~Laundry Room Makeover~

I am so excited to share my laundry room with all of you! This was a labor of love, a lot of trial and error, second guesses, and changing of plans, but I am so happy to share this final product with you.

When I first started laying out the design, my plan for this space was completely different...

My original design plan

And so I began demo. I needed some assistance from friends taking out the old washer and dryer. Those things are heavy! Here are the before pics of the space.

After demo, I put the new floor in. Since this was a DIY project and needed to be budget friendly, I went with a peel and stick tile from Lowes that could be easily installed and grouted. Here is the link to the tile I used, although I don't think they sell the white anymore.

I laid the floor in a herringbone pattern to give it some interest. The best part was that this tile could be cut with a razor blade, no need for a fancy (expensive) tile saw.

Once the floor was in I started to build the stand that would hold the stacked washer and dryer. I do not have any pictures of this due to the fact that it was an epic fail. When the machines were stacked they were so tall that it blocked all the light, and also there was fear of the dryer falling. So everything had to come down and I had to go back to the drawing board. From this point on, I didn't have a plan, I was just kind of winging it.

When I have these huge projects going I have found that I don't sleep. I constantly have ideas running through my mind. Most of my design ideas come to me in the middle of the night.

I decided to just start with the washer and dryer side by side (Thanks dad for the video chat while running new gas lines and connecting the gas so I didn't blow up my house). I also knew I wanted some kind of door on a slider, not necessarily a barn door, but a door with windows so I don't block the light into the hallway. I had to make sure that it would all fit in my little space. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a new door, so off to ReStore I went. If you have one in your area, it's a great place to get amazing things for your home and for a really great price. I found an amazing 8 pane door for only $20!

Also, because I was on a very tight budget, I decided to use the old door as a top for the washer and dryer. More to come on that later. I primed and painted the base and started on the built in shelving and new window frame I was going to make. Which, by the way,

is not all that difficult and very cost effective. I just used raw pine from Lowes and primed and painted it.

I am kind of all over the place throughout my projects. It is not very efficient, but it is for my own house, so I can go at my own pace, or work on it at five in the morning because I couldn't sleep. At times it felt like mass chaos. I questioned my life and why I did this to myself, but then another part of the project would be done and I was in love with it. That is what motivated me to just. keep. going.

If you have never cut a hole in your wall, I highly recommend you doing so! I needed some extra space for cleaning supplies and other things since my new shelves would be mostly decorative. I had planned on leaving it open, buuuuut that plan also changed, and I went and got a door at the ReStore. I primed and painted it, then went to put it on and it was waaayyyy too big. I also found a door on the side of the road and brought it home, also too big. So, I decided to build a door and make my own mercury glass windows for it. I framed out the inside of the hole I cut, painted it and made shelves to fit. Because I hate painting, and painting the BACK of drywall is not fun, I decided to use contact paper on the inside back.

While I was in the process of doing all of this, I had also painted the room a beautiful blush, built my kitty bathroom out of the old upper cabinet, hung wallpaper I got on Etsy, installed shiplap on two walls, made a hand painted vintage sign, installed sconces on the wall above the washer and dryer, hung my door on a barn door track, and installed a chandelier.... because everyone should have a chandelier in their laundry room. Phew! Are you tired yet? I was exhausted, but I just kept going. I will post all of those projects in the weeks to come. There are so many and this is already a VERY long winded post. So, here are the after pictures! I hope you all love it just as much as I do! Leave me a comment or ask any questions! I'd love to hear them! Thanks for stopping by!