Down the garden path

In most cases, closing the door to the clutter in a child's room or a laundry room is enough to make it disappear. But, what to do when there is no door?

"Recently part of a remodel, this house features a laundry room that is open to the main hall on the lower level, so it's unavoidably there," says interior designer Jon Hattaway of MJ Berries Design.

"The intent was to distract the eye from the functionality of the room and make it more aesthetically pleasing."

A repeating mosaic on the floor acts much like a garden path, leading the casual visitor through the space.

"The wallpaper, with its swagged curtain pattern, continues the work of distracting the eye and creating a sense of traveling through the space, while the painting of the two girls hung intentionally low is the view that the other elements lead to," says Hattaway.

Visually intact, the space needs to work for a family of three growing children. Miele appliances and ample storage and counter space address the functional requirements.

Story by: Justin Foote