Laundry Room Update using Peel and Stick Tile

This peel and stick tile project was a fun project to complete and made an INSTANT difference in our laundry room. I wanted to transform this space not only visually, but functionally as well. This DIY cost less than $200!

Watch the video below to see a highlight of our laundry room update! (You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel!)

Here’s a picture of the laundry room before our DIY! It’s not bad, but those shelves were hard to reach –and I’m 5’9!

It’s not bad, just a little bland! and it’s about to get so much better!

That’s me! This was my glam shot right after I finished this project. I’m standing behind the dryer, I didn’t even push it back in to place yet!

Here’s how I created this space:

1. Prep the Wood Shelf

I used a 10 x 2 piece of pine for the shelf. It’s the same wood from the existing shelves that we installed in the laundry room. The wood should be cut to size and then sanded THOROUGHLY. It took me 30 mins to sand a 68 in shelf using 220 grit sand paper. If you cheap out on this step, your shelf won’t look as nice and will come out feeling rough.

Take a look at the difference sanding makes.

2. Stain the Wood

Once your wood is sanded, it’s ready to be stained. I used Varathane Stain and Poly to match the existing shelves in the laundry room. I saved this can from the first time I used it.

Truthfully, this particular product takes a lot of time and patience. I mean, A LOT. Normally I would wait an hour or two in between coats of stain on a warm day, but the poly combo takes 24 hours to dry to the point of not being tacky anymore. This really extends your project timeline, but the finished result is VERY nice. It has a nice hard sheen to it and the poly is high gloss, so it’s easy to clean and remove dust.

3. Install the Peel and Stick Tiles

This part was obviously my favorite. All you need is a level and a box cutter or an X-acto knife.

Normally when you install real tile, you would start at the bottom of the wall and work your way up. Since the tile I was working with was peel and stick tile and my goal was to make this as simple as possible, I started from the top and worked my way down and across. Our laundry room is also pretty small, so I was only able to work behind one machine at a time. If we pulled both away from the wall, there wouldn’t be enough room for me to open the laundry room door.

I’ve been working on all my DIYs after Graham goes to bed at night, so it took me about 3 hours in total over the course of two nights to complete this wall!

I started off by making two level marks on the wall. The first was to give myself an idea of where the top of the shelf would be. The second line was to guide where the top of the tiles should align.

Installing the tile is pretty straightforward: peel off the back, then stick it on the wall in the correct position. I loved the pattern on this tile. I intentionally picked a busy pattern to help distract the eyes and hide some of the electrical and water connections from the wash and dryer.

When working around outlets it’s best the remove the covers. I made a template each time to help me cut the tiles.

Each peel and stick tile had a contact paper like cover on the back that was the exact size of the tile. I used a piece of the backing and scissors to figure out the shape of the template. Then I laid the template on top of a new tile and used an X-Acto knife to cut long the template line.

The lines won’t be completely straight, but the outlet covers will conceal any imperfections!

This strategy worked for me every time. If you want to see how I did this in action, you can watch the short video above! You can also visit my Instagram and watch a highlight video of me installing the template pieces.

The peel and stick tile was looking excellent behind the dryer on the first night! I love how the that big black electrical cord almost blends in to the wall now. This pattern is busy, but it hides way more than a white subway tile would have!

On night #2, I completed the tile behind the washing machine.

Dancing around those water lines while trying to install the tile tested my agility. We turned the water off, but did not disconnect the machine since this was suck a quick job.

I’m obviously really happy about the finished result. Once the tile was up, I completed the DIY with then shelf. This was a super easy install. I screwed the brackets directly into the studs in the wall so it could hold the maximum amount of weight. Laundry detergent is much heavier than you think it is. Especially when you have a separate detergent for the baby and fabric softener too!

Here’s the complete finished look! I’m not the greatest at staging pictures, but the before and after is killer, if I do say so myself!

To see more projects like this one, check out our other interior design DIYs!