Laundry Room Before + After

Our laundry room is one area of the house that I have not shared a whole lot about during our renovation. As you can expect, this area really wasn't my top priority as far as decorating and I've just now gotten around to really focusing on the decor in the past few months. I didn't realize just how much we had transformed this room until I looked at the "before" photo from when we first bought the house below!

before:

A really bad light 80's light fixture was just the beginning of the problems in this room. The original hardwoods were ruined due to water damage over the years from the nearby half bathroom and horribly faulty plumbing. The entire door was also rotting and practically crumbling apart every time you tried to open it. There was also horrible popcorn ceiling in this room too. During our renovation, we put down new slate-look ceramic tile floors (from Louisville Tile) and replaced the damaged door with a large sliding glass door system. Since we had to cut into the drywall in much of this room when we re-plumbed the house, we were able to just re-drywall the ceiling to smooth it out.

after:

photo by Sarah E Dunn Photo + Design | Light fixture | Shelf trim (spray painted gold) | Gold spray paint | Shelf brackets (spray painted gold) | Gingham wallpaper

This room gets such great natural light from the wall of windows that fresh paint, drywall, and new floors make the biggest difference. This room is a multi-use space, as it's also a mudroom and the entrance we use most to enter and exit the house so I tried to keep it as open as possible while still making it functional and cozy. The laundry area is the focus of the room and the first area we started to dive in on. I wanted to create a focal wall with some fun printed wallpaper and I fell in love with this gingham print from Magnolia.

I also knew I wanted a laundry counter and was super inspired by this tutorial from Vintage Revivals. I loved the waterfall countertop look done with the simple lightly stained wood. My husband was able to create a very similar version, with a few adjustments for our space. We also added some metal trim on all the edges (alluminum pieces from Lowe's that I just spray-painted gold- both are linked above). My husband built matching shelves with the same wood and simple metal brackets from Lowe's which we also spray-painted gold (also linked above).

photo by Sarah E Dunn Photo + Design | Rug: Homegoods (similar here, here, + here) | Bench | Gold metal coat rack: Homegoods (similar here) | Kilim pillow: Homegoods (similar here, here, + here) | Gold pineapple print: Homegoods (similar here + here) | Striped tassel pillow: Target-old (similar here) | Brass horse statue: Vintage (similar here) | Brass planter (similar here) | Gold basket for plant

Another area of this room is the sitting area near the doorway. Since this is also a mudroom, a place to hang keys, purses, and take your shoes on and off is very important. I kept messing with this area because I couldn't get the arrangement and mix of colors and patterns just right, but I'm finally happy with it. I love the addition of a curtain on one side of the sliding glass door just to soften it a bit and add some color (rod is from Target; curtains from Homegoods). I also had painted this right side wall with chalkboard paint last year and I love the contrast it adds to the room. Most of the items in here are from Homegoods or vintage/thrifted and I've linked lost of similar or identical options above.

Brass hooks | Jars-large (spray painted tops gold) | Jars-medium (spray painted tops gold) | Floral painting: thrifted (similar here) | Blue vases/jars: Homegoods (similar here + here) | Laundry crate: Homegoods | Turquoise metal laundry tub: Homegoods | Magnolia towel

Styling my laundry counter was one of my favorite parts of this project. I knew I wanted as much as possible displayed in glass jars but I also founds some other fun accessories that I wanted to incorporate. The vintage floral painting was a thrift store find that kind of set the color scheme for the entire space. All the jars are from Target and I just spray-painted the lids gold using the same gold spray paint I linked above. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I purposefully picked my detergents and cleaning products based on what would match and looks best in the jars. Anything that wasn't as attractive to have sitting out, I hid inside the crates or tubs!

photo by Sarah E Dunn Photo + Design | Weekly calendar dry/erase board: Homegoods (similar here + here) | Metal wall baskets- Vintage + spray-painted (similar here + here) | Hanging brass planter: Vintage (similar here) | Metal gold "laundry" plaque: Homegoods (similar here) | Striped lucite bench | Brass frame

It is also very important for me to have some kind of organizational center near my entrway where I can put mail and have a calendar. I found this weekly dry/erase calendar at Homegoods and it really helps me (and mostly my husband) stay organized with our schedule each week. I had this triple hanging wire basket at our old house near the entryway too and it's perfect for mail, magazines, and small items (I spray painted it gold for this room). Finally I added a little pop of color with a hanging plant and one of my favorite free plant printables from Magnolia (find it here) in a brass frame (frame linked above).

I'm so pleased to have one more room complete in our house and this space is such a cheerful sight to walk into everyday! The only other project I'm considering in here is switching out the flushmount for a small modern brass, beaded, or wicker chandelier. I've tried to link just about everything that I could from this room, but if you have any questions about anything I didn't mention, just ask!

xoxo

Emily