Utility Bench

   Living in a hotel for a month is not a great experience, albeit the continental breakfast and afternoon cookies can be a fat kid's snacking dream. We transferred to Montana during the height of the real estate bubble and the local landlords were unrealistic about their squalid hellholes. To add to the tension, all of our household possessions were locked-up in a warehouse somewhere back east, waiting for us to find a new address to deliver to.



   During our extended stay, I really started to appreciate the luxurious laundry facilities the hotel offered. There were generous countertops for folding laundry, and being the one who handles our laundry, I took note of the setup.
   Years later, I recalled the Taj Mahal of laundry facilities, and decided to repurpose a leftover countertop to emulate this experience. Our laundry room had housed a large, dated laundry chute from the upstairs that took up an entire wall. This was gutted immediately for the much needed storage space. I also mitred the exposed countertop corner to allow for access to the machines. The edges were finished with laminate and then mounted the top to a simple ledger and brace. When the kids arrived, I shifted the brace in order to fit the roughneck totes underneath.
   I could not imagine our small house functioning without this valuable space. It acts as a staging area for various kids projects, as well as all the other  clutter that a family generates. If the utility sink is one of the most valuable tools you can have during a renovation, then I would have to vote for this utility bench as runner-up. It has provided a conditioned workspace for many small projects such as painting trim and of course, folding laundry.