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See my daughter’s darling, budget-friendly, DIY laundry room makeover, and how peel & stick wallpaper was used to add personality and pattern. Easy updates like a chair rail and new cabinets turned this drab and dark room into a fun place to do the laundry!
As someone who used to live in a 1960’s home, where the laundry was in the basement, a bright and cheerful laundry room is very exciting! My daughter and her boyfriend recently finished a laundry room makeover, and there are some very good and budget-friendly ideas, so I’m here to share the process. When Elizabeth told me they were hanging wallpaper in the laundry room, I immediately thought it would be a huge job, but one small design decision saved the day. They were able to complete the entire project in a weekend.
Before the makeover, the laundry room was very basic. It had plain walls, and a wire shelf over the washer and dryer. Functional, but not very pretty. The makeover consisted of three steps. The first thing they did was hang the wallpaper. After that, Darren installed new cabinets, and then they added all the finishing touches. Read on for all the details!
Step 1: Peel & Stick Wallpaper
The laundry room was already painted Sherwin Williams Ellie Gray, so they saved time and money by wallpapering just the top half of the room. They were able to avoid moving the washer & dryer, which would have been a huge and time-consuming job. They used peel & stick wallpaper, and said that it couldn’t have been easier to install. They had experimented with the peel & stick wallpaper in another room before attempting to do the laundry room, so it was quick and easy. If you love the look of wallpaper, but don’t want it permanently stuck to your walls, this peel & stick option is the way to go. It’s removeable and moveable…which means that during installation, you can take it off and put it back on as many times as it takes to get it right!
Here are a few tips in case you want to try peel & stick wallpaper yourself:
- Use a dry erase board eraser to smooth out the wallpaper as each strip is hung. It will take care of all the air pockets, and each strip will blend seamlessly with the next.
- If your peel & stick wallpaper has a pattern, make sure the pattern lines up before placing the strips on the wall. Take one wall at a time, and place the strips on the floor to make sure they are cut correctly.
- Leave at least a two inch overhang on the top and bottom of each strip for trimming.
Step 2: Cabinet Installation
Once the wallpaper was up, Darren installed white cabinets over the washer and dryer. They chose white shaker doors to match the rest of the cabinetry in the house. One of Elizabeth’s main goals for this makeover was to hide as much clutter as she could. By removing the open wire shelf, and hanging closed cabinets, she was able to completely transform that side of the room into a neat and tidy space. Another great idea was filling in the space between the cabinets and the wall with a rod for hanging clothes.
Step 3: Chair Rail Installation
Adding an architectural feature to any room in your home is always a good idea. Some examples are board and batten, crown molding, extra trim molding, or a chair rail. In this case the chair rail was necessary to cover the raw edge of the wallpaper, but it did much more than that. By painting the chair rail white, it tied in the white cabinetry, the washer and dryer, and the white in the wallpaper. Even though it’s a very small room, by repeating the white accents, the room became cohesive and charming.
When it came to the accessories, they kept everything minimal. They used the wall signs they already had, and added a small bench in the corner. Because the laundry room has no natural light, Darren installed a new, industrial style ceiling light. It not only looks better, it adds so much more light than the builder-grade fixture that was there before.
*Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement.
Laundry Room Makeover Sources
- NuWallpaper Oopsie Daisy Peel & Stick Wallpaper
- Laundry Co. Metal Wall Plaque
- White cabinets
- Cabinet knobs
- Ceiling light
- Velvet hangers
- Ikea Hemnes white bench
- Basket with handles (similar)
- Lost socks sign (similar)
- Wall paint: Sherwin Williams Ellie Gray
- Trim paint: Sherwin Williams Pure White
I am a firm believer that a pleasant and organized environment makes every task easier. So if you are on the fence about a room refresh, just do it!
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Looks so good, a place one could enjoy doing laundry!
Love the changes to this laundry room! She’s got her mother’s eye! I’ve been wanting to try peel and stick wallpaper for awhile.
Looks amazing! Your daughter did a great job, and it’s such a pretty pattern. Like you, I’m envious of bright laundry rooms on one of the main floors of a house, and the convenience too when doing laundry, but like you, mine is in the basement. My house was built in 2006 though.
Living in a historic home, we have wallpaper and I love it to this day. It has come and gone in patterns, but we have kept it period appropriate and I am glad it is trending back in style. How nice that it is easier to install these days!! This is a beautiful laundry room, styled to perfection!
We had to remove decades-old wallpaper when we moved in, an awful job when prior owners had painted over it instead of removing it! Anyway just updated a half bath with a lovely paper and added beadboard. Love it! Very large pattern in a very small room works brilliantly
A laundry room that would make want to do laundry. It is such a beautiful transformation. My niece using this peel and stick wallpaper and she said it’s very easy to work with. It’s funny to see on these decorating shows they use wall paper but when someone is looking at a property all they complain about is that it is wallpapered, so go figure. I did a makeover in our master bath with a very traditional wallpaper with a black background. Only on one wall, it was stunning. When we listed our house to sell the listing agent said I had to remove the wallpaper. That wasn’t an option…the people that purchased the house loved the accent wall.
Beautiful laundry room I’m glad they updated wallpaper . I have use the glue type years ago in my daughters bedrooms I like a wallpaper
As always, your instructions are clear and the photos help very much. What a pretty space they created. My laundry room in our downsized love it home is between the garage and the Kitchen. I love having it there.
They did a great job. It seems your daughter has your talent for decorating. Beautiful.
This laundry room is so lovely that I redid mine! Thank you for all of the inspiration!
Love the laundry room!
Do you recommend any “brand ” of peel and stick wallpaper? I assume they are not all the same in quality or use – ability. .
This room turned out so pretty. I agree that doing laundry, especially in a basement, would be much more pleasant in such a nice space. I would guess the lack of clutter from the cabinets make the room feel larger.
Love it! Looks great, bring on the laundry!
Wow! I love the way their laundry room looks!!
I love this makeover! I’m inspired to try peel & stick wallpaper in my bathroom remodel.
I am curious, however, about storing clean towels in the laundry room. I haven’t seen that before. Is it a Midwest “thing”? (I’m on the West coast) I’ve always stored bath towels in the linen closet or the bathroom. Just wondering.
The towels were folded and waiting to be put away in the linen closet!
The laundry looks great! Nice wallpaper.
Love this! What a huge difference! Great share. Thank you. Passed this on to my mom and sis, too!
I love my 1927 home but a mud room and either a main floor, or up stairs (near the bedrooms) laundry room, would be a complete dream com true for me. A pleasant space makes a great difference. You and your daughter both know how to create it.
Oh my gosh. A laundry upstairs near the bedrooms is my dream too!
Great ideas!
Beautiful!
I love the make over in the laundry room. I remember years ago you helped your daughter decorate her home. I wonder if she still lives in the same home. It was so well-done.
This is such an awesome makeover, Ann, with so many great ideas!! It has the fresh and crisp feel that’s always so great in a laundry room. Very inspiring!
Thank you Ann for sharing this post. My daughter needs to do the same thing in her laundry room so I forwarded these beautiful pictures to her for inspiration.
This is a cute space to do laundry. Love the ideas and hopefully can put some of these in my laundry room.. thanks for sharing. Love your site most enjoyable read every day. How could I get in touch with you as I would like to send pictures of items I would like to give to you if you are interested. My family is not interested in any of these items.
Your daughter did an AMAZING job with her updated laundry room! Wow, what a difference. I definitely wouldn’t mind being stuck in this room doing chores.
Adorable! Who wouldn’t look forward to laundry in this room?
Beautiful job! It turned out beautifully.
They did a superb job and may need to start their own blog. I love the fact that nothing they did seems daunting to “the rest of us..”
Ah, it looks just right! Simple touches can make such a difference. They did a fantastic job! Bravo!
Wow!!!! What a difference. They did a great job.
Just beautiful! Everything about it! Love the print they chose, works so well with the paint color. Kudos to them!! I agree, if you create a space with function and beauty, it makes you smile when you enter it.
The room looks great. Like you, I have to go to my basement to do laundry. My laundry room is off a partially finished area but it’s only painted cinder blocks!
Laundry room is stunning! Inspires me to makeover my launder room. Love the wallpaper.
I love how the laundry room turned out, adorable.They did a great job !
It’s adorable and happy!!
It’s soooo pretty! I’m jealous! 😁
Haha! Oh me too…
The laundry room is lovely. I can tell she is your daughter . It is tidy, simple, inviting, and so clean. I have a tip to help you with your own dread of doing laundry downstairs. I actually invite opportunities to scoot up and down the stairs as that keeps me a bit limber and counts as “steps” of the day. However, if you have cranky knees I completely understand the dread.
Hi Nancy! It’s not my knees, thankfully they are fine so far. It’s just that the washer and dryer are on the unfinished side of the basement. It’s dark and sort of small. Just not a fun place to be! Maybe someday I can put a w/d upstairs someplace. That would be awesome!
I so know where you’re coming from…my laundry space is not a fun place to be either! I have to go out my back door, down 3 steps to carport, make a right turn, open the utility room door and step up one step! Utility room houses washer, dryer, water heater, and some shelving over my head that can only be accessed by a large step-ladder. It’s a tiny space with concrete floors. No options to bring washer and dryer into the house. I’ve learned to live with it…not bad in warm weather but winters are hard. Just me and hubby so I bought enough underwear and socks for 2 weeks…so I only do laundry every 2 weeks! I’ve learned to consult the Weather Channel app so I can pick the warmest, sunniest day to do laundry. It is what it is…but I’m sure a man designed this house (circa 1956)….a man who did not do laundry!! lol
Great laundry room redo. We have a nice but dull room but I am so thankful it is on the main floor and has a sink and lots of cabinets( of course they are filled with stuff. I think I will be getting new appliances this year so that will be a good time to brighten up this space.
Ann, I love your daughter’s laundry room! It turned out fantastic. I really want to try the peel and stick wallpaper in a small powder room we have. Love the inspiration here because now I think I’ll add a chair rail! Just fyi though, your link for the wallpaper goes to a mixing bowl on Amazon,lol.
Hi Sharon…thank you so much for letting me know about the link. It’s fixed! Good luck with your powder room!
This laundry room is beautiful! I love it!
What a charming laundry room now! So fun how a few changes really change the personality and functionality of the room. We added wall cabinets and a counter over the W & D to our basic laundry room before we moved in and wonder how we would have functioned without those features. Wall paper is on my list! You daughter will really enjoy her updated space. Great job!
Love the makeover! Where are the knobs from on the whole cabinet?
The knobs are from Lowe’s. There is a link in the post under “Laundry Room Makeover Sources.” Thank you!
Thank you,I didn’t s the knobs😉
The remodeled laundry room is fantastic. How bright and cheerful. Love the colors, the wallpaper design, and especially the new light fixture. You will never have dirty laundry lying around. You’ll e looking for extra things to wash! Definitely an A+ design!
What a difference that made! Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree😃