Stunning Before and After Laundry Room Makeover

We turned our plain builder-grade laundry room into a warm, practical, industrial farmhouse space. This laundry room makeover completely changed the way the room looks and functions.

I’m so excited to share this laundry room makeover with you.

My husband, Chris, and I finally finished updating our dull, cluttered laundry room and turned it into a space that feels stylish, organized, and much more enjoyable to use.

Several DIY projects came together to make this transformation happen.

Here are the main projects included in this laundry room update:

• Laundry Room Inspiration Board
• How to Hang a Custom Wood Interior Door
• The Best Way to Stain a Wood Door
• How to Choose the Perfect Stain Color
• How to Install Floating Vinyl Floors
• Protecting Your New Vinyl Flooring
• What You Need to Know About Creating Shiplap Feature Walls
• DIY Wood and Industrial Pipe Shelving

Now that the laundry room is finished, I find myself walking in just to admire it. It is brighter, more organized, and full of character. I can’t say it makes laundry completely fun, but it definitely makes the chore feel a little better.

Before we look at the finished industrial farmhouse laundry room, let’s start with where the space began.

How to Plan a Laundry Room Makeover

I feel very fortunate to have a room dedicated to laundry. In past homes, laundry was squeezed into much smaller areas, including a closet in a tiny powder room and a space under the stairs. So when we moved into a house with an actual laundry room, I appreciated the extra space right away.

For a long time, though, I didn’t do much to the room beyond painting the walls and adding wire shelves for storage. I thought I could simply close the door and ignore the clutter. The problem was that we rarely closed the door because the dog bowls were in the laundry room, and the dogs needed access to their water.

Since this is one of the first rooms we see when entering the house, I wanted it to feel clean, welcoming, and intentional. That meant it was time to plan a complete laundry room makeover.

Creating a mood board was one of the most helpful steps in the process. Gathering laundry room inspiration, storage ideas, flooring options, and farmhouse design details in one place made it easier to see the overall direction for the room.

My original plan leaned toward a modern farmhouse laundry room, but as the project developed, the design shifted into more of an industrial farmhouse style. That is normal during a room makeover. Some ideas change once you start working with the actual space, materials, and layout.

Industrial Farmhouse Laundry Room Transformation

The finished laundry room is exactly the kind of space I hoped to create. It has warmth from the stained wood, contrast from the black metal details, texture from the baskets and shiplap, and practical storage that makes everyday laundry easier.

Instead of a plain utility room, it now feels like a designed part of our home. Every major update, from the custom wood door to the floating vinyl floor, helped bring the industrial farmhouse laundry room together.

How to Install a Farmhouse Custom Wood Door

One of my favorite updates is the custom wood interior door with a clear glass window. The glass gives a view into the room from the hallway, which works well because this door is open most of the time anyway.

The white oak door was stained in a custom shade to get the warm, natural look I wanted. Clear glass felt like the right choice for this space because privacy was not a concern, and I loved how it allowed the finished laundry room to be visible.

The new door also needed hardware that matched the overall design. Matte black door knobs and black hinges create a bold contrast against the stained wood and connect beautifully with the black metal details used throughout the laundry room.

Installing Luxury Vinyl Floating Floors

The original laundry room had basic sheet vinyl flooring. I originally considered brick tile, but we decided to install floating luxury vinyl tile instead. This was a practical choice because the new vinyl flooring could be installed over the existing floor.

The slate-look vinyl floor adds depth and texture without making the small room feel too busy. It is also easy to clean, which is especially important in a laundry room where spills, pet bowls, and daily traffic are part of life.

A rolling hamper was another useful addition. It gives us a dedicated spot for dish towels and small laundry items that used to pile up on top of the dryer.

How to Install Shiplap Feature Walls

The shiplap feature walls made one of the biggest visual changes in the laundry room. Chris and I installed the boards about three-quarters of the way up the walls to create interest without overwhelming the room.

We added shiplap to the long wall on the right side of the room and to the back wall. Behind the washer and dryer, the shiplap stops where the wall bumps out slightly.

I spent plenty of time deciding which walls should get shiplap and whether the boards should go all the way to the ceiling. In the end, the partial-height shiplap was the right choice. It brightens the room, adds a classic farmhouse detail, and still keeps the small laundry room feeling open.

DIY Industrial Wood and Metal Shelving

The old wire shelving layout worked well, so we kept a similar arrangement but replaced the basic shelves with custom wood and industrial pipe shelving. This gave the laundry room a much warmer and more finished look.

The shelves were made with pine boards that I stained, paired with black iron plumbing pipe parts. The combination of wood and metal is what gives the room its industrial farmhouse character.

Hanging space was a priority, so we also created a clothes rod using black iron pipe attached beneath one of the wood shelves. It gives me plenty of room to hang clothes to dry while still keeping the room looking neat and intentional.

Adding Vintage Lockers for Extra Storage

Replacing the storage from the old wire tower shelves was one of the bigger challenges. We considered pantry cabinets, but the sizes did not fit the wall well. More open shelving was another option, but I wanted at least some closed storage.

Vintage school lockers turned out to be the perfect solution. They are narrow, so they do not take up too much floor space, and they fit the wall near the entrance to the laundry room beautifully. They also hold much more than I expected.

For open storage, I replaced the old plastic baskets with a mix of wicker baskets, metal baskets, glass jars, and storage containers. The different textures keep the shelves from feeling flat while still making everything easy to access.

How to Decorate a Laundry Room

Decorating a laundry room is all about balancing beauty and function. Most of the baskets, jars, and containers in this room are useful, but they also add style to the shelves.

Because this laundry room has no natural light, choosing the right light fixture was important. We replaced the old fluorescent light with an industrial-style ceiling fixture that fits the room much better and adds the right amount of character.

I also added a vintage bucket with faux greenery. Since there are no windows in the room, faux plants are a simple way to bring in color and softness without worrying about light.

A vintage washboard and scale add charm to the wood shelves. Styled with small plants and storage pieces, they create a simple laundry room vignette that feels collected rather than cluttered.

On the opposite wall, a metal laundry sign adds a finishing touch above the shiplap. It keeps the wall simple while still tying into the industrial farmhouse style.

Before and After Laundry Room Makeover

The before and after view really shows how much this laundry room changed. What used to be a basic utility space with wire shelves and builder-grade finishes is now a bright, organized, industrial farmhouse laundry room with custom details and practical storage.

It is hard to choose a favorite part of this makeover. The custom wood door, shiplap walls, slate-look vinyl flooring, vintage lockers, and DIY pipe shelves all work together to create a space that feels both useful and beautiful.

DIY Projects in this Laundry Room Project

If you have questions about this industrial farmhouse laundry room makeover, the DIY shelves, the shiplap walls, the flooring, or the storage ideas used in this space, feel free to reach out or leave a comment.

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