Laundry Room Refresh

The deep color on the walls and nature inspired wallpaper have certainly elevated our laundry experience.

At the end of January we wrapped up our laundry room re-fresh. The deep color, fun wallpaper, and large light fixture have made laundry more fun. This was also the first bold color I chose for our home and I love the way it turned out. Below I’ll share how we selected the materials for this space and some future plans.

Inspiration & Color Palette

We knew we wanted to do something bold in this room because it’s at the back of the house but you do pass through it to get to our deck in the backyard. I also knew I wanted to experiment with wallpaper but couldn’t afford to cover every wall so we landed on an accent wall. To be honest, I don’t love accent walls, they feel dated to me but I thought if we painted every other inch of the room the same color it would elevate the space. Once I saw this grass motif from Chasing Paper I knew this was it. I loved that it would surround the door that leads to our own grassy haven out back.

From left to right: Waterloo (SW), Poolhouse (SW), and Riverway (SW)

I selected three moody blues at Sherwin Williams that paired well with the wallpaper sample I brought with me. I came home with a sample of each and painted swatches on the wall. I loved all three colors but the green undertones in Riverway stood out and we went for it.

Before choosing the paint sheen we had to decide if the the trim and doors would stay white, be painted to match the walls, or be a different color. Typically you use a more matte finish on the walls and a semi-gloss on trim and doors because it’s easier to maintain, more wipeable for cleaning. Generally I’m a big fan of painting trim work and the ceiling the same color as the walls. Doing so creates a seamless cozy space that’s soothing to the eye. White trim, doors, or crown molding running through a room with a bold or saturated color can feel harsh and breakup the space in a way that shrinks it.

Tip: Paint utility doors to match the walls and they will hide in plain sight

Counter Top Upgrade

The counter tops in the laundry room were a black speckled laminate that did not spark joy. We toyed around with replacing with butcher block since it’s a relatively budget friendly option. However, we know that when we update the kitchen we’ll also be changing out the floors which would include the laundry room, and the space under the existing cabinets. Instead of putting the existing cabinets on top of the new floors, we’ll likely install new cabinetry that fits our needs better. Long story short, it didn’t make sense to spend money on new counters when we’ll ultimately be ripping them out. I had seen a lot of DIY videos about covering counters with peel and stick paper but never loved the faux marble look. After scouring Amazon for contact paper I found this product that looks like butcher block and has a wood like texture to it. It was so easy to apply and because of the naturally staggered look of butcher block you don’t have to worry about matching seams.

Finishing Touches

One of the last pieces of the puzzle was upgrading the cabinet hardware and spray painting the hinges to match. I landed on these Rejuvenation handle pulls for a classic and simple look. I also used this cup pull on our drawer.

Lastly we swapped out a small plastic flush mount light for this more dramatic black pendant light. I love using pendants in unexpected places, they aren’t just for dining rooms.