Ideas for Laundry Rooms: Naptime Makeover

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It’s not sexy and exciting, but most of us have one. It’s easy to ignore, but you’re probably spending more time in the laundry room than you would like. When was the last time you stepped back and thought about design ideas for laundry rooms? For me it’s been a while; although I did have a client about 4 years ago who was very particular about a jam making station in her utility room – safe to say she was more domesticated than I am.

ideas for laundry rooms

I have a crisis going on in my laundry room, and I’m pretty limited on space, time and budget. But, I like to dream a little, so lets see what fancy people with time and money are doing and get some inspiration before I get stuck into another Naptime Makeover.

Ideas for Laundry Rooms

Jumbo Scale:

Caliterra Parade Home - Dripping Springs, Texas
 
This is one serious laundry room, designed by Texan based Architects, Geschke Group. I love the herringbone floor, it makes all the difference to this space; and you can’t go wrong with traditional shaker cabinetry. Do notice the barn door in the foreground with the black hardware, perfect.

Small Scale:

Living Spaces
 
We don’t all have Texan scale laundry rooms, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be tidy and stylish. This is a laundry cupboard – double doors, a modern counter top, a couple of cabinets and a little bit of bling with the backdrop… and why not.
 

Traditional

Holley Residence
 
If you love traditional, country, beachfront homes, check out the rest of this gorgeous house designed by Geoff Chick & Associates. The painted shiplap and open shelving bring a cosy comfort to a luxurious pad. And don’t forget the traditional laundry baskets.

The Clean Look

Courtsfield Ave.

No room in my house has ever been this clean, however the look is enhanced by the shining white work surfaces and the bright white mosaic wall. This more sensibly scaled room is the work of Barlow Reid Design. I love the idea of having a hanging rail, and there’s something wonderful about a ridiculously neat pile of folded fluffy towels. Or is that just me?

For a more Masculine Look

Clean Lined Transitional Home
 
If you need a bit more bachelor pad into your laundry room, go dark cabinetry, stainless steel, black countertops and tiling to match. But hang on… these guys have double machines – yes, people actually do that! Not so bachelor pad now are we Mr Practical Family Man?

For the dog lover

Roswell Home
 
A bit like jam stations, I had no idea this was a thing – a dog washing station in your laundry room – it sound dangerous to me. Just make sure you’ve put away the clean laundry before you get the dog wet. I absolutely love the blue subway, it goes perfectly with my pooch’s eyes. I can’t resist, here’s just one more…
 
Home in Toronto 8
 

Ideas for Laundry Rooms – Naptime Makeover

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However mundane it may seem, the laundry room is the first room I see when I get home and the last thing I see when I go out. We, like many, have a laundry room that connects the garage to the rest of the house, so it’s essentially our welcome lobby. This is what I, and any guests arriving from the airport, see when they enter my house…

laundry room ideas

“Welcome to my humble abode… did I tell you I have a Architecture degree?”

Yes, in the 18months we have lived in our home I haven’t even managed to remove the efficiency sticker from our washing machine. Time for an intervention. I have a very tiny space, a timescale to match, and a pretty non-existent budget, but surely anything’s an improvement on the above?

I decided my main problems with the space were:

  • Clutter. Since I had the Twins, my organizational skills have gone out the window, and I’m suffering from a major case of Chaotic Mom Syndrome. I definitely need to do some sorting, it’s a mess.
  • The Cabinets. They are the cheapest, most basic cabinets you could get in 1987, complete with plastic handles.
  • Lack of anything pretty at all.

In de-cluttering I also thought about storage. I had a good browse of various storage boxes, baskets and bags – things that would be practical, yet bring some style into the space. Then I had to tackle the cabinets. I decided the only advantage of the crappy cabinets I had was that they were flat, so I decided to alter them to create a shaker style cabinet door. Here’s how I went about it:

Creating Shaker Cabinet Doors from Existing Flat Doors

DIY cabinetry

  1. Cut 3 inch planks from 5mm plywood. I used a ‘project board’ piece which costs less than $10.
  2. Fix the plywood strips to the face of your cabinet doors using cabinet tacks (tiny nails). I tried using ‘heavy duty instant grip adhesive’ and it was a nightmare. You need so many clamps to hold it while it sticks and it peeled off overnight anyway. Nails work… although as you can see by the picture, you curse a lot because those tiny nails bend easily! And I lost my tape measure so was stuck using the one from my sewing kit.
  3. Fill the cracks between planks and the tiny nail holes using wood filler. Sand when dry.
  4. Prime and paint.

To be honest, I surprised myself with the outcome. They looks great, and it cost a total of $30 by the time I had bought primer, paint and wood filler. I even had a couple of new handles left over from our kitchen remodel so that cost me nothing.

Nap time Makeover Results

This was a bigger makeover than one nap time, especially because I had paint drying time to account for. But I did finish over a couple of days and it’s totally worth it. Here’s the result:

laundry-room-makeover

It’s not high glamour but it is tidy, and the splash of blue with the storage baskets makes all the difference. I even have somewhere to hang my bag, which is needed now the Twins enjoy pulling everything out of it. The cabinets are quite the transformation, although difficult to see in the pictures due to our fluorescent light – I think I’ll look into changing that and get myself a prettier light fitting to go with my prettier laundry room. I spent very little and picked up the extras bits to finish it off from Target. I even used my Red Card and saved an extra 5%, winner winner chicken dinner.

Total $98

laundry room makeover

 

For a couple of hours work and less than $100 I think it went pretty well. What do you think? Feeling inspired to do something about your laundry room?

twin-pickle-signature

 
 

 


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About the author

Katherine is an electrochemist, hiking enthusiast, and family lifestyle blogger. As a mom of three, including twins, she enjoys DIY, travel, and eating good food. British born, Katherine moved to the US in 2014, and now called Las Vegas home.

20 thoughts on “Ideas for Laundry Rooms: Naptime Makeover”

  1. Wow. You’re make over looks ace. I wish I had a laundry room. Our washing machine is down in the cellar with all the junk and gardening things. On the plus side, nobody every has to see it. #EatSleepBlogRT

    Reply
    • It was one of the fancy upgrades we got moving from UK to US, although it does become another place just to dump stuff! ?

      Reply
  2. I wish I could makeover my laundry room, but I’m in a rental. There’s not a whole lot I can do. 🙁 However, I love these ideas for when I purchase a house. These are some gorgeous rooms!!

    Reply
    • It’s an easy space to neglect because it’s not ‘public’ but you likely visit it multiple times a day. Spruce it up and enjoy 🙂

      Reply
  3. I wish I had a laundry room! Unfortunately I have to put up with the washing machine and dryer being in my tiny galley kitchen! But if I did have the room it would be all about having the one with a dog washing station – no more dirty paw prints all over the house!

    Reply
  4. I chuckled when I saw your handbag hanging up in the new room, like its your office. I don’t mean that rudely, I love it, you’ve supersized your own space, somewhere that makes chores a little easier and somewhere to breath! and I love DIY projects. Go Girl!

    Reply
  5. Oh wow, I didn’t know that laundry rooms could be so large scale – they are great, wish I had one like that. Great ideas and inspiration, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Hello, I bought a new home few days ago. I started decorating my bedroom so I am in need of some interesting ideas that can help me to make my home more beautiful. You have shared really awesome ways to décor my bedroom. Thanks a lot…

    Reply
  7. Hello Katherine, Wow amazing ideas!! I really liked the way you are design your laundry room. I will definitely use this tips to make my laundry room stylish.

    Reply
  8. What a nice laundry room! Thanks for sharing this post. Actually I love this traditional laundry room. I will have a new laundry room soon so I excited to create a traditional laundry room. If you want to know about it you can follow this article.

    Reply

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