DIY Laundry Room Renovation

Follow along as we turn this three season porch into a hybrid laundry room, mudroom, and utility room with plenty of storage space!

laundry room with blue cabinets, washer dryer, and folding table

Laundry Room Concept

When we first purchased the home in 2020 this three season porch was already attached, but it didn’t have a clear purpose. It was quite small, and definitely too small to utilize it as a lounge area. As the months passed we realized that we were using the back door much more frequently than the front. This space needed a mudroom or utility space so we weren’t dragging dirt straight into the kitchen.

Since this three season porch already had the bones and roof established, we decided to close it in and make it a hybrid laundry room, mudroom, utility room!

Looking for more DIY projects? Check out how we stained and sealed our deck!

Demo Day!

Luckily there wasn’t too much demo to be done, and we took down the existing walls since we needed to put up studs. We knew we would be doing the most of the work ourselves, and only hiring out for what we couldn’t do.

All of the demo, electrical, and carpentry in the beginning stages was done by us! We also installed the windows, exterior door, and insulation.

Laundry Room Progress

Once we had done most of the work ourselves there were a few tasks we needed to hire out for. At this point in the process not only were we exhausted after 5 months of construction (mostly on weekends), but we were reaching the point where there were things we simply didn’t know how to do, and were too exhausted to learn.

installing the windows into the three season porch laundry room renovation

I knew I wanted a herringbone tile floor, so we hired someone to install the floor tile, and also someone to mud and drywall the room.

Once those two tasks were completed we brought in the washer dryer, and voila! Except…it wasn’t finished.

the laundry room after drywall has been installed

herringbone tile being installed on top of radiant flooring

The Final Stretch

The laundry room sat this way, mostly complete, for 3 years before we finished the project in the spring of 2024.

The laundry room as it was for 3 years before the renovation was complete

We ordered unfinished cabinets online after measuring everything ourselves, and once they arrived we brought them inside. Originally we were going to hire someone to do the final steps of the project, but in the end the quote was too high for things we knew we could do ourselves.

laundry room in early 2024 when cabinets were delivered

We built the folding table, and I painstakingly hand painted each cabinet and cabinet door by hand. The color of the cabinets is Dockside by Sherwin Williams. It is the perfect middle toned blue. I tried out at least 6 different paint swatches before settling on this one, and I couldn’t be happier that this is the one I chose!

The butcher block counter was purchased unsealed from home depot, and I finished it myself with a sealer. I did not stain the butcher block as I wanted the natural color to shine through, I only used a sealer. This was my first time working with polyurethane, and I am very pleased with how this came out! It looks beautiful in the laundry room, and brings in some much needed warmth to the space.

Finishing Touches

We installed the finished cabinets, and decided to take our first swing at crown molding. Neither of us had ever done crown molding before, but we purchased a miter saw and found that it wasn’t as hard as it looked once you got the hang of it!

Laundry room with crown molding installed

This laundry room was almost complete now. We hung the crown molding and all that was left to do was the finishing work! I caulked, sanded, caulked, sanded, wood-filled, caulked, sanded. Again and again and again. The finishing work is arguably the most important piece, because this will make the room look polished and professional.

The very last thing to do was install a backsplash. I originally wanted a tile backsplash, but by the end of this project we were burnt out and wanted something easier, and lower budget. Searching the internet I found peel and stick wallpaper at Serena & Lily and it is removable, so we can always install tile in the future if we wanted! I love the way this came out, and it adds the perfect cottage touch to the space.

installing peel and stick removable wallpaper from serena & lily

In the end, I couldn’t be happier with the finished product! I am so pleased with how this laundry room renovation turned out. There is ample laundry room storage with these pantry sized cabinets, as well as a beautiful area for me to fold clothes when its time to do laundry.

This laundry room has quickly turned into one of my favorite spaces in the house!