Our Laundry Room Make-over

The "new" laundry room 

There was no question that our little laundry room was looking tired. It had worked hard ever since we moved here nearly fifteen years ago, serving as laundry central, cat central and as the place for flower arranging, etc. The original Formica counter top had gotten nasty and the white laminate shaker style cabinets didn't really suit the rest of the house which has cherry wood kitchen cabinets and cherry stained doors and trim throughout. The laundry cabinets were good quality and in great condition, but their color and style were just wrong. We weren't about to change them, but it was long past time for a makeover to make them feel less out of place.

I admit that sometimes I wish Roger could drop everything and work on our latest project because having the house torn up for long periods of time is no fun, but that's not the way it goes with us. Painting for our clients always takes precedence! And even though the laundry room is a small space, there was a lot of time-consuming work involved, so the transformation wasn't going to be a quick fix.


Roger had to paint the ceiling and walls, the interior of two double storage closets with wire shelving units and three banks of cabinets. There was a lot of packing up and dismantling to be done before he could even start painting. Everything seemed to move at a snail's pace to an impatient sort like me, but Roger knows the right way to do things and that takes time. Because the cabinets were to be done in oil enamel, we also had to allow plenty of drying time once they were painted before the shelves, doors and drawers could be re-installed.

Here's what the cabinets looked like when we started. The new counter top had just been installed and Roger had taken the first two sets of doors to the workshop.

Sink side cabinets before

Washer/dryer side cabinets before

Getting Started

The first step was to replace the Formica counter top with quartz, and we were lucky to find a remnant of Cambria "Clyde" which worked well with the limestone floor, the only fixed element in the room that I had to consider. The counter top was the only thing we changed. Everything else was updated with paint.

As Roger removed the cabinet doors and drawers he labeled where they came from to save time putting them back correctly. He also removed the shelving units in the closets and took down the light fixture, drapery hardware, etc. Once the room was cleared it was time for cosmetic repairs. After covering up, taping and masking off, Roger fixed some bad drywall tape and nail pops in the ceiling and filled the holes in the walls as I didn't necessarily want to put the accessories back in their former places.

The Painting Phase

Then it was on to painting. The ceiling and walls went quickly. As you might expect, the cabinets took a lot more work. Each shelf and cabinet door had to be primed because we were putting paint over laminate and then painted two more times on both sides, plus they had to dry properly between coats. After it was all done there was more waiting.

Here's what we used (all paint by Benjamin Moore):

Ceiling:  Shaker Beige HC-45 - Ceiling Paint
Walls and Closet Interiors: Shaker Beige HC-45 - Aura Interior Matte
Cabinets: Rushing River #1574 - Satin Impervo oil enamel

Some Details

I wanted to coordinate the folding table to the left of the dryer, so Roger painted the legs in Rushing River. He also primed and painted the cabinet shelf supports in Rushing River to give the interiors a finished look. We recycled the old chrome and ceramic cabinet knobs and the black light fixture by spraying them in an oil rubbed bronze. Roger painted the metal dryer vent in Shaker Beige to camouflage it. Paying attention to these details really helped.

The (Almost) Finished Product

It seemed to take forever, but we're finally back in the laundry room, operating as usual and really enjoying it. The beautiful look of Satin Impervo, a better color, not to mention Roger's expert craftsmanship, transformed those glaring white cabinets. Even though the Shaker style remains, in the new color they now look more as if they belong with the rest of the house.

Roger isn't quite done yet. He still has to refinish three sets of double doors: one set of entry doors and two sets for the closets. Then it's on to our next project.

The white plastic shelf supports 
have disappeared.

Cabinets after on the sink side.

Cabinets after on the washer/dryer side.

Dryer vent painted the wall color.

If your cabinets look tired and you're ready to give them a new lease on life, call me at 828-692-4355 to schedule an estimate with Roger. I highly recommend him!