DIY Laundry Room Decorating

Weekend DIY Series: Transform Your Laundry Room from Washed Out to Crisp and Clean

Let’s face it, you probably spend a lot of time in your laundry room doing the wash, but spend little time thinking about its decorating style. For a room that most of us spend so much time in, it’s usually one of the most ignored rooms when it comes to interior design and decorating. Perhaps it’s because the time spent in the laundry room is boring, mundane, and uninspired. So, why not transform it into a crisp, clean, fun place to be and add some excitement to your daily chores?!

The first thing you can do to spruce up your drab laundry room is to add a little color. Stay away from really dark shades because they can make small rooms feel even smaller and the reflection of these darker colors onto your clothes can actually make them look dingy and more difficult to see stains. Instead, choose bright and airy colors, like a sunny yellow, soothing light blue, girly pink or grassy green. Bringing in a sense of the outdoors will make you feel like you’re hanging clothes on the clothesline in the breezy summer wind, just like grandmother used to do!

Since the laundry room is rarely seen by other people, you can really go crazy and do something fun and whimsical, like painting a mural or adding some interesting decorations. The goal here to is make your new laundry room into a place you want to be. Pick a theme that you really love and go with it. You can paint pictures of clothes in bright colors, like Hawaiian shirts, polka dot bikinis, or striped boxer shorts! Use a stencil to paint common laundry words on the walls, like wash, soap, dry, and iron. If you’re not artistically inclined, hang framed pictures of vintage detergent labels or items of clothing. You don’t have to stick with a cleaning theme either. If you like surfing you can decorate the laundry room like a beachside cabana with palm trees, seashells, and tropical drinks. Whatever makes you happy and puts a smile on your face makes a good laundry room theme.

You want to keep your laundry room organized as well. This might mean adding wire shelving or installing cabinets to hide and contain things like dryer sheets, laundry soap, spot remover, or other cleaning products. Depending on the size of your laundry room, you can also incorporate other elements like sorting baskets, a folding table, hanging racks, or even a dog-washing station! You might want to consider mounting a small TV on the wall to watch while you’re folding clothes.

For a simple makeover that includes paint, wallpaper, adding shelving and generally sprucing up the space, it can easily be done in a single weekend. Laundry rooms are generally smaller spaces and therefore take no time at all to paint and paper.

No matter what you do to transform your laundry room from drab to fab, just make sure to make it a place you want to spend time in. The wash needs to get done anyway, so why not make your surroundings as crisp and clean as the laundry that comes out of it? Who knows, it just might inspire other family members to help you with those laundry chores!

©2007, Kathy Burns-Millyard