I’m convinced that there is nothing more motivating than the “Holy crap, we’ll never make it” deadline. We started the laundry room makeover mid Dec. and HAD to have it done before the baby came (Jan 5.) The great thing about making over such a small space is that 1. It’s small! Projects that would take days in a large space can be done in just a few hours! 2. You can do really awesome stuff without worrying about space overwhelment <—Look mom! New word!
Like I mentioned in the Before post, the space is tiny, really nothing more than a hallway with a bump out for a washer and dryer. But it needed to be better. It needed a pep talk Coach Taylor style. (Tim Riggins I’ll always love you!) And it needed to happen now.
Not so great.
Want to see what it looks like now?
So much better!!
The biggest decision that I had to make was the wall and floor tile. Because it was a small space I wanted something show stopping. After hemming and hawing for all of 2 minutes on homedepot.com I decided on matte black penny rounds for the floors. That was an easy decision, but then came the grout. Grout can massively change the entire appearance of your tile, especially if you are installing something simple with no variation like black penny rounds. Even looking at a bunch of different pictures online didn’t help all that much. (They say its gray but it looks white!?) So I did what any good DIYer would do, I tested it. You can see my 5 options and how they each look over on The Apron.
For the wall tile, I went with this modified white subway tile from Merola. The shape is a little more elongated and slim compared to the traditional size and I loveeeee it! I’ll delve deeper into install in the tutorial post but man isn’t it the stuff dreams are made of?!
I grouted everything with Fusion Pro and it.was.life.changing. If you are embarking on a tile DIY, this is your MVP. It comes premixed (you don’t even have to stir it!) in a rainbow of colors. One thing that throws so many people for a loop when tiling is mixing everything to the right consistency. I know it happens to me! Fusion Pro takes the guess work out. We’ll go into more specifics in the tiling post but this gets 5 gold stars from me!
The countertop was such a simple DIY and I’m loving the waterfall edge! Can you tell we’re still obsessed with stacked plywood over here?
It can be a little hard for me to balance functional + beautiful sometimes but I feel like the cabinet storage is the perfect marriage. It has open shelving for pretty things, and cupboard doors for the not so pretty things that have to live in a laundry room.
The other reality that I had to deal with was cupboard doors. In order to make it so that they didn’t swing open into the walk way and hit the garage door/my head every time I walked by I decided that sliding doors would be so much better.
Simple things like the leather and copper hanging rod rock my world. Its so cute to look at and is completely necessary for a functional laundry room.
Having a countertop to fold things on is a complete game changer. In fact, my laundry couch is getting a little lonesome! Definition: Laundry Couch: The couch in your bedroom that you can never sit on because it holds all of your clean, unfolded laundry.
I cant wait to start sharing the tutorials and things that we learned (the hard way) for this space. But for now, hop over to The Home Depot Blog and check out my tips for picking out grout color and see how 5 different colors look with the black penny tile!
Massive thanks to my bestie The Home Depot for teaming up with me on this project!!
Don’t miss any of the projects in this series! Check the tutorials out below!
LOVE the plywood counter – will you post a tutorial? If not, how is it secured to the floor? I’m in the middle of tiling my laundry room right now and this is such awesome inspiration!
Hey Jessica!!
Yes I have a tutorial for it! Its actually not secured directly to the floor (its on feet) its secured to both walls!
xo
m
Yay! Can not wait for the tutorial to be up on your blog 🙂 So looking forward to recreating the bench in my own laundry 🙂
I love the addition of a copper hanging rod. This entire space is genius!
It looks wonderful Mandi! And what better a space to wash cute little onesies 🙂 Love it.
Loovve the tile floor <3! That basket <3. I scored the large blue tones floor pillow also and love it!
Holy cow, I love it!! And I love Tim Riggins. #texasforever
Mandi! This is so good! This whole thing speaks my design love language!
Amazing! Love this so much Mandi! So clean and functional. Great job!
OMG omg I love it. My laundry room is hot mess express. It’s in a hole in the wall attached to the kitchen, hidden by accordion doors. I don’t even know where to start with it.
Also I NEED to know where the giant basket on the floor came from.
I saw the basket at Target this weekend
LOOKS GREAT! I love the personal details, like the leather & copper hanger. Also, i would love to know how the heck you miter a large piece of wood (non wood worker here :))
It’s so pretty! I’d love to know how you relocated/hid the hoses & electrical outlets. That’s what’s currently stumping our laundry room redo!
Really, seriously need to know about the plumbing and stuff. This is just what I need in my laundry/dungeon room. Love it!!
That, of course, is the hippest laundry room ever. the end
Cpmpletely diggin’ that floor and those sliding cupboards! Well done you two!
You have made such great use of space in a standard sized laundry room and managed to make it gorgeous too! WOW!!! I love the counter and the hanging rod. We are re-doing ours right now and just upgraded to an in-room folding surface also…life changing and I’m so happy to have reclaimed the “laundry bench” in my room! Great job!!!
Looks so good! I love the placement of the clock and the sliding doors…genius touches!
Looks great! Where did you get the clock?
Where are those pillows from?
Love how it turned out! Simple yet fun and classy. Love the natural beauty of wood.
Oh mercy. This laundry room is changing everything for me. EVERYTHING. I’m ready for the small nooks and crannies to be bright white and pretty!! Thank you for always inspiring us to go beyond the blah normal!!
Wow, it looks so awesome, I dream that my laundry room could be this pretty!! Great job Mandi!
Amazing. You never cease to amaze me with your transformations.
When I looked at the before picture I was like, “how on earth can you (as in anyone) makeover that tiny space?” But then I saw the after picture and was like “Wow? That is so awesome!!” I love it, especially considering what our laundry room looks like?
It looks amazing! It’s not only gorgeous, but fresh, airy and practical. All the things you need in a utility room.
So many beautiful details in this room. I LOVE the sliding cabinet doors – genius! Can’t wait to see tutorials for the countertop and hanging rod!
Gobsmacked! I’m kind of anti fancy laundry rooms. I’ve seen so many on pinterest and they just look like a lot of time was wasted on them. But….you have redefined laundry rooms. This is a very nice pass through on the way to the garage or wherever. The hanging bar is good for things that have to air dry. Very well done. You’ll get a hundred thousand pins on this one.
Love love love!!!! I recognize some Target pieces, obviously I go there way too much;) this is literally perfection
Absolutely love this! The space is completely transformed but serves both a functional and aesthetic purpose! XX
Hannah
https://hannahhappily.blogspot.com/
Oh my gosh, you’ve done it again! Always love your style and now I’m having major laundry room envy! Our washer/dryer is in the basement. The unfinished basement. My husband can’t quite stand up straight in most of it. And it’s kind of dusty and cobwebby. Yuck! Because the ceilings are so low, we can’t really put a drop ceiling in. Wish there was something we could do to make it nicer….
Love it! When you do the counter post, I would love to hear about how your washer does underneath it. My washer is also a front loader and it likes to dance across the floor and do all sorts of shimmying and shaking. I really want to install a counter over it but I am afraid of what will happen during the spin cycle dance.
This is one of my favorite laundry room re-dos!
This is stunning. Laundry surely must be more fun now! 🙂
I can’t wait to read your tutorials. Everything you’ve done is amazing.
Why don’t you color correct your before photos? It’s a really unfair and inaccurate before and after.
You take good photos so I don’t doubt you have the skill to improve these. It seems like a blatant and purposeful oversight.
You should do better.
Ouch! Mean much?! No matter the lighting, it’s obvious the before laundry room was a major woof!!!
It’s almost as if you where only able to take the before pictures at 10 p.m. When your husband got home from work cause it was the only time he had to do it and he doesn’t give you much warning. Imagine all while 9 months pregnant you silly women get your husband under control so you can get perfect lighting for a before picture. Some peoples children. Keep up the goodness Mandi.
I agree. And it doesn’t even need it. Mandi’s makeovers are impressive enough on their own!
Goodness, Jessica! Color correcting would not have changed a whole lot. As far as I can tell, most all of the difference in hues comes from two things:
1) Photographing the room at different times of day. (…seriously, how dare she… eye roll…)
2) The INTENSE amount of beige in that room before. Those are not off-white walls looking dim because of lighting – those are BEIGE walls. And a beige door, beige trim, ceiling, and floor. Look at the light switch next to the door. It’s plenty white!!
Please be more considerate before you criticize people online. You, Jessica, can do better as well.
Now, Mandi, it’s beyond impressive. You never cease to amaze me. I’m with Maggie, I’m so jealous of your “eye”! Love, love, love the makeover!!
<3
Wow what a difference!!! I love the subway tile on the back wall and the open shelves!! =) Great job! I’m pinning this for later! =)
please tell me WHY plants and pillows are a necessity in a laundry room? or wall tile?oor so it can get messed up when you open the door? I am a minimalist and like tion and practicalty in areas.
while I like the floor,upper cabinets and the enclosre aound the w/d,the rest seems unnecessary,when paint could have saved money and done just as good a job.
I don’t know about Mandi but plants make me happy. Once I realized that, I started bringing them into every area of my home. There are probably people who come over and roll their eyes at my plants in weird spots… but most of my friends think my collection is awesome and say that I’ve inspired them to have more houseplants. I highly doubt the pillows stay there permanently but in the meantime, they show possible storage ideas and add a nice amount of colour for a pretty picture. You do realize that this is a blog, right?
this is looks amazing!
Fab.u.lous and what a cute clock!! I have the same laundry room/hallway (with our pantry on the other wall) and entrance to the garage situation. It is a dumping ground even after I gave it a cute makeover, haha. At least I will always have pictures of what it looks like totally clean in there.
Love the whole thing! Never did I imagine I would love and covet a specific laundry room so much!
Laundry couch haha!I have one of those too. Except mine is the living room couch. We have a sectional that usually has one section with laundry waiting to be folded. These are real conversations in my house. “Mom!!! I need some undies!!” Me: “Did you look on the couch?” or “who keeps knocking the clean laundry on the floor?” One of these days I will get it together haha.
Wow! This is incredible. I love the makeover so much…it might be my favorite yet 🙂
Spectacular Mandi! Makes doing the laundry a pleasant experience rather than a dreaded chore! A question: at times my washer flings itself about if the load gets off balance. Have you secured yours in any way to prevent damage to that gorgeous waterfall counter? Love your blog; your fearless talents inspire me! All the best with your new little angel child!
Incredible! When I saw the before pictures; I said to myself that while Mandi is amazing at transforming spaces and inspiring new ideas in me, there was no way that she could manage that with this small laundry room and not show us something that we haven’t already seen all across the internet. Well, I was wrong. I am so jealous of your “eye” and your creativity. Well done!
Whatever happened to the newsletter? Are you still doing that?
I haven’t seen one in a long time – am I missing out???
I second this question. What happened to the newsletter?
I love the shelf you created over your washer and dryer. I have been debating doing something similar over a piano to add color to it without having to paint the piano. I may try something like that.
perfect mix between utilitarian and gorgeous!
This is my absolute favorite of all of your reveals. I am completely obsessed with your tile choices, btw! You are so talented, Mandi! I’m dying to know your sources for the clock and the baskets! Thanks for sharing this amazing room makeover.
Mind blowing! SO amazing!!! I love the look of the black, white and wood with the pops of copper. Really, really good, girl!
Heart palpitations! WOOO HOOO!
Wait… how did you cover up your water hose outlet box thingy in the wall?
SSSOOOOO Gooood! I also want to know how you covered the water hose outlet box thingy!
You are amazing and I have total house envy over you 🙂 Keep up the awesome work!
http://www.threewhims.com
I can’t wait to see the tutorials. You’re inspiring me to DIY my bathroom
So cheerful! And unique – that’s the best part, it doesn’t look like every other laundry room on Pinterest – it’s the little details that set it apart!
Wow, Mandi! Your laundry room makeover is outstanding. What a truly lovely space. A real “living space” and no longer a “hiding space”. You have shown that a purposeful and utilitarian space can be beautifully outfitted.
Amazing ! Just ” ouah” ! My laundry room seems awfull now… It’s my storage room for pillows or my craft furniture. So, it’s the “dark” place to be… Not organized at all ! But, I have plenty ideas for a new project now ! Thanks a lot ! Just one question : did you put something on the wood to protect from humidity ? Sorry for my poor english … I’m trying so hard to speak better but, I guess the frenchies are not good at it !
Again A big ” ouah” from the other side of the ocean !
How did you hide the water hook-up?? Our laundry rooms the same way and I”d love to know how you did it!!
Looks wonderful, my laundry room is set up this same way and I am struggling with the water hook up between the washer and dryer the way yours is. I would like to have a wood enclosure on top of my washer set also but the water hookup is right in the way. Did you end up having yours relocated lower? Thanks for your help and great job.
Where did you buy the sliding door cupboards?
Hi Rachel!
We built them to fit the space! I have a tutorial with plans coming up!
xo
m
Thanks Mandi and Rachel! I was wondering the same thing. They are so clever! This post makes me want to do laundry (crazy)! Thank you for the breath of fresh air Vintage Revivals!
Mandi I know you are a busy lady but I am wondering if you ever put up the tutorial for the cupboards? I am also due in a few weeks and this baby is also demanding a new laundry room before she comes. This nesting busy is hard work 😉
I always look forward to checking out your new creations and designs Mandi! I keep checking back to this particular post to see if the tutorial for the sliding door cabinet got posted. uh oh- moving out and leaving your laundry room makes me think it might be a thing of the past;(
What is the length of the wall you have your washer and dryer on??
Where did you get the basket with the teal handles? My laundry room needs it, too!
I just found the basket with teal handles at HomeGoods! Copper clock at Target.
Absolutely fabulous! You are a true inspiration. I love all of your copper projects. How do you keep them looking shiny? Do you coat them at all? I love shiny copper, but brown penny copper is less appealing. I was wondering if you had a trick to keep them looking nice.
I absolutely love this makeover. So inspirational. Where did you get the cabinets with the sliding doors? Or was that another diy? If so can you please explain how you did it? Once again this looks so fantastic!
Love this!!!! Could you share the paint color? I don’t want to ruin our project by going too beige ?
Love this. Can you tell me where you got the clock from?
I would never have thought to use wood like that on and end. Looks great!
I would also like to know how you did the sliding doors! Can you share? Thank you! Love this makeover!
I LOVE this remodel! Where did you get/ or how did you make the cabinets with the sliding doors!?
I would love to know where you got your cabinet, or if you made it yourself? We’re about to embark on a laundry room makeover of our own, and this is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for!
Is the cabinet custom? Did I miss this tutorial?
This space is beautiful! If you don’t mind sharing, what color grout did you end up choosing?