Its finally the day where I reveal my completed farmhouse laundry room makeover! I have been chronicling the behind the scenes progress on my insta stories if you want to see more behind the scenes before final projects hit the blog be sure to follow along HERE. I am excited to share this space with you mostly because it means that I am finally getting to enjoy having this space completed. It was such an eye sore and completely impractical space before. It piled things a mile high on the washing machine and dryer, I didn’t use the original shelf for anything practical because it was too tall for me to easily reach the things on there so it just became a catch all for the random things I decided to store up there! Que the disastrous before picture below! This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
BEFORE
I am sure you’re wondering why I let it look like this, the truth is I just hated this space. It was easily my least favorite space in our home and so I just let it go because I didn’t care to try and make it any better! Until now of course! I am sure you perhaps you can relate to this. If we don’t care for or appreciate something it shows in its outer appearance. So It was time to finally put some love into this space so that it could finally meet its full potential.
AFTER
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My budget for this space was pretty limited, I had big plans for a subway tile backsplash or board and batten, some custom cabinets or fancy storage solutions but when it came right down to it those things just weren’t it my immediate budget but the necessity to transform this space that I use daily was! So I decided to just go for it using what I had.
The shelves were made using 1×4 inch planks from my local hardware store. I measured the length of the wall and cut them to fit just right. I then lined up 4 side by side and used a smaller piece in 3 different places. Once placed along the backs I screwed them in with my drill and they were now all attached in a neat row to each other. I made sure to leave a space on both ends and at the back so that they would lay flat once installed.
Once I had the shelves made I repeated this same step but added a few more pieces to make a larger wood counter! I then stained and sealed them with a water based poly coat using a foam roller. This made sure that the final application was ultra smooth but also water resistant and durable since these shelves are going in the laundry room when all is said and done.
I let these boards dry for about 72 hours. So that the stain was dry before I applied the poly coat and the poly coat was dry before installing into the laundry room. The only item I actually ended up purchasing for the DIY portion of the project was the poly coat. I had the boards left over from another project and stain and screws in my stash of DIY supplies. That is one of the things I love so much about DIYing the more you dig into DIY the greater your collection of tools and scraps become. Making these types of projects seem almost free when you shop your own collection! Regardless of weather or not you have these types of items laying around the supplies for this project at affordable, and will definitely save you hundreds of dollars than if you had hired out the project to someone else!
There is also something so satisfying with creating something yourself! You appreciate the work that has gone into the project and you just have a lot more pride in the completed space at the end!
Before I could install the shelves I had to rip out the original shelf installed by the builder. This came out without a ton of effort and I then patched up the wall. Once the spackle was nice and dry I just put a fresh paint of coat on the wall. I didn’t change the wall color so It was fairly easy to just touch it up. Like I mentioned before I had played with some different ideas for the backsplash, But I determined that it really wasn’t worth the time or effort to do one because my idea for storage would mask the final outcome almost completely. I realized that I didn’t even have to compromise the backsplash I has intended because it would really be the star of the show any way.
I then installed 3 rows of MDF. I used my level to make sure they were nice and straight and these essential work as brackets to hold up the shelves I made. They are screwed into the studs making them extra sturdy and I just slipped the shelves right on top of them.
Now for the truly fun part! D?cor and organizing. I admit that I love love to organize. So there are few things I love more than a trip to the container store! I had done some online shopping before I physically went into the store and had a completely different set of bins and baskets in my online shopping cart than what I came out with. I realized that besides being pretty these bins needed to be practical to store and maintain a in the moist and linty laundry room.
For those reasons I picked the woven Ashcraft bins and the white plastic bins. They are both made of sturdy plastic making them so simple to wipe down and keep tidy. The farmhouse fabric bins are great for hiding the less slightly items and were the perfect size to fit 4 across on the second shelf of the laundry room.
To complete the look I added hanging labels on the woven and farmhouse bins, and then adhesive labels to the white plastic bins. These are crucial because they help remind not only me but my family of where things are located and where they go. Having clear and concise labels will help us all keep this space looking as it does right now which is my ultimate goal for this space. I wanted it to be functional but also practical. Having storage solutions that are impossible to maintain defeat the original purpose of the project anyway right?!
Before printing out the labels I needed, I took an inventory of the items I planned to store in the space. I laid them out all over my kitchen counter and grouped the like items together this process helped me determine which bins I would store which items and made it a lot easier to get the items into the space in a way that would be functional, that way like items can all be found in one bin.
The labels are printed from my computer using the font “Canela Bark Bold” One of the storage solutions I’m loving the most since completing the space are the Click Clack pantry canisters. These I have used to keep my laundry pods. Before I had various bags and pods all over the laundry room. Now they are easy to access but also uniform which my OCD heart loves a little too much!!!
The Final touch for the space was of course a laundry room sign! Need I say more I made this one my self but my business partner Rachel who make signs has full access to this exact design to recreate one for your space too! if you wish to DIY your own like I did! I have an in-depth tutorial HERE.
I assume this will come up so I thought Id also briefly share about my machines. they are new less than a year old! I mostly love them! They work amazing! They clean better than any other machine I have ever had! The spin cycle is so thorough that by the time they are done in the washer they are nearly dry! Cutting down on drying time and saving money! The touch screen buttons are the only thing I don’t love. They can be a little finicky and sometimes I have to power it on and off a few times before it recognizes what I’m trying to make it do. But it has always worked well besides having “touchy” button
Other Recommended Items to Create the Look
I recently signed up with the Grove Collaborative for my cleaning supplies and tools! I have absolutely been loving there products especially the spray bottles! I got the set of 3 glass spray bottles like the one I show in this post with my favorite DIY Laundry Stain remover coming soon! You can find the set and so much more including free products with your first order by clicking here.
That wraps up my laundry room tour! Just a few months ago I created asset of vintage inspired laundry room prints that would be so perfect for this space! You can find those HERE
XO Haley
I really need to redo my laundry. Matching containers makes this example look really neat and tidy. Mine is very much like the before picture with just one, not very usable, shelf. Thanks for the idea.
You did an amazing job!!!!!! Looking forward to the DIY Laundry Stain remover post!!!!
I love this!! The Laundry room is so cute and so are you!! I also love your shirt! Can you say where it?s from? I seriously think I?m going to copy this for my laundry room. Thank you so much for sharing!
You are too kind thank you Ellen! My shirt if from the Gap I got it a few years ago though so I am not sure its still there! and I am so glad you were inspired by my laundry room! Its one of my favorite makeovers to date!