Blue Flower Granite Master Bath & Laundry from MGS by Design

Last week I posted the Bianco Romano granite kitchen in this home that we did the countertops in. Today I have the beautiful Master vanity and Laundry room. The homeowner chose a gorgeous slab of 2 cm Blue Flower granite for these areas.

Here's the Master Vanity.

Photo: MGS by Design

The edge detail is a 2 1/2" Half Moon.

Photo: MGS by Design

Photo: MGS by Design

And the Laundry Room....

Photo: MGS by Design

Slab Sunday: Blue Louise Quartzite

Blue Louise quartzite is quarried in Brazil.

It's hard to find a more dramatic stone than Blue Louise.  Even if you wouldn't ever use this in your own home I think most people will agree it's absolutely stunning.  It's stones like these that just take my breath away...especially when you really stop and consider it comes from the earth.

Asian Kitchen design by Other Metros Design-build Grayling Construction

Photo: Stone Fabricators

Blue Louise is often sold commercially as a granite but technically it is a quartzite.
Quartzite holds up much better in kitchens than marbles do because they aren't calcium based stones, quartzite is composed of silica.  Silica does not react to acids like calcium does, so you won't get the etching that occurs with marble.
All this being said, quartzite is more porous than granite though.  This is why I would prefer that slab yards label the stones as what they actually are.  Customers need to know exactly how the stone will behave.
Quartzites are still a great choice for a kitchen.  They will stain easier than granite, but I personally haven't come across a stain that we couldn't get out.

Photo: krailler

Photo: Smithdesigns

 Blue Louise can change dramatically in color and pattern from bundle to bundle, and even quite a bit from slab to slab within a bundle.  So be sure to select your exact slabs!  This material is so expensive that you want to make sure it's exactly what you want.

Photo: The Stone Cobblers

Photo: Precision Marble & Granite

Blue Louise is a lot to look at.  My advice is to make sure that your cabinets, flooring and everything else in the room are kept very simple.  The kitchen below is a perfect example of how this stone should be used.

Photo source.

Other names for Blue Louise include: Van Gogh, Azul Portofino, Luisa Blue, Blue Louisa, Blue Louise, Blue Luise, Louis Blue, Louisa Blue, Louise Blue and Luis Blue.

Photo: Smithdesigns

Blue Louise is available in 2 cm and 3 cm slabs. 

Stylish Laundry Rooms

Laundry Rooms have come a long way from the musty basements and dark corners that people used to do their laundry. These days people often multi task the laundry room with crafting, gift wrapping, etc.
Laundry rooms are more stylish nowadays then ever and are a great place to put beautiful stone or quartz countertops!
I'm not sure what these countertops are, but for the same look you could use CaesarStone's Blizzard or Carrara marble.

Photo from Good Life of Design.

This is a really cute and unique laundry room.  The countertops look to be Absolute Black granite.

Photo from Precision Stoneworks.

This Laundry Room is a Parade Home that we did last year in Utah County.  The countertops are Quartz Reflections CaesarStone.

Photo from MGS by Design.

I love this laundry room.  The countertops look to be Carrara marble.

Photo from Corea Sotropa Interior Design.

 These next two photos are from our portfolio, this home was in the Salt Lake Parade of Homes last year.  The countertops are Lagos Blue CaesarStone.

Photo from MGS by Design.

Photo from MGS by Design.

I'd love to have an island in my laundry room for folding!  The countertops are Carrara marble.

contemporary laundry room design

Last is one of my favorite granite colors, Nero Marinace. 

Photo from HGTV.

6 Multi-Tasking Laundry Rooms

Doesn't it seem like now-a-days a Laundry Room is more than just a room to do laundry?  More and more I'm seeing them used as storage areas, craft rooms, wrapping and/or shipping stations, etc.
Check out these six beautiful Laundry Rooms that are designed to do more than just laundry.

Contemporary Laundry Room design by San Diego Kitchen And Bath Tina Kuhlmann

Traditional Laundry Room design by Minneapolis Design-build Warren Home Restorations

Photo: The Enchanted Home

I love this clothes drying rack!

Traditional Laundry Room design by Salt Lake City Kitchen And Bath Quadstar Design

Photo: decor pad

Traditional Laundry Room design by Dc Metro Interior Designer Dream House Studios

What other task would you like your Laundry Room to serve?
Me?   I wish I had LOTS more storage.   I'd love to store extra cleaning supplies and possibly some small kitchen appliances & serving dishes I only pull out a couple of times a year.

Saturday Link Up!

 I'm always finding fun articles from around the web that I want to share with you, our readers.  Every Saturday I link up my favorite articles from the week that I think you'll enjoy as well.
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 Laundry Rooms are often overlooked.  If you are considering renovating yours definitely check out
Laundry Room Renovation Tips on the Rambling Renovators blog.

Photo: Rambling Renovators

 10 Great Ways to Use Kitchen Corners on Houzz has great tips on how to make the best use of your kitchen space.

Traditional Kitchen design by Santa Barbara General Contractor Allen Associates

 I love subway tile wainscoting in bathrooms. It's functional and looks great! Subway Tile Wainscoting Puts Bathrooms on the Right Track on Houzz has lots of pictures that will inspire you to tile up the wall.

Traditional Bathroom design by Minneapolis Artist And Artisan Clay Squared to Infinity

Chocolate Truffle CaesarStone Quartz in a Guest Bath & Laundry Room from MGS by Design

I've been showing pictures of the Parade Home that we did the countertops in this summer.  If you need to catch up here are the links...

• Silver Travertine in the Master Bath.  Oak Bamboo quartzite in the Master Closet.
• Carrara Marble Powder Bath & Galaxy Black Great Room Fireplace.

Today I have the Guest Bath and Laundry Room.  Both rooms have CaesarStone's #6350 Chocolate Truffle quartz for the countertops.   Chocolate Truffle is made from recycled content and has been a really popular color for us over the years.

The edge detail in both rooms is the laminated 1 1/2" Ogee Bullnose.

The Laundry Room is nice and big.  It features a great wrapping station, desk, roll out baskets, lots of storage and a sink.

Tomorrow I'll show you the gorgeous kitchen, so be sure to come back!

Countertops: MGS by Design
Interior Design: Clayton Thompson (He doesn't have a website, email me if you'd like his contact info).
Home Builder: Peterson Builders

FAQ Friday: Granite Countertop Over a Washer & Dryer in the Laundry?

This question comes from Angie in Nevada...
"I'm an avid reader of your blog and with all of your design ideas that you post I now want to re-do my whole house!  :)  I am just about to start redecorating my laundry room though.  I have a front loading washer and dryer and I think it's such a waste of space to not have anything on top of them.  I'd like to put a granite or marble slab countertop across the top of them to give me some counter space in there, I currently don't have any.  My question is, is this possible?  What do you use to support the countertop?
Thanks in advance for your help!"

Thanks for the question Angie.
Yes, it's a great idea to put a countertop over your front loading washer & dryer!  Not only is it beautiful, it's very functional.  The extra counter space is nice, plus it helps prevent all that lint and garbage from accumulating in between them.

Photo: Life in Grace

There are a few different way these can be built.  Some people do have cabinets and then just run the countertop straight across the cabinets and the washer & dryer.
Most commonly, a contractor will build support on the wall and then we usually integrate a steel bar into the stone for extra support.
I also like the idea in the photo above where they added a set of drawers between the machines.  I'm assuming they have supports on the back wall as well.
Another way to build these is to build a box out of wood (you'll notice a couple of the pictures below have done this) and then top the wood with your stone countertop.

Photo: Houzz

traditional laundry room design by orange county design-build Spinnaker Development

contemporary laundry room design by other metros general contractor Weaver Custom Homes

Be sure to give your washer and dryer plenty of room away from the countertop.  Those front loaders can move and shake a lot when in use and you don't want them continually hitting your stone countertop.
This also means do not put the stone countertop directly on the washer and dryer. 

Photo: Casa de Valentina

Photo: Houzz

Photo: A Thoughtful Place

Thanks again for the question Angie.  Hopefully these photos inspire your laundry renovation!

If you have a question you'd like to see answered here send me an email.

Whiteout Wedneday: 5 White Laundry Rooms

White kitchens and baths are definitely the hottest trend I am seeing right now. It's also the subject I get asked about the most. From white Carrara marble to white quartz there is a lot to consider when using white countertops.
Whiteout Wednesday is a weekly feature where I show five kitchens and/ or baths that have used white in a beautiful way.
If you have a white kitchen or bath that you would like to see featured here please email me.
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Today I'm changing it up a bit.  I have five beautiful white Laundry Rooms.

White in the Laundry Room is a great choice.  It's a bright, clean and fresh look.....and isn't that exactly what you should think of in a Laundry Room?

Photo source.

contemporary laundry room design

Photo: White Blossom

traditional kitchen design by seattle general contractor Sarah Henry

contemporary laundry room design by san diego kitchen and bath Tina Kuhlmann