Let me show you how I transformed my laundry room from dark and sad to bright and fresh for under $100 with this fast and cheap laundry remodel!
Here’s where we started. The laundry room is actually a side bumped-out area in the bathroom. You can see the very retro-looking dryer. Kinda cool though, right? It still works like a champ, but I’ll show you how I made it look even cooler with a new paint job later.
To kick off this laundry remodel, I unhooked the water supply lines from the washer (make sure they are turned off first!) and maneuvered the washer and dryer out on the back deck. Here is the bare-bones laundry area.
Word to the wise: See those black, rubber water-supply lines? Those are supposed to be replaced every 5 years and are prone to bursting! Get yourself some braided stainless steel lines that are way less prone to leaking and save yourself a potential water leak. I upgraded these last year after reading some horror stories with rubber lines, so I’m simply paying it forward.
Peel and Stick Floor Tiles:
So anyway, those are some dirty peel and stick vinyl floor tiles. I spent an afternoon chipping them off of the plywood with a floor scraper. I didn’t want to spend a lot on replacement flooring, especially since most of it is covered by the appliances. So I found some classy Carrara marble looking peel and stick vinyl tiles that cost waaay less than tile but look pretty close, especially for a mostly-covered area.
The peel and stick tiles are a breeze to install. Simply peel the backing and press it to the cleaned floor area. I had some sticky areas leftover from the old tiles. As long as its basically a smooth floor, it will be fine. Cut tiles as needed with a straight edge and a box cutter. That’s it! Here is the newly-installed flooring. WAY better, right?
Fresh Coat of Paint:
Next, I painted the whole bathroom and laundry area with a fresh coat of paint. It is a blue-tinted cool white called “Snow White” I found at Home Depot. I also primed and painted the laundry wall cabinet with a basic white the previous owners had left behind. Things really started looking good from here:
You may be able to tell I was remodeling the bathroom at the same time? Check out my bathroom remodel post for more info there.
Painting Appliances:
Next, it was time to freshen up the retro dryer and a very 90’s washer. Both still worked great, so I wanted to keep them, but the yellow/beige colors were going to clash even more with a now very cool-toned color scheme.
Did you know that Rust-Oleum makes an appliance epoxy SPRAY PAINT!? It’s the best. Seriously, it’s a cheap, quick, and effective way to freshen up your old appliances. Just make sure you spray this stuff outside or in a very well-ventilated space because it is strong.
I used the appliance epoxy on the washer and, let’s be real, it would have been fine on the outside of the dryer. But I played it super safe and used a white high-heat spray paint on the dryer. It’s not as glossy as the appliance paint, so if I were to do it again, I’d just use appliance epoxy on both.
I covered the cool retro gadgets on the dryer and went to work. Here is my painting progress.
The Laundry Remodel Reveal:
Well, this quick laundry remodel is done! Let me show you the after photo.
What do you think? I’m really digging this retro dryer glow-up, lol. I think this dryer is middle-aged at this point, and I am loving it!
Laundry Remodel Project Costs:
Peel and Stick Vinyl Tile: under $40
Rust-Oleum Appliance Epoxy Spray Paint – 2 cans: under $17 for two
Rust-Oleum High Heat Spray Paint – 2 cans: under $13 for two
Stainless braided washer water supply lines: under $20. This is good for piece-of-mind knowing the lines won’t burst!
New dryer vent: under $15. Stay safe out there kids.
Wall paint & supplies: included with bathroom remodel here
Cabinet paint: leftover from the previous owners
If this inspired you to give your laundry room a quick re-fresh, I’d love to know and love to see it! Let me know in the comments below.
