DIY Laundry Room Gameplan + Our New Appliances


Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Maytagยฎ. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog.

It’s time to start our next big project around here…our laundry room! We have lots of rooms to tackle in our house, but we figured we needed to get a handle on our laundry room sooner, rather than later. There’s nothing like an entire room devoted to keeping our house clean and tidy.

Before we start talking about my gameplan, I want to remind you of how far this space has come in the past six months…

Let’s BacktrackBefore photos of the railings in our home

When we bought the house, we had a random landing that was not going to be used for much of anything. We decided to bump the laundry room wall out to gain a few more feet of space in that room. Open laundry roomLaundry room drywalledNew hardwood floors after

Such a difference, right? Here’s a look at the interior, complete with our new patterned floor tile.

Laundry room before

Taking that wall out made such a difference and gave us tons of room to someday create the DIY laundry room of our dreams. That someday has arrived!

Upgrading Our Appliances

As you guys saw from the start of this post, I’m working with Maytagยฎ on our DIY laundry room makeover. I had Maytag appliances in our condo and absolutely loved them (especially our washer and dryer). So when they told me about their Front Load Washer and Front Load Dryer with the Extra Power Button, I was immediately on board. Maytagยฎ appliances are built to stand the test of time, and starting our life in this new house with their washer and dryer seemed like a great move!

Side Note: Our old washer and dryer worked just fine (they were just a bit outdated), so I was happy when I found the perfect place to donate them. Magdalene House is a local charity providing safe and stable housing for women who have survived lives of sex trafficking, addiction, and abuse. My washer and dryer will be heading to a new home they’re building for local survivors to live rent-free for 24-months. It makes me feel so good to know they’ll be used and appreciated!DIY laundry room gameplan

Our new Maytag front load washer and dryer arrived a little over a week ago and whoa…I’m obsessed. Let’s start with how much I love the washer. Obviously, I’m a fan of the look of it. It’s sleek, modern, and I like the white color. But it’s also super powerful. This bad boy is meant to tackle the toughest stains. Extra power button on Maytag washerIt has this new feature called the Extra Power Button. Some stains dissolve best in hot water and others with cold, so if you hit this button it will provide a dual-temperature wash. I know that will come in handy when we have kids!

16 hour fresh hold feature on Maytag washerThis next feature is one we really needed in the Finn household. It’s a 16-Hr Fresh Holdยฎ option, so if you accidentally forget your clothes in the wash (like we do alllll the time!) they will intermittently tumble and air will be circulated within the washer for up to 16 hours. Um, yes, please!Maytag dryer

The Maytag dryer also has an Extra Power Button. Hitting it helps prevent under drying on thick fabrics and pockets (those things that always seem to take forever!). Is it weird to say that doing laundry has been kinda fun lately as we’ve tried out all of these cool features?!

Adding PedestalsAdding pedestals under our washer and dryer

I have to give all of you credit for this genius idea! I showed our laundry room on Instagram stories a few weeks back and mentioned that I wanted our contractor to move our washer and dryer hookups down so they wouldn’t be seen over the appliances. However, so many of you guys chimed in and mentioned that we should get some pedestals.ย You told me that the washer and dryer could be placed on top of them to allow them to be raised up so we wouldn’t see the hookups behind them. Ummmm, how are you guys so smart?!Pedestals to store detergent

Not only are our hookups hidden (without the added expense and work from my contractor), but we have even more secret storage under our washer and dryer for detergent, bleach, and more. Hooray!

My Design GameplanOur DIY laundry room gameplan

Now that we have our new appliances in place, it’s time to get the rest of this room looking good! Whenever we have a new space to tackle, Finn and I always sit down and talk through all of our must-haves for the room. Here’s what was on our list…

  • Closed Storage: To hide cleaning supplies, our ironing board, and more.
  • Drying Rack: We like to hang a lot of our clothing to dry, so we definitely want a designated spot for this.
  • Hampers: We didn’t add hampers to our DIY closet because our laundry room is right outside of our master bedroom so it’s easy to toss dirty clothes right in there.
  • Color, Texture, & Bold Pattern: Because this is a laundry room, I want to go a little wild in here. Colorful cabinets, fun tile, and pretty accessories, please!

Once we talked through our must-have list, we took some measurements and discussed our options to get it all done.

Our Cabinet PlanRight side of the laundry room

On the right side of the room, our plan is to create a large wall of cabinets to hide all of our cleaning and laundry supplies, along with pull-out hampers. I had a general idea in my mind but I needed a bit of assistance. I ended up heading to both Lowe’s and IKEA to work with their kitchen designers on a cabinet layout. Both stores offer these services for free (even if it’s not for a kitchen!). This was SO HELPFUL and really solidified how I wanted the space to look, feel, and function.

On the left, I want tall cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. These will hold all of our cleaning supplies, linens, ironing board, broom, and more! Then, to the right, we’ll have three pull-out hampers (really they’re just pull-out trash cans!).

I went with a similar layout for each, just different cabinets and materials. But there are other differences between these two.

Here’s the Lowe’s design.

This ended up being about $4,200, which is definitely pricey (and they’re custom-made so they take about 5 weeks to arrive). However, the cabinets come pre-built and the quality is top-notch. Plus, that green color is stunning.

And here’s the IKEAย  design.ikea laundry gameplan

These cabinets totaled $2000, which was much more aligned with our budget. But as you guys know, when it comes to IKEA you’re building and installing everything yourself. And you have to either pick it up from the store or pay for delivery. Plus, the quality isn’t quite the same as the Lowe’s cabinets.

In the end, we decided to go with the IKEA cabinets in the color dark green. We figure it’s just a DIY laundry room, so there is no need to spend a ton of money! They arrive later this week and I can’t wait to start building.

The Rest of the RoomDIY laundry room gameplan

On that same side of the laundry room, we’re planning to do a butcher block countertop over the three hampers. Then, above that we’re thinking about adding this drying rack.Over the washer and dryer

On the other side of the room, I’m thinking I’ll tile above the washer and dryer (eyeing this textured tile that would complement the bold floor tile) and maybe add one wood shelf. I’m thinking it will hold some decorative items and baskets since I have plenty of storage elsewhere in this laundry room (and it will be out of reach).

DIY Laundry Room Gameplan

DIY laundry room gameplan

 

Washer // Dryer // Pedestals // Tile // Rug // Faux Plant // Butcher Block Counter // Drying Rack // Cabinets // Gold Hardware

What’s Next?

First up, we’re building the cabinets, since that will be the most time-consuming part of this DIY project. Once we have the cabinets installed, I’m sure we’ll have a better sense of how we want the rest of the space to turn out. Or at least I hope so.Our new washer and dryer

In the meantime, I’m obsessed with our new Maytag washer and dryer. The perfect new additions to kick off this big project!

Casey

Catch Up On Laundry Room Posts


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.