Articles

Laundry Makeover

From Australian Handyman Magazine

Laundries are never the sexiest room in the house, and I avoided mine at all costs. It was old, cluttered and grimy (the dirty clothes were cleaner than my laundry!) and shrieked 1970s, with its orange and brown wall tiles, mouldy floor mosaics and rusting laundry tub. Mum suggested, rather optimistically, that its retro style might come back into fashion, but I couldn’t wait that long. I wanted it fixed and I wanted it fixed NOW! I might be on a budget, but I knew there were things I could do!

Download My Laundry Makeover project PDF

What you'll need

Electric drill & drill bits
Cordless drill
Circular saw
Caulking gun
Bucket
Electric plane
Hammer
Handsaw

Stud finder
Sawhorses
Screwdriver set
Spatula
Spirit level
Squeegee mop
Utility knife
Quikgrip clamps x 2

Jigsaw
Cordless drill
Measuring tape
Paintbrushes
Paint roller
Pencil
Pinch bar
Hole saw

STEP 1

Demolition Time
I completely stripped out the old laundry, including the tub, wall tiles, cupboards and doors. This has become one of my favourite parts of DIY renovation – ripping out the old stuff. I just let all that pent-up frustration fly! A particularly satisfying effort in this room: no more rotting cupboards, rusting laundry tub or daggy wall tiles.

STEP 2

Sugar soap walls, ceiling and floors
Now to clean up the mess I’d made. Armed with gloves, goggles and a couple of bottles of sugar soap, I took to the walls, floors and ceiling for a good, old-fashioned scrub. I think 30 years of laundry scum ended up in my buckets, but I could actually make out the original wall colour. Amazing!

STEP 3

Prep for painting - fill holes, cracks and gaps
There were plenty of cracks, gaps and peeling paint in this room, so it took a fair amount of time to get it ready for a decent paint job. I used a spatula laden with filler to get a nice flat surface again. Then I gave the walls a light sanding all over, and it was ready for the undercoat.

STEP 4

Paint walls, trims, ceilings and doors
I gave the walls a quick undercoat and used British Paints’ All-in-One ceiling paint to help save time and the effort of painting a ceiling twice. I opted for a strong wall colour, to give the room some oomph. Darker colours may require an extra coat, but the result was definitely worth the effort.

STEP 5

Measure new vinyl flooring
I had to cut the vinyl flooring out of one piece, which meant measuring carefully. I drew up a detailed diagram of the area, with every possible measurement, and then marked it all out onto the vinyl with a pencil. For the tight areas around toilet and doorways, I used a cardboard template, then cut it to shape with a utility knife, using a spirit level as a straightedge.

STEP 6

Install new vinyl flooring
The Gerflor Texline flooring was a great time-saver. It can be laid directly onto the original ceramic floor without preparation work or hardboard underlay. It’s perfect for wet areas, too. So, with a little help, I carried the cut-out piece into the room and sighed with relief when it slipped into place, needing only a few trim-ups with a utility knife.