Laundry. It’s a permanent part of life. I remember becoming a mom for the first time and feeling so excited to wash all of those tiny clothes. There is a part of me that very much feels that way to this day. It doesn’t escape me that I am blessed to have two children and loads of laundry. I still don’t have the answer to making it less of a chore. Many of my friends only do laundry once a week. That is probably the way to go but I am a sucker for thinking I can chase the dream. . . an empty laundry basket. I think it’s happened once or twice in 15 years and it may have lasted 15 minutes. Max.
OUR LAUNDRY ROOM
The laundry room in this house is a nice size. It also has a sink which is new for us and I very much appreciate it. So nice to be able to rinse my son’s baseball uniform prior to washing. I also appreciate the two windows as it’s a light and bright room.
THE POSITIVES
Truly there is nothing wrong with this room. It’s a great size with plenty of storage. And it’s nice and neutral. But I do joke that this is my office (just because I am in it every.single.day.) so I would love to give it more of in inviting feel. This is the type of space I can funk up a bit and it won’t seem out-of-place. Bottom line, I want to make this a fun and cute spot to spend time.
PROBLEMS TO SOLVE
- Hanging Clothes: you can see what I am doing now. So many of my daughter’s clothes don’t go in the dryer. Don’t even get me started on that. But I don’t have a rod so I hang them here or drape them over the dryer. Both sub-optimal options.
- Place for Folding: Now that we have front loading machines (they were here when we moved in) I would love to have a counter built over them so I can fold the clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer. If I do that now, things fall between the machines or I toss it all in the hallway and it becomes a wrinkled mess.
- Organized Cabinets: The upper cabinets are actually empty and the ones under the sink are a bit of a mess. I would love to make the most of the storage and use it to my advantage. I haven’t thought this through yet but will soon.
- Lighting: While the natural light is awesome, the long fluorescent light isn’t doing this room any favors. I would love to swap it out for something more stylish. While I would love a chandelier, the cabinets prevent me from having one so I will need to get creative.
THE INSPIRATION
I fell madly in love with this laundry room by Dear Lillie. I mean what’s not to love? The second I saw it I knew I wanted that tile.
The combination of the warm wood tones, the funky tile and the black cabinets all work so beautifully together.
THE PLAN
While my husband knows how to tile and did the bathroom below, we are going to have someone come out and do this floor. The reason being is that it slopes gently towards the drain and we what to preserve the integrity of that design in case of a leak or flood. We will feel better having an experienced tile person do that. The good news is that it’s not too large so it shouldn’t be too costly. And it will allow me to sleep better at night. I may paint the cabinets although they are that melamine which may not take paint. I need to do my homework on that. Do any of you know?
Here is what I have pulled together so far. We plan to do a dark wood top over the machines and hopefully paint the cabinets black. I would also like to tile the wall behind the machines. That’s where the subway tile comes in. The tile is actually ceramic rather than the cement tile you see. It will hold up beautifully and I won’t have to worry about chipping.
This is my inspiration for tiling the wall. I just love the clean and classic look. Adding a cabinet over our sink would allow us to place a rod in between the cabinets like you see here.
Here is a little peek at what the tile looks like. I can hardly wait. I am also toying with painting the door to the laundry room black for some contrast.
We are in no rush with this and life is a bit hectic right now so don’t be surprised if it takes us a while to be back with an update. Slow and steady is our speed over here these days.
Have a great day, sweet friends. I will be back tomorrow with a tour of the HGTV Smart Home. Can’t wait to show you and share what I thought.
If you add an upper over the sink and hang a rod between then you’ll lose the lovely light when you hang clothes over there. You’ll also get dripped on when using the sink. If the upper cabinets are empty you could remove them completely and have a hanging rail and even a place for flat hanging set up over the machines. Then if you are hanging things that will be dripping you can place a towel on the counter. If you do need some upper cabinet space, try keeping only one and moving it over to the left to line up with the edge of the machines and window. That leaves you space over the machines for a hanging rail.
It looks like you also may have space for a narrow shelf on the other side to hang the ironing board from and have iron, ironing water etc on that shelf. That also allows you to leave the iron to cool away from little hands.
All such great things to think about. I love my readers. I forgot to mention I need to hang the ironing board or install a small one behind the door. My wheels are spinning with the great cabinet ideas. I need to pour some coffee and go stand in there and thin think it all through. Thanks for the fun ideas, Victoria.
I am refurbishing my bathroom with those floor tiles, white subway tile and black cupboards. I think the spaces will look really similar so I’m very excited to see your reveal.
Well if you finish your bathroom send me a photo! Something tells me you will beat me to the finish line. It’s fun to do small spaces with big personality so I am sure your bathroom will look awesome. Good luck with the process. Aren’t the tiles fun?! Have a great day, Anna.
I painted my Melanie cabinets a black hue nearly five years ago and they are as good as the day I painted them. The trick is to use a good primer and paint. Eggshell is the best finish as it cleans easy. I did did not use a sprayer but a good quality mini roller and the finish came out great. Paint and supplies were from Sherwin Williams. Best of luck and can’t wait to see the reveal! I am also crushing on that tile 😉
Oh this is music to my ears!!! I am so thrilled to hear this. You know I love a good DIY project and this sounds like something I can tackle. Great advice on the primer and the small roller. I wouldn’t want to spray them so this works well. Wish me luck! Now I want to drop everything and start painting.
Have a fantastic day. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!
Instead of adding the rod for hanging clothes, you may want to consider these Spectrum Hangar Holders. I ordered them from Amazon last year and I love them. When not in use they fold up against the wall and are not in the way functionally or visually. They can hold up to 12 hangars each; I have 3 on the wall opposite my machines. They’re really cheap and take like 2 seconds to install.
Spectrum Hanger Holder Color: White (Size: 11 3/4″ H x 2 ” W x 1 1/4″ D)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B92O2VQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’m LOVING the idea of these folding racks. I hand’t thought of those at all and that my solve my problem. I am going to check them out. They would work so well on that wall.
With the proper reinforcement inside the cabinet, could this be hung on the unused SIDE of the cabinet, by the window? (above the washer?). Just a random thought, depending on space.
Thank you for the suggestion of the folding racks. My laundry is basically a large closet so no room to do a hanging rod. But, these could work!
Sounds like a beautiful plan! The tile, countertop and black cabinets will all look fab together. What about replacing the door with one that has glass on the top half and then stenciling “LAUNDRY” on the glass? Also, what about installing a drying rack on the solid wall ~ one of those that mounts to the wall and then folds up quite flat, but opens up to provide plenty of drying/hanging space (from Ballard Designs, I think)? Fluorescent = sadness (LOL) so definitely add a fun, stylist light.
You read my mind as I am trying to figure out if I can cut the door I have to install glass in the upper half. I don’t know enough about that. But I love those doors. Especially with the “Laundry” label. I’ll keep you posted. I hadn’t thought of the drying rack but LOVE that idea. Especially since that opposing wall is empty. Just have to make sure I can still get in to put more clothes in the washer and dryer if it is open. I am going to check that out. Thank you!!!
Enjoy your day. Thanks for all of your great input.
Love your plans Courtney! I’m pretty sure we have the same design vision for our laundry rooms! I am in love with that tile and recently sourced it for our room too! ???? I have 2 girls ages 14 & 12 and I don’t dry ANY of their clothes! I have 3 folding drying racks that I keep in the cabinet and I pull them out when I need to hang dry. I don’t like to dry on hangers because of ‘shoulder bumps’ lol. Good luck with the makeover!
Ah, I love this!!! It’s going to look amazing when you’re done! I have my eyes set on a laundry room makeover, hoping to tackle it in the coming months! Fingers crossed!
courtney, your ideas for your space and amazing. I too have the dream but it never ever comes true. Looking forward to seeing your progress and the finished space.
Gorgeous inspiration photos that I am confident will come to fruition in your home. My two-cents is that an additional upper cabinet with a rod between each set of cabinets will suit your needs well and not block the natural light much at all. I am excited when the time comes to reveal…no matter how long it takes :).
Have you considered stacking your washer and dryer? I have found that cabinets hung above the washer and dryer are difficult to reach as the machines are much deeper than the cabinets. Stacking them eliminates that problem and usually only requires a couple of brackets that the washer/dryer manufacturer can supply for you. We did this for our laundry room renovation and I will never go back to having them side by side. It also would provide you more floor space to add an additional bottom cabinet and counter for folding. Happy to send pictures if you’d like. Good luck with all of it! It makes a world of difference to have a pretty laundry room!
Wow this is exactly what we are doing! Same inspiration photo as well and our room is almost just like yours except a shade shorter on the 2nd floor with a drain and florescent lighting too. I’ve been using the Large Beadboard drying rack from Ballard for years and it holds an entire load of hang dry. It makes it a little tight to get into the washer/dryer when extended but works and it’s nice to have a spot for all that hang dry. If you want me to send you some pics of it in our skinny laundry room I’m happy to do so.
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/beadboard-drying-rack/286725
Can’t wait to see you progress!
So excited to see your progress! We have the laundry room on our to-do list this year too and I’m most excited about adding hanging space!
You always have such great ideas!
Many people in my area, including myself, have front loaders with counter tops on top of them. However, they are all the same surface as what is in the rest of the room. In your case, you would match the tile around your sink. A board can be tiled to match what you have and placed over the washer/dryer, perhaps with a slight elevation for the appliance height, with ends on it to look built in, if elevated. If you don’t like the existing tile, you can change all of the counters, to make it all new. Whether matching the existing tile or choosing a new surface, it makes the counter look much longer when it’s all the same , which make the room look bigger.
Something to consider too, if you put the hanging dowel near or across a window, make sure it doesn’t get too much sun or the sun will bleach out your clothes. I
made that mistake once.
If you have room in the far corner just past the washer, a floor to ceiling cabinet might conceal your ironing board when not in use, unless you plan to make a built in board.
I look forward to see what you come up with!
I have drooled over your exact inspiration pics myself! Love what you have planned. Have you tried Fusion Mineral paints? They have a product called Ultra Grip that you can supposedly use for painting laminate. I have only used their paint once, on a desk, and loved it. They have a pretty charcoal color that I plan to try next. It would be pretty on your cabinets. Best of luck to you!
I had this drying rack in a house we rented and loved it so much that I had to buy another one when we moved. It folds up fairly flat against the wall and is so handy. I love that it isn’t made out of wood so I don’t have to worry about the issues that can bring or bumps in tops from drying on hangers. I can drape things over the rods or lay them flat across the top. It has been such an improvement to my laundry room. I love your style and plans and can hardly wait to see how it looks when you are done! So exciting!!
https://www.containerstore.com/s/laundry/drying-racks-accessories/12
Chalk paint is a great option for melamine cabinets. It truly needs no priming and sticks to everything. Also, a little goes a long way, so you would likely use less than a quart. Typically, a wax finish is recommended, but I have used a clear poly with great results as well, and it is a lot less work than the wax. Janell at House of Fifty paint her kitchen cabinets with Annie Sloan chalk paint and they turned out so well. Can’t wait to see what you do!
Courtney, I’m late in commenting but wanted to pass along this tutorial on painting laminate from Kate Riley at Centsational Girl. I bookmarked it awhile ago but have not tried it myself. (I’m not sure if Melamine is the same as laminate but I think they are close.) Kate’s DIYs are always good.
http://centsationalgirl.com/2010/04/go-right-ahead-and-paint-that-laminate/
Your laundry room inspiration is gorgeous and you’ve gotten so many great ideas in these comments. I’m going to check out the drying racks for my own laundry room. I’m looking forward to seeing your finished room.
I hopped over here from today’s post because I am obsessed with that tile! Have you checked out Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart for the cabinets? I found it via Studio McGee and used the color to redo a china cabinet and my master bath. It’s a gorgeous deep charcoal. I’m jealous about the size of your laundry room – mine is tiny!