52 Mantels: Laundry Room Makeover!

March 30, 2012

Laundry Room Makeover!

I can't believe the American Crafter FINAL round is HERE! It has been so much fun, but I'm excited that next week I'll get to focus on relaxing, hanging out with my sweet daughter...and, not having a deadline! In case you missed the announcement, my Porch Makeover (with reclaimed wood tabletop!) won the last round! Thanks for voting!

For the final round, I decided to tackle my U-G-L-Y laundry room. And, do it for under $50. Tall order!

When we moved into our house, we didn't do a thing to our laundry room other than turn a small alcove into a broom closet and hide it all behind a brown curtain (that came with the house and once hung in the dining room- dreary!).That room has been in serious need of a face-lift since!

A laundry room is the perfect place to experiment with things you might be nervous to do in other rooms. In this case, I've painted the cabinetry turquoise and painted an entire door with chalkboard paint! Throw in a fresh, lighter wall color and pops of orange and I've walked away with a fun place to do laundry!

I'm guessing the cabinetry is original to the house, which was built in 1966. Yes, they're old cabinets. And, yes, they look like old cabinets. I knew I wouldn't be able to change them out and stick to my $50 budget. So, they got a paint job! Of course, I wanted to paint them a fun color. Turquoise! And, afterward, I sanded and glazed them to celebrate their age (no point in pretending they're young and fresh!). I also replaced the knobs with dollar bin knobs that spell out WASH.

I love the way the cabinets turned out, but my favorite part of the room is the gallery wall! I bought the W a long time ago, thinking it was an M. It found a home on my mantel for awhile...until my hubby noticed and asked why I had an upside W on the mantel.

Ha! Oops.

I've saved that W because I knew one day I'd use it. And, I finally have!

Gallery wall details:
W- see above
A- The black picture frames got painted with my turquoise paint. For the A, I placed fabric behind the glass and added an A cut from woodgrain contact paper.
S- Michael's find- $2
H- Anthropologie knock-off! I'll give the tutorial at another time!

The Cleaning Day art is an antique embroidered hand towel that I've had for years. It seems fitting for the laundry room, don't you think?

The last piece is all about function! I needed a place to hang various items as they came out of the washer or dryer and this plastic hanger holder works perfectly for that. But, it's not all that attractive. Solution? I took a frame from my stash, sprayed it orange and framed my hanger holder. And, that's how form meets function!

One of my "must-have" elements for this makeover, was a message center! I knew I needed a calendar that I could write on and a place to pin various invitations that came in the mail. Plus, a chalkboard would be nice. So, I decided just to chalkboard paint the entire door! When my little one gets older, she'll have a blast coloring on the door as I fold laundry.

I placed the calendar behind glass so I can use a dry-erase marker on it. I'll give a tutorial for the fabric-framed cork board soon!

The brown curtains got a facelift with orange ruffles and an antique apron I've had for years! It was aqua and orange, so I knew it had to end up in the laundry room!

And, that just about covers it! How'd I do on my budget? Here's the breakdown!

*ALL paint: from my own stash- free
*new knobs- $4
*window treatment (more details later!)- $8
*antropologie knock-off "H"- $1.50
*orange fabric- $15
*metal "S" from Michaels- $2
*hanger holder from home depot- $4
*cork board- $3.50
*various supplies (paint rollers, sandpaper, storage inside cabinets/closet)- $13

(***all supplies not mentioned came from my own supplies!)
Total: $51