In this cozy cottage refresh, I’m going to show you how to use a neutral mid tone colour to brighten up a dual functional space of both mudroom and laundry room and changed it into a welcoming cozy cottage. I love how this turned out, and all with just a couple of coats of paint! 

Join me as I share with you how I went from this,

to this.

Laundry and Mudroom makeover

Walking into the cottage was less than welcoming!  As the main entrance to the house, this mudroom doubles as a laundry room as well and the main walkway. It comes off from the 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, into the main living kitchen and dining room. With pine walls everywhere, and limited closet space or shelving. It’s such an important space to be well designed and functional. I’m going to totally transform this space with paint into a bright welcoming cottage entrance, and the best part is, that anyone can do it with just a couple of coats of paint! 

 Cottage entryway

I love this room as the main entrance. This multi-functional design is a winner. When you come in from the outdoors after a long hike, you can just toss your clothes right into the laundry and not have to bring them through the house. This is super helpful in keeping the rest of the cottage clean, especially if you’ve got kids! The space lacked light and organisation, but just a few tweaks and I think we made a welcoming cozy space.

Choosing colours for the cottage

Now comes the hard part – choosing your colours! When you’re trying to choose colours for your walls, you’ll want to think of your overall décor and theme. In keeping with the light, contemporary theme throughout the cottage. I wanted to keep this space neutral and light. When choosing a colour for a smaller space, you’ll want to make sure that you test it on the walls. Checking colours in the lighting that you have is super important. Colours will look different in the store where you’re purchasing your paint from, and even the swatch book you’re looking at. It’s all about the lighting in the space you’re wanting to paint. We recommend painting out the samples on the walls is the best way for accuracy. I decided to paint all of the doors to the closets as well, so that it would blend in and not stand out as much. 

Painting the cottage walls

I chose a beautiful neutral sage called Eucalyptus from our Fusion Mineral Paint line for the walls and also painted out the dark brown laundry counter top. By painting all one colour, it makes the space feel bigger. Fusion Mineral Paint is perfect for this surface because it has a durable built in top coat, so I didn’t have to add anything additional for protection.

I continued the colour down the hallway to each of the bedrooms. You’ll notice that each bedroom has a fun pop of colour – each room has it’s own theme, and the colour of the door is a welcome to our guests for what lies beyond the door. 

Decorating your space

The interiors of the overhead shelves are painted a much lighter shade of Victorian Lace, a barely there off white. It’s a gentle contrast that keeps the unit looking light and open … a great idea in a small space.

We didn’t paint the ceiling, we kept that wood to maintain the cottage character.

We put in new white oak floors and kept the built-in cabinets above the washer and dryer. The space over the washer and dryer is designed for maximum function. Shelves are left open and I love the ease of baskets that slide in and out, a great way to stay neat and organised. I found these gorgeous ticking-striped baskets for storage. Perfect for the nautical lakehouse theme.

Lighting in this Laundry/mud room was drab and boring and detracted from the overall design. I really wanted to add something that was unique and special, I found this perfect hanging light fixture that has a bit of an industrial feel, kind of funky for a laundry room. And the rope ties into the nautical theme of the cottage. I think the pendant light works perfectly here. Your eyes are drawn to the wood ceiling and the contrast is fun. It really builds in character and a bit of drama to the décor.

For the rest of the overhead lighting, I chose LED flush mounts that basically disappear into the ceiling and don’t distract from this focal piece. The LED lighting is really bright, which helps to brighten up the small dark hallway.

 I added a hall tree at the front door for extra storage. I painted this DIY sign to welcome family and guests, a heartfelt message that says this is a home filled with love. A cosy cottage vibe.

Cozy Cottage

There are so many ways that you can bring in the cosy cottage feel to your space. Try a few of these suggestions.

• Try adding a sliding barn door as we did here to separate the living space from the bedrooms. It keeps the noise down and adds a beautiful decor element. 
• Change out your hardware, or repaint it! 
• Add beadboard, trim or wainscotting (or any type of wood panelling, for a rustic cottage vibe)
• Repurpose old cabinets into wall and base cabinets, this is such an economical way to save money
• Use wood for countertops, which you can paint like we did here, or leave stained and beautiful to show off the wood tones
• Adding substantial hanging shelves for open display of items and last but not least
• Make a coat rack out of vintage moulding or door knobs

This space now breaths new light with a couple coats of paint and some very simple décor, What a welcoming entry to our cozy cottage! If you enjoyed this makeover and want to see more of this series, check out these room makeovers we have shared so far!

• Introducing the cottage series
• The nautical-themed bedroom
• The Roots-themed bedroom
• The kids room makeover
• The HBC bedroom makeover

See the full room reveal

Let us know what you think and which room makeover is your favourite so far?