Cheery Laundry Room Revamp for $425

12 Materials
$425
3 Days
Easy

Low-budgets are a boon for creativity, especially in a small, dark, windowless basement laundry room!

Our laundry room. Boy, the before sure is sad.


It was a complete package of dysfunction. Everywhere I turned, from its demure size, very low ceiling, to issues in every location, it was a hugely frustrating room.


All that has changed now and I am super excited with how it turned out! With planning, patience, study, and thought, I was able to turn this room's frown upside down for about $425 and in compressed time, surely just a weekend.


To read the whole series from start to end, drop by Flipping the Flip here! Lots of great tips throughout this whole series of posts!

First, several things in the room needed to occur before I could get to the cool fun stuff.


I needed to set the vent draft blocker (such the excellent product!) closer to the wall. Next, have the gas line into the room shortened. That is out of my DIY purview but thankfully I have a great handyman neighbor. Lastly, the laundry machines became unstacked.


The excitement was building, now to work my tiny budget into magic!

Paint prep commenced -- I sprayed the electrical box cover with primer and painted right over it with white latex paint. Next I decided to color block two of the walls using paint I already had on hand.


Be sure to drop by Flipping the Flip for more on this project as well as lots of other great tips and budget-friendly ideas!

Using this incredibly cool end grain wood stencil, I patterned up the first wall one sees when entering the room. Next, I will be stenciling my whole house with this pattern, I love it so. I used the same color as the color blocked walls.

I installed a new light fixture that spreads light throughout the room....

....and reworked the ubiquitous white plastic laundry utility tub sink into something much more stylish using wood lath and wood dowels.


Again, all of these projects are on my website for you to read further in depth!

Last few steps here! I created a small pegboard from scrap wood to hold brushes and tools. Super easy to make and hang -- some wood, drill holes, pound in some dowel pegs, and screw it to the wall.

The biggest expense was the waterfall counter I built to enclose the machines and give the room some much needed flat surface for folding and resting things. This thing has been a boon and well worth every cent!

Adding some wood shelves here! I have a small shelf unit tucked away hidden from sight next to the sink to hold laundry related items so these shelves are purely decorative.


Don't forget to customize your shelf brackets (and anything else you'd like) with some spray paint like I did here.

With a little decor from around the house or other inexpensive locales, it's done! What a huge difference and what a dramatic change!

It functions now, it's practical, and from a design standpoint, while it once was sad and dreary, it's now happy and cheery!

This wee room has come miles!

I'm so thrilled with it! Laundry has never looked so good.


Don't forget to come by Flipping the Flip for more on this project and a slew of other great projects!

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Becky at Flipping the Flip
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  3 questions
  • Hope Hope on Dec 19, 2021

    Hi...

    The laundry room looks fantastic!!!

    I LOVE the wood-grain stencils!!! Where did you get them..?

  • Boo Hubacher Boo Hubacher on Dec 23, 2021

    it looks like the sink blocks access to either the washer or dryer.

    also, dont you need more clearance above the washer and dryer ?

  • Ticia Ticia on Jan 29, 2022

    I'm sorry; I meant to ask what are the dimensions of the room . Thanks

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  • Ticia Ticia on Jan 28, 2022

    looks good. Would you mind sharing the dimensions as I have a stackable unit and would like to do something else. Thanks.

    • Thanks! The dimensions will vary depending on your available space, your plan, and needs but I built ours at 30" deep by 83" long by 40" tall which left about a 6" gap between machines for storage.

  • Sheila Bishop Sheila Bishop on Dec 17, 2022

    We splatter painted our laundry/storage room. I couldn’t love it any more!

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