Before & After: Small Laundry Room Completely Transformed

Here it is!!! The big reveal of my laundry room makeover! I have to say… this is probably my favorite project to date! (As I say that after every finished project, LOL!)

This room is so functional now compared to before, it blows my mind. We had a small space to work with and I wanted to make it as functional as possible! I’d like to say we did JUST THAT! 😀

Before

Here is the lovely before shot of the room. This was clearly designed in the early 2000s. LOL! Poop wall colors and nice brown/beige linoleum flooring. Hey, it was “in” at the time, I get it. But sorry, now it's definitely OUT. Time to go, BUH BYE.

Our Small Laundry Room Makeover

New Paint & Flooring

I decided to keep it neutral of course with the wall color. I didn’t want to go TOTALLY white, so I went with ‘Winds Breath‘ from Behr. It was a nice subtle grey. Of course, before picking the paint color, I brought some samples home to see what they were going to look like with the new light fixture I added to the space. Colors almost ALWAYS look different in the room compared to the store so always sample first.

For the flooring, we went with small white hexagon tiles from Floor & Decor. This is definitely an older style coming back to life and I love it! We chose a dark grey grout to add some contrast for a nice modern touch.

Countertop & Storage

This part was basically the whole point of this project…the countertop to fold clothes and the cabinets for extra storage space. We bought a butcher block countertop from Menard’s as well as basic unfinished wall cabinets. We stained the countertop with Minwax “Natural” stain and painted the cabinets, Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray. If you’re interested in seeing the whole process of me staining the countertop you can check our Instagram story highlight, “Laundry Room”!

Accent Wall With “Herringbone Tile” Stencil

I always laugh thinking about this part of the project. LOL. Of course, I had to add in a last-minute accent wall.

The original plan was to just add open shelving in between the cabinets and call it a day. But you know, always gotta go that extra mile! We already put up the cabinets and my husband and I looked at each other like…these aren’t coming down after we just hung them… So I painted and stenciled around the already hung cabinets. – I know… that’s harder Sarah and more work for yourself. Why would you do that?! – Well, let’s just not talk about it and just be happy it’s complete.

The inspiration behind the stencil wall was honestly, Starbucks. LOL, of course!

There are a couple of Starbucks locations in downtown Chicago that have this ‘black on black’ tile look that I thought looked SO GOOD. I really love the look of herringbone tile, but there was no way I was about to tile this wall just for the look of it. The functional part of the tile wasn’t necessary in this space. So, I figured why not create a stencil to make it have that appearance!

I decided on the color Behr ‘Space Black’ for the accent wall. It’s more of a dark grey which I wanted so that my Black Sharpie Paint Pen could be seen over the top of it. (You can purchase the stencil on our Etsy Shop!)

Open-Shelving

We added some open-shelving in between the cabinets. I thought the space would be too empty without something there. Plus, it gave me an excuse for a little decorating ;). We finished the shelving off with the same color paint as the cabinets and just like that… it was time for the final touches!

The Finished Space

Source List

Hopefully, we can start incorporating separate DIY posts for all the stuff we made in this room. In the meantime, here’s the list:

Paint

• Walls: Sherwin Williams ‘Winds Breath’
• Cabinets & Open Shelving: Sherwin Williams ‘Dorian Gray’
• Accent Wall: Behr ‘Space Black’
• Accent Wall Stencil: Etsy

Countertop

• Butcher Block: Menard’s Butcher Block Countertop
• Pre-stain: Minwax Pre-stain Wood Conditioner
• Stain: Minwax “Natural”
• Sealant: Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish

Cabinets

• Unfinished Cabinets: 15″ x 30″ Unfinished Oak Kitchen Wall Cabinet
• Hardware: Black Matte Pulls

Decor

• Light Fixture: Wayfair
• Cotton Rope Basket: Amazon (Little Hippo)
• Wicker Baskets: Amazon (I got mine from Home Goods, but I linked ones similar!)
• Clock: Target
• Wood 5X7 Frame: Target
• Faux Fiddle Leaf Plant: Amazon (I got mine from TjMaxx but I linked one similar)
• Macrame Wall Art: Amazon
• ‘Lost Socks’ Sign/Hanger: Amazon
• Clothes Rack: Amazon
• Hangers: Target

Again, I’m SOOOOO happy with how this turned out. It’s one of the most used rooms in our house! 😀 Have any of you tackled a laundry room remodel? Send us photos on our Instagram account!

This article was written by Tammy & Sarah from Sammy on State.

Meet The Authors

Tammy and Sarah are coffee-loving, UI/UX designers who work together in downtown Chicago. They may have a passion for digital design, but both have a lil’ side thing for home design.

Follow them as they share their adventures through each of their first home renovations, DIY projects, home decor, love of food, and occasional design freebies!

Check out their Blog, Instagram & Pinterest!

Interested in more tips on laundry room decorating? Read about mastering the art of laundry!