There’s nothing like a newborn to make you appreciate a functional, attractive laundry space. Ours works fine, but it’s always felt a little lacking in style. So we decided it was time for a proper laundry room makeover.
We’ve already made a few small improvements: we painted the blue trim, removed the old bi-fold doors, replaced the flooring, painted the hallway walls, and ended up buying new appliances when the old ones unexpectedly died.
When we first painted the trim and doors upstairs, I spray-painted those bi-fold doors white and tucked them into storage. Every few months Sherry and I consider re-hanging them, but we usually end up preferring the openness. We like small spaces that feel open rather than closed off—bathrooms aside. In our first house we even removed a bi-fold wall to create a more open laundry setup.
For projects like bathrooms and kitchens we often rely on low-cost Phase 1 updates to improve the room while we save and plan for a full renovation. Those rooms can be expensive and require lots of layout and material decisions. This laundry nook should be more affordable, especially since we already have new appliances. We just need to agree on an approach and materials before moving forward.
Getting to that agreement has taken time. A surprising amount of the DIY process is thinking through details—enough planning to avoid rushing into decisions about layout, materials, and function, but not so much that you never move forward. This weekend we did a lot of family stuff, went to a neighborhood party, and spent plenty of time planning the laundry area. We didn’t actually do any demolition—unless you count tile shopping.
Option #1: One idea was to take inspiration from our first house and remove the cased opening to open the laundry area. The current cased opening cuts off the space and leaves dead space beside the appliances because they must stay centered. Removing the opening and shifting things over would create room for more storage on the wall and below. Opening up that wall would also let us add a tile backsplash to brighten the dark end of the hallway, install floating shelves, add upper cabinets, and put in a nicer light fixture. We imagined adding a base cabinet with drawers in the far corner and topping it with a small countertop remnant for extra workspace.
We even considered adding a pretty door with a frosted glass pane that would let light pass while providing the option to close the space for noise dampening. We like the idea of a distinct laundry room rather than just a spot at the end of the hallway. However, we hesitated because creating a door there would require passing through the laundry room to reach the storage room beyond, especially once that space becomes a finished TV room or bunk room. That circulation change could feel awkward.
Option #2: The alternative is to leave the cased opening as it is and focus on finishing the back wall: tile, floating shelves, cabinetry, updated lighting, and a polished trim frame. This approach keeps things flexible. We can always remove the cased opening later, add a frosted door, or hang nicer bi-folds if we change our minds. In the meantime, a finished nook will look intentional and more refined without committing to a full reconfiguration.
Seeing inspiring finished nooks confirmed that leaving the opening and treating the back wall could be a beautiful solution. A framed laundry nook with attractive storage and tile can look deliberate and pulled together.
Tile shopping was fun. We debated several tile options to brighten and add texture to the back wall. Because the space won’t be regularly wet—there’s no sink—the tile is mostly decorative, but it adds polish and reflects light down the dark hallway. We considered various scales and materials:
- A classic mini-subway marble for an elegant, timeless look.
- A small-scale colored hex tile that felt playful but risked making the space darker.
- A large-scale patterned tile that was stunning but expensive and possibly too large for the small wall.
- Penny tile in a milk color, which we love, but we wanted to try something new after using penny tile in a previous kitchen project.
- White lantern tile, which looked great, but the bright white clashed slightly with the washer and dryer finish.
- A light marble herringbone tile that reflected light beautifully, offered a luxe finish, and harmonized well with our white appliances.
We chose the herringbone marble-style tile. It felt high-end without breaking the budget, had the right scale for the small wall, and brought a variety of tones that balanced with our appliances while bouncing light down the hallway.
Next up: finalizing shelves and cabinetry and starting the tiling. We’re excited to get this laundry nook feeling organized and bright. What did you do this weekend—family time, travel, or home planning? It’s funny how much thinking about a small project can feel like progress on its own.