Rehab Diaries: A Pristine Laundry Room Remodel

Our friend Timothy Dahl of online design magazine Charles & Hudson is a DIY demon. One of his greatest triumphs was the transformation of a dingy utility room into a dazzling white laundry space, finished just in time for the arrival of he and his wife’s first child. Read on to hear how Dahl pulled it together and learn how to create a similar look with the following elements (and a little elbow grease).

Remodelista: How did you tackle the painting?

Timothy Dahl: We decided to do the whole room in white. For the walls and the ceiling, we went Valspar +, a low-VOC, asthma and allergy friendly paint that sadly seems to have been since discontinued. For the floors, we used Valspar’s Floor and Porch Enamel Paint, which is also low VOC and low odor.

If you’re curious about paint content, read our Remodeling 101: All You Need to Know About VOCs in Paint.

Above: The couple kept the utility room’s original deep sink, which they scrubbed clean and used to bathe their son.

RM: Storage solution?

TD: We made a quick trip to Ikea, grabbed their Expedit Shelving Unit ($99) in white, and laid it down on its side. We already have this bookcase in brown and use it in our son’s nursery; for an Ikea product, its very solid.

Above: The son’s towel hangs from an antler hook on the wall.

Above: Dahl replaced the original washer/dryer with a more energy-efficient one, opting for the Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer.

RM: Appliance advice?

TD: I needed to switch the door on the dryer unit to swing in the same direction as the washer door. I found some basic directions online, and it took me about 20 minutes and a few simple tools to switch the door.

RM: Stag’s head in the laundry?

TD: We have no other art or decoration in the laundry room, so a little taxidermy adds a bit of quirkiness to the space. We also made our own chalkboard using Valspar Chalkboard Paint and a picture frame from Target. We needed a simple message board that we could attach to the side of the dryer, and this worked perfectly.”

To see images of the project before the overhaul, visit Charles & Hudson.

For more ideas, see our 10 Easy Pieces posts: Clever Laundry Rooms, Space-Saving Edition and Laundry Hampers. And read another Rehab Diary: Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen Air Their Dirty Laundry.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on May 9, 2012.