Laundry room and dyeing room, a little outhouse at the end of the verandah.
This outhouse is just 5ft x 6ft. But is very important for washing and for yarn dyeing, There is a loo in there too which is handy, plus housing the boiler and fuse box.
It was the first room to get rejigged about when I got the cottage over 18 months ago. But the last to be painted (decorated is too strong a term). The loo was repositioned to make space for a sink and worksurface The washing machine lives underneath with a shelf above alongside the new boiler. This made it a workable space for dyeing. Dyeing in the kitchen is perfectly possible. But large steaming pots of dye and yarn with the chance of spillages is not ideal. Having a dedicated space is so much better.
So it was up and running, but a bit of a mess of new pipes and scruffy walls.
It has taken until now to give it a coat of paint and proper tidy up. Now it is fit to be seen. A simple electric hot plate serves to heat the dye pots. There is also a 5L slow cooker for dyes that don’t want to get too hot. The sink is just alongside for rinsing. These may not be “le fatte and furneyse” of lovely 15th century Agnes Petygrewe featured in a previous post. But this set up works well in a confined 21st century space.
Still a jumble of pipes, but at least they’re painted white now, and the curtain under the sink needs a good wash.
But there’s space for all the mordants, modifiers and laundry stuff up on the shelf.
And there’s plenty of room for dyeing pots and other necessaries to hide under the sink behind the grubby curtain.
There’s even a dash of prettiness on the windowsill. Plus hanging space for more dye gubbins above the loo.
It may not have the period charm of ‘olden times’. But it serves its multi functions very well and is now clean, bright and fit for purpose.