ironing board cover {plus laundry room reveal}

My parents helped us paint the laundry room earlier in the summer, so this "reveal" is way overdue.  It just took longer than I thought to get everything the way I wanted.  The final touch was a new ironing board cover to pull everything together.

I found several tutorials on Pinterest, but they were all basically the same.  The most tedious part was threading the string through the final product.  And since I used the string and toggle clasp that came with my previous, worn-out cover, all I had to pay for was the fabric (which I got for 50% off...a long time ago).

Isn't it the cutest?  Definitely brightens the place up.


So here's the other DIY stuff I did (and let me just give you a warning...there are no windows in my laundry room and the only source of light is fluorescent, so these pictures aren't the greatest).

Here's the corner where the ironing and cleaning supplies hang.  The rack for my ironing board has a basket on top that holds the iron and spray starch.  Above the other rack is the upcycled laundry room sign I made awhile back.

And I still love it, crooked letters and all.  :o)

Next, the area we affectionately call "the stockpile."  Just some extra groceries and small appliances that we don't have room for in either the pantry or the cabinets.  The small yellow basket on top is where I throw cleaning rags, cloth napkins, and other dirty items.  And the white dishpan below is where I either soak stained clothes or (in this case) stash clothes waiting to be ironed.  You'd think with the new ironing board cover I'd be more motivated to take care of it.  Oops.  And to the left of all this is a big bucket of homemade laundry detergent.  I've been making my own for about nine months now and it's been working out great!

Next, my husband's grilling tools station.  Why?  Because the tools were too bulky to fit in our kitchen drawers and we didn't want to keep them out on the porch.  I found the rack at Goodwill several months ago and it works great for this.  I just can't figure out what to put in that little pocket on top.  :o)

Next, the other side.  Here's some embroidery hoop art I came up with.

I found the hoops and "check your pockets" hanging on Etsy, and I had the fabric on hand already.

Next, the area above the cabinets.  This used to be a dumping ground for a bunch of random stuff, but after we straightened out the storage room in our garage, we were able to transfer some of it out there.  I got the cute vintage fan on Etsy, the "love is patient" plaque at Target, and the watering can from Goodwill.  The storage bin is an old diaper box I recovered with part of a canvas dropcloth.  It looks like it's fully lined, but it's not; I cheated and just hot-glued hemmed fabric strips all around it.  It currently holds our 12-cup coffeemaker; I love my Keurig, but I bust out this older model for when we have people over.

Just have to show the cute rug I found at Ross last fall...really does wonders to take your attention off the ugly vinyl floor.

And finally, a cute grocery bag holder my mom made for me.  It's made out of the same turquoise fabric I used to fake-line the canvas bin in the picture above. 

Okay, so in case you were curious, that's what my "new" laundry room looks like.  :o)