Monday, May 16, 2011

Laundry Room Makeover

Part A:  Cindy's Inspirational Laundry Room Redo

A couple weeks ago I was surfing around for photos of board and batten and came across this laundry room transformation:

Wowsers!

I just love how bloggers can inadvertently change a room in your house just because they shared what they did in theirs!

Part B:  My Own Laundry Room Makeover

The Before

My own sad little laundry room had a very similar layout and I had an ah-ha moment. I too could put board and batten on my boring wall opposite the washer and dryer.  Next thing you know I found myself at Home Depot buying mdf, and at various other places to collect up everything I needed to transform my messy neglected laundry cave:

Not a very inspiring room to keep clean (or finish painting for that matter!)


Right off the bat I was interested in seeing what the little room would look like if I took the doors off the cupboard. As you can see below, it was really nothing more than a big junk collector. I cut out some paper trim and taped them up into the corners to see what that would look like. If I did this, I'd want it to look finished and I figured some trim would help.

Paper "trim" taped up to see what it would look like


The After

Less than two weeks later, I now have a laundry room that is a pleasure to walk into! I don't even mind my old washer and dryer.

The paint colour is "Delicate Moss" by Debbie Bliss

I removed the door which helped make the little room feel more spacious

Taking the doors off definitely added to a feeling of openness and space

Handy hooks from Walmart for hangers of clothes I need to air dry

Cafe style curtains replaced the mini-blind to bring in more light and yet give privacy from the neighbour's driveway (and unsightly green fence!)

A sweet vintage cut out from a children's book from Abundant Curiosities at Etsy.com

I used plain old white semi-gloss paint right off the shelf

A little applique design of mine to add some cheer

My daughter found this vintage recipe box in a thrift shop last summer and I couldn't help but display it here
Maybe it's obvious to some, but the beadboard is actually paintable beadboard wallpaper.  I chose to use the Wall Doctor brand by Graham and Brown, made in England, and found it at my local Canadian Tire.  I compared it to the Martha Stewart one sold at Home Depot (which is NOT prepasted - NO thank you!) and found the Wall Doctor one to be of a superior quality.  It was super easy to work with and well worth the money.

In case you're wondering where the heck the laundry detergent is etc., I keep a jug of detergent on the floor, and bleach and fabric softener up in the closet in the next room (the back entry).  I don't use those much, so they don't need to be super handy.

A poochie approved place to store the laundry detergent

A few baskets hold dish towels, dish cloths, and single socks.

Easy to grab dishcloths in a basket (my kitchen is close to the laundry room)

It's a pretty room to do laundry in, and I find I'm keeping up on the clothes washing much better than I used to!

4 comments:

Chris Kauffman said...

That open cabinet is the best change ever , it is such a happy room .
Chris

Screaming Meme said...

Great job...and thanks for stopping by and watching that video...lol I still watch it every day and laugh...lol So, fun! Xo!

Unknown said...

I absolutely LOVE your shelves! I don't have any shelving or cabinets above my washer and dryer, but I'm planning to steal your idea and hopefully get it done in the next month. I'll let you know when mine are done and share the link to my blog post of how they turned out :) Thanks so much for sharing! Great job!

Heidi said...

NN, please do share the link when you're done, I'd love to see it! And thanks for the compliment! :)

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