Laundry Room Shelf & Cabinets

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Hello all!  I’m sharing another laundry room update today.  Last week it was my DIY Board & Batten, and today I’m sharing the tutorial of the DIY shelf I made to go above our washer & dryer, and the cabinets above it.  If you remember my laundry room design board you’ll see what I’m referring to.

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I want the shelf to be a place we can store the frequently used items – detergent, dryer sheets, and of course no room of mine would be complete without flowers!  The cabinets will hold towels, products, etc.

Let’s get to the fun part – the pictures.

If you remember Ryan’s office makeover, I installed a nice shelf in there that I bought from Ballard Design.  It was pretty pricey and not something I could justify spending for the laundry room.  But I wanted the same concept, so this was my inspiration for creating my own.

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I think what makes that shelf so neat is the corbels.  So I found these shelf brackets at Lowe’s for less than $8 each that are a similar, but much more affordable look.  I gave them a few coats of white semi gloss paint and wah-lah.

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I determined the height & placement of the shelf by opening the washer first and making sure that the corbels were right above that.  (I’m not gonna lie – I’m pretty impressed that I thought about this because it would be a standard Lindsay move to install the shelf and not realize until the end that I can no longer open the washer all the way.)  I used a stud finder to locate the studs behind the machines and realized that centering the corbels where I wanted them, would only land one of them on a stud.  I was ok with that, because it would still be sturdy enough.  And for the other corbel, I used drywall anchors.  Shown below.  PS I was secretly hoping that the corbel on the left would hide the water box outlet.  It’s not perfect, but it sure helps.

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Then for the shelf I used a piece of pine that I bought and had cut at Lowe’s.   It comes 1″x12″x96″ and I had it cut to 53.75″ as that is the width of the cabinets I was going to install above the machines.  I also gave it a couple coats of pure white semi gloss paint.

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I laid it across the corbels to make sure it was level and centered, and drilled a screw into the top of the shelf down into each of the corbels.

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I added 1×2 strips of poplar board to all 3 sides of the shelf to give it a chunky effect.  I used my nail gun to attach them to the shelf.

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I cut 45 degree angles with my mitre saw on each edge of the 1×2.  Here’s a close up below.

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To secure the shelf to the wall better, and give it even more stability, I screwed a piece of quarter round into a stud on each side of the corbels.   Like this.

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And here is the finished shelf!

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Now for the cabinets!  I found a set of 3 cabinets from Lowe’s that are specifically designed for use in a laundry room.  I thought about building my own for a while, but once I found these, that thought was long gone!  And for the price, I couldn’t beat it!

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I built the frame downstairs per the instructions, and then hung the bracket on the wall that the cabinet frame sits on.

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What I really loved about these cabinets is that they can be hung anywhere you want and didn’t have to go directly into the studs.  What I mean by that is that the bracket pictured above went into the closest studs.  And then I hung the cabinet frame on it, but it doesn’t have to be centered on the bracket.  So I was able to center my cabinets on the machines and shelf.

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I secured it to the wall with a few screws and then hung the doors.

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I bought my own cabinet pulls because the ones it came with were silver and I wanted bronze to match my theme.

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I added flowers and a laundry soap jar to finish it off!

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Shall I remind you of the BEFORE again?

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And the AFTER

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What do you think about my new shelf and cabinets?  I think it’s a huge upgrade from the wire shelf that was there before and am very happy with how it turned out.  Comment and let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions!

 

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10 Comments

  1. You’ve done it once again! You did an awesome job. So nice & looks very organized!

  2. It looks wonderful! AND my laundry looks like your before pic.. With all the hangers (that is use daily) so I was glad to see the rod off the cabinet you added! I couldn’t live without mine!

  3. I love it! Im dying to redo my laundry room but i am dreading moving the washer and dryer to paint. And i totally would not have remembered to open the washer before installing the shelf lol…good call! Going to google those cabinets now…

    1. Thank you Ereny! I did NOT move the washer and dryer to paint, but don’t tell anyone!! 🙂 I scooted them a little bit in each direction to paint just enough behind them that it looks like its painted all the way behind!

  4. Looks great! So many good tips! It’s good to know that those laundry cabinets come with that bracket to put on the wall. I didn’t know about that and can see how that would make it a lot easier to hang up.

    1. Thanks Sue! Yes, I honestly had no idea how to hang cabinets before this and the hardware that came with these made it extremely easy!

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