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I think I’m going to have to buy my laundry room a large “Rosie the Riveter” poster. It’s come a long way, baby!
Since Day One of moving in, I knew that there was a (pun-intended) laundry list of tasks I would have to accomplish to take our laundry room from frumpy to functional to fabulous. Looking at the room, then looking at the inspiration rooms I’d picked out, I felt like I would need a miracle. And chocolate (for the stress).
But after breaking down each task to be accomplished over a several-week period, I managed to get it done. Over time, this room actually came to be something I enjoy being in. Well… as much as one can like being in a room that is specifically made for the task I absolutely loathe to do.
Even Steven: The first task was the large holes and patches that needed repair. When encountering large gaps or cracks in walls, drywall tape works really well to keep the crack or hole from expanding. It comes in bright yellow and has cross-threading to help the patch hold (click here for a tutorial).
Prep and Paint: After a couple tries with joint compound and sanding, the walls were in much better shape and ready to paint. A coat of flat enamel in “Naturale” (made by Behr) went on the walls and white paint went on the trim and window. I thought that the multi-sided and multi-paned window would be a time-consuming task, but it turns out that painting windows is really easy. Painter’s tape isn’t even needed, since the paint can be easily scraped off the glass with a razor blade.
Getting Organized: The shelf above the washer and dryer was plain, unpainted wood, but was a smidge too long to fit on the built-in shelf supports. Just trying to put the shelf back into place wound up severely gouging the wall (giving me even more practice at honing my joint compound skills). I could have sanded it down to fit, but despite the shelf’s length, it was far too narrow for our storage needs. Thanks to our primary bedroom closet makeover, we had additional shelving boards in the garage. I painted the shelf the same white as the trim, measured and cut off the excess, and popped it into place.
For hanging room, we again used the leftovers from the closet makeover and painted one of the poles white (my outdoor patio chairs made excellent supports during dry time). New supports were installed next to the wall on the right side of the window with enough space to avoid hangers butting against the wall.
Ikea has wonderful ideas for very small spaces, and my leftover media unit (from my former apartment bathroom) fits perfectly in the small nook created in front of the washer. Voila! Storage problem solved! A small trash can was also placed next to the unit for dryer lint.
Untile Next Time: The floor has not yet been tiled, but that will change when we finish the laminate in the rest of the house. For now, the “paintover” has made a huge improvement on my least favorite activity, and the results are posted here for you to see!
Before
After
So, whaddya think? Was it the right color, or do you like the blue of the inspiration room better? Any tips on the artwork we should put in here? Feel free to comment :)
Untile next time! ha.
Wow! HUGE improvement! So clean and crisp! Ahh, I never get tired of the miracle of a fresh coat of paint.
Great job!
~Chelsea
Great job on the transformation! I have to admit though, I love the blue of the inspiration room. I like the idea of a pop of color against the white appliances.
Yes, the blue is so calming and pretty! But given that my craft room is a pale blue, I wanted to have some other fun colors on the walls, so I went with pale pink/peach. I felt it was more suited for the warmer colors going into the kitchen (which is right next to the laundry room). I'm definitely going to be bringing in the other elements of the inspiration room, and maybe someday, white appliances will also be on the list! Thanks for the comments!
Some quirky artwork in fun colors would be awesome in there, and I'm in love with the shape of your window!