Farmhouse Laundry Room: How I Joanna Gaines-ed My Small Space

Let me just start out by saying that yes, Joanna is a verb now, I just made that a thing. Let me also say that by laundry room, I mean very tiny closet right in the middle of my kitchen. I’m going to be optimistic and say that it’s super convenient to fold towels while I’m slinging hash.

Let’s also note that the “I” in the title, and generally every “we” stated throughout this post refers to my husband. My contribution to this project was more in the conception and styling categories (read: Pinterest and TJMaxx shopping), the labor portion was his deal (read: finally gave in to my nagging).

Now, back to the laundry closet.

Since it is in the middle of our kitchen, which just so happens to be the gathering place of our house, and the bifold doors were broken and hanging askew most of the time, a renovation was much needed. In fact, I decided it was happening one dreary winter day when one of those da*n doors broke right off the track and hit me in the head. I went full Madea and ripped them both off! I felt much better in that moment, but projects aren’t really completed with haste around this house. So I looked at the ugliest Carribean blue laundry room walls (still questioning my judgement for picking this color) for weeks before we created this farmhouse style laundry room.

Before

Let’s start with a before picture….be warned, it isn’t Pinterest-worthy. It was taken in haste with my cell phone camera because when the hubs is on a roll with a project, this gal steps back and doesn’t do anything to impede the progress. Also, I didn’t clean up for the shot, so you’re seeing it in all of its unorganized, messy glory. I’m all about some full transparency here.

EWWWW

Needless to say, it was well past time to revamp this space! I know this style is a little overdone, but it fits our space. We made this farmhouse laundry room a little more versatile by adding texture and warmth with wood and greenery.

The Materials

• Sherwin Williams “Alabaster White” paint
• 1×6 boards
• Shelf mounting brackets (these are a budget friendly option)
• Reclaimed barn wood for shelves (from my Dad’s company here)
• Drop clothe for curtains (here)
• Curtain rings (here)

The Process

We started by painting over the terrible teal paint. I surely didn’t want that peeking through the seams. We then measured and cut the boards, painted them, and placed them on the walls. We began at the top and worked our way down. There is just a bit of a gap at the bottom, which isn’t noticeable with the molding, but would have stuck out like a sore thumb if it had been on the top.

The shelves are made from reclaimed barn wood from my Dad. I wish I could tell you what color stain we used, but Dustin can’t remember and the can was empty and thrown away. We used metal brackets in the middle of each board, and just a small strip of wood on each end to support them.

The curtains were originally hung above the doors (as you can see in the photos above), but once everything was complete it was just a little too much for that small wall, and made the kitchen look very heavy. So we added a rod inside the door frame and hung the curtains there. You can see that in the photo below.

Dustin also built the cart between the washer and dryer out of reclaimed barn wood. I wouldn’t find anything narrow enough that didn’t cost a fortune, so he threw this one together! This is where I keep extra paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry supplies. It has casters on the bottom, so it’s super easy to roll in and out to access the items stored on it.

Most of the decor items are just scavenged from around the house, but each one serves a purpose.

• The woven baskets house random household items like mop heads, lightbulbs, and gift bags.
• The cute copper watering can keeps my house plants happy.
• The huge glass jar houses my homemade laundry powder.
• Some of my favorite cookbooks are displayed here (linked in photo above), with easy access since, as we have established, this laundry area is just steps from my stove.
• The North Carolina sign was painted on a piece of reclaimed barn wood by my little brother, and has graced just about every room of our home.
• The candlesticks were purchased at a Vintage Market event earlier this year. I love them because, after reading a book about Hygge (a Danish philosophy on happiness and creating a cozy space), lighting candles every evening is one of my favorite rituals in fall and winter.

Many of these items have been gathered over the years and are no longer available. I’ve added links to the items I could find in the caption of the photo below.

I would love to tell you that this farmhouse laundry room makeover makes me look forward to doing laundry, but I’m pretty sure I would lose all credibility here. Aint nobody looking forward to doing laundry! I’m just happy to be able to have people over without having to explain why the doors are hanging off of the junky blue room in the middle of the kitchen. I can leave the curtains wide open now because this laundry is probably the most put-together room in the whole house.

I see more projects in our (Dustin’s) future!