This is a sponsored post
Week Five of the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda of Calling It Home is here and you know what that means, crunch time! Only one week left to get it all done. In case you aren’t up to speed… the One Room Challenge is an event where twenty design bloggers take on the challenge of transforming one space in just six weeks. Every Wednesday, the designers document their progress while sharing their sources and professional advice. In addition to following along, everyone with a blog, (that’s me!) is welcome to join the fun as a guest participant by linking their own room transformations to Calling It Home.
This go round I am tackling my laundry room you can see what I’ve been doing so far below
Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four
And here is where we are headed…Because why not? If I’m going to have to do laundry I might as well enjoy being there.
This week I’ve been busy with the heavy lifting part of the project, getting the laundry counter installed. Now Chuck usually just stays out-of-the-way for my projects but this week I needed his muscles. The original plan was to do a laminated plywood counter like this one from Vintage Revival but I admit dealing with 4’x8′ sheets of plywood was not high on my list of fun activities. They are big and heavy and require a ton of cuts to get them down to the size I need plus I would have to becut them some at the store before I could even fit them in my car.
Luckily, while wandering through lumber and mill work I ran across some solid core slab doors with a lauan veneer that were just the right width for my counter top. They already had the thickness I needed (no laminating required) and it would only require three cuts to make my counter top. The best part is they would fit in my car no problem!
So with help from my heavy lifter, and guys these doors are HEAVY, we loaded them up and took them home to cut.
After measuring twice (okay maybe three times) we were ready to cut our 45° miters. For cuts that will show it never hurts to apply painters tape to the cut line to control splintering.
Once we had all the cuts made we test fit the miter to make sure no adjustments were needed. Once the fit was pretty tight so we were ready to install.
I installed a ledger board along the two walls and used two L brackets to attach the top to the wall
and three to secure the miter.
Now it was ready for stain. This was a bit of a decision because originally I was going to go natural but lauan has a red tent to it when finished and I didn’t really think the red cast would work with the rest of the room.
I tested a few darker stains along with an aging stain and a color-tinted stain.
If you guys have been around here before you probably had no problem guessing which I chose…
That’s right Minwax Color Stain in Navy Blue and three coats of semi-gloss Polycrylic got me a glossy blue/purple finish I adore!
The last project for this area was getting my Aspect honecomb peel and stick backsplash up. For this project, Aspect gave me 20 SF of their tiles to work with. Since we are in a rental and I will most likely need to remove the counter and backsplash when I leave I decided to put up a thin layer of plywood to attach the tiles to so they would be easy to take down. The tiles come in small sections that interlock and also come with a section with a finished edge of half tiles that look like this.
I wanted to do something a little different with my backsplash so I randomly cut out one or two tiles in each section.
Then just peel off the back and stick.
No grout required! For areas around outlets and corners tiles can easily be cut with a jigsaw.
Once all the tiles were up it looked like this. I suppose you’re wondering what I’m gonna do with all those blank tiles.
Well, how about a little confetti? With several different colors of spray paint I gave the remaining tiles a good coating.
Once they were dry I popped them back in and my confetti backsplash was born. So much fun!
Big accomplishments this week…but we are not done yet. One week to go and I still have lots of work to do.
- Make pillows for the bench seat
- Paint doors
- Bring in the new rug
- Add art and accessories
- Oh yeah, and take lots of photos for you guys!
See you next week for the big reveal!
Big thanks to my One Room Challenge Sponsors!
Home Decorators Collection //D. Lawless Hardware // Wagner Spray Tech // Aspect Peel and Stick tiles
Alexandra
I LOVE THE CONFETTI TILE!!!! Such a great idea. And I’m glad your husband came back just in time to do your heavy lifting. 🙂
Maggie Overby
Me too, I was actually delaying this project until he got home. I’m sure that is just what he was looking forward to doing.
arielgarneau
The confetti part is genius! I love it! I wish I had thought of it!!
Arielle
This is looking so cool! Love all the color.
Cassie Bustamante
i absolutely love what you did with the backsplash!
simple nature decor
So excited for our laundry rooms, love that you adding a glamour vibe with that Chandelier. looking forward to next week.
Maria
Julia Konya
This is looking so good already! Love the added colored details
Brynne@The Gathered Home
OMG, Maggie! I’m so wildly impressed with this! A DIY renter-friendly countertop and tiles? Brilliant! And those confetti tiles are out of the world. I adore them!
Lindi
Oh my word!! The colours here! SO beautiful!! Love the colour in the tile and the painted wood. Can’t wait to see the full reveal next week!
Jennifer Owen
This has to be one of the most creative twists on our matted Honeycomb tiles we’ve seen! Love it!
Karrie Trowbridge
I love it Maggie! I knew you were going to go with the fun stain! The colors in the room are so vibrant and fun! Love, love, love… Can’t wait for the big reveal next week!
refashionablylate
Love how you made a table over the machines! The backsplash is so fun too!
Brittany Goldwyn
Absolutely love that you used doors for the table!
LizzieLivingPretty
Such a genius idea – I was sort of resigned to never being able to tile in a rental but this is a genius solution! And it looks great!
Maggie Overby
And it goes up so easily!
Emy
I love using hollow core doors! They’re so lightweight! It looks amazing in blue! And the tile backsplash! You’re a genius! I love the color splashes. Can you use magnets on the tile?
ashley@biggerthanthethreeofus
Love your boldness!! The tile idea is so fab! can’t wait to see everything next week.
Sarah @ Making Joy and Pretty Things
The confetti tile is SO fun – I would have never thought to do something like that. It looks great with the stained counter, too! Can’t wait to see the full reveal!
Charlotte @ Ciburbanity
The confetti tile is absurd. And I love the blue stain! I have my eyes on a project for some blue stain and love the look!!
brepurposed
Yes! door slabs are totally the way to go!
Amanda
What a fun idea – love what you did with those tiles! I’m loving how everything is coming together so far!
jmaier45
Brilliant backsplash! I love how the confetti tile came out the color stain you chose. Laundry will definitely be a happier chore within this space.
Maggie Overby
I hope so!
allthingsbigandsmallblog
I absolutely love this! What an ingenius idea to use a door instead of plywood! And the stain on the wood is so unique! I love what you did with the confetti tiles–so much fun! Can’t wait to see the full reveal next week, looks like you guys have been crazy busy!
Maggie Overby
Thanks!
Carol @ CAD INTERIORS
Peel & stick backsplash tiles?! Genius. Love the unexpected confetti-colored pops of color. Looking forward to your final reveal, Maggie!
Maggie Overby
When I first saw these I knew they would be perfect for our rental but the confetti was a last minute addition.
Rachael @ This is our Bliss
oh my GOODNESS! All of this is fabulous! I love that you found the perfect material for your counter and what a spectacular idea to have “confetti” tiles – love it, Maggie!!
Maggie Overby
Thanks Rachel, a small budget and little time is usually the mother of my invention.
Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living
I love this tile backsplash! I love how you took a premade piece and made it your own!!