My Laundry Room Makeover: Washing Clothes Under the Twinkle of Chandeliers

As the married mother of seven children, most of my days are spent in the kitchen or in the laundry room. However, unlike the kitchen where my family gathers, the laundry room seems to be the area that everyone avoids. Obviously no one wants to put forth the physical effort of cleaning the clothes. Also, our long, narrow and poorly organized laundry room is a dumping ground for bags, sports equipment and random items that don’t have a home.  In an effort to make this room more inviting and pleasing to be in, I decided to give this room a makeover. Why should any other room in our home be more beautiful than the room that I spend hours in each day?

RUSTIC GLAM is a design style that unites weathered wood and distressed furniture with bright whites, symmetry and sparkle. Modern farmhouse speaks to me and nothing would make this busy mom happier than to do a little laundry under the twinkle of a chandelier. In redesigning my special space, I decided to infuse a bit of country with a bit of glamour to make matching the socks of seven children just a bit more tolerable.

Changes we made include:

1.     ACCENT WALL WITH SOME HISTORY

Our laundry room also serves as the side entry of the house and is a narrow pathway to the main living space. On the 18-foot wall, opposite the washer and dryer, I decided to create an accent wall from authentic barn wood to give the room some personality. I fell in love with BarnWood2Go’s peel and stick barn wood because it was a project I could do myself in one day. Unlike some of the synthetic, cheap looking peel and stick samples I saw, BarnWood2Go uses real, reclaimed barn wood from Ohio. Each piece is roughly 150 years old and is finely de-nailed, kiln dried, sanded and then wire brushed to create a gorgeous wood plank with a sweet little story of salvation. 

BarnWood2Go has several wood colors to choose from and it comes in several widths. I used Modern White in the 6-inch plank. Within each box, there are varying plank lengths that you can mix and match based upon the length of your wall. There is some cutting involved but with a $40 jig saw, you can easily measure and cut each end plank for the perfect fit.  You can enter the code “Jr2019” at checkout for 10% off.

The custom, canvas laundry sign is from Walls of Wisdom off Etsy. This is also the same company that designed by custom dining room sign as well. They have so many different designs and family name signs to choose from. 

2.     LINEN CLOSET TRANSFORMED TO MUDROOM CUBBIES

While our family can use every extra ounce of storage we can find, I did make the executive decision to turn the linen closet into a cubby station for backpacks, shoes and extra storage. This has turned out to be such an organizational blessing because now every child has a space for backpacks and extra bags. Our handyman added six panels along the back wall and two along each side wall. Each panel has an upper and lower hook where I hang backpacks and the younger ones’ activity bags. I also hang my purse, diaper bag and other random things in there. There are shoe shelves where I put baskets to hide the shoes and big baskets on top for wrapping paper and other utility items.

3.     BARN DOOR ADDITION

Even though I love my new cubbies, this area is still likely to get messy because children are involved. I added barn doors as a functional approach to hide the mess but yet as a decorative statement piece in the room. I used Sherwin Williams Alabaster and Interesting Aqua (the same color as the cabinets) for a pop of color that really has transformed that space. Again, since my laundry room is small, I had to custom make the 24.5” x 84’ and in total with hardware, it was about $650 of material not including the labor.

4.     STATEMENT LIGHTING

Prior to adding my new light fixtures, there were three recessed lights above the washer and dryer that felt like spotlights over my head. I originally was going to add small pendants but then saw these mini Allen + Roth 9” chandeliers from Lowe's. There is another light I love for this project, this vintage, retro glam light that would also work. My husband and handyman scoffed at the idea of hanging three chandeliers in the laundry room but after they were hung, both were in awe of the change. For a total of $240 plus the labor of changing out the lights, this was the MAJOR decorative transformation that completely changed the look of my room. Carrying in my groceries and doing laundry under the gleam of a chandelier just makes my design heart happy.

5.     FLOATING SHELVES WITH A TOUCH OF HOME

For design and decor, I added 20” floating shelves from Reclaimed Wood USA off Etsy.  I adore a feel good, upcycle story and the wood pieces used from these shelves were salvaged from gulf coast hurricanes. I grew up in Florida and evacuated to Tennessee after a mandatory evacuation during Hurricane Irma. It seemed only fitting to bring a piece of a Florida storm to our new home.

6.     HomeGoods FOR THE FINISHING TOUCHES

In every design project I complete, you can bet that I’ve spent time in HomeGoods perfecting the look of the space. For our laundry room makeover, I used baskets from my favorite store in the cubby closet and on top of the dryer for added storage. The wire basket on top of the dryer even has distressed hints of aqua in it! For the floating shelves, I used clearance journals from the office section to give my knick-knacks some height. I found two Rae Dunn canisters for our dogs in the pottery section and set those next to two mini faux plants I found in the check-out aisle. On the bottom, I found two sea glass vases, bought six little washcloths and used a toothbrush holder, yes a TOOTHBRUSH holder, for an added geometric tile-like print. I love what Joanna Gaines does with white and black tile on floors /backsplashes so when I saw this in the bathroom section, I picked it up knowing that the shelf was high enough to hide the holes in the top. This little trick is actually is my favorite part of that entire display. Always think outside of the box when styling shelves!

Click here to purchase the $39 the four bag, rolling laundry sorting cart.