Laundry Room Renovation

Well, hello there beautiful! You gorgeous and functional laundry room, you! I’m so in love with how this space turned out and I can’t believe we let it go this long before we took on this project. Granted, we’ve been saving to do these bigger projects and even though I would have loved to have this done a few years ago,  I can deeply appreciate the time, patience, sweat and tears that went into it. Yes, tears, there were tears due to the washing machine leaking all over the floor and going into the wall and staining our living room ceiling. There were tears when our AC in the attic leaked into the laundry room ceiling and we came upstairs to go to bed only to find water running out of the light fixture. This room has been the cause of multiple headaches that pushed this supposed month long project into a year, but we have finally walked through the process and we’re on the other side and completely in love with the finished results!

This space was as cookie cutter as it could get. Linoleum floors, flat paint, wire shelf, weird drain location and irritating water pan. It was crazy basic. Our laundry room is on the upper level of our home which is why our builder installed a water pan underneath the washing machine. About a month of moving into our home five years ago, our hand-me-down top loading wash machine leaked and I didn’t know. The water was sitting in the pan underneath the machine, but some of it also went under the pan, leaked around the unsealed drain (amateur plumbing) and went into our living room ceiling. It was a nightmare for a new homeowner. We had a plumber, contractor and drywaller all here within hours. I was most upset about the water pan because 1) it wasn’t installed properly 2) the drain wasn’t installed properly 3) our warranty guy tried to blame us for the damage because technically they’re not required to put a water pan in, but they did it anyways to be nice, athough we never requested one. A total nightmare. So our goal was to get rid of the water pan as soon as possible. We could have taken it out completely from the get go, but because the drain wasn’t properly installed or sealed it was not a project we wanted to take on until we were ready to make a big change.

We moved the drain over to be centered between the two machines and tiled the floor with penny tile. We initially planned to put subway tile up the entire back wall, but opted not to after looking at our overall budget and other projects we wanted/needed to take on in the house. I”m actually really happy with the decision to shiplap the entire room. It adds texture and keeps it simple without being boring. We decided to build a box around the machines in order to create a folding space on top. This is by far the BEST decision! Before the tops of our machines were constantly cluttered and there was zero room to fold anything. Now I can fold as I pull the clothes out of the dryer and it eliminates clothing piles for the kids to step over, trip on and ultimately cause me to refold again.

We added an upper cabinet for storage. Finished the space off by adding crown and adding two open shelves for easy access to our laundry essentials. I love having my products on open shelves, but I also like them to look pretty. Using glass jars and baskets help keep everything organized and pleasing to the eye. I especially love having cute little accent pieces in this space like the framed flower print I found at an antique store in Southport.

At one point we debated painting the crown molding black for a nice contrast. I loved the idea, but after dealing with multiple water leaks in different ceilings we were ready to just be done with this space and kept it simple and white. We may paint them later, who knows! Laundry can be such a chore and I actually spent quite a bit of time in this room so I wanted it to be pretty and a place I enjoyed. I love the details we added into this room. Now if I can just be more diligent about putting all the laundry away!

Here’s the space before.

\\ Sources \\
Wall Paint \ Super White Benjamin Moore
Trim Paint \ Super White Benjamin Moore
Cabinet \ Lowes Home Improvement
Penny Tile \ Home Depot
Stain \ Minwax Early American
Shelf Brackets \ Amazon

\\ Decor Sources \\
Flower Species Print \ Vintage
Rope Basket \ Target (similar item)
White Enamel Caddy \ Hobby Lobby
Jars \ Target 
Lantern \ Target (similar items)
Towels \ Pottery Barn & Target