Are you tired of dreading your laundry room? Maybe it is not the laundry itself you mind. Maybe it is doing it in a room that feels like an afterthought.
Here is the good news. Your laundry room does not have to stay that way.
With a little imagination, it can become the most fun, whimsical space in your whole house. That is exactly what happened when we turned my daughter Savanna and her husband Jesse's tired, forty-year-old laundry room into a whimsical cottage garden laundry room.
Quick note: Lowe's did not sponsor this blog post but we collaborated on social media, some links below are affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no cost to you.
Our Whimsical Cottage Garden Laundry Room Makeover, Step by Step
Savanna called me with news that changes everything. She and Jesse are expecting their first baby.
In that same call, she mentioned their washer, over forty years old, had started eating clothes. We never figured out exactly why, but with a baby on the way, something had to give.
Here is exactly how we did it, step by step.
Step 1: Choose a Front Load Washer and Dryer That Won't Let You Down
We knew from the start we wanted a front load washer and dryer. Front loaders let you add a countertop above them, so Savanna and Jesse could finally have real folding space.
Front load washers do have a reputation for smelling musty. That reputation is not always fair, but it is not always wrong either.
So before we bought anything from Lowe's, I researched. I read reviews and looked for models that had solved the smell problem front loaders are known for, and GE has a helpful guide on preventing front load washer odor worth a look no matter what brand you choose.
We landed on a GE model in white. This laundry room has no windows and no natural light, so every surface needed to work toward keeping it bright.
You can find everything we ordered from Lowe's on my Lowe's Storefront here.
Step 2: Let a Statement Rug Build Your Whimsical Cottage Garden Laundry Room
Every room I design starts with one piece that sets the tone for everything else. For this laundry room, it was a rug covered in ivy that stopped Savanna and me in our tracks.
That rug became our inspiration for the whole whimsical cottage garden laundry room concept. It also settled the wall color, since the room was already painted Gossamer Vale by Sherwin Williams, a soft light shade we decided to keep rather than fight.
Once we had the rug, one question kept coming up. Why does a laundry room have to just be functional?
We wanted this one to feel like a page out of an old English garden story, the kind of quiet charm you would find in Cinderella. That feeling became our north star for every decision after this one.
If your laundry room is missing natural light too, start the same way. Find one piece with a color story you love, and build everything else around it.
Step 3: Build a Design Plan Before You Buy Anything
Whenever I plan a room, I lay everything out on a design board first. I open Canva, build an 8.5 by 11 sheet, and place every piece right on the page: the rug, appliances, paint colors, and light fixture, so I can see how it all works together.
That board is where our whimsical details came together.
Our first design board looked nothing like our final room. A good design plan is allowed to change more than once before you land on the look you love.
Step 4: Choose the Details That Set the Whimsical Tone
We picked the pieces that would carry the whimsical cottage garden feeling through the room. Ivy cabinet hardware came first, a small swap that set the garden tone before we touched anything else.
Next came a butcher block countertop, for a cozy, grandmother's-kitchen kind of warmth. A chandelier styled like ivy vines for lighting.
An old-fashioned drying rack called a Shiela Maid that looks like it came right out of a period movie like Cinderella.
Last, we tackled a real problem with the existing cabinets. Whoever hung them long ago left them floating on one wall. Crown molding, a filler piece, and decorative brackets went on the plan to fix that.
Step 5: Know When to Pivot From Stain to Paint
The original plan was to stain the countertop to match the cabinets. Once everything was installed, Savanna realized matching that stain exactly was going to be a real challenge.
As much as she did not want to paint the cabinets, she was the one who suggested it. That is good instinct. So they went with Sherwin Williams Honed Soapstone 9126. A perfect match with the rug.
Step 6: Hang the Lighting First
Jesse installed the ivy vine chandelier early on, before most of the other work started. That gave the room proper light to work by for everything that came after.
If you are tackling your own room makeover, steal this trick. Get your permanent lighting in place before you start the detail work.
Step 7: Paint and Build the Big Pieces
Once the color was chosen, Hannah and Savanna painted the cabinets, the crown molding, and the brackets.
Jesse installed the filler piece, mounted the crown, and secured the brackets underneath.
Just like that, the cabinets looked like they had been planned for that spot all along. Jesse also cut the butcher block countertop and moved on to building the Sheila maid from scratch.
He said the dowels felt like they were going in every direction until he added the very last piece. Then it all locked together like a puzzle.
Savanna stained the finished Sheila maid in Minwax English Chestnut, the same stain used on the countertop, so the two would read as a matched set.
Step 8: Install the Countertop, Appliances, and Sheila Maid
Jesse and my husband Marty installed the butcher block countertop once it was stained and ready.
The new GE washer and dryer went in without any major issues, just a small learning curve a few YouTube videos solved fast.
One favorite feature: a detergent reservoir you fill once, and the machine measures out exactly what each load needs.
Last, Hannah, Savanna, and I hung the Sheila maid using twine and small eye hooks, anchored into the ceiling with hardware rated to hold real weight. It took some patience to get level, but once it hung straight, it looked like it had always belonged there.
Step 9: Style With Vintage and Whimsical Finds
This is the fun part, where all the small pieces come together. On the Sheila maid, I added a vintage laundry basket, and Savanna draped a six-foot strand of ivy along the back.
We hung a table runner and a set of tiny baby girl clothes from the rungs. That was our way of letting everyone know Savanna and Jesse are having a girl, tucked right into the design of the room.
On the countertop, we layered a vintage thrifted stained glass lamp, a glass jar of wool balls, an amber jar on one side.
Then stacked vintage books, an artificial lavender plant, and a couple of little mushroom candles.
On top of the cabinets, Hannah arranged vintage thrifted baskets and small glass terrariums so it all feels collected over time rather than bought at once.
Once the new lattice ivy and bumblebee rug went down, the whole room came together. It plays beautifully off the checkerboard vinyl tile Savanna already had running into the room.
The Finished Whimsical Cottage Garden Laundry Room
When we stepped back and looked at the finished room, none of us wanted to leave. What started as a broken washer turned into a space that feels more like a scene from an old English cottage than a place to fold towels.
That is the heart of good design. A laundry room is still a workspace, but there is no rule that says it cannot also make you smile every time you walk past it.
FAQ About This Laundry Room Makeover
What is a Sheila maid? A ceiling-mounted drying rack, traditionally hung on a pulley system so it can be lowered for loading and raised back toward the ceiling to dry clothes, linens, or even herbs.
Do front load washers really smell bad? Some models are more prone to moisture and odor buildup than others, which is why we researched carefully before choosing a GE model.
What paint color did you use on the cabinets? Sherwin Williams Honed Soapstone 9126. A grayish green pulled from the colors in the room's rug.
What stain did you use on the countertop and Sheila maid? Both pieces were finished in a English Chestnut stain so they would match as a set.
Where did the accessories come from? A mix of Lowe's finds, thrifted vintage pieces, and items Savanna already owned.
What's Next for Savanna and Jesse's Home
With the laundry room finished, the next big project is the baby's room, and we already have a magical idea in the works. Savanna has also mentioned wanting to paint the mudroom to match the laundry room's new green, so do not be surprised if that shows up in a future post too.
If you loved this whimsical cottage garden laundry room, you will want to see our small laundry room makeover on a budget, this farmhouse laundry room decor post, and when vintage laundry room decor makes washing lovely for more inspiration.
Happy Decorating!
