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Before and After: A Fairytale-Level Transformation Makes This Drab Laundry Room Unrecognizable

published Oct 23, 2023
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Before two white laundry machines against beige walls

There’s a reason “doing laundry” is classified as a chore: It can be so hard to stay on top of, even with a mega-capacity washer and dryer. Before Tahira Nagori set out to renovate her laundry room, it wasn’t just a boring space — it was non-functional, with just two builder-grade shelves to corral necessities (and out in the open, no less). “It became a dumping zone for my family,” says Tahira. So she set out to make it both pretty and functional.

“The small size of this room was very challenging, but I love to design challenging spaces,” says Tahira, who took on this project as part of the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge.

First up, Tahira hired a plumber to move the washer and dryer connection and drain to a different wall so that she could stack the washer and dryer — a smart space-saving move for such a small room. Beyond that, it was all a DIY endeavor.

To create her storage-rich cabinet setup, Tahira purchased cabinet boxes from IKEA and created her own shaker doors to fit. Then, she painted them a gorgeous teal blue — using a sprayer for a super smooth finish — and added pretty vintage-inspired hardware.

Using the same teal color to paint the beadboard wainscoting helps the room feel cohesive, even with a bold floral wallpaper installed above it. Tahira lets the same paper peek out from a couple of the open shelves, too.

A new sink is a practical addition to the laundry space, but Tahira made sure it was beautiful, as well, choosing a fluted apron-front sink and a vintage-look shepherd’s crook faucet. Behind it, she installed a backsplash tile in a palette of dreamy blues.

A bold-yet-classic black-and-white checkerboard floor brings everything together. But that’s not newly laid porcelain — instead, Tahira used peel-and-stick tile to get the look for a fraction of the cost (and the labor).

This was a big transformation for a tiny space, with the total cost coming to about $5,500. Every ounce of effort was worth it, says Tahira, who notes that the room turned out exactly how she had envisioned it. “It looks so beautiful, and now I have tons of storage,” she says.

“I poured my heart and soul into this room,” says Tahira. “This room tested my limits to the max, but I am so proud that it turned out better than I expected with every single detail. I will cherish this room and the DIY makeover experience forever.”

This article originally published on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: A Fairytale-Level Transformation Makes This Drab Laundry Room Unrecognizable