Laundry Room Redo - DIY Laundry Folding Table
02 November
You may remember from my last update, Laundry Room Redo - Open Shelving and Painting, that I was planning on working on a shelf to go over the washer and dryer and a way to hide the ugly hot water heater. Well, I got ONE of those projects done!
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won't cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
To make my new folding table I went to Home Depot with my measurements and had them cut all my pieces for me. I chose maple plywood for the top because they said it takes stain really well and it was less expensive than regular plywood (and looks MUCH nicer)!
I chose poplar plywood for the sides because I took the last piece of maple that they had and poplar was the same price, still a nice plywood, and I knew I was painting the sides so it didn't matter that it was different wood than the top!
Here is how I made my new folding table.
Now you know that no project can be completed without some sort of mess-up! Mine happened right off the bat!
My measurements for the side pieces were too short! So I made a foot piece for each side to raise it up to the measurement it needed to be. This worked out really well because now the sides stood up all by themselves which made it very handy since I was building this all by myself! The sides seem a little more substantial too with this foot piece... so, I guess you'd call that a happy accident!
Here is one side piece standing up. I added a furring strip along the top edge to attach the sides and top together. I actually built the whole table next to the washer and dryer but I forgot to take a picture of that.
I attached it to the wall for extra stability. I used another furring strip for that and screwed it into the studs. Then I slid the whole table (very gently I might add since it was sort of wobbly before attaching it to the wall) over the washer and dryer.
Yeehaw!!! That little bubble centered on the level is what I like to see!
I cut a little notch in the back for the washing machine cord and then painted the sides before I attached the whole thing to the wall.
I added counter trim to the top to make it look more substantial than just a piece of plywood and that's when the second mess-up happened... when I added that counter trim my little drawer on the washer where you put the detergent wouldn't open!
So... I pried all the trim back off before the glue set up... pulled the nails out... punched myself in the face in the process of trying to pull out a rather difficult nail... I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING... I was kind of a train wreck today!! I dropped a whole tree on myself earlier while I was doing yard work but that's another story!
Then I used my jigsaw and shaved off a little bit from the molding and reattached it... the drawer now opens... whew!!
Here it is all installed and ready to stain!
I used Minwax 21360 Polyshades stain in Honey. It has stain and polyurethane all together so you eliminate all the steps!
I saw a really cute idea on Scavenger Chic where she painted an old laundry logo on her counter. See that post on her blog here. I wanted to do something similar to my counter and I found this cute laundry sign that looked pretty simple to paint.
You can get it free here on Burton Avenue blog.
So, I printed it out, transferred it to my table with transfer paper and got to work!
All done!
I sanded it down a little bit and then put another coat of stain on the table top.
I love how it turned out!
So, my new washer and dryer went from looking like this...
To this...
Hope you all had a nice weekend and you weren't punching yourself in the face and dropping trees on yourself!
Here's what you missed:
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won't cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Supplies Needed
- Plywood
- Wood for furring strips
- Level
- Wood screws
- Minwax Polyshades Stain in the color of your choice (I used Honey Pine)
- Paint (for the laundry sign on the top)
- Carbon transfer paper
To make my new folding table I went to Home Depot with my measurements and had them cut all my pieces for me. I chose maple plywood for the top because they said it takes stain really well and it was less expensive than regular plywood (and looks MUCH nicer)!
I chose poplar plywood for the sides because I took the last piece of maple that they had and poplar was the same price, still a nice plywood, and I knew I was painting the sides so it didn't matter that it was different wood than the top!
Here is how I made my new folding table.
Now you know that no project can be completed without some sort of mess-up! Mine happened right off the bat!
My measurements for the side pieces were too short! So I made a foot piece for each side to raise it up to the measurement it needed to be. This worked out really well because now the sides stood up all by themselves which made it very handy since I was building this all by myself! The sides seem a little more substantial too with this foot piece... so, I guess you'd call that a happy accident!
Here is one side piece standing up. I added a furring strip along the top edge to attach the sides and top together. I actually built the whole table next to the washer and dryer but I forgot to take a picture of that.
I attached it to the wall for extra stability. I used another furring strip for that and screwed it into the studs. Then I slid the whole table (very gently I might add since it was sort of wobbly before attaching it to the wall) over the washer and dryer.
Yeehaw!!! That little bubble centered on the level is what I like to see!
I cut a little notch in the back for the washing machine cord and then painted the sides before I attached the whole thing to the wall.
I added counter trim to the top to make it look more substantial than just a piece of plywood and that's when the second mess-up happened... when I added that counter trim my little drawer on the washer where you put the detergent wouldn't open!
So... I pried all the trim back off before the glue set up... pulled the nails out... punched myself in the face in the process of trying to pull out a rather difficult nail... I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING... I was kind of a train wreck today!! I dropped a whole tree on myself earlier while I was doing yard work but that's another story!
Then I used my jigsaw and shaved off a little bit from the molding and reattached it... the drawer now opens... whew!!
Here it is all installed and ready to stain!
I used Minwax 21360 Polyshades stain in Honey. It has stain and polyurethane all together so you eliminate all the steps!
I saw a really cute idea on Scavenger Chic where she painted an old laundry logo on her counter. See that post on her blog here. I wanted to do something similar to my counter and I found this cute laundry sign that looked pretty simple to paint.
You can get it free here on Burton Avenue blog.
So, I printed it out, transferred it to my table with transfer paper and got to work!
All done!
I sanded it down a little bit and then put another coat of stain on the table top.
I love how it turned out!
So, my new washer and dryer went from looking like this...
To this...
Hope you all had a nice weekend and you weren't punching yourself in the face and dropping trees on yourself!
Here's what you missed:
Posted by: Tania | Little Vintage Cottage
at 02 November
Tag:
home decor
Love seeing your progression in your laundry room. What a good idea for a sorting/folding top for your washer/dryer. The Self Service Laundry sign you painted looks just right.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. Love the sign on top! So---are you going to have a black eye from punching yourself? ;-(
ReplyDeleteNice job Tania! It looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteIt looks awesome...despite all the challenges you encountered! I can't believe that beautiful maple plywood is cheaper than the regular stuff. I will have to check into that. Love the sign...looks awesome! I can't wait to see how you cover the electrical box...I have been brainstorming a way to do that myself!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the added touch of the logo! Hilarious, vintage and true. :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks great. I really need to update my laundry room/
ReplyDeleteIt looks great Tania! Love the logo you added to the top. :) Kristi
ReplyDeleteHi Tania! What a fabulous idea and I just love the logo on top :) You have delightful ideas on your blog and I am happy to be following along. Have a wondeful weekend!
ReplyDeleteHugs and blessings!
Whoa! I am so impressed with your carpentry skills AND your painting skills! This looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteYes I love this! Pretty much exactly what I want... I just want my one side stained as well... but I love the stencil, that's a nice extra touch, although my washer and dryer are on pedestals so there almost as tall as me! Hehe 😂 idk if I would get the benefit of it?!? Thank you for sharing with me!!
ReplyDeleteNo problem Summer! I built this one by myself so it's pretty simple. :o) Yah, I wouldn't bother with a stencil on top since yours are on pedestals.
ReplyDeleteTania