As many of you have seen on my Instagram account, I did a $0 surface “renovation” on the ugliest room in our home last week, our laundry room / guest ensuite bathroom. In case you’re feeling inspired to brighten up some of your own spaces, here’s what I did:

1. PREP: I cleared everything out, vacuumed every nook and cranny, taped off some edges, and sanded a couple rough wooden cabinet doors
2. PAINT: next I painted (almost) everything two coats of white, including the walls, cabinet doors, and inside of the open shelves. It looked SO much bigger and brighter after just this!
3. PAINT again: this time I did a little wallpaper style design that I saw on an article my bestie sent me (click here to check it out!)
4. “SHOP” my own home: last I scoured my own home for items I thought would freshen up the space! I found: a small towel rack, a hanging plant, a wicker garbage bin I’d found on the side of the road last year, an extra picture frame, and some cute plants (I have an endless supply of plants since I propagate cuttings from my healthier, older plants all year long!). I also looked on Marketplace and Instagram if anyone was getting rid of a mirror and got a gorgeous round one that suits the space perfectly.

And voila! A transformed laundry room that isn’t perfect but that I love a LOT more than I used to.

It’s important to add that this was a $0 renovation for me because of what I already had on hand, but it certainly might not be for you. We had multiple half-gallons of white paint and a small amount of leftover grey paint in our tool closet so I combined them for the walls and “wallpaper” marks. I also snag things I love from friends, garage sales, or at stores when they’re on massive sale (recently I had a massive discount for H&M home and bought some clearance picture frames and hook shelving for about $5 a pop and just stored them until I needed them). If you keep your eyes peeled and only buy/take items you really love, you can throw together little spaces like this much more easily.

I personally have absolutely nothing against clutter or having a lived-in looking home, but I do think that when a space just really doesn’t reflect the spirit of the rest of the home (aka: I think it’s ugly af) then there’s always something I can do to make it better. I used to feel like I could never start a project until we had enough time/money to see it through to it’s perfect completion, but quickly realized that was holding me back from doing anything at all (because three kids don’t leave any time or money, haha). Once I let go of those notions I felt so free!

The goal (for me, at least) is never perfection, it’s just to make some changes that spark joy! I just wish I’d thought to do it sooner.

And of course, the before: