Laundry Room

Many of this year’s living room before and afters were sparked by the previous space not being used to its fullest potential. With a little bit of love and rearranging (and a fresh coat of paint), these transformations prove that a living room redo is within reach—and possibly cheaper than you thought.

Yes, function is the most important part of a laundry room—but that space can be gorgeous, too.

One word: fireplace!

A good indication that a room needs a redo is the realization that you're not using it to its full potential.

Cozy season is here, which means it's the perfect time to refresh living spaces—and that goes double when there's a fireplace involved.

Using IKEA cabinets!

Laundry rooms deserve to look pretty, too.

This project brings the sunshine inside.

Pretty AND practical? A winning combo!

A smart design trick helps this living room look even bigger, without changing size.

It's completely unrecognizable from the dingy before.

Simple stock wood, a nail gun, and some paint took this living room to the next level!

The 12-foot-by-15-foot room didn't even change size.

Here's proof that just a few hours of work can yield a seriously big return.

The after isn't just for laundry—it's also a plant parent's dream.

"We had to get creative with our finishes to get the look we wanted but for less," the homeowner says.

When architect and interior designer Taryn Bone of Bone Collective Studio bought her first home last year with her husband, she knew the laundry room of her new Boston residence would need some work just to become functional.

The old laundry room was such an eyesore that it "quickly became the dumping ground for items we wanted to be hidden from our every day living space," the homeowner says.

You'll want to steal the high-contrast color scheme for your own space.

Here's proof that you don't have to bust down a wall to brighten up a dark space.

Doing laundry over and over and over is chore enough—the room shouldn't bum you out, too.

Dreamy? A laundry room? Yes, really!

This DIY redo makes the whole living room shine—but the fireplace is a real standout.

This homeowner got creative with supplies she already had.

Who says you can't have both style and function?

The secret to how it's done? Paint, of course!

A book lover's dream: cozy, warm, inviting, and with TONS of storage.

When it comes to old house living, the best renovations are the ones that bring out the already-existing beauty.

No paint required!

The project took two years, but that patience helped save a lot of money.

After no updates in at least 35 years, this living room was ready to shine.

You'll want to give all your shelves an ombre paint job after seeing these.

These homeowners got their keys at 4 p.m. on a Friday, and by 6 p.m. had already started tearing out the carpet.

This black-and-white redo is totally DIYable.

Knocking out a wall made this space way more inviting.

"It's a low-cost project that can change the look and vibe of a room completely," says the homeowner.

The "new" counters will wow you.

The "after" is bringing max coziness.

Pick just one to copy in your own laundry room, or try them all.

You'll love the newly added window seat.

Flamingo wallpaper—enough said.

This is one small budget, big impact transformation.

Better yet? It took just a weekend.

Hello, better efficiency!

The "after" is like a breath of fresh air.

A one-wall redo totally transforms the look of this living room.

Spoiler: The word art decal doesn't make the cut.

The shakeup took the space from blah and bland to totally vibrant.

This renovation made the space way more usable year-round.

Renovation by: Laura Location: Oak Park, Illinois My husband Michael and I just purchased this 1892 gothic Victorian home in outlying Chicago’s historic Oak Park. (land of Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace.) I own a jewelry boutique called Gem Jewelry Boutique and Michael is a general contractor. The home is perfect with its nearly 10 foot high ceilings and elegant moulding, original marble fireplace and gothic windows.

Renovation by: Katie Location: Canada For Christmas this year, I decided to update my grandfather’s living room as my present to him. My grandmother passed away last February, and he needed a change – something that he could see everyday that would make him happy to remember his life with her. They had kept their 1960s furniture in near perfect condition, so I knew I would just need to update the styling of the room with fabrics and some interesting wall art.

Project by: Molly of Awfully Big Adventure Location: Austin, TX This project focused on taking my tiny, boring, popcorn-ceilinged living room and turning it into a cheery, comfortable place to come home to- all on a serious budget. Using mainly Ikea, Craigslist, hand-me-downs, and tchotchkes galore, the living room came together and is now a colorful, eclectic space far from the oatmeal box it once was.

You'll want to rainbow everything once you see this transformation.

So bright! So open! So ORGANIZED.

Looking at this living room just makes us want to curl up with a good book.

Ok, yes, strong claim—but wait until you see it.

Bye, dirty carpet and crumbly ceiling tiles. Hi, dream destination.

You can barely tell it's the same space!

A wall full of built-in bookshelves is a bookworm's dream! Bit Karie Frost didn't love about it: the white paint job, which—while nice enough—made the wear-and-tear of the decades-old wood more obvious.

After a year of living with their new build's plain white living room, Olivia and her boyfriend Tom were ready to fill their space with color and personality.

This three-bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv used to be a neglected and gray apartment. You have to see it now!

Not to mention balanced.

Emily Henderson’s editorial director, Arlyn Hernandez, just revealed her “Bright and Happy” (rental) living room Makeover Takeover over on the site, and it’s packed with design inspiration and great advice for renters and homeowners alike. The living room “before” was so relatable: quality pieces that didn’t fit the new living space.

The enclosed porch on Ashley‘s 1905 home did not live up to expectations: a low ceiling and burgundy walls and floors turned the space into a “sad little box,” she says. “It felt disconnected from the rest of the house,” especially after doing extensive renovations. “I know how much some updates would transform this room,” she says. So over the course of six weeks, she transformed this dark and dreary porch into a pastel, botanical laundry room.

Even if you're dealing with a very small laundry space, there are ways you can fit in all the functionality of a much larger room. All it takes is a little ingenuity.

Timothy and Laura are busy folks – they have a blog (make that two) to run and a new baby. A secret to their “do it all” success? They know that one key to handling new challenges is to plan ahead and do what you can when you have the time to make life easier when you no longer have the luxury of that time.

In late 2011, I looked at my living room wall and decided I need to refresh it. So I decided to do a small project by taking photos of the flora that surrounds my home since I am living near one of Singapore’s best Nature Reserves, The Bukit Timah Hill. I have been running on the forest trail for quite a while, enjoying the peace in contrast to the hectic city life. With inspiration of 18th century botanical illustration, I decided to do a modern interpretation.

Scandinavian magazine Allt I Hemmet recently featured this laundry room, submitted by one of their readers. Far from exciting, Anna-Lena’s space was devoid of color and personality, not to mention cramped. With Allt I Hemmet’s help, the laundry room got a good cleaning itself, and came out on the other side with a sparkling new personality.

It took just one weekend for Tasha, a self-described “designer trapped in a lawyer’s body,” to transform her laundry room (from the room in her home “where fun went to die” ) to a room that now makes her and her husband smile! Using leftover paint from previous DIY projects, Tasha painted the cabinets and walls.

Have you ever seen those glass and brass, ’80s style light fixtures that often hang in foyers and dining rooms? Not terrible, but slightly outdated. The good news is that you might already have one or you could find a used one for cheap. The even better news is you could turn it into a stylish, geometric lamp that matches pricier contemporary lamps.

I’m super excited to share my very own living room Before & After with you. Once I finished my kitchen makeover earlier this year, things snowballed a bit and I suddenly wanted to change everything. I’ve also lived in my loft for seven years, and the itch is for real—the redecorating itch, that is. That’s a thing, right?

Sometimes the “before” photo is more jaw-dropping than the finished project, and this is one of those times. Round of applause for Lotta, who was able to see the clean, modern potential in this living room —especially given what she had to work with. From Lotta: This beautiful modern home, designed and built in 1987 by architect Jon Condoret, needed to be brought back to modern again.