Small DIY Laundry Room Makeover On a Budget

How we transformed our small laundry room on a budget and how you can do the same with affordable easy DIYs.

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Our laundry room

If you follow along on Instagram or YouTube then you know that when we bought our house it was completely trashed. First we had to completely demo the entire room. We needed an open space to work with so we started by rebuilding our subfloor as one complete level. It previously had a step up. Next we fixed the leak in the roof, ran new plumbing, hung reclaimed bead board on the ceiling and walls, and used reclaimed poplar wood as hardwood flooring and steps.

All of the reclaimed bead board and poplar flooring came from an 1876 farmhouse that was about to be tore down. We got in contact with the owner and asked if he would sell some materials to us. To our surprise, he actually said yes. For the bead board and poplar flooring we paid less than $200. They both required a lot of work, time, and effort to restore but it was worth it to us since we were trying to renovate the entire room on such a tight budget.

I went with white walls and ceiling since it is a tiny laundry room. This was a great way to brighten up the space. I used Valspar High Hide White. It is the perfect white paint with no yellow undertones. I used our Wagner paint sprayer and it made the painting process 10 times faster!

We couldn’t afford new appliances for our laundry room so we ended up buying a used washing machine and dryer from a family friend for $300. After a complete overhaul in our laundry space I now have a functional laundry room.

Mood board

One thing I love to do when I am making big or small changes to any room is create a mood board. A mood board is a display of images including appliances, decor, paint colors, etc that help show the plan of a room. They are so helpful when needing to envision or plan a room and you have no idea where to start. I begin by plugging images in until I achieve the overall look Im going for. One of my biggest tips when creating a mood board is to keep in mind your overall goal. When I was creating the mood board I kept reminding myself I wanted a budget-friendly laundry room makeover. I use Canva to create my mood boards. If you don’t want to create your own mood board Pinterest has so many great options you can use for inspiration.

Decorating our small laundry room

Since we were working with such a small space I knew I needed to keep the decor to a minimum and focus on functional pieces. Our small laundry room is more of a laundry area than it is a laundry room. It is technically a staircase landing, a hallway, and a laundry area. We had such limited space so I needed to get creative when it came to making the most out of our laundry room.

I wanted a way to store my laundry supplies that wasn’t an eye sore so I went with open shelving. Open shelves can make a big difference. On my open shelf I put dryer sheets in a small vintage box, used various glass jars, canisters, and bottles to store various cleaning supplies in as well as fabric softener and laundry detergent. They are still cute decor pieces but are functional. We added a small drying rack to the wall to hang wet clothes on and next to the dryer was the perfect place for our baskets to sit.

Things I would have included in my laundry room if I could

There are many things I wanted to include in our laundry room but our small space just didn’t allow for much. If our walls allowed I would have done an accent wall using peel and stick wallpaper. Peel and stick wallpaper is a great idea if you are looking to add an accent wall or looking to add a little more character to your walls.

I also would have added a utility sink. They can be so handy when dealing with heavily soiled clothing or for cleaning purposes.

A folding station is great for any working laundry room. We may go back and add a small folding station next to the dryer later on.

An ironing board would also be perfect to add to the laundry room but our walls didn’t allow for one to be hung.

Since we didn’t have much space to work with we didn’t get to add a laundry closet. Laundry closets are so handy to store extra linens or supplies in, so if you have the space I would highly recommend a closet.

Easy affordable ways to refresh your laundry room

These are practical tips and easy ways that almost anyone can use to refresh their laundry room on a small budget.

• Light bulbs can make a huge difference. We switched from using cool light to using daylight bulbs. It helps tremendously to brighten the space without having to add extra lighting.

• Next is to update your light fixture. Whether it is out of date or if its just not your style light fixtures can be relatively inexpensive to replace. Home Depot has some on trend, inexpensive options.

• If your laundry room has a door you could replace it with barn doors if you are going for a farmhouse theme.

• One of the simplest ways to update a space is to add a fresh coat of paint. You don’t have to even change the paint color if you have white walls and it’s been several years since painting try adding a fresh coat of white paint. Over the years paint can fade and become dull. If you don’t have the money to buy new paint you can use leftover paint from a past project. Something I like to do is combine leftover paints I have until I achieve a color I like. This is a way to update that doesn’t take a lot of time and is easy to do.

• If you have laundry room cabinets you can easily update your cabinet hardware. If you don’t want to buy new hardware you can always use spray paint to update your old hardware. Sometimes the smallest changes like this can make a big impact.

Modernize your laundry room

If you are simply trying to modernize your laundry room there are countless ways you can do this while staying on a budget.

• Updating the paint color can add a nice touch to any room. To modernize your paint color add a bold paint color. Bold colors are in right now and simply adding black paint, navy, green, or any other bold color can help give you the modern look.
• Add wallpaper. Wallpaper is on trend right now and the peel and stick is fairly easy to apply and easy to remove so a simple DIY project like this can totally transform the space.
• If you have upper cabinets or any old cabinets in your laundry room paint them. It is an easy affordable way to update them without having to buy all new.

• Update hardware and light fixtures. Oil rubbed bronze was in for a long time with the farmhouse aesthetic but now gold seems to be the most trending.

Where to find cheap decor to refresh your laundry room?

When doing a DIY budget makeover I love shopping at thrift stores. One of my favorite things to look for at thrift stores is wicker baskets. Just because they are at a thrift store doesn’t mean they aren’t good baskets. After a thorough cleaning they will be good to use. Also look for various jars and canisters to put your cleaning products in.

Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and E-bay can also be great places to find used decor or even appliances.

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