transformation month

Before and After: This $345 Laundry Room Makeover Made a Cluttered Spot Bright and Airy

updated Sep 16, 2019
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Credit: Fariha Nasir

September is Transformation Month at Apartment Therapy! That means every day, we’re sharing a new before & after to show the power of transformations at home. Head over here to see them all!

Fariha Nasir‘s laundry room had also become her storage room, and it wasn’t exactly “pretty to look at,” she writes.

Fariha wanted to give the space some love—but, like, budgeted love. “I wanted to update the flooring without installing new tile and make my own countertop and add a backsplash without breaking the bank,” she writes.

Credit: Fariha Nasir

She created the look of tile without putting in real tile two different ways: by using Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint and Dizzy Duck Designs’ Amira stencil on the floor, and by applying peel and stick tile wallpaper as a backsplash. Then—in her very first woodworking project ever—she loosely followed a Vintage Revivals tutorial to create that stunner of a butcher block countertop. In total, she spent $345 and did everything by herself.

Credit: Fariha Nasir

Fariha’s three pieces of advice to DIYers for before you dive in to a project? One, budget. Two, research tutorials and watch video how-tos. And three? Measure—and then measure again.

Credit: Fariha Nasir

Thank you for sharing, Fariha!