laundry room/closet doors | inspiration

A friend of mine was asking me for advice on what to do with her laundry area doors. Her laundry area is part of her bathroom which is currently being renovated. She has bifold doors and since the room was being renovated she was rethinking how to incorporate these into the new area. I love these sort of dilemmas – and I was really into this one because I have also been wanting to redo our little laundry closet that is also part of our first floor small bathroom. Last year, we contemplated moving the whole laundry area to our second floor to a larger unfinished room off of our bedroom/walk-in closet. It was to be a new closet/laundry room. It was a good idea but there was a lot more to the project than we were willing to take on at the time. Even now, I’m not sure that’s the solution we want. And our washer and dryer are both very old and I’m waiting for them to kick the bucket. A sledgehammer might just have to do the job if they hold on too much longer. No, I would never do that. So we’re in limbo. But I do love to think about what I would do when that sledgehammer, I mean when the appliances give out and we’re ready to move forward with our redesign. So I did a little brainstorming and research for my lucky friend and her laundry area dilemma. These are some of the {hopefully} inspiring ideas and photos we found:

1) Paint or refinish existing doors. 

Or you could go really bold. Like this. The color’s a little crazy but if you pick a funky color that goes with your room, it would make the doors look really modern and intentional.

2) Install screen panels.

These are a great alternative to the standard folding doors. Almost like room dividers but hanging.

Ikea has lots of colors and patterns of hanging panels for very cheap {like $12-14/panel}. Check them out here.

3) Convert the bifold doors into faux barn style.

This is a very cool DIY project I saw on pinterest. I love the finish on these – a true rustic look. But you could finish them in any color or style to match your decor.

If you’re feeling it, click here to be directed to the project tutorial. From Simpsonized Crafts.

4) Convert the bifold doors to french style doors.

My friend sent this link to me. Check it out here. I love it!! Looks fairly easy and what a difference! Love the handles too.

5) Take the doors off and make the laundry area become part of the bathroom.

For this option, you need to really treat the space like part of the room and since a laundry area can get messy, you need good shelving, storage and nice accessories. I would paint walls and ceiling, add shelving, nice lighting and a working countertop. You could also hang signs, pictures and fun baskets to make the space both useful and pretty.

Check out this redesign from Four Generations, One Roof. She said taking the doors off made her bathroom look so much bigger. Yeah for that!!

Also, Check out this post from The Lettered Cottage. She had a similar situation where her laundry was in a hallway closet and her solution was beautiful. And here are some other ideas for removing the doors:

from Recaptured Charm

Originally from Country Living.

6) Love these sliding barn doors! 

There’s no room for these in my laundry area but I love to dream!! Check this redo out at Apartment Therapy.

 I know this is a lot to take in but if you want more ideas, click here to check out my pinterest page. So much good stuff out there!

 What are your thoughts on the laundry area redesign? And do you have any additional ideas for my friend on what to do with her bifold closet doors? Honestly, if any solution can make the task of laundry any easier I’m all for that solution. Anyone???