Pinterest Project: Laundry Room

First I'd like to say, Yes...I did a blog about my crazy laundry remodel.  LOL.  And yes, it did cost alot more than I thought it would - but it was worth every penny :D  And yes, that IS a chandelier hanging there.  LOL. 

This was my first pinterest project.  My "p"inspirational pinner/blogger had mentioned it cost her about $50 to redo her laundry room - and I was like YEAH, I CAN AFFORD THAT!  But, in all reality, it cost much more than I had thought.  Total cost was about $370.00. <--- well worth every penny!

I also want to thank my wonderful husband for pretty much doing all the labor and putting up with my craziness during the remodel and a BIG thank you to Cindy of Cameras & Chaos: Laundry Redo (http://camerasandchaos.blogspot.com/2011/02/laundry-room-redo.html)  for posting her remodel of her laundry room and being the inspiration behind this entire project :)

8 weeks ago while browsing through Pinterest, I came upon a turquoise laundry room that I absolutely fell head over heels with.  I had purchased brand new Maytag appliances about a year ago and everything about my laundry room was WRONG.  It was dark, dreary and just not making me happy.  I hated (HATED) walking in there to even change the clothes from the washer to the dryer.  It was a quick in and out, and shut the door.

After pinning this "inspiration" laundry room photo to my "ye old house" board - I was seriously on a mission to make my laundry room practically identical to the one in the picture I found.  It was bright, cheery and made me smile every time I looked at it.  I knew I had to do it.  And - the layout of the room was 99% on point. 

FYI:  This laundry room required a total overhaul, so my cost is alot higher than my inspirational blogger's cost did - but I figured what a great way to learn how to do everything that could possibly be done to a room.  :) 

And so it started....

Laundry room pics before:

 The picture above is the picture of the laundry room completely empty when we bought the house.  Notice the wonderful linoleum, dark contractor grade cabinets and white walls.

This picture here shows the laundry room a few months after moving in and the purchase of the new Maytag appliances.  Nothing in this room makes me feel happy, except the beautiful washer & dryer.  The dark curtain, the dark laundry mat on the floor.  My poor appliances are shouting for a redo!

Now, here are my inspiration photos & the link:
 

My Inspiration <3

http://camerasandchaos.blogspot.com/2011/02/laundry-room-redo.html

Everything about this laundry room is FABULOUS! The blue colored walls, the shelving unit holding shabby chic items, the white cabinets and of course the CHANDELIER!  The board & batten is so fresh and clean and really brightens up the room. The coat hangers - gorgeous. EVERYTHING! LOVE this! I knew I had to have it!

And so it begins...

DAY 1:

Day 1 started with removing the cabinet doors, sanding and painting - along with the cabinet drawer on the left hand side and the tiny counter top it had as well.  I didn't do anything special except sand down the bottom of the cabinet doors because after 20+ years of being used without handles, the bottoms were pretty worn.  We decided to flip the cabinet doors upside down when we put them back on so the bottoms had that "new" look to them.  We used Home Depot Speedwall 1-Gal. Semigloss Interior Paint Model # 1456-0100V-01

Store SKU # 631369 - $13.97 for the cabinets, ceiling, baseboards & window sill.

Before - Cabinet doors & door jamb removed
and replaced due to previous damage 

After - Cabinet doors & facings have been painted white
(doors not present)

DAY 2:

Day 2 started with the painting of the walls & ceiling.  It took me forever and a day to settle on the blue I wanted. But, I finally found the perfect color (for me): Cloudless (love!)

BEHR Premium Plus 1 Gal. White Satin Enamel Premium Plus Interior Paint
Model # 705201

Store SKU # 926104
$24.44/gallon

Here is the paint can label :)

I have to admit, once the first coat was down and I took a step back and looked at the room, I was terrified that I had chosen the wrong blue.  I was certain that I had totally messed up and now we were stuck with this whole gallon of Smurf blue paint and wasted $25.  My husband kept reassuring me to just wait until it was all put together before I went writing it off :)  Glad he's around :) 

Total cost for wall & trim paint: $38.41  Total project cost to date: $38.41

Also notice how we were very limited in space. To save time and energy, we just moved the washer and dryer forward then back when we were done.

DAY 3:
We did 2 coats of the blue, then caulked the edges around the cabinets and the baseboards.  We also painted that little square yellow box where the pipes come out of and we painted the water softner hose (not being used) the same color as the wall to try and make it seem like it wasn't there. ;)

2
coats
of
paint

Walls, cabinets and ceiling finished. The color of the paint really changes with the time of day/lighting. It can look very very blue, and then it can look a very pale blue. Either way, the color is fantastic :)

DAY 4:

Day four consisted of installing the flooring and the new door & doorjamb.  We opted to go for the cheaper route and put down resiliant vinyl flooring planks.  We had used 12x12 vinyl tiles in our master bathroom, laying it down like regular tile using spacers and grout.  For the laundry room we opted to go for the vinyl plank flooring that is designed with the grout "look" in it already.  The transformation was amazing.  Due to this being our first time using this material and the shape of our laundry room/entry way, we ended up buying 2 1/2 boxes (our HD just happened to have an opened box with 1/2 missing that they sold to us for 1/2 price (score!) - otherwise you have to buy a full box.  Total cost for flooring: $125.40 - Total project cost to date $163.81

We brought the flooring into the entry way as well

New floor & door/jamb installed

TrafficMaster Allure 12 in. x 36 in. Corfu Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring (8-Case)

Model # 21191

Store SKU # 731735 Sto

ore SO SKU # 954912

$50.16 /CA-Case Covers 24 Sq. Ft.

DAY 5:

Now it was time to pick out the hardware for the cabinets.  Who would think that it would be so hard to pick out hardware?  At first I looked all around town for hardware, and it seemed all anyone carried was brushed nickel, and for this laundry room I needed something that would POP when you looked at the cabinets.   I decided to go with chrome scroll cabinet pulls.  I was able to find them indivdually at Orchard Supply Hardware for $1.79 per knob, compared to $19.99 for a pack of 10 at Target.  This was fantastic since I only needed 6. 
Cost for knobs: $10.74 - Total project cost to date: $174.55
 



I am very happy to say that I installed the cabinet hardware all by myself - yay!   

DAY 6:

Board & Batten time!!  I could not wait for the hubby to install this.  I originally had planned to do this myself, since my inspiration blogger had basically done hers all by herself, but, I left with my BFF to the mall for a girls day out, and on my way home I got a text from my wonderful hot hubby with a pic of the wall completed <3 <3  I was SHOCKED at how fabulous it looked!  The board & batten was probably the most expensive of all the remodel (besides the appliances), but, it really really made the room come together.  We used one white flat panel board for the back board (4'h x 8'l), (6) - prefinished 5 foot flat moulding base pieces (3 1/4"w) for the "batten" and (2) - 8' prefinished brick moulding pieces 1 15/16"d for the top and bottom pieces (we replaced the old baseboard with the new brick moulding for that wall only).  Hubby applied the back board with liquid nails, added in the bottom base bard, measured & nailed in the batten boards evenly - added the top piece all the while making sure everything is level - then wood puttied the nails, painted the entire thing and waited for me to add in the coat hooks - which I picked up at OSH. 

Material costs for board & batten: $97.52  Total project cost to date: $272.07

I take credit for installing the chrome coat hangers :)

Shelf with nic nacs.  - I had absolutely NOTHING that I had laying around the house (well, except for 1 thing) that I could move into the laundry room, so I grabbed all the kids and headed to Goodwill to find some cool 2nd hand things.  One persons junk is another man's treasure, right?  I left there spending under $25 for some really cool pieces.  It took me about an hour to finally find what I thought would fit the room.  Hubby installed the white shelf with scroll brackets for me, and I fully enjoyed perfectly placing the pieces :)
Cost for shelving & nic nacs: $48.28  Total project cost to date: $320.35

My most favorite piece on the shelf is the glass house with my great-grandmothers pearls, my kids' hand & foot mouldings and the doll my mother made for me.  Perfect place to display them, as they were just hidden away before <3

THE CHANDELIER:

The INFAMOUS chandelier.  HOLY cow.  Can I just say that the chandelier had to be one of the biggest decisions I made throughout this entire transformation.  The light we had in there was a standard contractor grade golden bulb that was simply just not going to work.  I looked for SEVERAL different options.  Went to MANY different home stores looking for alternate lighting since a chandelier in the laundry room seemed to be 1) a bit too much and 2) a bit pricey.  It didn't matter where I looked, how much I tried - nothing else could work but a chandelier.  I finally found the perfect chandelier online for a little more than I was will to spend, but my BFF said she'd go in 1/2's with me for my birthday - so how could I pass it up???  I'm so happy I stuck with  my gut, and ordered the chandelier, because it is really the finishing touch.

Cost for Chandelier: $39.99 (1/2 off $79.99) Total project cost to date: $360.34

Last thing to buy was the window covering, and I just opted for the cheapest thing I could find, but, kept the theme going.  I found some lace 1/2 panels at Kmart and bought 2 spring rods - total about $10.

Total material costs for window: $10  Total project cost: $370.34

THE FINAL PRODUCT: 

I AM 100% SATISFIED WITH THE OUTCOME OF MY LAUNDRY ROOM!  There's nothing like having a room you absolutely love, and I am very very much in love with this room <3

BEFORE

AFTER