Laundry Room Makeover

One of the first things I wanted to get started with was the laundry room.  We could do this fairly affordable and just took some elbow grease.  Also it was a great place to practice. :)

Before

After

A Starting point:

Here's where we started.  Oak cabinets that couldn't fit the detergent bottles and the wasted upper space.  The sink cabinet was a 36" cabinet with little counter space. We got a new washer and dryer when we first moved in and brought in our pantry fridge. 

New Cabinets

Found the sink base at a scrapbook store "going out of business" sale for $20.  Since I had all the extra Ikea wood (see below) I used it to build the shelves for the baskets. I had the drawer base from an old remodel, but it needed some tweaking since it was a little smaller than the other cabinets. These were all white melamine. This configuration gave me more counter space and a little counter between the sink and the dryer. 

The upper cabinets were raised to the ceiling and a 12" shelf was added all the way across.  I painted them and the new shelf a gray color.   I didn't want to even bother with painting the oak cabinet doors, so I just left them off.  The wall color is Valspar Quiet Mint (5003-1A). $30

Tile backsplash, Shelves and some misc hardware (Ikea) $100

Faucet was the most expensive item $120

Countertop

I had this idea to see what Ikea would have for countertops, and I even thought, Maybe there will be a countertop in the AS IS section.  It was my surprise that they ACTUALLY had a butcher block counter top, but you had to buy the WHOLE cart of wood.  FOR $10!!! yes, ten dollars!  So now we had extra wood for other projects too. 

 As you can see there was only one hole in the countertop where I would be cutting for the sink anyway.  The bottom side had no discoloration and would be a great top! 

 With some walnut stain and a few coats of Waterlox, which was the majority of the cost for the countertop, I had a beautiful counter for the laundry room $50

Finishing Touches:

I made some support braces with some scrap 2x10s and plywood for a decorative look similar to some vintage braces that are a fortune.  Now when I was cutting these scrolls on my scroll saw I was yelling at myself in my head saying, "IT'S JUST A LAUNDRY ROOM", but the challenge was met and I got some good practice to do nicer ones down the road. 

I used the shelves for old milk baskets to store dirty rags.  I like to keep my dishtowels separate from the cleaning rags so each basket is for its respective towels. 

Ladder for hanging and ikea hardware for storage.  See below for the ladder. 

 I used some fabric I had lying around to make curtains.  Tension rods are used to hang the curtains. 

Hobby lobby basket on left for the lonely socks and and old tin from an antique store the perfectly fits the dryer sheets. 

Another glimpse of the finished product. 

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Laundry Room Hacks

Decorative Camouflage:

This old pot was the perfect size for the Costco sized Oxy Clean detergent.

 Shelf Protector:

A $3 tray from Lowes.  I used a hack saw to cut the edges then used a Bic lighter to soften the plastic as I bent the tray slowly.  This protects the counter from the corrosive effects of the detergent and catches any drips.  I still had to educate my kids to not put the cap back on the detergent without rinsing it out or just throwing it in the wash.  We do keep old caps to have extra and there is enough room to store them on the side of the detergent. 

I had some scrap pegboard to use for the backing of the shelf area.  I can now use peg baskets to store stuff and extra hooks to dry hats. 

 Make your own ladder with salvage wood:

I had been shopping around for an old ladder to hang in the laundry room, but I did not want to pay that much.  I did have some scrap wood that would do the trick.  I had to carefully measure out the area for the 5 rungs and used a spade bit to sink the rungs 1/2" into the 2x4.  I predrilled the holes for the screws and used washers with the screws to fix the rungs.  A distressed coat of paint later, wa la! A free ladder. I used some hooks and some heavy duty jute to hang the ladder.  I did staple the jute after I tied it to the last rungs to keep it in place.  

Chalkboard Laundry Reminder:

I used an old plastic frame that was spray painted to make into a chalk board for the door. 

The 3M velcro hooks are perfect for the door.  No damage, and with a light frame it holds perfectly. Here is the finished product of my Laundry Day sign: 

In our home, start doing their own laundry when they are 10.

Hooks for this and that, including Ironing board storage:

 And here is a real glimpse of our laundry room, except we usually have bras hanging from the hooks too. :) keeping it real!