{Before & After} The Laundry Room. Again.
It wasn’t really our intention to redo the laundry room again, but, um, LIFE.
Call it part spilled liquid detergent, part washer that died on Cyber Monday and you have a recipe for a little sprucing up in the lights and darks department. The original, original laundry was such a sad state of affairs. It was the land of blah, so we painted the walls aqua, added some peel-and-stick faux wood flooring, installed some shelving and called it done.
Then came the day that I left the liquid detergent (this was pre-homemade detergent days) on the dryer. There may have been some choice words yelled and a husband that was none too pleased. After mopping up that mess for like the 1,891st time, we thought we had it licked. Until the peel and stick flooring started to peel and not stick. So, we busted out a few new pieces of it, cleaned the floors again (we thought) and reapplied.
Massive failure.
Then, the freezer started leaking. Insert lost cause. Last summer, we finally replaced the floors with faux wood tile. You might remember that from the guest bath reno. It officially became my new favorite room of the house.
We skipped all the way to November crushing on this room until the washer died. Well, technically it didn’t “die,” but because we were looking at nearly $700 in repairs to kickstart it again, we cashed in on the Cyber Monday deals and scored a great washer/dryer set. After typing that I realize now that I am officially middle-aged. Le sigh. I opted for the top loader because I always hated the front loader. Our laundry room is the pass-through from the garage to the house, so leaving the door open was never an option. Mildew, I was so over it. They had a good 11-year run, though!
After my massive nesting binge, there were a few more touches I added. This wire basket got relocated from the pantry to house everyday cleaners I’m always needing (glass cleaner, carpet spot remover and Clorox wipes).
These two frames got the boot from the boys’ room so I whipped up some art, including those super confusing laundry symbols, and hung them on the wall. That might just be my favorite new addition. The “wash ’em, dry ’em, put ’em up” is something we say often around here, usually when we refer to the bedtime routine with the kids. It’s like dishes, we say, wash ’em, dry ’em and put ’em up. If you’d like to purchase that art, buying information is at the bottom of the post.
Everything else stayed the same: party supplies (here’s a few details on how I did it), cleaning products, detergent supplies and our message board for invitations and special announcements. Each item is housed in a different basket and the zones have really helped it stay organized, except on laundry day. That day it resembles a tornado.
Here’s the side-by-side before and after. It almost makes you WANT to do laundry, doesn’t it? Aqua, pretty art and tile floors have that effect on people. Happy washing, y’all.
Project details:
White baskets/shelving: The Container Store
Silver bucket: The Dollar Store
Red bucket: Wal-Mart
Wire basket: Crate & Barrel
Paint: Kingston Aqua (Olympic)
Ironing pad cover: Etsy
Ironing board/iron over-the-door hanger: The Container Store
Magnetic message board: Etsy (no longer for sale)
Laundry symbol artwork: me! ($5 for the set of 6, 5×7 printables, leave your email in the comments and I’ll send an invoice via paypal, followed by the PDF artwork)
For more home renovations, click on over to the Before & After page!
LOVE the artwork – especially the instructions. Who decided to use hieroglyphics on laundry labels anyway? You’re a genius. Consider me a prospective buyer, waiting for an invoice 🙂
Love the artwork and I really like the laundry symbols. I’m pretty sure they will help teach the kids how to do laundry. Please email me at Debbie@maketodaymatter.net!
Thanks.
That faux wood tile is genius, isn’t it? Love.
I keep trying to convince my husband that it is a good idea to make the laundry room pretty. It’s not just for me. He does laundry too! It should be a place where you aren’t dreading to walk into. Love the tile, love the aqua, love the baskets, love everything! Where is your iron/ironing board over the door hook from?
Just updated the post!
Thanks for the update!
I basically want all of my organization ‘stuff’ to look just like yours. So any other awesome PDFs you have and want to sell, I’m your girl! They say imitation is the highest form of flattery….. 🙂
Waiting for the invoice!
Leslie ’98
lpjchew@gmail.com
I scored on my new washer/dryer set 2 years ago. I had #5 in the sling at Sears, and the salesman says, “How about this set?” I said, “Ah…I have 5 KIDS…do you have anything BIGGER?” He sold me the 2nd biggest set on the floor, LOL. Then I said, “I really don’t like white. Can’t I have have the custom color set (light copper/bronze color) for the same price. You know…it’s Mother’s Day this weekend (normally a $200 upcharge). He said, “Sure..we can do that.”
BEST MOTHER’S DAY PRESENT EVER!!!
My husband and I left the store, and he said, “How did you do that?” I said, “I may have batted my eyelashes a little bit.” 😉
So yeah. Funny how a new washer and dryer can make a mother SO HAPPY!
We are redoing our laundry area this summer (ours is in the garage, so not really a laundry room). This post is awesome! super need setup inspiration.
Also – we still have an ancient, highly functional set. Glad to see I’m not the only person who appreciates a top-loader (the water, we’re in CA, I know…). So much easier for cloth diapers by the way. I’m not replacing my set until well after I know we’re done with CD.
Total inspiration!!! We just had to get a new washer in the past couple of weeks….opted for the top loading too. I’m off to container store ASAP to get that over door thingy for the ironing board….been looking for one!!!
Now paint color…..and stuff for the wall….
Oh yay, so glad you’re offering to share these beauties!
Dkuboushek@gmail.com
Your laundry room looks amazing! My next home will not have the washer and dryer in the basement..:
Love the room!! One question you have 2 jars of laundry soap? What is in each one? Thanks
One is regular laundry soap (combo of washing soda, borax and fels neptha); the other is for baby laundry (combo of washing soda, borax and oxi-clean free).
Oh ok awesome!! I make the regular Laundry soap never thought about a different baby soap! thank you! Oh also do you make your own Fabric softener?
I don’t make my own softener (I just use a dryer sheet in the dryer), but I know there are lots of DIY versions out there!
Love the printables!! Please email me.
Thanks 🙂
Hi, I just loved your printables. Can you please email me how to get them?
I love the printables! Just what I’ve been looking for! Is it possible to get them different colors?
[…] Make it accessible. We installed a magnet board in our renovated laundry room. It houses important coupons, school paperwork and invitations. It’s super convenient because […]
I came across your blog post today. Exactly what I needed as my Laundry Room is the pass through from the garage, too. If I ever get around to working on that room, I’ll probably be ordering the artwork.
I would like to purchase your laundry room printables, if they are still available! My email is klcg@comcast.net
Thanks!
They are! I just sent over an invoice (ignore that first one!). Let me know if you have any questions.
[…] ev-er-y-thing. We’ve slowly made our way through the house. The kids’ bathrooms, the laundry room, the family room, the office, the garage, the closets (oh yes, those too) – always putting […]
[…] ev-er-y-thing. We’ve slowly made our way through the house. The kids’ bathrooms, the laundry room, the family room, the office, the garage, the closets (oh yes, those too) […]