Laundry room update - under $250
Updating my home on a budget is the driving factor behind a lot of my designs. It would be great to splurge all the time, but when you have a young family, and a home that needs a lot of work, you have to budget and plan accordingly.
The laundry room is ultimately a dumping ground for dirty laundry, keys, backpacks, shoes and other junk we all drag in at the end of the day. I personally spend A LOT of time in this room with three family members laundry (and one on the way), and I was sick of having to stare at this drab and depressing space. I don't need marble floors and a chandelier but simply a coat of paint and some organization that would make the space feel a little more inviting.
We completed this look for under $250.
Step 1: Painting the cabinets
I painted our cabinets (at 33 weeks pregnant) in a little over one day, using the left over paint from our kitchen renovation. The color I used was called "crisp white," which was actually a Dutch Boy paint color mixed in Sherwin Williams paint. Its not complicated, just time consuming with the drying. Starting in a small space like a bathroom or laundry room is a great way to work your way up to a larger project like a kitchen (if you dare).
Remove and label doors.
Lay out doors in your workspace and label hardware in plastic baggies.
Lightly sand front and backs of doors and cabinet (degrease doors and cabinet before if in kitchen or somewhere exposed to grease.)
Remove excess sanding dust with a damp cloth (let dry completely).
Apply 2 coats of 123 Bullseye Primer to doors and cabinet. Allow for an hour or more drying time in between coats.
Using an angled brush and a mini foam roller, apply 3 coats of Sherwin Williams paint to your cabinets and doors.
Allow over an hour of drying time in between coats, sand any drips.
Allow 24 hours of drying time before hanging doors once complete.
My husband added the same hardware we have in our kitchen to the laundry room.
Step 2: Painting the walls and door
We painted the walls of the laundry room using a Sherwin Williams color, "Reflection" in Pittsburg paint (egg shell finish). Now, I am a big advocate of Sherwin Williams paint but I just didn't have room in my budget to buy a $60-$70 gallon of paint for my laundry room. The Pittsburg paint cost me $21 and covered beautifully. I don't recommend "cheaping out" on the paint all the time by any means.
I also painted the door in a fun blue/green color to give the laundry room a nice pop of color. I chose Sherwin Williams "Waterscape" as the color. I simply picked up a sample of it for $7.99 at the paint store and still had enough to paint my pumpkins for fall! Here is a step by step of how I painted my door. I applied 3 coats to the door using an angled brush and foam roller.
Step 3: Applying the peel and stick wallpaper
I picked up a roll of peel and stick subway tile from Target for $34.99. Now, I would love to have real subway tile in this room but right now, with a baby on the way, dropping $1,000 on tiling expenses just isn't in the cards, this was the next best thing. The rolls are 20.5" wide by 16.5'. All you need is PATIENCE, an Exacto knife or cutting tool, a clean shower squeegee to smooth and a bottle of windex.
Apply a decent amount of windex to wall, do not rub in. This allows the vinyl to move around freely until you are ready to smooth.
Cut amount of paper needed for the space, leave an inch at the bottom that you will cut off with a craft knife.
Peel back 3 - 4" of the wallpaper backing and carefully line up starting from the top.
CAREFULLY smooth using your hand and your squeegee, don't be afraid to carefully pull off the wall and start over if there is air bubbles or the paper is'nt straight.
Smooth all the way down and cut off extra with craft knife.
To apple a second piece, overlap slightly and repeat steps.
Step 4: Accessories
I loathe the washer hookup behind our washer and dyer, and unfortunately this if very expensive to move. Instead of moving it, we hung a modern farmhouse style curtain rod, directly into the bottom of the cabinet. I then purchased two valances from Target (both on clearance) and simply hung them on the rod. PROBLEM SOLVED!
I picked up two rugs from At Home Stores, for $22.98 total! I hate our laundry room floor, and getting some new linoleum is next on my list (or ceramic hexagon tile), but this wont happen for quite some time. I shopped my house for the farmhouse metal sign, wooden script sign and the laundry room mirror.
I also wanted a brighter light (and nicer looking fixture) in the laundry room as it gets ZERO natural light. I found this oil rubbed bronze piece on Amazon for $19.80!
Grand total: $246.63*
Wall paint: $21.00
Door paint: $7.99
Primer: $ 7.99
Rugs: $22.98
Hardware: $10.00
Door Knobs (3): $70
Peel and Stick Wallpaper: $34.99
Curtain Rod: $31.00
Curtains: $10.44 each (2)
Light: $19.80
* I already had the squeegee, windex, cabinet paint, sandpaper and wall art.
