Reader Laundry Room: An Updated Look for $800 in Georgia
Upgraded flooring, freshly painted cabinets and a new storage compartment make this area more pleasing to use
This series profiles laundry room renovations shared by homeowners on Houzz.
The cost of laundry room renovations can range quite widely, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on what work is done. To get a sense of how Houzz readers are improving their laundry rooms, we asked people to share their renovation stories. Today we visit a 65-square-foot laundry room update in Georgia that cost the owners about $800.
The cost of laundry room renovations can range quite widely, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on what work is done. To get a sense of how Houzz readers are improving their laundry rooms, we asked people to share their renovation stories. Today we visit a 65-square-foot laundry room update in Georgia that cost the owners about $800.
BEFORE: When Cheri and Keith Grinstead moved into their home, the laundry room made Cheri cringe. “It had carpet and a strange ‘shower pan’ built in and tiled. It was not pretty,” Cheri commented on our call for renovation stories. The couple undertook a minor renovation that improved the space enough for her to feel a lot better about going into it.
BEFORE: Key to making the laundry room nicer was eliminating the tiled area and pulling up the worn carpet covering the front half of the floor. The Grinsteads enlisted the help of contractor Nick Chira to do that work.
Click on photo to see full image
AFTER: Chira covered the floor in 1-by-2-foot tiles, giving the room a more consistent and spacious look. “I’m seeing this size used more and more in small spaces, and it really did make a huge difference,” Cheri says.
She painted the cabinets herself to save money, finding that her efforts involved some trial and error.
“Uh-oh” moment: “I tried to use milk paint on the doors, and that did not work,” she says. “I had to sand it off and start over.” Cheri found success with chalky-finish spray paint.
Forum ivory porcelain tile: Floor and Decor; cabinet paint: Valspar
AFTER: Chira covered the floor in 1-by-2-foot tiles, giving the room a more consistent and spacious look. “I’m seeing this size used more and more in small spaces, and it really did make a huge difference,” Cheri says.
She painted the cabinets herself to save money, finding that her efforts involved some trial and error.
“Uh-oh” moment: “I tried to use milk paint on the doors, and that did not work,” she says. “I had to sand it off and start over.” Cheri found success with chalky-finish spray paint.
Forum ivory porcelain tile: Floor and Decor; cabinet paint: Valspar
Cheri purchased a storage cabinet online; she uses the top compartment for storing cleaning supplies, and she left the doors off the lower compartment for the cat’s litter box. The window painting is one that she has owned for two decades and has always hung in windowless rooms. The painted cabinets and new distressed white knobs fit her love of Shabby Chic style.
Lessons learned: “I would go ahead and remove the wallpaper,” says Cheri, who is planning to do just that, along with painting the walls a dark greige so that the white cabinets stand out. “That is next on my list.”
Distressed white swirl metal cabinet knobs: Hobby Lobby
Lessons learned: “I would go ahead and remove the wallpaper,” says Cheri, who is planning to do just that, along with painting the walls a dark greige so that the white cabinets stand out. “That is next on my list.”
Distressed white swirl metal cabinet knobs: Hobby Lobby
“I would love a huge, fancy laundry room with a sink and dog bath, but that is not our reality,” Cheri says. “I love old homes, and so I tried to keep as close to original as I would have put in the home if I had purchased it when built.”
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No, just a new drain plate
Professionals hired: Nick Chira, general contractor
Splurges: Tile
Savings: Painting the cabinets
Cost breakdown
Cabinetry: $20 for knobs, hinges and coat hook
Tile: $150 for floor tiles
Paint: $72
Accessories and decor: $100 for small storage cabinet
Labor: $500
Total: $842
Up next: $1,400 to Bring More Color and Light in Kentucky
More Reader Laundry Rooms
A Spa-Inspired Space for $18,000
$4,100 to Improve the Way In
Walls moved: No
Plumbing moved: No
Plumbing replaced: No, just a new drain plate
Professionals hired: Nick Chira, general contractor
Splurges: Tile
Savings: Painting the cabinets
Cost breakdown
Cabinetry: $20 for knobs, hinges and coat hook
Tile: $150 for floor tiles
Paint: $72
Accessories and decor: $100 for small storage cabinet
Labor: $500
Total: $842
Up next: $1,400 to Bring More Color and Light in Kentucky
More Reader Laundry Rooms
A Spa-Inspired Space for $18,000
$4,100 to Improve the Way In
Who lives here: Keith and Cheri Grinstead, three dogs, and two cats
Location: Lilburn, Georgia
Size: 65 square feet (6 square meters)
Total cost: $842
Construction time: Two weekends