Oh yeah, the laundry room. I knew there was something I was forgetting.

We’re about 90 percent done. And you’re just going to have to take my word for it because I’m waiting to show it to you until it’s complete. So far we’ve painted the floors, stenciled a wall, added new cabinets and shelves, installed a small jacuzzi recessed into the floor and replaced the sheetrock with jello.

We still need new lighting and some sort of ironing board storage… but we’re close, friends. We’re close.

Ready for a little sneaky-peeky?

Oooh *mysterious!!*

I added some art! I picked up these four frames. The two larger ones were $2 each from a thrift store and the smaller ones were .50 each from a yard sale.

Have I mentioned we’re on a $100 budget for this whole room? Yeah.

But I didn’t love the medium wood color, so I spray-painted them. I just grabbed the first dark spray paint I found in the garage, which a metallic oil-rubbed bronze. I thought — metallic? For a frame? — then shrugged and decided my mantra for this project is: It’s only a laundry room. So I got to spraying.

I actually liked the color in the end, because it reads like a glossy black.

Then I hopped on my computer and whipped together two little bible verse art posters to pop in the two smaller frames. I picked two verses that relate to cleanliness, since this is, after all, a laundry room. I’ll pause for a moment while we all reflect on that pure genius. (Hmm. Nevermind.)

This is what I ended up with:

If you like those, you’re welcome to download them and print them – just CLICK HERE for the first one and CLICK HERE for the second one to view them in full size, then right-click on the image and select “Save image as” or “Save target as.” They should work perfectly at 8 x 10 inches and smaller.

For the larger frames, I decided to use two pictures of the cutest people I know. I don’t actually have a lot of family photos displayed around the house, but the laundry room is primarily used by me. I just wanted to display things that would make me happy while I’m busy removing muddy stains from tiny socks. I chose these two:

GAH. ADORBS. -Biased mama

I ordered the prints at good ol’ walmart, one-hour photo printing because patience is not my strong point. While I was there picking them up, I looked for some simple white mats but they didn’t have two of a kind that would work for me. I thought: Self, what a great chance to save a buck. I’ll make my own.

So I bought this five-pack of posters to cut into makeshift photo mats:

It did not go well.

Seriously. You’d think I would’ve learned my lesson… unless you’ve been reading here for a while, in which case you probably know better than to expect me to learn lessons on things.

Here’s what the verse prints looked like:

Yeah, NotSoMuch. Problem number one: the photo print background didn’t turn out bright white, so it clashed with the white mats. Problem number two: apparently I cut straight lines like a five-year-old. The mats were not straight or even. Or cute.

So instead, I just printed the verses with a color printer right onto standard printer paper, cut them to 8×10 and skipped the matting.

…and popped ’em all in their frames.

Much better. I still cut my own mats for the larger photos. Yeah, they’re imperfect. But let’s just recite the mantra:

Let’s all just agree that there’s nothing more terrible in life than trying to hang picture frames evenly. I’m SOOO glad we discovered this photo-hanging hack! I whipped out the paint stirrer and had them hanging on the wall evenly spaced within minutes. (For real. Click here and check out the hack if you haven’t seen it before. Total lifesaver.)

I hung two frames over the washing machine and the other two over the dryer.

The verses aren’t photographing well but they look better in real life, promise.

Total cost for four frames, “mats,” and prints: about $15. Not bad. And I’m most definitely enjoying the view while laundering our intimates.

Anyone have tips on easy, cheap ironing board storage? Or on how to cut mats without a mat-cutter or any basic scissoring skills?