Like many design projects before this one, this laundry closet was super boring and yet kinda daunting to fix so it fell down the priority list in life, with no guilt. I knew that eventually I wanted wallpaper in here, I dreamed of a fun pattern and color that delighted you when you opened the doors. I ordered a ton of samples from Spoonflower (their inventory is incredible), but what I didn’t know was that I could install their “prepasted” wallpaper myself. AND NOW IT’S ALL I WANT TO USE IN MY HOME!! It was SO easy, not scary, was so fast, and needed only a few very basic tools. My team blocked off three days for this project (to shoot the content, too) and it took under 6 hours. Sold.
Where Is This Laundry Closet?
The laundry closet is on the landing of the second floor near both kids’ rooms and the guest room (seen above when we first moved in, Oscar shaming me for this basic rug). We have a larger mudroom with a smaller capacity washer/dryer downstairs, but this is where the bulk of the laundry gets done (it gets thrown in the guestroom where we tackle it all on Sundays.). It was pretty basic, with the cutest vintage doors, but the inside was super boring which made it a perfect place for me to do something fun (and do it myself, a very low-risk space).
Spoonflower has an incredible inventory of wallpaper patterns and colors, many customizable. They’ve even got an inspiration page just for laundry rooms. They work with thousands of artists who design patterns of every style and every color. You can also choose between traditional unpasted, prepasted (what we did and I’m never going back), peel-and-stick, or metallic paper (which we used in my niece’s closet). Plus, all their patterns come as fabrics as well if you want to go full ‘Garden State’ and match your curtains to the walls. Everything we ordered got here within 2 weeks and I was pleased as punch.
The install was so easy, they created a video that shows you how to install prepasted wallpaper here and we produced a reel here with some basics (but their video has a great step-by-step). Essentially, the glue is already on the back and you use a basic spray bottle with water to activate it. Then you book it on a table (fold over the sides), wait 5 minutes, and hang it vertically (starting from the top and, of course, being mindful of repeats). You use a squeegee to get the bubbles out and wipe off any excess glue or water with a rag or sponge. The paper is so forgiving and easy to take off and reposition. There are a ton of tips to think about which they have outlined, but trust me that it was so much easier than predicted. We made a reel about it here.
Again, I couldn’t believe how easy it was to do it ourselves (the hardest part was taking out the washer and dryer). I even thought about buying the same yardage in fabric and figuring out how to cover the fronts of the washer and dryer (which I quickly decided was a totally unnecessary and wrong idea).
Wallpaper | Washer + Dryer | Switchplates | Laundry Basket (vintage) | Rug (similar) | Vintage Door Paint Color
I know that our washer/dryer look a bit old school/dated and that’s because they are not fancy or designer. Welcome to our Speed Queen, aka the incredibly basic, efficient, high capacity, industrial strength, durable, and never breaks down washer/dryer machine. And yes, top loading FTW. If anyone has a genius (but not super extensive or expensive) way to make the dryer vent look better let me know. It doesn’t bother me enough to think about it but sure, I’d rather it not be in my pretty shots 🙂
Shelves Paint Color | Rope Trim | Wood Brackets | Baskets (vintage)
I designed the shelves pretty simply and yet they turned out so dang cute! I went to Aurora to find vintage brackets or some reclaimed antique wood trim but came up empty. I then went to Home Depot and found these adorable brackets and rope trim piece. As you can see it’s a basic design – so Dave, our wonderful handyman, installed a support piece of wood around the sides and back along with three brackets per shelf. They are 24″ deep since the closet itself is so deep and we need to easily reach the detergent. The first shelf houses laundry stuff (detergent, lint bin, missing sock basket, dryer sheets, etc) while the top shelf is for linens that we don’t need to access very often.
Rechargable Lamp | Wood Lazy Susan | Glass Container | Metal Container (similar) | Waffle Towels | Striped Towels (similar)
I love how the rope trim on the front of the shelves talks to the squiggles in the wallpaper pattern. Dave painted the shelves and brackets Comfort Gray by Sherwin-Williams which is a light blue/green/gray that matches the lighter tones in the wallpaper. I couldn’t be happier.
We all agreed that the old-school vibe of the washer/dryers combined with the vintage vibe of the wallpaper feels strangely appropriate and works in this older home so well. This closet now has so much charm and it took 2 days!
While I didn’t personally build and install the shelves, Dave claims that it’s totally DIY-able – not a super high-skilled task, but shout out to Dave for doing it so perfectly. Someday I fantasize about not being so busy and can learn how to do things like this myself, but right now I so appreciate talented folks to help so I can do the things that only I can do.
Walking up the stairs and seeing this sweetness makes me so happy! And I was so surprised and delighted that both kids and Brian love the wallpaper (like they mentioned it to me even before I asked them which isn’t typical!) It’s just so stinking cute. That laundry closet wasn’t like this crazy eyesore because I could shut the doors, but every time I opened them they were full of garbage – just a pile of socks, lint, wrappers, change, etc. on top of the dryer. And in the span of 2 days, it was transformed to be so cute.
I can’t say enough great things about Spoonflower’s prepasted wallpaper patterns, let alone this adorably perfect folk art pattern by artist Melissa Johnson Design. I wish I hadn’t already ordered the wallpaper for the kids’ bath or our bathroom – I don’t trust my skills to do normal unpasted wallpaper myself, but from now on I’m pretty much a professional wallpaper installer when it comes to Spoonflower’s prepasted. AND it’s so much easier to remove as the glue is less permanent. So for rooms (like kids’ rooms), it’s especially perfect if you aren’t sure that your daughter, for instance, is going to love butterflies and flowers when she is a teenager on her walls. Prepasted Spoonflower wallpaper for the win. Thanks so much, Spoonflower for partnering with me on this laundry closet. What a nice way to start the year:)
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
