To create the mother load of all laundry rooms, this homeowner turned to home-center and catalog purchases.

The Mission: Add bounce, cheer, and fabric softening to a basement laundry room that had all the cinder-block charm of a prison cell. After months of dragging my dirty duds to a Laundromat, I decided it was time to repurpose a basement corner of my 1930s home into a laundry room—one that reflected my love for romantic cottage style. Up first: Paint the walls and ceiling white and the floor tan, colors that magically make the room feel warm and breezy. Next, make the most efficient use of the 12x12-foot space. I fashioned a laundry-folding table using kitchen island legs to fit neatly over the washer/dryer. An assemble-it-yourself kitchen sink and cabinet unit provides soaking and storage space. Vintage containers and curtains complete the cozy transformation.

Make a clean getaway for doing the wash, and it won’t feel like a tedious chore, says laundry lover Meredith Ladik. Here, she stitched wall-length curtains and a table skirt from outdoor fabrics since they are resistant to water and mildew (good for a basement prone to flooding during Iowa storms).