Y’all! I did a thing! I finally finished my laundry room! We’ve lived in this house for nine months and the only thing I had done to this room was plug in the washer and dryer and close the door when people visited. But between a boring rainy day and an annoyance with a ridiculous amount of leftover paint in the garage, I hatched this little Design Baby in just one day.
Before, it was a plain white room with one long builder grade wire shelf. In one Sunday, it became the freshest small laundry room on the block and it’s rocking a sweet work of art on the wall. Plus, it’s organized to the nines and I can finally do laundry without cringing first. Want to take a tour? Take two steps inside and you’re right smack in the middle to see it all. No really, two steps is all it takes…
A Fun Accent Wall
It may not look that way from this angle, but this laundry room is super small. I shouldn’t complain, because before this all I had was a laundry closet, but to call this a “room” is slightly overshooting. It’s more like an upgraded walk-in closet. One that you have to side-step in and out, and the dryer door just barely clears the wall.
But either way, it’s a huge upgrade from what we had before, so I’m super grateful. To give the room a little bit of “fun” I painted an accent wall with some leftover paint cans I had in the garage. It was such a great way to use up those almost-empty leftover paint colors, and I even did a little mixing of the colors I had to make some new shades.
Floating Accent Shelf
Our laundry room already had the standard wire shelving, and for now, I think it’s fine and doesn’t need to be replaced. But I definitely needed more shelving space, so I added a floating wood shelf to break up all the white happening on the wall and to give my growing plant baby a front row seat to the sunny back window.
Free Printable Laundry Guide Artwork
The floating shelf also serves as the perfect stage for my new laundry guide artwork. And guess what, I made it! And because I think you’ll love it just as much as I do, I’m giving the design away for free so you can print one yourself! It’s actually a really helpful chart, but it’s disguised as a totally adorable piece of art that you can pop into a fancy frame.
You can get your own printable laundry guide artwork designed by yours truly by dropping your email below and I’ll send it right to ya.
Adjustable Shelving
I also needed storage space for mop gear, laundry supplies, and plastic bags for cleaning the litter boxes. I decided to go with adjustable shelving here that I had leftover from my Craft Closet Makeover. Then I just used two collapsible linen bins with leather tags I made with my Cricut (tutorial here) and a wooden tray I found in the Target Dollar Spot. I took the laundry pods out of their original zip-top bag and put them inside a clear candy jar, too.
Cat Litter Accommodations
To cut down on little paws tracking litter all over the place, we use this litter box that has a lid and a ramp entry. Most of the litter gets trapped on the ramp, and what’s left stays in the mat outside, so the litter mess is pretty minimal. We keep the box of fresh litter beside the box and a trash can lined with a plastic bag on top to keep the scooper inside.
You can’t see it in this picture, but there’s also a nightlight plugged in near the box entry. It’s light sensitive so it only comes on when the room is dark. I don’t know if the cats really need the light or not, but I know I wouldn’t to do my business in a pitch black room…
Small Space Hanging Solutions
So I knew I needed somewhere to hang things to dry, but there wasn’t enough space to have a permanent hanging rack, and I didn’t want to use the rod on the shelf above the washer and dryer because the clothes would just drip all over the appliances and make a mess behind them. So I found this folding rack from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart and it’s SO perfect for the tiny room. I can have it tilted or at a 90 degree angle, and when it’s not in use it folds up against the wall.
Ironing Board Alternative
I’ll disclaim this by mentioning that we really don’t iron things that often. Since it’s only a special occasion situation, we can totally get away with using a magnetic ironing pad. It just sits on top of the dryer and we can iron shirts and pants without having to break out a big bulky board. I wasn’t sure how I’d like the pad compared to a real ironing board, but I’ve actually adapted really well and I think I may like this better anyway.
Baskets For Extra Storage
These big baskets have been with me for seven years and they’re pretty stinkin’ tough. I’ve been using them in every laundry room I’ve had since I moved into my husband’s bachelor pad and they’re still as good as new. I think I got them at Michaels, but honestly I’m not 100% sure.
I did give them a fresh new look with these leather tags I made with my Cricut Maker. I used the Maker to cut the leather, assembled the tags, and used my Cricut Easy Press 2 to iron on vinyl labels. I did a separate post on exactly how I made them, so if you own a Cricut, definitely check this post out to see the full tutorial.
My Small Laundry Room Makeover
Ta-da! I am SO happy I finally made it around to doing something with this room. It’s been super bland since we moved into our new house 9 months ago, and it definitely deserved some love. I still need to get a rug for in front of the washer and dryer, but finding one that won’t clash with the wall may be a challenge. And eventually I’d love to replace the wire shelving with cabinets. But for now, I like it just the way it is.
Behind The Scenes!
And just in case you don’t believe that my laundry room really is small, here’s me hanging off our back porch trying to get a shot of the front view of the room. You may be thinking, “I didn’t see a photo of the front view of the room.” You’re right. This attempt did not work at all, aside from giving my husband something hilarious to take a picture of as evidence for the potential emergency room visit…
Get The Printable Laundry Guide Art Print
love your laundry room.
Thanks Sandra!