litter box
Location: Meggett, South Carolina
Size: About 99 square feet (9 square meters)
Tip: Designer Jodi Crosby says that when designing a laundry room, you should create an efficient work triangle, just the way you would in a kitchen.

Jodi Crosby of Crosby Creations Drafting & Design Services designed this house for a couple. Given the proximity to the South Carolina coast, the homeowners added seaside-inspired colors to the interiors — including the laundry room, which is done in quiet tones of sand and stone. But the last-minute addition of a cat gave the room its unforgettable touch.

Wall paint: Gray Owl, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Silver Strand, Sherwin-Williams; cabinet paint: Dorian Gray, Sherwin-Williams


Crosby shares the backstory: “The husband wanted a kitten for Christmas. The wife searched all the local animal shelters for a tiny kitten to no avail. On Christmas Eve she went online and found someone local who happened to have Highland Lynx kittens. They met at 6 that night and fell in love with Evie — named such because they found her on Christmas Eve and because she is such a little diva.”

Floor tile: Palmetto Tile Distributors




The home was in its last phases of construction, and the couple decided that the laundry room would also be the spot for Evie’s litter box. The wife came up with the idea of stowing the box under the laundry room sink and putting the cat cutout in the cabinet. The doors were already installed, but the cabinetmaker was asked to make the last-minute change.

In Crosby’s opinion it’s a good solution to what can be an annoying problem. “It keeps the room neat and tidy,” she says. “The cat litter that gets kicked out of the box is contained in a place you won’t step on, and it’s easy to sweep out the space and clean it.”

Cabinets: Fain’s Custom Cabinets


But this room is not the exclusive domain of a feline with a big personality — it’s a place where work gets done. The washer and dryer are topped with granite (the lower granite ledge gives the appliances a more built-in look) that serve as a folding station. Crosby added a hanging rod above this counter. “I find that a hanging bar is one of the most requested items for a laundry room,” she says. “People use it for line drying or hanging up clothes just removed from the dryer to eliminate wrinkles.”

The owners added the coastal touches such as the framed palm tree prints.


The couple selected this dramatic chandelier, and the wife added oyster shells to enhance the beachy feeling.

Light fixture: Quoizel


There’s a larger home office, but the wife wanted a small office here for paying bills, checking the computer or looking up a recipe in the cookbooks stored at left.


It’s also a spot where Evie can wait for her owners to return. “The husband took two weeks off work after that Christmas, and he held Evie in a chair in front of the fireplace and spoiled her rotten,” Crosby says. “She chirps excitedly when he gets home, because they are so close.”

Regardless of your fur status, this well-organized laundry is enough to generate a purr of delight.

More:
Houzz Pets: 50 Cats Cozy Up at Home
Get More From a Multipurpose Laundry Room

URL: A Laundry Makes Room for a Diva Cat http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-25362.html