I love (LOVE!) before and after pictures.  Our laundry room is the only room that is pretty much complete and I feel good about posting an ‘after’ picture. First, the before…

First thing to go was that awful paint color. I painted it a muted green, same as in our living room and guest/kids bath. Next, the cabinets. This isn’t our forever house so everything has to be done as cheaply as possible…Which means no new cabinets. I wanted them to look custom and unique so I painted them white, removed the cabinet door inset thingy and replaced it with…chicken wire! I love how they turned out.

Next, our craigslist washer and dryer happen to be (probably the first ever) front loading. I saw in a DIY magazines once a counter over the washer/dryer used for folding a loved the idea. I wanted to counter to be unique (of course!) and couldn’t decide on what to use. I decided to use an old door laid sideways – and even found a door – but it ended up not working out.  Then I decided to use cedar and gathered up the husband for a Home Depot trip…turns out that was going to be too expensive. What we ended up doing was using scraps from the flooring we installed (more on that later) in our living room and scraps from the trim and baseboards we are installing. Here it is, and once again…I love it!

Since our washer and dryer are ummm….not pretty…I wanted to hide them. I ended up using electrical conduit and installing it under the counter (when I say I, I mean my awesome husband) and then sewing some curtains.

We also replaced the light fixture (and painted the ceiling, because of course those we pink/salmon as well.) We found it on clearance at Home Depot.

The finished product is beautiful AND functional. Here is the before and the after for easy comparison.

Overall, the total cost was roughly $130. Isn’t it crazy what you can do with a little money and a lot of creativity?!?!

Side note: That little wicker basket on the counter is dubbed “The Lonely Socks Club”. Whenever I am folding and a sock doesn’t have a mate (which is like five socks a load) I put it in there. Every week or so I go though it and match up socks. Guess what…I (almost) always find the mates! No more lonely socks for the rag bin!

Second side note: That last picture is a good comparison for our before and after trim. You can see the “before” trim in the laundry room, and the “after” trim on the outside of the bathroom door.