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DIY Laundry Room Makeover
After starting the initial step of the project over a year ago, I finally decided to finish up the DIY laundry room makeover. Thankfully quarantine gives us time to knock these kind of things off our lists. About half way through this project, I added a major step by building a custom shelf that would rest over the washer and dryer. If you want more detail on that step. You can check out those details here: DIY Laundry Shelf Over Washer and Dryer
Prep, Painting, & Breaking Light Fixtures
To start, I had taped off the wall mounted part of these cabinets and painted them white in April 2019. I decided now, in May 2020, that I no longer wanted them white. I wanted a darker cabinet. So I opted for Sherwin Williams African Gray.
You’ll need to check your cabinets with a small bit of nail polish remover to test if you need oil-based paint. If the nail polish removed does not remove the paint, you need oil-based paint. I have used the Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Oil Based paint on three cabinet projects so far! It’s worked great.
I chose not to paint the insides of the cabinets because, frankly, it was too much work and it wouldn’t really be seen anyway. I sanded the cabinets, cleaned them, and then used a roller to paint them.
The walls and ceiling on the inside of the closet were also painted tan/beige. I painted these white using the cheapest, builder grade paint, Sherwin Williams Captivate interior latex in a flat sheen in color Extra White.
After painting the walls and ceiling white, I changed the light bulbs to a bright LED Daylight 60w Equivalent bulbs so it wasn’t as yellow in the laundry closet. When you’re checking something for a stain, the last thing you want is bad lighting.
I ended up breaking the glass globe over the bulbs during this step. Thankfully, I was able to find a replacement mushroom glass shade on Amazon. The trick here was to not screw it in too tight.
Decor and Finishing Touches
For decor, I found an adorable washing symbols art piece at Society 6. I bought the print only and then cut it down to size to fit into this frame I found on Amazon. Check the Decor List at the end of this blog post for all of the links!
Since this closet doesn’t see any natural light, I opted for a few small faux plants to brighten and liven up the space. The bronze base set is linked here and the white set is linked here.
All throughout my house, I have been updating the cabinet drawer pulls with a more modern matte black set. These are very affordable and really give an updated feel to any cabinet paint project. This version by Probico offers them in sets of 25, 20, 10, and 5.
One of the more creative ways I went about maximizing this space was to hang a small towel bar to use as a drying rack. I don’t hang dry many things, but when I do, I never feel like setting out a big drying rack. Instead I end up just throwing it over the stairs railing. This swing out towel bar with 4 bars was perfect for this space! And, I think the next homeowner will find it useful too! It came with all of the screws and hanging equipment, but a drill was necessary to set the drywall anchors in the wall.
You can check my highlights on instagram for how to hang this! @MeredithGipss
The final look and feel of the updated laundry room was perfect! I built a custom shelf to spread over the washer and dryer. This was fairly easy as I had no experience building ANYTHING with wood prior to this. If you want to make a shelf for your laundry room, you can follow that blog post here: DIY Shelf Over Washer and Dryer
Decor Items List
Parts and Tools List
- Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Interior Oil Based Paint
- Sherwin Williams Captivate Interior Latex Paint
- Power Drill and a Hammer
- Deck Screws (for DIY Laundry shelf only)
- LED Daylight 60w Equivalent Bulbs
- Roller Covers for Walls
- Roller for Walls Handle
- Paint Tray (Large 9″)
- Roller for Cabinets Handle 4″ Roller
- Roller for Cabinets Foam 4″ Refills (Small)
- Paint Tray (Small)
- Paint Brush for Smooth Surfaces
- Paint Thinner (to clean your brushes!)