Laundry Room Reveal & a GIVEAWAY!

Happy, happy, happy!  How I feel every time I do laundry or walk by this room!  It’s finally finished (at least for the most part) and I can’t wait to show you guys!  This room is MY space and the hubby agreed to make it whatever I wanted and even help me complete it. 

I wanted CLEAN, SIMPLE, with a POP OF COLOR, especially something I could change later if I wanted.  More importantly I NEEDED cabinets to ENCLOSE everything that belongs in a laundry room.  What I hated about our previous one was the clutter and mess.  The fact is, I’m not going to keep all the supplies perfectly organized all the time and even if I did, the look of each container and item was enough to drive me crazy, therefore, cabinets were a must! 

Let’s start with a before and after!

That’s right guys…I actually lived with our laundry room this way for 6 years.  Most of us do…it’s a utility room after all.  But this is a room I am in quite often and it’s where I CLEAN clothes.  I thought it was ironic that the room I clean clothes in was so messy. 

We finally made it a point to budget for a laundry room makeover in September!  We budgeted about $400 for it, but probably spent closer to $500.  Here’s the overall “loose” breakdown of the room:

-Paint for Walls (Gray at Lowes) – $33

-Paint Supplies (Walmart) – $6

-Wall Repair Tools (Lowes) – $31

*This was for when we ripped the main shelf down and had to repair the wall (hoping we didn’t have a hole there).

-White Cabinets (Lowes) – $305

White Paint for Ceiling and Shelf (Lowes & Walmart) – $20

4 Frames (Michaels) – $66

-3 White Laundry Baskets – $13

Other Decorating – $8

This all adds up to $482, but I’m sure there is a little here and there decorating items that I’m not accounting for.

First, let’s look at our ugly laundry room BEFORE!  We kept one of those shelves to use under the new cabinets!

First we started by breaking it all down.  My dad graciously helped us and is a super DIYer and knows everything, literally everything.  How I pictured this “makeover” – Rip off shelves, paint walls, hang up cabinets with some heavy duty nails or something, and then decorate.  Bahahaha!  Yea right!

This puppy was the killer!  Ryan did an awesome job getting it down.  He doesn’t do many DIY construction-y projects so this was big for him!

He sanded it down and wiped some kind of putty on it to smooth it out.  Normally, you have to retexture the wall so it all matches, but we didn’t bother since cabinets were going here.  Then we painted.  It reminded me that I really hate painting.  A fresh coat of paint does WONDERS to a room though!  I actually wish it was a shade darker, but I still love the light gray!

Next, my dad came over and put up these wood pieces so we could screw cabinets into this since the beams behind the wall were in weird locations.

The masterminds behind this project – my dad and hubby!

Our cutest helper though goes to this guy…no judging…diapers are the only choice of outfits in Texas during September.

Then all the cabinets went up!  My favorite part. This was a 3 man job (me being one of the men)!  Don’t mind the ceiling..we ended up painting it white.

And then we hung the re-used shelf underneath it.  You can see it’s warped a little, so I laid it out a few days to flatten it again.  I painted the shelf a whiter white to better match the cabinets and give it a fresher look.  It was an off white before (it’s still off white in the pictures below).

Then comes the fun part for me…DECORATING!  I knew I wanted to add some laundry signs to my shop, so this was a perfect time to make them!  And I’m giving away the two big signs to one of you guys!  I created mine as 11×17’s, but I can certainly re-size them if needed…and of course any color you want!  Just ENTER at the end of this post.

“I’m clean, single, and looking for my sole mate!”  Next to this sign is a sock bowl where missing socks will go until they find their “mate.”  You could also put a bowl there or simply just lay the socks on the shelf.  I’m going to replace the glass bowl with maybe a gray shallow bowl…I don’t like the two glass pieces next to each other.

I could not get a good picture to do this center piece justice.  CHEAP ART – Buy a 12×12 piece of scrapbook paper and frame it.  This is the centerpiece of the wall and the beauty of it is that I can change it out whenever I want without spending over a $1.00.  I love the flower…it gives the room a feminine touch.  I can change this out too or add more if I want.

If I could share one decorating tip with anyone it would be: “Each room needs a mirror.”  It expands the room, adds décor, is versatile, and is relatively cheap compared to other forms of art.  This mirror was here when we moved in.  Since it was white, it was perfect to keep here…just had to clean it up a bit.  Call me vain, but I actually used this often.  The bird cage was from our wedding – it was for envelopes.  I think I got it at Hobby Lobby.  I may add something to it, but right now I like it the way it is.  I need something else for the shelf, so I bought a canister at Walmart ($5-6) and filled it with clothespins ($1.00 for 100).

I decided to buy 3 identical white hampers for COLORS, WHITES, and TOWELS.  It’s compact and simple.  I labeled them as well to help “others” know which hamper to place clothes in…you know, instead of placing them outside of the laundry room on the floor.  Haven’t had clothes on the floor since…try it ladies!  We keep a hamper in our room next to our dresser that accumulates our clothes in the meantime, so this size was perfect.  I do laundry roughly every other day.

Behind the door, I have a plastic sack to keep lent and trash, otherwise, I’ll just throw it on the washer/dryer.  I also keep our ironing board (haha) and mop behind the door.  I literally just used a nail to hang these.  This is a great place to keep your ironing board, mop, broom, etc.

I cannot express how much I LOVE our new laundry room!  And I know I am probably biased, but I really love my new signs in there also!  It’s the first thing I notice when I walk by! 

If you’re new to my blog, you might notice a “SHOP” tab above…I sell digital designs on Etsy.  This is what I’m giving away today….SET OF 2 LAUNDRY ROOM SIGNS (2 jpeg digital files).  It’s super easy to print.  I’ll email that to the winner.

HOW TO ENTER:
Just enter below by clicking on the +1 next to each form of entry.  You can enter by liking Joyful Art Design’s Facebook page and/or leaving a comment.  The more entries the higher your chance of winning.  The giveaway will go through FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8th at 12:00am (Central)!  I will announce the winner on Friday morning!  These SIGNS are also available in my shop.