Clean Sweep: Mum’s Bunnings laundry renovation saves $4700

When Katy Thomas got quotes to makeover her laundry she was floored by the cost – so instead she came up with a solution that was a fraction of the price.

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When Katy Thomas moved into her new Barwon Heads home she knew immediately that the existing laundry wouldn’t work for her family.

“When we bought the house I think they had just left the laundry and never touched it basically,” she told news.com.au.

“So you can see there’s shelving everywhere, there’s bit and pieces. It was awful, I hated being in that space.”

The interior stylist and mum of three (@katythomasstudio) set about getting quotes to find out how much it would cost to get the laundry professionally renovated.

But Ms Thomas was stunned when she was told it would cost between $5000 to $6000 to makeover the “narrow” space.

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Katy Thomas is an interior stylist based in Victoria.

“We did look at getting quotes as soon as we moved into the house to do the laundry and they were so outrageous that I thought oh my gosh, and we put it off,” she said.

Instead Ms Thomas, who is a Bunnings ambassador, decided to reno the laundry herself, with the project coming in at a much more palatable $1300 using products from the hardware store.

Ms Thomas bought white flat pack cupboards which she updated with black round handles which cost just $5 for the small size and $8 for the large version.

She made her benchtop from a piece of timber which Ms Thomas and her husband sealed themselves.

Ms Thomas also managed to add an expensive detail she had originally wanted – wood panelled cupboards – for a fraction of the price.

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Ms Thomas said she ‘hated’ using her old laundry.

But when she got quotes to fix the space she was told it would cost between $5000 to $6000.

“I had a tight budget that we were working towards so I had to be creative and come up with different ways of how I was going to get that end result,” she said.

“I love panelled timber doors and when I originally went to get that quote it was just going to be too much of budget spent on doors, I wouldn’t have had enough for the rest of the room … I’ve ended up putting that panelling in for our splashback instead of the doors, which I love.”

Ms Thomas finished the reno off by adding overhead shelving and giving the laundry a fresh coat of white paint.

She estimates it took herself and her husband around a week to put the new laundry together in between homeschooling their children and their full-time jobs.

“It was in between a busy time – we had a lot of late nights putting flat packs together, but in saying that for the end result it’s so worth it and we’ve saved so much money,” Ms Thomas said.

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Instead Ms Thomas managed to redo the space herself for $1300.

Ms Thomas bought flat pack cupboards and a piece of timber which she fashioned herself into a bench top.

“I feel it’s a great project and I’d do it a hundred times over.”

Ms Thomas said renovations for rooms that weren’t on display should be done on a budget as they weren’t likely to be used by guests.

“For $1300 for all the products was pretty amazing compared to what the original quotes (were) and getting custom made cabinets and bench tops made can cost a fortune,” she said.

“I just didn’t want to spend that much money on a laundry, you know you don’t have friends over and you don’t spend time entertaining in there.

“It needs to look beautiful and be functional and still look nice, but I just didn’t want to spend too much money on it.”

Helping Ms Thomas stay under budget was creating a mood board and wish list of items which helped her keep track of what she needed to buy.

“I think having a clear idea of how you want it to look, mood boards are such a simple way but they’re so effective,” she said.

“When you’re taking on any project mood board everything.”