DIY Utility/Laundry Room Makeover

We purchased this home about 8 months ago, we decided to tackle the bulk of the downstairs first, knowing that as soon as that calendar flipped to 2019 we would make our way upstairs.  The first room we decided to take on was the dreaded gloomy laundry room.  Every time we walked in it was disorganized and chaotic.  

I was hesitant to add more shiplap to the walls in our house because quite honestly it's trendy and I'm not too sure if it will become this generations version of the wood paneling we all saw from our parent's generation.  Shiplap, however, has been a favorite of mine for years, being that I love Martha's Vinyard style homes.  So, we did an accent wall in the utility room.  This way, if we decide later on down the road we don't like it, we just need to fill in the nail holes on one wall rather than four.

Here are some before pictures.

Naturally, all of our home improvement projects start with us getting a baby sitter, eating dessert and finally ending up at Home Depot where we may or may not make a series of really inappropriate wood jokes.  Here we are yet again, at Home Depot.  We purchased sheathing plywood and had them rip it to 6" in width.  We purchased two sheets of it.  While waiting for them to rip the wood, I found a nice "comfy" spot on a giant stack of wood.  Naturally, I took the moment to microblog and take a selfie.  The evening ended with me riding on a cart carrying all the wood we were purchasing, Home Depot Queen-isle 2

We started early the next morning.  We already had flooring from Lumber Liquidators and trim that we purchased extra of.  What I love about vinyl flooring is that you can lay it and click-lock it in over the existing flooring.  Boom! done.  It took us about 1.5 hours to lay floor and trim.  Next was the shiplap on the walls.  

Make sure you know what you are doing (IE become a youtube expert) before you lay floor, you might end up having a lot of waste- you don't want that.

You will need a miter saw for this project.

The shiplap was not difficult, measure the space calculate how much you need, and cut to size. FRIENDLY TIP: MARK THE STUDS WHEN PUTTING UP THE SHIPLAP IF YOU PLAN ON DOING SHELVES, THIS WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER- YOU'RE WELCOME! We did two to three coats of primer, then painted Benjamin Moore "Simply White" in a FLAT finish.  I love this color because it is close to primer because it is painted, it will give that extra layer of protection from moisture which the laundry room can get during the summer months.

Next came the shelving.  We bought some 1x8x12 and cut them in half, sanded, and stained.  Next, we took some 1x2's ad created some cleats so the shelves could rest on those.  We drilled them into the studs for additional support

And Ta-Dah!  Here is the finished product.  I love it.  All in all, because we had the materials already we spent very little on this room.  I made the "Laundry" sign with 2 1x6's joined together and painted white.  I found a font that I liked, printed in the size that I wanted and traced it onto the painted board.  After that, I took a black painting pen and went over it.  It has the look of hand lettering with half the stress.  Next, we took some 1x2's stained and framed it.  Voila!  A gorgeous inexpensive Farmhouse sign.

Supply list:

Lumber Liquidators Vinyl floor

Benjamin Moore Simply White

Miter saw

Sheathing plywood 

Air Nails

Nail gun

Minwax Golden oak