Well. Remember a few months ago I blogged about starting a makeover on my laundry room and I said it would be done in 2 months?
Well here we are 5 months later and I am just now getting around to seriously putting in some elbow grease to spruce the place up.
I am dividing the project into 3 phases. Phase I involves patching, sanding and painting the walls, cabinets and doors and scrubbing the grout. Phase II will be organizing and painting inside of the two closets in the space, creating a chalkboard command center and painting the ceiling. Phase III is styling the space with curtains, rugs etc.
Here are a few before photos to jog your memory about the space
I did all of the hardwork except for the door to the garage. The Mr. was nice enough to prime that for me.
I had to do my fair share of spackling, caulking and sanding as a result of the house settling and the prior owners being hammer and nail happy people.
Once the spackling and sanding and all that stuff was done it was finally time to paint. I climbed up on the ladder and went to work.
Here are a few tips and recommendations in the event you are going to be doing some home improvement projects any time soon.
- Invest in good paint brushes. It makes all of the difference. I used Shurline and another expensive edging brush that I picked up from The Home Depot. These brushes and rollers have made my life so easy when it comes to coverage and getting clean edges.
- Break the project up in phases. My head is spinning at the amount of work I still have to do to be done but it makes me feel a little better that it has been broken down into manageable tasks.
- Use good paint. The wall color is Glidden’s Mid Day Mocha. The cheapster in me wanted to go with the regular paint but I sprung for the $27 gallon of Glidden Duo which has the paint and primer in one. Covered like a dream. The walls were filthy and not to mention an ugly and I mean ugly shade of gold and the paint covered in one coat. I put two coats on for good measure but to be honest I really didn’t need it.
I still have to paint the doors, cabinets and trim as what you are seeing is primer. I tried my best to scrub the grout, unfortunately it is the color of the grout and despite all of the elbow grease I could muster I’m stuck with that grout until we are in a position to replace it *throws things* I hope to find a nice runner to cover it up.
So there you have it. I hope to have Phase I completed sooner than later. I’ll be back with the Phase I reveal. I don’t know when but it surely won’t be 5 months from now….I don’t think.
Have you recently completed a home improvement project or have any plans to start one?
24 Comments
Kristen from The Road to Domestication
January 9, 2014 at 8:21 amWOW! That’s an amazing transformation! You’re gonna LOVE doing laundry now, right?! 🙂 We moved into our first home in April of last year, so there’s constantly something that needs to be done. Last two things we did were install a new amazing shower head in the Master Bath and a gorgeous new faucet in the kitchen. Next up? Replacing the light fixtures in the foyer and dining room!
Mimi
January 10, 2014 at 10:27 pmYou literally have to go room by room. We moved in August and life was extra busy the end of the year so now it’s time to start. My problem is starting things and not finishing them. Not this time. Every room will be completely done before I move on. I mean down to the light switches!
Lauri Rottmayer
January 9, 2014 at 8:45 amI love the color you chose! SO much happier than what was there. The laundry room is the first thing I started when we moved into this house. Ours was a muddy, sad color too and now it’s light blue and so happy looking. I still need to finish the cabinets and trim which I want to paint white but I ran out of good weather to take them outside to paint. I can’t wait to see your finished room! 🙂
Mimi
January 10, 2014 at 10:25 pmI am dreading doing the paint and the trim. My hand is not steady at all. I purchased some Frog Tape. I hope it works like they say it does!
krissy
January 9, 2014 at 11:22 amlooking good so far
Jenni
January 9, 2014 at 12:12 pmNothing beats a good DIY makeover project! I love that you’re doing it in phases. That makes much more sense than my usual do it all at one time way. *Making mental notes*
Carla
January 9, 2014 at 12:28 pmYou’re doing a really good job! I love the paint that you chose and I’m glad you shared the color because I need to paint my daughter’s room and wanted to go with this color. Glidden has saved my life! I just recently painted my bedroom and bathroom. For my bedroom, I use the duo grab and go, the warm caramel and I only had to use one coat like you said. I never thought about breaking things up into phases as I’m sure my projects will be easier to deal with like that. I think I’ll start doing that.
Good luck with the project. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Roni
January 9, 2014 at 2:07 pmLooks great! I’ve only done simple DIY project but no home improvements yet. I want to paint my front door but the hubs doesn’t think I can do it…smh.
Eliss
January 9, 2014 at 2:09 pmYou’re doing a great job! I admire anyone who is willing to paint because I hate painting. It reminds me of a summer in which I had to help my mom paint the whole house. That summer sucked because I ended up doing 90% of the painting (and it was a very humid summer in Atlanta). I think I have PTSD when it comes to painting because of that, lol!
Whitney
January 9, 2014 at 2:28 pmLove DIY projects, do I actually do them? I painted the girl’s room years ago, promised I would never do it again.
Laila (@OnlyLaila)
January 9, 2014 at 2:48 pmI reeeeally want to work on my kitchen. I want to replace the counters and back splash and the floors. baby steps.
Quiana
January 9, 2014 at 4:58 pmDid you see YHL’s post today about grout? I saw it and thought their solution might work for you: http://www.younghouselove.com/2014/01/how-you-like-me-now-grout/
Cam | Bibs & Baubles
January 9, 2014 at 10:46 pmIt looks so different already. Love how much brighter it is. Can’t wait to see the BIG reveal!
LaShawn
January 10, 2014 at 8:40 amOk I love the mid day Mocha and have just the room for it to go in. I love what you have done so far!
Glad you are doing it in phases, that’s what I decided to do too. We JUST got around to starting our DIY on the WHOLE house. I’ve painted/half decorated ONE room so far. But that’ s what I’m going to do! Now looking for painting for the wall in that room, then on to the formal dining room!
Teems
January 10, 2014 at 7:41 pmNice! That is a pretty big laundry room. Bigger than my kitchen possibly. lol Love how things are coming along…
Ky G (@KrickettwithaK)
January 14, 2014 at 1:01 amYou should check out the home improvement blog, Young House Love, they JUST re-did their grout (http://www.younghouselove.com/2014/01/how-you-like-me-now-grout/). What they used was super cheap and they are awesome at what they do….been following their blog for years.
The paint job alone makes such a HUGE difference. Good luck!!!
Mimi
January 17, 2014 at 7:13 amHey! Someone else posted that link to me minutes after I had gotten it in my email because I also subscribe to YHL. I have purchased the stuff from Home Depot. Now I just need to find the time to do it. The floor has to be really clean so I am waiting to finish all of the painting so I can have my husband pull out the washer and dryer and then I can get it done. I am hoping he will volunteer to do it for me. Seems really time consuming but I am excited. The reviews were good, I’m hoping it works!! Thanks for the info.
K. Rock
January 14, 2014 at 3:30 pmGreat job so far! I cant wait to see the end result.
Tiffany (Fabulous Mom Blog)
January 17, 2014 at 8:56 amIt’s amazing what a little paint can do. WOW. Love the end results. Great job!
Rayana Botelho
February 10, 2014 at 1:09 pmLove what you have done so far. I am also working on my laundry room 🙂
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January 5, 2020 at 5:29 pmGreat jobs! Looks pretty good!