I have a confession to make. I have closet envy. I shouldn’t – I actually scored my own walk-in closet in my current house. I even wrote “hers” above the door in case anyone needs clarification of ownership.
But what I have in space is tempered by efficiency. I have no closet system. Just the racks that came with the house, augmented by canvas shoe bags that sag like…{fill in the blank}.
So when my good friend of many years called me to come see her new Elfa Closet, I checked my jealously at the door and ran over to check it out. We all love a good closet story, right?
We’ve seen the promises of miracles on The Container Store website – the closets featured look so uncluttered and delightful. But what about elfa in the “real” world? I had to see it for myself, and of course, share it with you!
Before I show you the real deal, lets drool over some amazing Elfa closets from The Container Store website.
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I miss my old laundry closet in my last house. It was 2nd floor, and it’s only purpose was providing clean clothes.
Now I have a laundry room off the kitchen, which forces certain mudroom functionality on a space overwhelmed by needs, especially since I no longer even have a mudroom. There is great temptation to overwork this little space.
Here’s how the room looked when we moved in.
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When we first looked at this home (before we bought it), I was rather turned off by the staircase. It was carpeted in dirty gray berber carpet which wrapped around the edges, suggesting mere yellow pine underneath. It was almost a deal-breaker.
Because the stairs are clearly visible from the foyer and family room, we had to do something, but without breaking the bank. So I got busy (understatement).
Here was the plan:
- Remove carpet (yellow pine underneath)
- Paint treads espresso and rails to match (I went with “Stealth Jet” from Behr)
- Paint risers and spindles white to match trim in the house
Note: I should mention, the gray berber was also in the upstairs hall…we added hardwood to the upstairs hall and the stair landing.
I’m thrilled with the results, and it has truly changed the heart of the home.
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Thanks to everyone who lovingly nagged encouraged me to keep my word that I would redesign my hard-working laundry room closet!
I’m happy to report that just two weeks after I posted my embarrassing laundry closet in “My Laundry Closet Needs a Makeover”, I’ve transformed my closet from drab to fab – or at least fab enough that I don’t mind doing laundry quite so much! In fact, it only took a total of 5-6 hours to do and I got the whole family involved.
Remember what it looked like from my last post? (I still can’t believe I shared that picture – I hope my Mom didn’t see it!). Let’s get right to the before and after shots, then I’ll show you how we did it.
Drab…
…Fab!
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My laundry room is just an upstairs closet off the main hall. But it’s also the only “room” in my home that I haven’t at least painted!
I actually started this project over a year ago by adding “Laundry Room Flair” with cute knobs, writing on the wall and a fun switch plate cover.
But what you didn’t see was the INDSIDE of my laundry room closet! Oh the shame! Ok, I’m baring my soul and messy innards of my laundry closet here, so be kind! Here is the “before” picture.
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