Laundry reno with Kaboodle cabinets and benchtop

[theDIYedit]

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
• Before and after
• How to plan a laundry renovation
• More laundry project inspiration

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

How to plan a laundry renovation

With research and planning you can turn your laundry into an efficient and even welcoming space. Check out the guide How to plan a laundry renovation by experienced Bunnings Workshop member Adam Woodhams for renovation tips and space-saving ideas.

More laundry project inspiration

Bunnings Workshop member housetohome created lots more storage with this stunning farmhouse laundry renovation.

Bunnings Workshop member Rufaro gave his laundry a fresh new look with this clever budget laundry makeover.

There are also plenty of great ideas in our Top 10 most popular laundry renovation projects.

Let us know if you need a hand with your project – we're here to help.

[Remarka6le]

This is probably one of my favourite DIY laundries on here. I love that you've even thought about the empty space next to your sliding door with your hand towel rail, an area often left alone in renovations like this. Well done  

[Benskimo]

I really dig those splashback tiles 😍

[chris12]

This looks amazing, can I ask what sink you used?

[Jason]

Hi @chris12,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Great to see you've been inspired. Let me tag @theDIYedit edit so they are alerted to your question about what sink they used. If you'd like other recommendations for your own laundry, feel free to hit the Ask a question button and share some details. We'd be happy to help.

Jason

[ezzie]

This amazing. I love the tiles

[Sugar]

@theDIYedit  such an amazing result. Congratulations and it really looks like where someone can spend so much time. 

I have been planning Laundry Renovation for a while. https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/t5/Bathroom-and-Laundry/How-to-move-water-taps-in-laundry-room-...

Your work is inspirational. Could I please ask few concerns here, may be they will help me for my job. 

My tap and electric power points needs to be relocated as well. I believe you guys hire professionals to do it. 

Do you have any details of the cabinet, benchtop you bought. They are really good looking one. 

I have also spent sometime tiling before ( on my patios) but had got the flow problem between the tiles. This is where you feel the slightly up and down tiles around there edges. We had used only 1.5mm spacers. What tools did you guys use for this project. The tiling looks perfect. 

And did you guys cover this hole here 

[EricL]

Hello @Sugar 

Let me tag @theDIYedit to make them aware of your questions. If I recall, they used Kaboodle Raw Doors for the cabinetry. The benchtop was also from Kaboodle in the Frosted Oak finish with the square edge profile. The floor tiles were actually vinyl tiles and if the surface was prepared properly, you would get a good flat finish.     

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[theDIYedit]

Hey @Sugar ! Thank you for your kind words. for anything electrical or plumbing, regulations state that you have to have the professionals do the work. It's really important from a safety perspective anyway that water and electrics are done by the experts! I would recommend that you have a clear plan to show the tradies where you want things to go. After gutting our laundry, we literally drew on the wall where we needed power sockets to be and where water pipes needed moving to! It can be a big part of your budget, but honestly, it's so worth it. 

We bought the Kaboodle raw board panels and the door fronts in Alpine finish. We primed them first and then painted them, so we could tailor the colour to our exact requirements. It is more cost-effective than the ready-made finishes, but be aware that it takes a lot of time painting and sanding everything, so you have to work out what you would prefer to have more of - time or money!

For our flooring, we used vinyl tiles as @EricL confirmed. However, my husband is a flooring installer by trade, so he screeded the floor to level it before laying the vinyl tiles. You may need to pay for somebody who knows what they are doing to do this, if you are not confident in trying it yourself. I suspect that the sub-floor was not level enough before you laid your patio tiles. There are some tiling spacer gadgets which align connecting tiles to the same height, but I don't know much about them. Even if you used these, if the floor underneath is not level anyway, the tiles may be prone to cracking down the track, so do your research wisely on this one!

In regards to the floor waste, you will need to look at your own state regulations as to what you can do with it. Here in WA, a floor waste is no longer a mandatory requirement in a laundry, so we took our's out. However, I do believe that it is still mandatory in VIC & NSW for example. If you have to keep your's, you could move it to under your washing machine for example (which a plumber must do) but that is more expense just for an aesthetic purpose. Alternatively, just remove the existing floor grate and put in a shiny new one, to compliment your new colour scheme. 

Have you finalised any design plans yet for your laundry? Planning is the most crucial part of a renovation like this, so ensure that you've covered everything. I hope that this helps what I have covered for you and I look forward to seeing your finished result! 

[EricL]

Hi @theDIYedit 

Thanks for all that extra detail on your laundry renovation, I'm sure @Sugar will be able to use that information.

Eric

[Sugar]

Thank you @EricL @theDIYedit . 

I only need to find out if QLD has mandatory to have Floor Waster installed on Laudry or not. 

I also need to plan how I can integrate it if i am going ahead with Hybrid flooring. Any recommendation is highly appreciated. I am going to visit the Bunnings stores for extra information as well.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Sugar,

You might like to read through this document from the Queensland government. Q. Must I install a floor waste in bathroom or laundry floors in residential buildings? A. Floor wastes are not required to be installed in Class 1 and 10 buildings. Floor wastes are only required in Class 2 or 3 buildings or Class 4 parts, where the floor of a bathroom or laundry is located at any level above another sole-occupancy unit or public space.

Class 1 buildings are houses, so if I'm reading correctly, you are not required to have a floor drain in a house. However, an apartment above another property does require a floor drain. Codes are tricky to read, so it's best to speak with a builder who has experience in this area.

If you were going to integrate a floor waste with hybrid flooring, I suspect you'd need to install the grate so it is level with the height of the flooring. Sealant would be used to seal the joint between the grate and the flooring.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell