Well hello there Or So She Says readers! I’m Emily and you can usually find me on my blog, Finding My Aloha, but today I am over-the-moon to be guest posting here! I am a blissfully happy young wife and mother. Interior design is my main passion but I love to design and create through just about any medium. I am a military spouse and we move around often, which gives me lots of blank “canvases” to work with. Today I am going to be sharing my laundry room makeover with you!
My laundry room was the saddest room in the house. There are no windows, it’s pretty small, and and it’s an entry from the garage. It was lacking any proper storage, so the top of my washer and dryer became a clutter magnet. Let’s be real here, laundry isn’t exactly an exotic chore and having a lack luster laundry room sure isn’t a motivating factor either.
First thing I did was start scouring Craigslist for cabinets. When a listing popped up for $5 cabinets from a gutted farmhouse, my heart fluttered and I rushed to bring those babies home! Next, I just had to paint and glaze them to look like my inspiration cabinet finish…
I cleaned the cabinets and removed all the hardware. I applied three coats of Glidden’s Cold Coast White and to create the glaze effect in the grooves I slathered on some brown acrylic paint and then gently wiped the excess off with a wet sponge. I finished off the cabinets with a coat of polycrylic.
After installing the cabinets and cutting, painting, and installing the shelves. I started work on my laundry riser. A year ago I bought my front loader laundry set but I told Joe Shmoe “NO!” when he tried to get me to drop a down payment on a Ford Focus to buy the riser drawers with the set! I just couldn’t justify paying that much when I knew we could build something even better. I knew what I wanted to do once I saw the riser Sausha at Show and Tell built for her front loaders. I used materials I had on hand and with a few modifications, a coat of Gold Coast White, and an acrylic glaze, I had my riser.
I created the vinyl wording using my Poor Man’s Cricut.
I painted the room, including the ceiling, a soft green (Glidden’s Beach Sand) and then worked on installing the beadboard. I hadn’t worked with wainscoting before so I was intimidated, but I had Home Depot make all the cuts for me. Luckily, I only had to cut out two holes for outlets by hand. Once the cuts were made, all I had to do is apply adhesive and press to the wall. All the rest is just icing. I created some pretty containers for my detergents and installed some farmhouse coat hooks.
I’m a sucker for Before and Afters, so here’s another angle…
And that’s it folks! I absolutely LOVE my laundry room now. I don’t even mind doing laundry anymore, in fact, I almost look forward to it. Ok, ok so maybe that’s a little far fetched but do I love going in that room!
Thanks gals, its been a blast! I hope to see you over at Finding My Aloha!
~ Emily
Amazing! I love the cabinets beneath the washer and dryer, and I love the colors, they are so light and inspiring! Thanks for the post (it makes me want to do something with my drab laundry room… I just needed some inspiration!)
Love the “Poor Man’s Cricut!”
I can totally relate!
Great job, it looks awesome!
I clicked over here thinking “yeah, yeah… but I have the SMALLEST laundry room known to man… this is not going to work for me”
It’s still true, my laundry room is a tad small for this “as is” – but I’m seeing potential here… I LOVE the riser and baskets!!!
(and the poor man’s Cricut made me smile!)
I’ve wanted to paint some end tables with that same look, but didn’t know how to do it. So glad you showed me how!
Thanks
You sure are good with your cricut
Very nice….I just asked my husband for laundry “risers” for xmas to save my back, this might be even better 🙂 Tks for sharing such a great idea.
This is almost exactly what I plan to do in my laundry room! Just went and bought a cabinet today : )
Looks great!
Hola! I’ve been reading your weblog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Houston Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the good job!