Giving the laundry room any attention other than removing some ugly hooks was not on our home update shortlist. . .oops. Luckily, you can make a pretty big difference in a space with some creative thinking and some PAINT. I’m so pleased to have our little laundry room upgraded a bit since it’s a pretty public and hardworking space on our main floor. I have to use and look at it every day! Thank goodness that view just got prettier (and more functional). ☺️
The Walls
The walls were a yellowy shade of beige that got even more yellow in all the sun that lights up that room every day. I grabbed the rest of the Alabaster paint we had one evening while Ryan was taking a phone call and started trimming out the room. Then, we were pretty committed. 😂 The whole room got a couple coats after we removed a number of items from the walls and patched some holes—instantly a cleaner look!
The Cabinets
Let’s skip right to the point—laminate cabinets are very functional and usually not cute. First, I removed the cheap plastic “hardware” and spray painted them matte black.
I had the roomie remove the white cabinet fronts and sand them with his electric sander using a light grit. After that, he used a small roller and gave them a coat of Extreme Bond Primer from Sherwin-Williams. Next up? Two coats of the gray cabinet paint that we happened to have already.
Once those had been given plenty of time to dry–and the cabinet bases themselves had gotten painted and dried–the doors went back up and the hardware was reinstalled. Voilá! Cuter look already.
The Game Changer
When we removed a weird card holder box (or something?) that the former owners had mounted to the wall behind the washer, we realized what an eyesore our washer hookup really is. It’s got a yellowed plastic surround, is quite large, and is high enough on the wall that it was hardly concealed by the machine itself. I wish I would have closed the washer lid in the before shots so you could get a better idea. 🤦🏻♀️ Either way, enter the roomie and his self-trained carpenter brain!
Ryan got to work building this amazing shelf that completely conceals the hookup and even extends fully to both walls. Getting it flush on both sides was my main request and he made it happen using primed MDF board and a bunch of plaster. In hindsight, he says he could have used caulk instead of the plaster—so consider your options if you’re thinking about recreating this! He painted it with the same leftover cabinet paint and I think it looks SO sharp. Clearly it’s the biggest change in the space.
The “Accessories“
The laundry room is decently spacious but also kind of a goofy size. I thought about putting a rug in front of the washer and dryer and then another in front of the door to the garage, but that didn’t seem like our best option. I knew I wanted a little warmth in the room and I found that in this 5’x5’ jute rug from Home Depot. I may eventually layer another rug on top of it, but for now I’m really happy with its size and thickness in this space! Really makes it feel as complete as it can in this state.
Even though I thought I was ordering a hook rack large enough to hold ball caps in the nursery. . .I’m glad these little H&M hooks are perfectly sized to fit our keys and already the right color. I would have bought something similar anyhow, so I’m glad this accidental purchase worked out! Same goes for the little metal black baskets. They were also a tiny surprise from H&M when I imagined they would be much larger. Without trying, they ended up being the perfect size for our new laundry shelf! Hey-O! That’s a win in my book when paired with a plant I already had.
Lastly, I just needed finally spray paint our calendar frame and find a black hook to hold my purse for the time being. On the single trip to Target I’ve made since early March, I found this one and pulled the trigger. There are cuter ones out there that I could have ordered online and waited for…but this was instant gratification and it works! Yay.
Someday I’ll add some art to the space to bring in a little color. We’ve also toyed with the idea of removing the door to the room and adding a sneaky (cute) shoe system in its place, but for now we made minor, affordable changes to just make it a more appealing and functional space. We’re so happy with how it turned out with a little teamwork!! Proud of us. 💕