Laundry Room Refresh

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We have one of the smallest laundry rooms on the planet. It’s tiny and dark and windowless. It’s not a space that makes you want to stay awhile and fold socks. To make matters even worse, our laundry room is the main way that people enter our house, since it’s right off of the garage.

Let’s just say I was slightly hesitant about posting this picture (eek!). This was taken about 2 months into quarantine. By that point the clutter was overwhelming me and I knew that something had to be done about this space.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love an enormous, light-filled space where I could bleach my towels while overlooking the ocean. But that’s just not going to happen right now. So I settled for a simple laundry room refresh that would brighten and declutter this small space.

The first thing we did was freshen up the paint. I had a full can of this “greige” paint leftover from when we repainted our master bedroom. It immediately felt lighter and brighter. It’s so much better than that weird blue color.

I was kind of torn between wallpaper and ship lap for this wall. But indecision got that best of me (since I couldn’t decide on a wallpaper) and we went with the ship lap (there were only two colors to choose from at Lowe’s). I’m so glad that I did, I really love how it turned out.

The white ship lap makes the room feel way brighter and I think that the horizontal boards make it feel bigger. This turned out to be a super easy project. My husband cut the boards to fit and then attached them to the wall with a nail gun. It was literally completed in less than 1/2 an hour. Even better, our ship lap came pre-painted. I liked the way the finish looked so I decided not to bother with changing it.

I figured while he had his tools out, that I might as well ask him to make me something else too. I really wanted a space for folding and organizing laundry supplies. I had him build a simple wood counter top and install it over the washer & dryer. I sanded it and added a gray stain.

Here’s a photo of the simple counter top before it was stained gray.

Finally, we installed some inexpensive shelves and brackets from IKEA. Truthfully, we’ve had these shelves in our basement for years and never had a spot for them. (I tend to buy things I like without a place for them sometimes…it’s a gift.) I decided to keep the original large baskets. They ended up looking okay and I couldn’t find any others that would fit the space.

As a final update, I ordered a few accessories from Target. Sea Salt Vanilla Candle, Lemon Plants in Terracotta Pots, Clothes Pins, Small House (not available), Wire Basket, Apothecary Jar.

I love this Laundry Sign and Eucalyptus Wreath from Target’s Magnolia Collection.

That’s a wrap on our laundry room refresh. I’m glad we spent a couple of hours updating this space. It feels much brighter and more inviting…even if I’m just folding socks!