Erin and Jon Carpenter of Charleston, South Carolina, transformed an old laundromat into a community hub and went viral. For years, the couple has been restoring old buildings, and they recently discovered a laundromat in their hometown. “A laundromat was never really on my radar personally, but Jon is a very smart entrepreneur and businessman; he’s always been interested in the concept of a laundromat,” Carpenter explained to Newsweek.
The couple married three years ago and spent their four-month honeymoon traveling in an RV and using laundromats. “Because we worked remotely, we sometimes had to work from laundromats.” “We took so many photos of them,” Carpenter said, adding that they spent a lot of time in laundromats, only a few of which are “cozy and comfortable.”
A few years later, the Carpenters purchased a building in Charleston that had previously served as a community laundromat for over a decade.”It’s a good investment, and they can also be really cool community builders,” Carpenter said.For a few months, the couple took over the local laundromat and ran it normally while getting to know the local businesses and residents.
According to ABC News, they hosted a free laundry event with a local charity on New Year’s Eve last year and temporarily closed the business the next day for renovations. Carpenter stated that they wanted to get to know the community better and learn what its customers needed and wanted, as well as how they could improve it. The couple renovated the laundromat into their ideal community space.
“The first thing we wanted to do was just get rid of a lot of old stuff that had been left there,” Carpenter explained, explaining that removing the old, abandoned stuff that had accumulated at the laundromat for years made a big difference. The couple created a mood board inspired by laundromats and facilities around the world. The majority of their inspirations came from Tokyo or Amsterdam.
“They have these amazing, beautifully designed laundromats.” “You don’t see that as much here, and we wanted to create a comfortable space,” Carpenter explained.
According to the Carpenters, there have been enough requests and donations for several free laundry days at Reynolds Laundry every month.Here’s the TikTok video they made to show the epic transformation of the laundromat: