If you’re anything like me (and the rest of the world) you’ve spent more time at home over the last few months than before. I don’t think any of us thought that when the country shut down in March that the disruption to our daily lives would go on this long.
While at home, it of course got me thinking about my surroundings. I began to wonder if there were any small projects we could tackle while we were at home more.
Enter, my laundry room.
Here’s real life for you in a photo. Ha! Directly across from the washer/dryer is the door to our garage. So when we come in from the garage we walk right into the laundry area. Not super ideal, but hey, I’m happy to have a space like this. Eventually down the road, I’d love to move the laundry to the back bathroom and create a true mudroom. But, that just isn’t a reality for us right now. So I started brainstorming what I could do on a budget to make this room more of my style.
A few weeks ago Kirsten talked about finding your style. It has taken me several years, but I feel like I’m finally figuring it out. We live in a 1980s home, but it really has the bones of a classic colonial home. So I would say my style is traditional/modern cottage with a little eclectic thrown in there 😉 Check out a good example of this style below.
The next step for me was inspiration. I already had a lot of ideas “pinned” on Pinterest for my future Laundry/Mudroom so I decided to see if I could pull anything from there as a starting point. From looking at my inspiration, it quickly became clear that I was drawn to darker colors and more of a monotone look. Because this was going to be a budget friendly refresh, I planned on using paint as my main transformation tool. There would be no demo, no flooring change, no layout change. Just some paint and a few new accessories.
So now I had some direction and the next step was paint. Now, what I did next is not something I would recommend, but I did it anyway. I picked a color off of internet images alone, called the paint store to have them mix it up, and then I picked it up curbside. Eek. No comparing swatches. No samples. I dove right in. Now, normally I wouldn’t recommend this route. Picking a paint color just by looking at pictures on the internet is tricky and risky. But with the world wide pandemic I took a risk and it worked out. But take it from me, it’s worth it to get swatches and even some samples first.
I ended up choosing the color Aegean Teal by Benjamin Moore
It’s a very pretty green/blue. Once I had the paint, it was time to dive in! I naively thought that this being a small room, it wouldn’t take very long. But what I didn’t really take into account, was the fact that this small room had 5 doors. Yikes. And since I was going for the monotone look, I would need to paint all 5. Now thankfully, I only had to do one side of each door, but still, that’s a lot of doors. With 2 coats for each door, it took longer than I expected.
Now, I will fully admit that this look might not be for everyone. Not everyone’s home would suit this particular look. But, I knew it would work well in my home. Even my husband took some convincing. You can admire a certain look/style, but just remember, it might not always work in your particular home or aesthetic.
Another thing that added to the length of this project, was having to paint the bead board on the lower 1/3 of my walls. I had to take a paint brush and get into all the tiny grooves. Once I did that, I still had to go over it with a roller as well.
See that lovely “boob” light? We said good bye to that as well during this refresh. Lighting makes suck a difference. The one I purchased sold out, but here’s a similar option.
As I progressed with my painting, I was loving the look. Prior to painting, the bead board (which was white) had gotten so dingy looking and beat up. The darker paint was making it look fresh and clean again. I know it will get beat up with our daily use and my kids, but hopefully it won’t show as much dirt and grime.
Once I got the doors finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. While this was still a relatively “small” project, it was still taking me longer than I anticipated. But that’s real life. We get so used to seeing a quick turnaround on HGTV or instagram, it becomes our reality and sets our expectations high. But that’s just not reality. So don’t beat yourself up if a project is taking longer than expected.
Things were really coming together. I had ordered a new light, a shelf, a laundry cart and some art to really tie the space together. Due to Covid, a lot of the items were delayed and took longer to get here. Another great reminder of how often times, life circumstances affect how quickly one can get projects done.
One of my favorite things I added was this beautiful art piece by Lindsey Letters. It is a hanging canvas of beautiful butterflies. It has a vintage flair and I just loved the color and interest it brought to the space. Who says you can’t have fun art in a place like the laundry room?
So all in all, this project took longer than I expected and was harder than I was anticipating. But I don’t regret it at all! The transformation was just what I was hoping for. It felt like a big change but on a budget. And I love how it turned out. The monotone look was just what I hoped it would be. What used to be a somewhat dingy room that left me feeling “blah” now made me smile when I opened the door. Yes, even with a mountain of laundry on the floor.
As a reminder, here is the before:
And here is the after:
Remember, it doesn’t have to involve taking down walls and a huge budget to make an impact. And remember, we’re always here to help 🙂
-M