Here's what we started with:
Two super cheap uppers, no washer, no dryer and the same paint color as every single other room in our house.
Some painters tape and a couple cans of paint later we had Stripes, and that's about as far as we got. Fast forward about a year and I'm still hanging wet clothes off hooks, loosing socks, and the occasional pair of sweat pants, behind the dryer and living with cabinetry that crushes my soul (me . . . dramatic ? ? ? no way).
Lee gave the A-OK to a laundry room re-do (mostly because he was the one fishing out the rogue laundry from behind the machines), we agreed to a VERY tight budget . . . $200!!!
So first things first, we needed a counter top!!! We looked into getting a granite counter exactly the same as our kitchen granite but a $400+ quote later and we gave up on that.
So we moved to laminate countertops but the problem with that was they only come in the standard 25" deep. And we needed 32" to cover the machines.
Here's what we did, because we also had to cover the water supply and hoses we built a false back, Lee framed out 7"at the back, that gave us enough depth to cover the hoses and it gave us the extra 7" we needed to use the standard laminate counters. We used Ikea's Pragel counters in White.
The back will be removable in case we need to turn off the water supply but otherwise will stay in place!
So that's as far as we've got, we should be finished by the end of this week! Just some bead board to install, some paint touch ups new cabinet doors, some serious cabinet organizing and purging (there's still a swiffer box up there and we haven't owned a swiffer since the townhouse), some door handles, and a bar to hang clothes off of. Phew . . . Fingers crossed we stay under the $200 mark!!
Good luck, I think it looks great already. Hope that you can keep it under $200!
ReplyDeleteYou're off to a roaring start! I'm loving it already. The countertop looks great (and I'm digging the pretty washer and dryer you have too). I have faith in your budget-minded DIY skills. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm in the planning stage for finishing our laundry room (when we built the house we opted for no cabinetry in the laundry room and decided to come back to it later...) My issue right now is that we too have the front load washer/dryer and I'm not sure I'd be able to reach into any cabinets above them. I'm not short or anything, those front-loaders are deep! Do you have any issues with this?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea of a false back! I may just do the same thing!
Can't wait to see how you finish this room off. You said "bead board" and I was sold.
Great time to organize. Laundry room are notorious black holes. I like the false back idea...just make sure you can quickly get to the hoses should you need to.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to see how this turns out! We have the same set-up with our water supply lines and I've often wondered how we'll hide them when we're ready to "pretty up" the laundry room. Looks great so far :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what you do with the space. My laundry room is my arch nemesis. Its on my project list for 2012 too!
ReplyDeleteLooking great! Cant wait to see the finished space! You guys have been busy bees! I would love a hanging space in our laundry room, but no room unfortunately. Sometimes I question the pedestals and whether or not a work surface would be better? Hmmmmmm one day...
ReplyDeleteso far so good! Can't wait to see it all finished :). Great job!
ReplyDelete...painters tape - ha ha, love it!! These funny placed laundry rooms are such a puzzle to make normal and inconspicuous -- looks like you're doing a great job though. Oh, and I LOVE your washer and dryer, in blue..ahhh! LOVE! XoXo*S
ReplyDeleteLooking good! Our laundry is so darn tiny!! We switched back to top load because it was too hard to work around doors opening into walls two feet away! INSANE. I did add a rack from Ikea last year and LOVE it!!! Can't wait to see it all complete.
ReplyDeleteLooking great! I love that you have a 'normal' laundry space. I browse Pinterest for laundry room ideas and all I ever see are giant dream home 12x12 laundry rooms. Unrealistic, lol.
ReplyDeleteIm so glad you posted this! My hubby and I are in the middle of doing the exact same thing to our laundry room. I'm trying to convince him to take the machines off the pedestals so we can have a countertop for folding so I have a question -- are you able to pull your machines out from under the counter in case they need a repair? If so how did you install the counter? Thanks so much! I read your blog every day but this is my first comment.
ReplyDeleteOh it's going to be so lovely! Are you going to keep the same paint color?
ReplyDeleteOur laundry room also doubles as our main entry coming in from the garage so I can feel you pain! I look forward to seeing your progress!
ReplyDeleteYeah to you two!...So happy for you ...I have hanging space and it is a must...saves on clothes and hydro!..Can't wait to see the reveal!
ReplyDeleteAshli! I'm so glad that you're tackling this before us! I have always loved that white Ikea counter, and I LOVE your solution to make it work for less. GREAT JOB!
ReplyDeleteHI Allison,
ReplyDeleteWe can pull the machines out from under the cabinet! I'll get Lee to write up a HOW TO post about how he installed the counter!! :)
We should be done this weekend so keep an eye out for a how to early next week :)
~Ashli
Firesparx,
ReplyDeleteI was also really concerened about reaching the cabinets . . . I'm 5'9" and I can reach the bottom two shelves without a problem but I have NO hope of reaching the top shelf without a step stool.
If you're concerned, Ikea make "Fridge cabinets" that come out way farther than the regular upper cabinets. You still wouldn't be able to reach the back of the cabinet but it would make it easier to reach the front of them!! :)
Hope that helps a bit, If your around my height it shouldn't be a problem reaching the bottom two shelves!! :)
~Ashli
Lady Kay,
ReplyDeleteWe are definitely going to keep the stripes, they're my favorite part :) hehe
Can't wait to see what you think of the finished product!! :)
~Ashli
I redid our laundry room and left a little space for hanging dry shirts (far left) and I LOVE it and always use it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hardlyhousewives.com/2011/11/laundry-room-organization.html
Love the faux wall idea to cover the utilitarian aspects of a laundry room.
ReplyDeleteBernadette @ www.b3hd.blogspot.com
It's going to be great! You guys are great at really making a space functional as well as beautiful. Hope you're having a grand evening. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are trying to recreate your ever so cute laundry room, but we can't seem to figure out the false back.......is the back wall seamless or is there a ledge? It seems as though there would be a ledge of some kind, but it looks seamless from the pictures. I noticed in a previous comment that your husband was going to write down detailed insructions for you to post, but I can't seem to find them...HELP!?!? :)
ReplyDelete