The Laundry
The floorplan shows the "after" version following all of my renovations.
The fact that the unit had a separate laundry was a big plus—most of the time the laundry shares space with the bathroom, hallway or other spare nook or cranny, usually in some very awkward fashion. In this case, the prior owner converted the unit's original second bedroom into the laundry, and turned what would typically have been a screened-in porch into the foyer and the second bedroom.
The laundry's downside in this case was pretty minor: what came with the unit was one of those really old, super-compact stacked one-piece washer-dryers (above); the upside was that there was plenty of room for a full-sized washer and dryer (below).
After disposing of the antique, I had just a bit of minor prep work to do. The dryer outlet was embedded in the floor below the washer hookup, so I moved it to the wall. I also installed a removable access panel over the stop valves, where previously there was simply a gash in the wall covered with masking tape. Then there were numerous shelves and hanging rods for which I had no use, and consequently lots of holes to fill after I'd removed them all.
Kitty Central
The laundry also serves as the new "Kitty Central": there's more than enough space, and since the room would see infrequent use by me, it was an ideal pairing. All I did was add a small exhaust fan to control litter box dust and odor—a trick that's worked quite well in my last three homes.
Next on the list, a cubby. I knew my kids missed the one from their prior home, and I found the perfect spot: an unused opening above the hall closet, the back of which is adjacent to the washing machine. On 1 December 2022, I lined the space with carpet (below left) and then installed a carpeted floor (below right).
With their own door in the door (above left), they have ready access to Kitty Central as well as the new cubby (above right). Zack found it minutes after I'd finished it.
Pris knows it's there, but hasn't worked up the nerve to take the first jump. She'll get there, eventually.