Painting's my favorite.

I've said it so many times and I'm sure I'll say it again: paint is the easiest, most dramatic, and usually the cheapest change you can make to update a room. My favorite kind of painting updates involve using extra paint we already have stored in our basement from previous projects.

I painted the laundry room/mud room quite a long time ago, using leftover paint from previous projects.

Originally, the whole room was just white. I painted most of it a dark grey (originally used in the guest room) and two accent walls in the laundry space a minty green (originally used in the book room). It was a stellar idea, and changed the whole huge weird room in a pretty incredible way. But unfortunately I can't find a picture of it in that state. I really thought I had taken one, and I in fact have a memory of taking one, but I cannot for the life of me find the picture. But for your ability to kind of picture this strange space, here's a kind of sort of shot.

I honestly don't know why this picture was even taken, but imagine that almost all the walls surrounding that grey one are also grey. (And the wood has been painted white.) Everything in this whole room have been that dark grey with the exception of the wall right behind the washer and dryer that you would see through that window cut out. I painted that wall the minty green, and it was supposed to be a cool accent wall that popped out and helped define the laundry space as different. Except...and you have to keep imagining now...it didn't really pop at all. It was such a faint color next to such a dark color that it just looked like I forgot to paint a wall. And it's bothered me ever since. A while ago it hit me that maybe I could repaint the whole laundry space, this time with a brighter blue left over from our bedroom, and that this time I could include the other wall that the slop sink and mirror are on too. That way it would define the space even better by including more walls, and the color is a little bit brighter and would therefore give me more of that pop I was looking for.

Because I have other plans for the laundry room (see to-do list at the bottom of this post) I figured I'd wait and do it all at once. But like I've mentioned several times...my husband is out of town on business and I have been on the hunt for things/projects to keep me busy. Busy and distracted and productive. The laundry room seemed to be a logical thing to attack...or at least start attacking. I still can't do much about the rest of that to-do list right now, but painting I can do. My brother came up to help me prime the back grey wall - no primer for this pregnant lady - and then after he left I painted all three walls. And even though pictures don't capture it too well, I'm kind of crazy about the change it all made.

I know it looks more white than blue in all of these pictures...which really annoys me, but I'm not even close to a professional photographer and none of the pictures I've ever taken of the inside of my house actually look like my house so I've learned to roll with it. But in person it's less subtle and does work with the dark grey walls, the white sink and trim, and the grey appliances.  The whole space does look a lot crisper, cleaner, and separated from the rest of the strange mud room/entryway/dog feeding area. And when you walk through the kitchen and through the path to the garage - which has become the main route in and out of our house now - you see both of those walls painted the same bright blue instead of the odd singular accent wall from before that made me think "that was a mistake" every single time.

Horrible photo quality (our ceiling looks green?) but hey, the whole laundry space is painted a color that works and if you want to really believe me, come visit me. I'll show you in person.

You live and learn, and paint is the super easiest of all things to change. Seriously. Don't be intimidated by painting walls. I'll say it one more time: it's such an easy and cheap way to change the entire mood of a room.

So now that that's crossed off the list, here's our laundry room to-do list:

• prime grey wall
• paint accent walls blue
• cabinet(s) above washer and dryer
• hanging bar above washer and dryer
• shelf behind counter top
• organize under the sink
• new ceiling light
• rug?
• tile back splash around sink?

It's a small list, which is exciting, but have you seen the cost of single cabinets? I mean, my goodness. Who are they kidding? So although it's the kind of thing that won't crush us financially or anything, it's definitely something that has been and will probably continue to be put off till the right time. So we shall see, but for now, the painted walls are making me happy.