How a small and dark laundry room was transformed in two days using materials I already had on hand to create a beautiful and elegant space. Check out this laundry room makeover on a budget!
If you had four short weeks or maybe just a weekend, leftover paint and wallpaper, what room would you refresh?
DIY Laundry Room Makeover on a Budget
Welcome to the New Year, New Room Refresh Challenge hosted by Casa Watkins Living, where eight bloggers are updating a room in a month. It is the reveal day and I can’t wait to show you how I gave a small-sad laundry room an elegant French-inspired refresh using things I already had.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
Here was our laundry room at the beginning of the year.

Not bad. Just nothing special about it even though I had painted the original cabinets and hardware and hung art when we first moved in but was ready for a fresh start. I decided to spend as little money as possible and only use leftover materials I had from other room makeovers to refresh the space.

Easy Laundry Room DIYS
Here is what I accomplished for the challenge. And honestly, I only worked on it for two days out of the month we had. You can totally do something similar on a weekend easily!
- Laundry room plans and ideas on a budget
- DIY shelf for behind a top load washer and dryer
- Wallpaper accent wall and paint
After these projects were finished, something astonishing happened. Two days ago, my husband offered to make a wood cover for the wire shelving that fits between the washer and dryer.
Y’all, he hasn’t lifted a finger to help me with a room makeover for almost eight years! And I haven’t asked. It’s an agreement we had because he was always busy as an active duty marine and often on deployments. But now he has extra time. I think I could get used to it!

Our laundry room looks so much bigger and brighter now! The leftover Milton and King wallpaper I used made such a difference and the installation was a breeze with the two small sections.

I mixed a sample color of blue with the same white on the walls to get a custom cabinet color as I mentioned last week. I had leftover pulls for the cabinets and storage cart.

One of my friends on Instagram opened a beautiful print shop and sent me a few of my favorite digital files. I printed them at Walgreens and they look so gorgeous in this space! All three art pieces are from Jefferson Home Print Shop. I love the European vibe they had along with the custom paint color and wallpaper.

I added a couple of special pieces like a vintage Asian basket and Waterford crystal from a dear friend and a gold box that was my grandmother’s. Adding special pieces like these makes doing laundry even more pleasant!



I’m still waiting for a rug to arrive that I was able to purchase with a gift card. So our foyer rug from Mohawk Home is in the space right now. It looks pretty good there!

The room turned out perfect! It feels fancy and is much more fun to do laundry now.

Common Questions about Updating Laundry Rooms on a Budget:
- How do I renovate my laundry on a budget? Keep costs down by making small changes like new hardware, lighting, paint, and rug. Update ugly cabinets with paint or remove them and install shelves.
- How much does it cost to remodel a small laundry room? A small laundry room renovation can cost between hundreds to thousands of dollars. Keep the costs down by optimizing what you have and shopping for used/discounted cabinets and counters at your local habitat store. Do the work yourself and save $$$$.
- How can I cover my laundry room? Hang a curtain rod and curtains to hide an open laundry space or use a room divider.
- How can I maximize my small laundry room? Use the vertical space by adding shelves, a rod to hang clothes, or a hanging dry clothing rack. Utilize any open space between cabinets and the machines with shelves and caddies. Place baskets on open shelves and front load machines for additional hidden storage.

I hope these tips and simple DIYs for making over a laundry room on a budget inspired and helped you! Feel free to leave me any questions in the comments below.
Join me on Instagram for behind the scenes, DIYs, decorating tips, room tours, and home inspiration. I’ll see you over there!
Make sure to check out the rest of the reveals below!! I’ll join you. 🙂

Casa Watkins Living // Up To Date Interiors // House by Hoff // Our Fifth House // Jeweled Interiors // Blue I Style // Domicile 37 // Delineate your Dwelling

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Jewel says
Wow Kathy! Genius how you built the unit in the middle.
Kathy says
Thanks Jewel! It was my husband’s idea, design, and build. First time in like 7 years he has helped. lol
Amy | Delineate Your Dwelling says
Really loving the wallpaper and matching cabinets! So beautiful.
Kathy says
Thanks so much Amy! I’m so pleased with how it turned out.
[email protected] says
Your laundry room looks amazing, Kathy! I love the paint color and wallpaper and of course the shelf and unit in between the washer and dryer.
Ola says
This looks great Kathy! I’m terrified to even walk in my laundry room. Lol!!
Kathy says
Funny! Thanks Ola. My husband is our laundry guy right now and he even says he loves the room now. 🙂
Giselle says
Your laundry room is so fancy I think I’d feel bad bringing dirty laundry into it! Lol! I love the soft periwinkle mixed with the gold. I’ll have to check out your friend’s shop. Those prints are gorgeous!
Kathy says
Thank you! Please do. She has a lot of lovely prints.
Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living says
Kathy it is amazing! Love that wallpaper and the paint color goes so great with it! The storage between the two machines matching the cabinets is fab!
Kathy says
Thanks stephanie! It looks sooo much better now. 🙂