Laundry Room Makeover

Entering laundry room BEFORE

Storage BEFORE

And then my beautifully generous mom gifted us a freezer that I initially thought would be most convenient in here because it’s close to the kitchen. BIG mistake! It has since found it’s place in another part of the house.

WAY too much going on – washer, dryer, freezer, cabinet, supplies, baskets, etc!

So we set out on a mission to give this laundry room a makeover!

This is the wallpaper we chose. It's called "Flying Feathers".

The quality is ah-MAZ-ing!! But the jury was still out on making it work as an accent.

Turns out we didn’t need to. We just made it the star of the room! And what a difference it has made!

Here's a quick video review of the wallpaper.

Applying the wallpaper was easy & required no special tools. I simply mixed the paste that came with the wallpaper and let it sit for about 5 minutes per the instructions.

Apply the paste to the wall NOT the back of the paper & then start hanging the panels in order from 1-9.

This can easily be a 1 person job, but having a helper is always nice!

We didn't want to use the wallpaper in areas that would not be seen much, like behind the washer & dryer, behind the door, or any other area that would be obstructed.

So we decided to start right next to the door. This way, when the door is open it's the first thing you see.

Once the paper was hung, "decorating" was really easy since we had such a major statement on the walls already. I started with lighting.

There are no windows in here so even when it was builder beige it seemed dark & depressing. Now that the walls are actually dark, it somehow seems much more alive & vibrant in here.

We changed out the original florescent light soon after moving in 5 years ago. When we couldn’t find replacement bulbs for the new fixture, I decided I wanted a standard light in here.

When I started this makeover though I wanted to install something really unique. It had to be different, inexpensive, and something I’d actually like.

I had this pendant that I was going to use in another room but it was just sitting in the box… gathering dust… for no good reason. So I painted a pendant base that I already had the same matte gold accent color, and used the pendant for overhead lighting.

***NOTE: It’s really important to get lighting right for the room or space you’re using it in. Since we have no windows in here, I’m using a 5000K daylight LED bulb – NOT soft white – with 1400 lumens. It’s very bright but uses less energy.

We also ditched that wall cabinet because, even though it seems like a great storage idea, it just wasn’t working for us. We kept a lot of random things in there that had nothing to do with laundry. It just wasn’t convenient to reach into a cabinet every time we needed detergent or something.

Not to mention the fact that Mr. Green & I hit our heads 1 too many times. So instead… a little place to sit & hide... ahem, I mean hang out.

And I don’t mind having detergent & things out on “display” – this IS a laundry room after all. And since it just happens out that I make my own detergents – or buy eco-friendly items with nice small packaging – I think they add a little deco touch.

The shelf is a 1×8 cut to fit between the washer & the wall. It's the perfect size for keeping just what we need on hand & a cute little textured lamp – no room for clutter.

And our laundry baskets fit neatly underneath.

I painted the shelf matte gold along with all the other fixtures – the hanging rod & shelf brackets – to go with the gold leaves & lamp base.

And speaking of the lamp… I mentioned that I’d been ordering wallpaper samples for this laundry room makeover months. Some of the samples that I loved but didn’t quite make the cut turned out to be perfect art for this room!

Framing those for the upper shelf fills the space & will keep us for cluttering it up. One of them even mimics the lamp pattern perfectly! These are all from Hygge & West. {Use my link at 4thHouse.online for 15% off your purchase anytime.}

One thing I don’t want on display (other than cords) is the trash can.

We need it for dryer lint but I don’t want to see it! So it sits neatly between the edge of the washer & the back wall.

I also don't want to see cleaning stuff!

The only thing I used to dislike more than laundry is mopping floors.

While we’re looking behind closed doors… see those “feathers”? I let my 11 yo son hand draw them because I refused to hang wallpaper where it would rarely be seen.

Soooo Sharpie metallic pens & 11 yo creativity to the rescue! He had a ball!

We didn't really need a lot of hanging space in the laundry room. Once I hang something, I take it to the closet where it belongs. So I cut the rod in half leaving a little space between the dryer & the side wall for longer items.

Also, what you can't see is a few cleaning items like extra mop heads & dusters hanging on that side of the dryer with a magnetic hook.

We're loving that clever storage!

Thanks to this laundry room makeover, one of the most utilitarian (and boring) rooms in our home has become one of my favorite! I just might find myself spending a little more time in here now. You know… doing laundry!