An Ugly Utility Closet Transforms into a Striking (and Colorful!) Home Entrance

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER

HOME TYPE: House

PROJECT TYPE: Closets & Storage, Entryway

STYLE: Colorful

SKILL LEVEL: DIY

RENTAL FRIENDLY: No

You might think a home’s utility room just is what it is, but for Martina Emdén (@martinaemden), it needed to be a little bit special. After all, Martina and her family saw it every time they entered their house. “Our house was built in 1991; this room was the original design,” Martina says. She says it was “impractical for our family and very messy.”

The utility room wasn’t just unappealing, but it’s a part of the house that they use often. “This is also our entrance from our carport, and then it continues into our kitchen, so you could say that this is the entrance to the house that we use the most,” Martina says.

Martina and her husband decided to make it work better for their needs. “We wanted space to store shoes, cleaning supplies, etc.,” Martina says. “We chose to renovate this room to make it more practical for our family and more inviting,” she adds.

Enclose the chaos.

Martina and her husband wanted to close off the exposed power stations and other electrical necessities. Before they got to work, there was plastic carpet and yellow walls in the utility room, but it also houses “very important parts for the house to function,” according to Martina. “This is where water and electricity enter the house,” she explains.

They couldn’t get rid of the unattractive utilities to change the look of the room. “I mean, we need water, heat, and electricity in the house,” she says. So, they had to work carefully. “We kind of had to build around the power stations and plug cabinets that are in the room,” Martina explains.

Martina’s husband is a handy carpenter, so they did everything themselves, with a little help from Google on the projects that were new to them. They installed a new ventilation system, moved a well in the floor, laid new tiles, and installed spotlights in the ceiling.

They built the new closet around the utilities, making sure that a technician could access them if needed.

Make it look great.

With the structural work done, it was time for paint, which was gifted. Martina used an orange hue from Beckers Färg on the walls and light and dark purple colors from Caparol Färg to paint alternating stripes on the new closet.

She also used the darker purple for the secondhand shutters, which she bought online and turned into doors. “There were four shutters; we cut and fitted them together to get doors at the height we needed,” she says.

Other changes to the room, like removing a door that led to the kitchen, also helped give the space new life. “The light is so much better in the room,” Martina says, adding that there’s also “a better flow.”

The project cost between 4,000 and 5,000 Swedish krona (which is between $362 and $452), and it turned out exactly how Martina envisioned it. “I love the striped built-in cabinet; my idea turned into reality,” she says. “It is a room I am very proud of,” Martina adds.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.

Further Reading

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