One Room Challenge: Fall 2025 REVEAL!

2 days ago
3 min read

March 29, 2026: A very late reveal from last fall's One Room Challenge for those who are interested!

While the Fall One Room Challenge technically started in October 2025, our utility room makeover began a few months prior. I shared all of my progress on Instagram in real time and decided to wrap it up nicely with a blog post.

As soon as we bought our house in 2022, we gutted our laundry room. I removed the linoleum floor and replaced it with peel and stick tile (but after the fire, those were replaced.) This room is used every single day, as it connects the garage to our house. The closet was unnecessary, so I removed the shelves and doors and turned it into a mudroom nook for keys, mail and shoes. The long wire shelf above the washer and dryer was also not going to cut it, so it got donated.

For three years, the room worked well. It gave me time to really consider my next move. Early last year, I was in search of used upper cabinets. I finally found an oak set from Habitat Restore last summer. After careful planning and with my husband's help, I installed them above the washer and dryer. I added some filler pieces and knew that paint would tie it all together. To be honest, I hung the first one while he was at work, but definitely needed help on the wider cabinet. I really try to embrace the "worker smarter, not harder" motto, but it's not always easy. I don't consider myself to be impatient. I'm just on a mission!

The cabinet bases hung there for a few months while life went on. Knowing how helpful and motivating the One Room Challenge had been for me in the past, I decided at the last minute to sign up.

Here we are, at the end of March and the Spring '26 ORC will kick off this week, I believe. I am now officially finished with the Fall '25 ORC! To use an over-played phrase, "it's better late than never!" In reality, I finished roughly 90% of the utility room a couple of months ago. But, dang, finishing that pesky 10% can be daunting!

You can read all of my posts leading up to this point on Instagram. I walk you through my process: planning, painting, installing, pivoting, tiling, upholstering and sometimes just winging it. I am going to cut myself some slack and make this a straight before and (mostly) after blog post. Often, big ideas can prevent me from tackling certain things. And I am tired of the utility room finale hanging over my head. So, here we go -- iPhone pics, zero natural lighting and all...

I realize the before (left) is not bad, at all! In fact, at the time the photo on the left was taken, I was preparing for a photo shoot with former local magazine, Taylored Living. If you haven't followed along on Instagram, you're missing the whole backstory. In a nutshell, after moving in, I added shelves to organize our drop zone. That worked great, but we still needed a place for all of the laundry detergent and other household supplies.

Also, with zero natural light, the paint color was a bit depressing. It's the same green-grey on our interior doors which I love, but it was just too heavy in here. Personally, we had a lot going on for me to be excited about any repainting project. I wrestled with possible solutions and even doubted myself halfway through. Ultimately, I am so pleased with the outcome! Painting the top portion of the room SW Pure White, while keeping some of the SW Rushing River was perfect for us. It's brighter, more interesting and just feels good walking by or through the room.

Installing the shelves in this former closet a couple of years ago was super helpful. They required no change this time around, so I dreaded removing the old peel and stick wallpaper in favor of a new pattern. Like many things, it was a pain and time consuming, but worth it! Building in a full bench is one my favorite additions to this room. It has proven to be very useful.