New cabinets, a timber benchtop and a striking tiled splashback gave a tired laundry a stunning new look. The project was the winner of best bathroom or laundry makeover in our D.I.Y. July competition to find Australia's best D.I.Y. projects of 2022.
The project
I bought a house in 2020, and although she is only 18 years old, she has been neglected her entire life as an investment property that has had zero maintenance. I have taken on the task of a full house renovation, tackling one room at a time, in-between working full-time and running a small business!
The laundry was as basic as you can get, with a laundry trough mounted in a single metal cabinet. At some point, someone had helpfully shoved a pantry unit in there to help with the storage issues!
I had a wish list of laundry goals – bench space for organising the washing and the drying, cabinetry for much-needed storage, a large sink, and tying in functionality with form. The main thing was that it had to look good so that I would enjoy doing the laundry and spending time in there! We have a busy life with two teenagers and two dogs, so there is always plenty of washing. Why not do it in style?
I spent a lot of time perfecting the design on the Kaboodle 3D design planner. It was a great visual aid and I found it very user-friendly.
Once we had a plan it was time for the demolition.
Then we prepared the floor for our stone-effect square vinyl tiles. They're Amtico brand in Ceramic Frost. We chose them because the colour and texture mimic natural stone, but I think they feel much nicer underfoot.
My budget was pretty tight, so I chose Kaboodle's paint-your-own raw-board doors, which came in a dark brown colour.
We painted them in a Dulux Lexicon Quarter white. The benchtops were in the Frosted Oak finish with a square edge profile.
We had never turned our hands to tiling before, but we jumped on the Bunnings website and watched the tiling tutorials. We went to our local store, bought the equipment, and we never looked back! It was a slow process being our first time tiling, but we were meticulous and feel like we did a great job!
Aside from the plumbing (moving the taps and washer connections) and electrics (moving and adding power points), my husband and I painted, built and installed everything ourselves. We're pretty handy but we had never done anything on this scale before!
It’s amazing how much lighter and more airy the laundry is now. We're pretty thrilled with what we've achieved.
Before and after
