Give your laundry room a makeover

Sick and tired of dirty linen and damp single socks crowding your space? Transform your laundry so it works for you!

BBefore moving into their dream home in April 2018, Kim and Jason Arendse and their four-year-old son Seth had lived in a small two-bedroom duplex for 11 years. Space was at a premium with a washing machine squeezed in opposite the stove and under the microwave in their 3 x 4m kitchen! There was certainly no space for a tumble dryer…

When they moved into their spacious new house in Plumstead, Cape Town, a separate laundry room was the ultimate luxury. But it was in dire need of a makeover.

Previously, it doubled up as a storage room packed to the ceiling with boxes. The Arendses were determined to turn it into a practical zone with sufficient storage, space for appliances and enough room for folding and hanging clothes – all in an attractive environment where the chore of doing laundry would feel less like hard work!

This is what we did…

STEP #1

The plumbing for the washing machine was moved from under the window to a more convenient position against the back wall.

STEP #2

The entire room was updated with Duram Classic Matt in the colour Misty Mauve and the ceiling was painted in Plascon Polvin White.

STEP #3

The shelves were removed and primed with Duram Wood Primer in Pink and then painted with two coats of white Duram Enamel & Trim. We reinstalled one shelf in its original position but the other one was moved to about 40cm from the ceiling to accommodate a rail for hanging clothes and pegs.

STEP #4

The window frames were sanded, treated with Duram Wood Primer in Pink and finished off with two coats of Duram Enamel & Trim.

STEP #5

A new work surface installed across the width of the room above the appliances on the back wall now provides more than enough work space! >>

A rail attached under the top shelf provides hanging space for clothes that need to dry, or those that still need to be ironed. The rail has been installed far enough from the wall to accommodate hangers comfortably. A simple white roller blind completes the look.

I love the floral vinyl floor! It’s almost impossible to be grumpy about doing laundry now. – Kim Arendse

STOCKISTS @home 0860 666 674, home.co.za Builders 0860 284 533, builders.co.za Decorland 0800 002 635, decorland.co.za Hope Vol Hoop 076 732 0785 MRP Home 0800 212 535, mrphome.com Pick n Pay 0800 11 22 88, picknpay.co.za Woolworths 0860 022 002, woolworths.co.za

Round box, laundry powder container and glass jar from MRP Home

The light bulb has been concealed by a pretty chandelier. Chandelier, large and rectangle baskets, and pictures from MRP Home; duck-egg towel, two-tone basket, aloe and glass container from @home; wire basket, delicious monster in glass planter, white towels, dispensers and lint remover from Woolworths; work surface from Builders Store detergents and stain removers in pretty containers. Duram Classic Matt Misty Mauve

Two simple hooks keep the ironing board in position against the wall. Hooks from Builders; ironing board from MRP Home Fresh idea!

Chopping out the existing tiles would have been an expensive and messy process, so the floor was covered in vinyl floor graphics – a quick and easy way to give an old floor a fun new look. The cost of the flooring worked out to R450/m2. Floor graphic from Hope Vol Hoop Before

Plants from @home; peg bag from Pick n Pay; blind from Decorland; towel rail from Builders; non-slip hangers from Woolworths