Ever since we relocated our laundry area from what is now the kitchen pantry to the garage, I’ve been waiting to do a contemporary laundry room makeover so the space could be a well planned out, family-friendly laundry room. Luckily, I have TONS of laundry room ideas floating through my head and Pinterest pages! I do say room loosely because it’s more of a portion of our converted garage – the portion left over from the extra room we built in the garage and the workroom we left behind the actual garage door.
With all of that said, I’m SO excited about this contemporary laundry room makeover project! As you can imagine, with four kids in our household, the laundry area gets A LOT of use. Now, with twins almost here to add to the mix, we’re trying to get it all wrapped before their arrival because we’ll be using it THAT much more!
Our main goal for this space was to make it beautiful AND functional, and by beautiful, I really mean hiding AS MUCH of the unsightly utilities that fill the area. There are just SO many! You’ll see in the before photos below, but with this laundry room being in the garage, we had plenty of unsightly areas to work around and cover-up. Those DIYs are coming soon!!!
We really wanted to break down what would help make this space friendly for the whole family to use, because yes, my kids DO help with laundry and some of them can even wash and dry a full load from start to finish. Today, I’m sharing the full-on ugliness of the before photos and our plans for this space with tips on how you can implement some of the ideas in your own laundry room.
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Contemporary Laundry Room Ideas + Design Plan
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So, ready to dive right into this laundry room remodel with me?
Here are the before photos of our dingy, messy, unorganized, laundry space in the garage. Clearly, I did NO cleaning up or picking up before snapping these photos. I wanted to show what it truly looked and felt like – not welcoming at all, filled with home utilities like a water heater, air handler and electrical panels that needed to be hidden, mismatched paint and household items, scraps from projects, etc.
Laundry Room Makeover Ideas:
Like I mentioned, we had a few goals for this space – the first one was creating a laundry room that truly felt like a part of the home, our home. As opposed to the feeling of being exiled to a hot mess of a garage corner when it came time for our minimum of one-load-a-day to keep up with our family.
Secondly, while kitchens and bathrooms seem to top the list for most expensive remodels (and also the spaces that get the most bang for the buck once it’s time to resell), I think we could definitely add “amazing laundry room ideas” to that list! But, we were looking to keep the budget minimal while still incorporating that open and inviting style and organization for it to be family-friendly.
With all of that said, I came up with a laundry room design plan I’m really excited about, using budget-friendly finds from Lowe’s and incorporating our own DIY for hiding the electrical panels, air handler, and water heater!
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I’ve always been drawn to a light and airy space, with plenty of open shelving for visible storage. And a graphic floor? Swoon-worthy for a laundry room.
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In the theme of making the new laundry room feel like an extension of the house, we are opting to change out the previous exterior door that led from the house to the garage and swap it for a glass-paneled door. The portion of the “garage” that this door leads to is now completely enclosed and insulated, so we don’t have to worry about swapping an interior door.
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Of course, organization has always been my love language and at the top of my list for this space, so plenty of storage options are a must. From baskets to corral laundry room essentials, to some DIY hanging racks for hanging storage and wheeled laundry hampers for little hands to help push, move and sort – it’s all part of this family-friendly laundry room.
The Best Appliances for a Family-Friendly Laundry Area:
So, let’s talk about appliances. We partnered with LG and Lowe’s on this laundry room makeover project and couldn’t be happier with them. We’ve actually used LG appliances for our laundry for a while now, and it was time for an upgrade to a happy, clean, new washer and dryer that could tackle all of our needs as a big, and GROWING, family.
The Washer
After long consideration the first time, we went with a top load washer, and with this makeover, we’re obsessed and sticking with it with an LG WT7300 5.0 cu. ft. Top-Load Washer with TurboWash3DTM!
You guys, this is nothing like the top load washer you remember growing up. It’s a long name, but the TurboWash3DTM technology provides an amazing clean without an agitator, so it’s kinder to clothes. Smart features let you start the washer from the comfort of your couch or automatically reorder detergent so you never run out again. Mega capacity handles more clothes in every load (like a king-size comforter AND sheet set in ONE load), for big-time savings every week, both in time and money.
Another feature we’re exploring on this washer is the new wash motion, based on the selected cycle, LG 6Motion technology uses up to 6 different wash motions, ranging from a scrubbing PowerMotion that helps to dissolve stains to the gentle Swinging motion that’s ideal for delicates. Basically, all ways to get clothes cleaner while helping them last longer.
The Dryer
With all the washing we do in our household, an energy-efficient dryer is a must. We’re using the LG 7.3 cu. ft. Dryer with EasyLoad Door.
The LG EasyLoad dryer door opens two ways to prevent drips and dropped items, pull down on the hamper style door and load wet laundry faster without leaving anything behind or swing the door to the side to make room for your basket below when unloading dry clothes.
Plus, smart features just like the washer, let you start the dryer from anywhere. And with Sensor Dry, the dryer adjusts drying time to save energy with less wear and tear on clothes.
The Steamer
This is a new one for us and so much fun! The LG Styler Steam Clothing Care System is an all-in-one unit that refreshes, sanitizes, gently dries and even creases pants! The wi-fi enabled smart technology lets you use voice activation, Google assistant and more to reduce wrinkles, odors, and allergens and keep clothes smelling fresh.
The DIY of our Laundry Room Makeover:
Covering the Ugly Water Heater, Electrical Panels, and Air Handler.
Since there are so many utilities in this laundry room, we have a few DIYs happening. We are actually replacing the hot water heater tank with a tankless water heater to save on space since we’re adding in the LG styler to the room.
For the rest of the utilities, they’re staying put, so we’re building around them! The plan is to create and build in shaker style cabinet doors over the electrical panels. This will end up being BIG cabinet doors, because we have our home electrical panel as well as a whole separate system for solar panels. The full DIY on this will be coming soon, but I did order these 12″ cabinet pulls to use!
DIY Stencil Painting the Cement Floor
I’ve long had my eye on this gorgeous tile since our bathroom remodel. Though I’m not sure we’ll use tile and may paint the floor with a stencil, this serves as my inspiration.
DIY Peg Rail + Shelf for Hanging Storage
With the desire for plenty of organization, we have to take advantage of some of the vertical space in this small-ish laundry room. We plan to use this hanging drying rack while allowing space underneath for rolling hampers. To make it all happen, we’ll be making a peg rail to hang items from, with a small shelf on top for a little added storage and decor.
Our Top 5 Tips to the Family Friendly Laundry Room:
- Keep the design simple!
- Implement storage options and appliances that EVERYONE in your home can use.
- Add in a statement piece – like a bold floor, wallpaper or even wall art.
- Consider your space and what you may need to cover-up. Adding DIY built-ins can create extra storage options and a clean, cohesive look.
- Find creative ways to add more storage (always needed with multiple people) and options that are cute and can hold all of your laundry room essentials, not only for convenience but a boost of style!
Kathi says
Wow! What an amazing space this will be. The kids will be able to use it too – it will be easy for them with all the organization. Will there be a ‘mud room’ type area where they can hang their backpacks or would those be in their own rooms?
Tabitha Blue says
Thank you!! Working on figuring out a space for a mudroom type of set up. With our attic ladder, not sure where yet!
Slides Downloader says
I’m loving the idea of incorporating a freestanding tub and shelves in the laundry room! It adds a touch of elegance and functionality to what is typically a utilitarian space. Thanks for sharing these fresh and inspiring ideas!