Friday, December 28, 2012

Laundry Room Reveal • The Ironing Board Solution

This is the fourth post in my laundry room reveal series. Click here to start at the first post.

I have hinted that the solution for my ironing board was something new, not in the plans. Well here is a quick photo of me getting ready for Christmas Eve and using my ironing board. (Yes, I am wearing reindeer antlers!)

I posted back in June about many of the ideas I had found on the web. But of all those solutions, (because my space is so small and my cabinets not full depth), the only possible solution was to construct a fold out option from my middle cabinet and lose the storage in the upper half.


Does it look like I have enough extra space to give up that cabinet? I didn't think so either. 

But once my folding counter was temporarily in place I saw a better, simpler, less expensive way. After discussions with David, we refined the idea and decided to try it out. I gave you a clue in my previous post. See that green striped object under the counter? Yup, that is my ironing board.

It resides on a shelf just under the folding counter.

It swings out.......

Gets placed on top and wedges under a trim board screwed into the studs on the wall.

It is is easy to set up, easy to take down and works well. I had wondered if the counter would interfere with ironing and it doesn't at all. In fact, I find I have better clothing positioning because the middle legs are gone. This solution works far better than I anticipated. My old ironing board was always covered with stuff that had to be put away before I could iron. Doesn't happen with this one. 

Here are some of the things we did for this system to work.
  • We removed the legs from a standard metal mesh ironing board.
  • Using a piece of standard wire shelving for closets David crafted a shelf to hang below the counter.

  • I cut a 5/4 thick piece of pine as a holding bracket for the shelf and David screwed little metal plates to hold the shelf in place.
  • We did this before installing the counter so we didn't have to work upside down. This photo shows both the shelf and the IKEA Kvartal track system I posted about here.

  • We used the wire shelf because it is so thin and we were maximizing available height for storage below.
  • I made a bracket out of a piece of pine and screwed it right into two studs. It firmly holds the board in place. The little diamonds are contact paper that hide the screws. I could have filled them and painted over but I wanted to keep access in case future adjusting is needed.

We had considered also installing super magnets but they just aren't needed. The board stays securely in place.

I knew I needed an ironing board in this room and I took a risk with the design. The design was finalized and that ironing board was an issue. I kept my mind open and a solution appeared as the space became defined. Keeping an open mind with a project is a skill I have been working on. Being so very concrete-sequential means I want to stick to the plan - always! I am learning the benefits of flexibility. This is a great inexpensive solution!

Other Posts in the Landry Room Reveal:


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    12 comments:

    1. Brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing. I liked your idea about the track rail system, too. Visiting from Between Naps on the Porch.

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      1. Hello Marilyn, Thanks for visiting and commenting. The track system works extremely well as does the ironing board. Happy New Year, Marji

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    2. Replies
      1. Pays to keep and open mind! Thanks for visiting and commenting.

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    3. Christina @ Floridays MomJanuary 1, 2013 at 9:34 PM

      What a cleaver idea! I saw this on DIY Dreamer and had to check it out. I have the same issue trying to store our iron board, unfortunately I don't have ANY room, but it sure was fun seeing something else figure out their space dilema. Super cute!

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    4. You are a Genius!! I love to iron so I have mine up all the time well hidden in the guest room. Your laundry room cabinets are so organized, they look amazing.

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      1. You love to iron? Can I send you mine? :-) I hate to iron but recognize it is often necessary. In the old laundry room there was a place for the iron to be set up all the time but it got totally hemmed in by other stuff I didn't have spaces for. I couldn't slide clothes over the end but only use the top, if I didn't haven't piled high with stuff. Both those problems have been solved in this new orientation. Because ironing is a secondary chore, it got secondary status in this space.

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    5. Over here from DIY Showoff - what a good idea!

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    6. YAY!! You have been featured at The DIY Dreamer... From Dream To Reality!! Come on over and grab your featured button.. You deserve it!! :)
      http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/from-dream-to-reality-linky-party-49/

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    7. Thank you so much for sharing this great blog.Very inspiring and helpful too.Hope you continue to share more of your ideas.I will definitely love to read. best-ironing-boards

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