10 Before and After Laundry Room Remodels

Before: Small, Windowless, and Cluttered

This laundry room transformation from Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess shows what a difference bold paint can make. Larson also was tasked with the challenge of creating some type of division since the lack of a door between the kitchen and laundry room felt too exposed.

After: Fresh Forest Green

Larson chose to saturate the walls in forest green paint that adds a fresh feel and provides contrast to make white appliances, ceiling, and window paint and added shelving pop.

She also chose to add a veil of privacy in the form of a beaded curtain. Instead of a door, which would have had to swing into the kitchen to open, it adds interest and preserves an easy flow from room to room.

"It felt a little unconventional to me," she says, "but the function worked so well that I went for it anyway."

Before: Small, Windowless, and Cluttered

Interior designer Orlando Soria transformed this small, windowless space that served as a multi-purpose pantry and laundry room.

"The room was neither functional nor aesthetically pleasing before," Soria says. Because of the stacking washer and dryer, there was no place to fold laundry or put a laundry basket.

After: Streamlined and Sleek

"In a small space that lacks personality, go bold with wall color," Soria says, who used Annapolis Green by Benjamin Moore.

He unstacked the washer and dryer to add counter space and create an area to fold laundry. Since this particular laundry room doubles as a food pantry off the kitchen, he chose locally sourced walnut for open shelving lined with attractive storage containers to hide clutter.

Before: Drab and Boring

Thalita Murray transformed this drab, boring and underutilized space into a beautiful oasis for doing laundry.

After: Pretty in Pink

For this striking laundry room makeover, Murray moved and painted the original cabinetry, added shelving in between the cabinets to create a custom built-in look, created a countertop on top of the machines, and added a place to store laundry baskets.

She painted cabinets in Lichen by Fusion Mineral Paint and walls in Peach Rose by Behr. She also installed a farmhouse sink and added cheerful wallpaper.

Decorative touches include a faux fiddle leaf fig, a letter board, a large clock, and a braided jute rug.

Before: Converted Exterior Porch

This creative makeover from Jenna Sue Design turned an exterior porch into a laundry room.

"The size and configuration certainly limits the potential in here, but I was determined to make the most of it on a small budget and time frame," Jenna Sue says. 

After: Pretty and Functional Laundry Room

Floors became the focal point for this dramatic makeover with a whimsical custom penny tile design that Sue created and refined in Photoshop for weeks until she got it right.

She lightened up the dark wood ceiling with HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Softened Green to maintain a light and airy earthy feel, introduced butcher block countertop shelving and botanical wallpaper for a touch of the organic, added dark modern appliances and a mix of open and closed storage. 

Before: Cramped, Dated, and Sad

"There is something about a smaller space that gives me a bit more confidence to step outside of my comfort zone," Claire Wainwright from The green eyed girl, says. "The utility room was the perfect room to do exactly that."

Normally a fan of all-white interiors, she says she was hoping to up the wow factor and include a darker color palette.

After: Modern Utilitarian 

"I really wanted to test out some dark paint and knew the utility room could take it," Wainwright says. "With light coming from both ends of the room, white tiles, and white cupboards already installed, there wasn’t that much wall space to paint so I thought I would just go ahead and give it a go."

She chose Down Pipe by Farrow and Ball, which she says changes with the light. The dark color plays beautifully against the crisp white tiles, sink, and appliances. To ensure the mostly monochromatic room didn't feel too cold, she added decorative objects, pictures, and oak accents like wooden slat blinds on the window.

"The utility room now somehow looks brighter and bigger with the changes," she says. "It has become a stylish destination rather than a scruffy afterthought and I am so glad I took the risk to go bold and brave!"

Before: Dark and Dated

Ashley Wilson from At Home With Ashley took the dark and dated laundry space in her 1905 Victorian Fairview Cottage and did a gut renovation to transform the room.

She and her husband tore out and vaulted the ceiling, painted the floor, added shiplap to the ceiling, replaced the unsightly old water heater with a tankless version, added tile and wallpaper, and built a pedestal for the washer and dryer with a folding countertop.

After: Light and Fresh

"I love how wallpaper pulls together a room like nothing else can!" Wilson says. For the dramatic laundry room transformation, she chose a fun pattern that blends traditional and modern.

"The wallpaper absolutely makes the space," she says. "I love the circles of botanical art that are inspired by an Australian artist from the early 1900’s!"

Subway tile is a timeless classic that works well in her period house, and she chose gold schluter for a modern twist.

"The space feels so clean now with the walls of tile!" she says. "Which seems perfect for a laundry room!"

Finally, adding millwork—baseboards, crown molding, shiplap, casing and wainscot cap—gave the room depth and character. "This used to be a porch," Wilson says," But with the beautiful trim, it definitely doesn’t feel like one anymore."

Before: Tired and Underwhelming

Bre Bertolini of Brepurposed turned a tired-looking laundry space into a crisp, functional, and attractive room with this impressive makeover.

After: Crisp White and Navy Blue

Bertolini painted the cabinetry in Anchors Aweigh by Sherwin Williams and added a porcelain sink.

"I wanted a pull down since the sink is so big," she says. "It makes it easier to wash it out and it will be nice for getting out stains."

Open wood shelving above the washer and dryer and the black brackets spray painted gold create a high-end look, and an old door slab repurposed as a countertop has a butcher block effect. Succulents, a letter board, and a vintage rug add a farmhouse touch.

Before: Cluttered Corner of the Garage

Anita Yokota, an interior designer, says she battled with a tiny corner of her cluttered garage that served as a makeshift laundry room for a decade before she finally decided to transform the jumbled space.

After: A Dedicated Space That's Stylish and Functional

Yokota decluttered the space, and added epoxy flooring, wallpaper, a countertop, a utility sink, and open shelving. She styled the space with a metallic rose gold finish for her washer and dryer, a fiddle leaf fig, wallpaper, open shelving, and baskets to store laundry essentials such as liquid detergent, dryer balls, and cleaning supplies.

"Since transforming my garage into a laundry oasis," Yokota says, "I seriously have been meditating in here while I do a load of laundry."

Before: Lacking Functionality and Style

Sue and her husband used an awkward, cave-like space to create a stylish, functional laundry room. 

"We came up with a solution to maximize the space by building an alcove for the appliances to be recessed into the wall and also create a separate storage room in the back," she says. "Everything came out—the floors, ceiling, walls, HVAC, even dirt and rock that had to be excavated to extend the room and allow for a washer/dryer enclosure under the house."

After: Rustic Farmhouse Touch

"This space was inspired by my vision of what laundry must be like in heaven," Sue says. To turn the dark basement into a dreamy laundry room space, she added a recessed washer and dryer that allowed for cabinet design involving a full wall of storage, plus a DIY barn door, floating reclaimed wood shelf, custom butcher block, a farmhouse sink, and subway tile.

"Removing the ceiling drywall and leaving the joists exposed was a design risk that I wasn’t 100% confident about in the beginning," Sue says. "It’s absolutely one of my favorite things we did. It not only makes the room look and feel so much taller—it brings such personality and interest to the space. I’d do it again in a heartbeat."

Before: Dated and Dreary

This laundry room makeover from Larson involved relovating the sink and, consequently, embarking on major plumbing work, as well as ripping out part of the ceiling to give her a view of the backyard from the sink.

After: Bright and Airy With a View

"I feel like this was how it was always meant to be!" she says. "Maybe not the most dramatic before/after of all time, but if you really look the upgrades are all very thought out and practical. I also just love how bright, fresh and clean this room feels now."

She replaced the marble countertop with low-maintenance quartz and added a champagne bronze faucet to complete the look.