Space of the Week: Whimsical Wallpaper Adds Personality to This Hardworking Mudroom

When interior designer Elizabeth Gill finished working on this laundry room last year, she already knew fluff-and-folds would not be in its immediate future. "This project was completed as part of a design show house, but I envisioned that it would be occupied by a family and their pooch," she says. The home is located in the leafy suburbs of Washington, D.C., and this room opens up directly to the outdoors. So Gill knew that simply outfitting a corner with a washer and dryer wouldn't make the most of its potential. It would have to be a mudroom, too, complete with a comfortable spot to take off shoes and remove outer layers.

"I designed this project from just a footprint of raw space," she says. "I wanted it to be both practical and playful, starting with puffer fish wallpaper in deep gray and off-white as the focus." That puffer fish wallpaper, created by Abnormals Anonymous, was specifically chosen for its statement-making appeal, and set the tone for all other decisions. "Although this paper is quite whimsical, it has an elevated color palette," she says. "That transforms the space from an ordinary mudroom to a place that anyone in the family would want to spend time."

The cabinetry and extra-long storage bench were painted in Cadet by Sherwin-Williams to match, while Roman shades bring the warm gray hue to the windows. Near the door, a custom dog nook has a freestanding lucite shelf for mealtime—plus an original lithograph of a four-legged subject by George Rodrigue.

While Gill could only imagine the type of family who would get to use this mudroom every day, she still thinks it has tangible lessons to share. The most important one? "Take a risk," she says. "When you infuse your personality into a space, you will end up with a unique place of your own that will always bring you joy."

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