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See how wallpaper completely transformed this laundry room

This laundry room is anything but boring after a quick renovation.
/ Source: Houzz

The price tag for laundry room renovations can range from very little for a few cosmetic updates to quite a lot when plumbing is involved. To get a sample of projects and their prices, we asked Houzz readers to share their stories. Today we look at a 42-square-foot laundry room remodel in Wisconsin that the owners beautified for $4,110.

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Before: A side entrance off the driveway of Dawn and Steve Young’s home leads through their laundry room, past a hall closet and into the kitchen. The front entry is much grander, but visitors frequently came into or out of the “sad, tired-looking laundry room” because it is closest to where they park, Dawn says. She wished this exit were a bit more picturesque.

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Before: The first step in changing the laundry room was selecting new flooring, a task that got off to a bumpy start.

RELATED: Key measurements for a dream laundry room

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“Uh-oh” moment: Dawn attempted to match the new laundry room flooring to the hardwood floors in the rest of the home, but the tile she selected, shown here, ended up looking orange-y pink. “Terrible,” says Dawn. “We actually had to eat the cost of the first floor, and we donated it to a local Goodwill.”

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After: Dawn turned to Houzz, posting a discussion asking Houzzers to help her choose a better floor material. The Houzz community gave her many ideas, eventually helping her decide on the vinyl flooring pictured here. The Youngs removed the old floor and the old cabinetry themselves.

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Houzzers also floated the idea of using wallpaper, a suggestion Dawn loved. “When I found the one I ended up choosing, I felt like it was me and spoke to my love of my gardens surrounding our home,” she says. She was nervous about using a large and bold print inside a small room, but she’s very happy with the finished result. The Youngs hired a professional to install the paper.

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RELATED: A new hamper is the cherry on top of any laundry room renovation

Next, the Youngs next decided to install a standpipe to drain the washing machine water discharge. In the old laundry room setup, the dirty water came out of the machine and drained into an old laundry sink made of plastic, which they found unsightly and old-fashioned. Adding a standpipe would eliminate the visual of dirty water pouring out from the washing machine.

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Lessons learned: “One bad planning mistake was that we decided to put a standpipe in the wall after the room was wallpapered — very bad,” Dawn says. Fortunately, the plumber was able to enter the wall from the garage side and make only one small cut into the wallpapered wall for the discharge hose to run into the standpipe, pictured here, in the wall.

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The Youngs replaced that old dirty water discharge tub with a cabinet that has a quartz sink top. They purchased the quartz remnant from a local granite countertop supplier for $300, including installation. The cabinetry is maple, stained in a driftwood finish. Dawn chose brushed bronze pulls to finish off the cabinets.

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Instead of filling the wall with upper cabinets, the way the laundry room had been before the changes, the Youngs left an area open and added a floating shelf. Here, Dawn displays a bit of greenery and some artwork.

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RELATED: Inspired? Hire a professional plumber to get the job done

Steve drew the cat artwork during high school in the 1970s.

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“Now I am fine with people leaving through the side entrance, and I feel a bit better about doing laundry now too,” Dawn says.