Well friends, it’s time for the grand finale in the laundry room makeover series! Have you been following the first 3 posts in the series? The lint bin has been a huge hit!
 Lint Bin |
 Organized Pet Station |
 Free Laundry Room Printable |
There was nothing truly “wrong” with the room before other than disorganization & blandness.
And you know what DOESN’T make a room exciting? Doing laundry.
To counteract the blah involved in washing clothes, I knew I wanted to go bright in this space.
Before I started, I set a budget of $100 including paint, a rug, decor & organizational bins.
My inspiration piece for the room was this great rug from Target. I loved the colors, the size, and the price – $16!
Doesn’t the room look happier now? The lint bin is so cute AND functional. The fitted sheet printable was a freebie from Creative Type Designs. It looks good and totally supports my laundry philosophy. 🙂
Did you notice the new cabinet door hardware? Take a peek at it, then scroll back and compare to the before picture. The cabinets look so much more finished now.
I was shocked at the difference. I got the pulls from D. Lawless Hardware with a gift card I received at the Haven Conference. BUT, they are super affordable for anyone. The ones I picked (here) were only $1.99 each. I’m kinda in love with them.
Speaking of love, I’m obsessed with my big WASH letters.
They are just cheap chipboard letters from Hobby Lobby ($1 each during the 50% off sales). I sprayed the front with hammered metal paint, then trimmed the edges with pink craft paint.
From the other direction, you can see the coordinating DRY letters.
I made the So Fresh and So Clean printable when I needed something else for this wall. Both printables are in old frames that I painted with leftover trim/cabinet paint. I’m learning how handy it is to have leftover paint that matches all your cabinetry!
The lower cabinet in the above picture is our new pet station. Click the photo below to see the full post about it.
The room is pretty narrow, so my options for the back wall were limited.
Several months ago, I found a red argyle triple wall hook system at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $4. Even though it didn’t match anything in our house, I knew I could give it a makeover. I used the same white trim paint on the frame, then covered the red argyle with navy linen card stock that I found in my craft stash.
The new hooks fit perfectly between the doors.
The scariest part of the room before was hidden behind the cabinet doors.
The only thing we routinely used out of the left cabinet were the dog’s heartworm pills & the light bulbs. Everything else was junk, most of which could be totally purged out of the house.
The pills & a few other Maddie items were moved to the new pet cabinet, and the light bulbs were organized into three separate bins.
They were moved to the right side cabinet. That meant I had a whole empty cabinet to turn into a cleaning cabinet! That kinda makes it sound like the cabinet actually cleans things. Wouldn’t THAT be nice?
Most of these are the supplies that got kicked out of the kitchen when I did the under sink organization. I’m gradually switching to more natural/homemade cleaners, but have some stock we’ve been using up. On that note, feel free to send me your favorite DIY cleaner recipes!
Pssst: A few years after I originally wrote this post, we set up a whole household closet including cleaning supplies. Don’t miss that!
The bins on the middle shelf were clearance red & green holiday baskets from last year. You’ll see a red one in the next before shot. I already had some teal & silver spray paint, so the baskets were another free part of the room. The labels are scrap dry erase vinyl from my menu board.
Here is the right side before. It had all the laundry supplies, random cleaning supplies, and those baskets I mentioned.
Now all the laundry supplies are on one shelf!
You can’t see them in the pic, but the laundry pod bin actually has loose Honest pods in it. We just reach in and grab one to throw into each load. The pod basket was about the only functional part of the room before.
The second shelf now has a key part of every laundry room – a lonely socks club basket!
How the heck do socks get so separated and where do the missing ones go? It’s gotta be life’s greatest mystery. The clear tub is the one that the light bulbs used to be in. I cut a quick label for it with some silver scrap vinyl. I also had room for the lingerie washing bags on the second shelf.
The top shelf is now home for all the light bulbs.
I used photo boxes for organization. I LOVE these boxes because they are a great size and CHEAP when Michael’s has them on sale. I separated the light bulbs into old school (incandescent), new school (fluorescent & LED), & just weird (random bathroom/ceiling fan bulbs).
And yes. I totally spelled weird wrong on the label. I might fix it eventually. Maybe.
I am thrilled to report I came in under budget for the makeover!
Budget & Source Breakdown
Wall Paint (ACE Valspar Dip in the Pool): $30
Rug (Target): $16
Wash & Dry Letters (Hobby Lobby): $7
Hammered Metal Spray Paint: $6
Lint Bin (Staples): $12
Pet Cabinet Bins (Target): $14
Wall Hook (Hobby Lobby): $4
Total Spent: $89!
Here is one last look at the before & after:
2019 Update: This space is getting a total overhaul after our $89 served us well for 5 years. See how to plan a laundry room makeover here next!
Jenny Stark says
Love this!! great job yet again! seriously, after seeing all your room makeovers, I want to get a plain and simple house and have you come over and help me create a fun living space for our family! beautiful work!
Melissa George says
You are so sweet! And that would be so fun. I’d totally do it if you were closer. ☺
Katie @ addicted 2 DIY says
It’s gorgeous! I would totally be more motivated to do laundry in there with a bright and cheerful new space!
Rana says
I really love the way this came out. I would love to have space like this.
Dawn says
Love the room, Melissa! So much more fun doing laundry in a cheery space. The printable looks perfect in there. I have that very same rug. 🙂 I LOVE the lint box idea!
Melissa George says
The rug and your printable go together so well! Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda @ The Bay Bush says
Looks great! I love the paint color!
Julie says
You have some great ideas and inspiration in this makeover. I love the new door pulls, and the dog supply cabinet is great! I have a laundry room that is in dire need of a redo…
Melissa George says
Thank you Julie!
Erin says
Such a cute laundry room, Melissa! I’m sure it’s much more fun to do laundry in there now! That rug is really cute, and I love the organization and “wash/dry” letters from HL!
Katie @ View From The Fridge says
I LOVE those WASH and DRY letters!! I am obsessed with them, too! And the whole room looks wonderful! Can you please come do mine next? You would be appalled at what it looks like right now. And the lint bin is great … love that font!
Melissa George says
Absolutely! I need to come back to visit Minnesota anyways. ☺ Laundry rooms are fun because they are less intimidating to tackle than a big room!
Courtney @ Crafts by Courtney says
This room looks AMAZING!! You have done a fantastic job, I would love to go in here and do laundry and I HATE doing laundry. So that’s saying something. I really don’t know which part is my favorite they all look great.
Courtney says
Love it, so fun! What machines do you have, and do you like them? I want to redo my laundry room!
Melissa George says
I do love them! They are LG machines and we loved that they don’t have a control panel sticking up from the back. For the great features and great looks, they were a great price too. We’ve only had them about a year, so I can’t comment on the durability (other than so far so good!) The washer is top loading, but doesn’t have an agitator so it holds a TON of clothes at once. Which is great until you have to fold or hang a TON of clothes at once 🙂
The women of westwood says
This is so pretty and organized! Haha “Life is too short to fold fitted sheets” i love it. The washer and dryer seem so compact too. At first I thought they were the miniature kind (not sure the exact term for those) until I read your comment about them holding a lot of clothes. I might have to invest in a similar set. I just love it all good job!
Melissa George says
Thanks so much! The washer and dryer definitely help the room feel a little larger because they are so stream-lined.
Ashley @ 3 Little Greenwoods says
Oooh, I love the wall color! So bright and happy! “WASH” and “DRY” are my faves too!
~ Ashley
Nichole Williams says
Omg I love this room! I want to steal this paint color for my laundry room. Question: on the chip it looks kind of green, but in the photos it looks turquoise. What does it look like in person on the walls?
Melissa George says
It’s very turquoise! We have zero natural light, so it may look different depending on the lighting. I love it in the laundry room, but it is definitely a bright color. My husband was a little shocked at first. ☺
Tara Boettger says
I love the lint box! I always have a plethora of lint just sitting on top of the dryer!
Gina says
Oh I just love it!!!! What a happy room!!!
Carol says
Hi Melissa, I love the improvement! One thing I noticed that wasn’t mentioned in your post is what you did with those brooms and mops that were originally against the wall. Did you move them to another part of the house? I’m trying to find a solution of where to keep indoor brooms/mops and vacuum cleaners. I’m thinking about using one of my hallway closets as a “utility closet” to house the heavier duty cleaning items.
Thanks!
Carol
Melissa George says
Great question Carol! I actually meant to mention that and must have forgotten. We bought a wall rack thing that holds handled tools back we moved into this house, but never hung it up! I decided we could put in on the garage wall right next to the door into the house. So when I need the broom, I should be able to reach out and grab it without having to even step into the garage. The REAL behind the scenes answer for where they are RIGHT NOW is all over the house 🙂 I’ve got one leaning against the wall by the trash can in the kitchen, and two in the little hallway between the garage and laundry room. I think your idea to turn a hallway closet into a utility closet is BRILLIANT!
Chelsey says
It looks wonderful! I actually thought you got new appliances too, for a second and had to double back. But no, the blue paint just makes everything else look so new and shiny. 😛 Love it!
Maureen says
I noticed in the photo before that the brooms and mops were in the photos. They were not in the after photos. Where did they go? I always struggle with mop and broom storage in my house. Any suggestions?
Melissa George says
I realized they didn’t really make sense in the laundry room since it’s a narrow walkway. I had a mounting thing for them to hang on the wall and it’s going in the garage, right outside the door so I can grab them from inside the house. Although that hasn’t happened yet, so for now they are in a hall closet with the vacuum.