Guess what, we are doing it again!
We are so excited to once again be participating in the One Room Challenge.
If you remember last spring we completed Steph’s entire bathroom in a short 8 weeks.
In addition, we are so excited to share what we plan to accomplish in the next 8 weeks!
We hope you’ll follow along as we transform my dated laundry room and make it much more functional.
Today, we’d like to share ideas for making my laundry room and yours as well, more functional and beautiful!
And a special thanks to our blogging friends who so graciously offered to share their ideas from their laundry rooms.
If you’re new here, WELCOME! You can learn more about us here.
Also be sure to follow us on Instagram for behind the scenes progress and updates!
You can easily navigate through each week of this Modern Cottage Style Laundry Room project.
- Week 1: You are here!
- Week 2: Installing Tile: Practical Tips for Beginners You Need to See
- Week 3: How to Make a Simple Laundry Room Fold Table
- Week 4: How to Make a Broom Closet in the Laundry Room
- Week 5: How to Update a Laundry Room Light Fixture
- Week 6: 8 Tips for Beginners: Installing a Simple Tile Backsplash
- Week 7: 14 Useful Laundry Room Organization Ideas You Need to See
- Week 8: The Best Laundry Room Makeover on a Budget
What is the One Room Challenge?
It’s a biannual event held every April and October.
Each round features 20 design influencers who are selected to take the challenge to be featured designers and transform one space in just 6 weeks!
(However, two additional weeks have been added to this round as supply and demand needs have been altered during the pandemic.)
Additionally, guest participants like ourselves are similarly invited to transform any given space during the same time frame.
Each week designers and guest participants share their progress via the One Room Challenge platform as well as blogs and all forms of social media.
Of course if this isn’t exciting enough, two lucky guest participants with a blog will be selected by the editors of Better Homes & Gardens (who is the official media partner of this event) as Featured Designers for an upcoming ORC event! Surely that would be an unbelievable opportunity!
Be sure to join us each week to check on our progress!
Creating a Functional and Beautiful Laundry Room
Certainly one of the most dreaded household chores is washing and drying load after load of laundry.
Luckily, there are many things you can do to make your laundry room more functional and beautiful while making your laundry days a little more enjoyable.
Often when remodeling a home the laundry room is the last room to get a facelift.
That’s certainly the case in my home.
I hated the way this room looked and functioned from the moment we bought the house.
The room was dated, cold and bland, just take a look at the photo below.
In my opinion, this laundry room was just sterile.
Certainly this space lacks any sense of style with the white tile floors, white laminate cabinetry, white laminate countertops, white walls, the shop-like fluorescent light fixture and the mismatched appliances.
After purchasing a new washing machine and dryer set this year, I knew it was time to bring this room into the 21st century.
With this in mind, I started scrolling on pinterest and looking for ideas from my favorite bloggers for my laundry room makeover.
And I came up with 12 ideas to add functionality and style to my laundry room.
Additionally, I hope you will find inspiration too for updating your laundry room and making it a place you love.
1. Laundry Room Storage Ideas
I believe having enough storage is one of the most important elements in any laundry room.
Whether your room is large or tiny, you can find creative ways to add more storage to your laundry room.
For instance, check out this creative idea from Christina at The DIY Mommy in her laundry room.
Don’t you love how she took an unused space and created a wall of storage with ordinary peg board!
You’ll want to click on the link to her site and see her pullout dry rack and her folding table too.
Likewise, in my laundry room, an unused wall space will become functional storage as well.
So, if you are looking for floor to ceiling storage that’s affordable, Danielle at DIY Danielle has the solution.
Just check out the amount of storage she created!
And did you notice the pet feeding station built in to the shelves?
I think if you are really tight on space, you’ll love this laundry room storage idea from Julia at Tag and Tibby.
Don’t you think this is such great use of space?!
Certainly this DIY laundry cart that Kim at Salvaged Living made with a couple of crates and vintage fence pickets is so creative!
Sharing is caring!
Please share this on Pinterest and with your friends and family!
2. Ideas for Creating a Laundry Room Workspace
Second on my list is the function of the laundry room.
In my opinion, you need to have a workspace where you can sort and fold clothes.
For instance, don’t you love this DIY folding table and sort center from Zoe at Crafted by the Hunts!
You’ll want to click on the link and see the amazing transformation of this space.
Certainly, ever since Steph started adding Navy throughout her home, I’ve been attracted to it.
So I was immediately drawn to this beautiful Navy cabinet and workspace from Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick.
Don’t miss all of the beautiful upgrades Sarah made in her laundry room makeover.
And finally, take a look at this navy blue worktable in Maggie at Maggie Overby Studios.
Personally I think all the color in this laundry room makes me smile.
It’s like a ray of sunshine.
3. Utility Sink Ideas for the Laundry Room
Third is add a utility sink.
This is the first time I’ve actually had a sink in my laundry room and it is fabulous.
I didn’t realize what I was missing, until I had one!
Not only is it great for pretreating or soaking fabric and hand washing items, but I love it for cleaning up after my painting projects.
Also if you have a pet, the utility sink is the perfect place for their bath.
If you’ve got any way to add one to your laundry room I’d highly recommend it.
Certainly this DIY farmhouse sink and cabinet from Chelsea at Making Manzanita it not only cute, but functional as well.
You’ll also find free plans on her site for the DIY cabinet and folding table over her appliances.
And Adam at Lazy Guy DIY has an old industrial wash basin and transformed it with paint.
Do you have a scary basement laundry room that could use some loving?
Then check out what Adam did with his laundry room.
The ideas are fabulous!
4. Add a Broom Closet
Certainly high on my list of must haves in my laundry room is a small closet.
While my laundry room is long and narrow, I knew a small closet at the end of the room would make this space function so much better.
There is just enough space to add a small broom closet where I can store not only my brooms, mops and other long cleaning gadgets, but also just enough room for my vacuum to be tucked away.
Over the years my vacuum has lived in the pantry or coat closet, but no more!
It will now have it’s own place out of the way.
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5. Ideas for Lighting in the Laundry Room
Would you have thought to add a beautiful chandelier to your laundry room?
I absolutely love this idea from Maggie at Maggie Overby Studios!
Without a doubt the right lighting can transform any room.
So, I’ve been keeping my eye out, looking for a beautiful light for my space and I was thrilled to score one at the thrift store for only $10.
I can’t wait to transform it and add it to my laundry room.
Not only will my updated laundry room have a gorgeous light, but we also added a couple of can lights as well.
You can never have too much light!
Another tip is to take full advantage of any natural light filling the room.
Clearly, a light and bright space is so much more enjoyable to work in.
6. The Power of Paint
While I love dark and moody wall colors, I feel a laundry room should be light and airy.
Not only will it make the room feel larger, (and most laundry rooms are small) but it will also affect the way you feel in the space.
It’s important that you feel happy and organized in this space and paint color can affect that a lot!
I feel that Angie at Postcards from the Ridge chose beautiful colors for her laundry room to give it that light and airy feel.
So, if white is just not your thing, try using a soft light blue, or green, or even a sunny pale yellow.
7. Mudroom Combo
It seems to me that a laundry room can have more than one function and adding a mudroom to the space just makes sense if it’s near an entry to your home.
As it turns out my laundry room sits right between my garage and kitchen, the perfect place to add a mudroom feature.
If you’ve been following along for a little while, you remember that we created a mudroom of sorts along the long wall of my laundry room.
We added beadboard paneling with hooks, and that gorgeous wallpaper from Photowall.
Not only has this dramatically helped with the function of this space, but it looks so good, at least on one wall.
You need to see how Maggie at Maggie Overby Studios transformed this storage closet in her laundry room into this gorgeous mudroom area.
Not only did she create storage for coats jackets, hats and gloves, but there’s a little special something in that lower drawer you’ve got to see!
Check it out on her website.
And Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick also added a mudroom bench and storage in her beautiful and functional laundry room.
She’s has so many great DIY projects you can easily incorporate into your own home.
8. Storage Baskets
Certainly in order to keep a laundry room clean and organized, storage baskets, containers and boxes are a must.
Check out a few of my favorite ideas for my laundry room.
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9. Open Shelving
When designing my laundry room, I certainly needed a lot of storage, but I didn’t want it to feel too boxed in and heavy with too many cabinets.
So I plan on adding open shelving.
Check out these beautiful ideas…
Now this almost looks too pretty to be in a laundry room.
Amanda at Love and Renovations has created a gorgeous feature wall in her laundry room with this dramatic black tile and faux, yes you read right, faux marble shelves.
See her website to see how she made them.
And I love this DIY laundry shelf over the washer and the dryer from Zoe at Crafted by the Hunts.
I love how this shelf hides all the plumbing and junk you just don’t want to see.
10. Ideas for Drying Racks & Hanging Rods
Ok tell me I’m not the only one, but when it’s laundry day do you have all of your delicate items and hand wash items lying all over your kitchen counter?
I’ve really never had a spot to dry delicate items.
However, I’m loving these ideas! Check them out!
Of course, I love this simple DIY drying rack from Zoe at Crafted by the Hunts.
It’s such a simple idea that takes minimal space since it folds back up when not use.
I think these pullout drying drawers are brilliant!
In fact, I wish I would’ve seen this sooner.
I would have definitely found a place for this in my laundry room.
Once again this great idea is from Zoe at Crafted by the Hunts.
And if you are really tight on space, I love these hanging rods from Julia at Tag & Tibby that simply fold down when not in use.
She has some great ideas for a tiny laundry room.
Personally, I think this idea is so cleaver from Lora at Craftivity Designs.
Just take a look, a drawer pull hung as a rod for hanging laundry.
Now why didn’t I think of that?
11. Add Personality with Decor
Keeping a laundry room neat and orderly is high priority.
Certainly, the final touches of a laundry room makeover can have a huge impact on the way the room feels and functions, while giving it much needed character.
While adding beautiful storage is important, we also want to add items that are beautiful to look at.
Check out these clever DIY Vintage Tags along with the free printable clothespin art from Michelle at A Crafty Mix.
Adding beautiful decor to your laundry room doesn’t need to be expensive.
Alright, can you guess what this DIY washboard decor is made from?
I would have never guessed, if I hadn’t gone to Michelle’s website.
Would you believe it’s a tin can?
Amazing! Michelle at A Crafty mix is so creative!
12. Add a Rug
Another element that will improve my laundry room is a beautiful rug.
Not a only will a rug helps pull a room together and makes it feel complete, but it’s an opportunity to bring in pattern, color and texture.
And it’s so much nicer to stand on with my bare feet.
Don’t you just love the color and pattern that Kathy at Up To Date Interiors brought into her laundry room with this beautiful rug?
It really warms up the room and I’m sure its comfy on the feet.
The Plan for My Laundry Room
We will basically be starting with a blank slate.
In fact, the only part of my laundry room that will remain the same is the bead board & wallpaper wall with storage hooks.
Of course the old tile will be removed and we will install new tile, baseboards, and door casings.
Then we will remove the old cabinets and bring in new shaker cabinets.
And to make my storage more functional, I purchased a bank of drawers and a smaller sink base unit.
In addition, we will install 2 cabinets above the washer & dryer.
Next we will create a workspace & folding table above the washer & dryer.
I can’t wait to share what we are upcycling for this!
Of course there will be beautiful lighting, open shelving and new accessories to make the space feel homey.
One more item I will be adding is shoe storage.
Wow, do you think we can complete all of this in just 8 weeks?
Without a doubt, we will be busy, just take a look at our planned schedule.
Work Schedule for the next 8 Weeks
Week 1 – Demo tile, cabinets and install small closet
Week 2 – Prep floor and install new tile floor
Week 3 – Relocate plumbing, add electrical outlets, drywall repair, install cabinets, thrifted chandelier makeover
Week 4 – Build laundry room fold table
Week 5 – Install tile backsplash
Week 6 – Stain and install open shelving, add shelves to closet, crown molding on cabinets
Week 7 – Install faucet, shoe organization, organize laundry room
Week 8 – Stage room and reveal!
Obviously, we’re eager to transform my laundry room and hope you’ll follow along to see the progress!
Also remember to check out the many other room transformations taking place on the One Room Challenge blog.
Without a doubt, you’ll be inspired with countless design styles and creative ideas.
Thanks for spending some time with us today and hope you’ve found some ideas you can use in your laundry room.
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WE HOPE TO BRING YOUR HOME TO THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET!
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