Wednesday, August 22, 2012

DIY Pink-Polka Dot washing machine

Let me just say that my husband is awesome & indulges me!! How many guys would let their wives get away with this?! :)
I am just going to start with the after picture because I am obsessed with my newly painted pink & polka dotted washing machine!! Isn't it fabulous? I had seen this Pin at the beginning of the summer of a turquoise polka dot washer & have been trying to find the time to do this. It was my perfect answer to wanting a new washer & dryer but not having the money for a fancy upgrade. Paint it pink & it feels like new! It was a fairly simply project, except it was a very small room to work in & I did not want to pull them out. So I only painted their tops & fronts. 
As you can see in this picture, we had just a boring, plain white washer & dryer. Drew actually brought these into the marriage :) Not pretty, but they get the job done!
I started the make-over by taping off around the control knobs. I held bowls of varying sizes around the areas I didn't want to paint and then traced around them. Next step was applying primer. I used two coats of KILZ primer. And just a warning- it STINKS!! Especially in a tiny laundry room! Drew was afraid I might be causing myself a little brain damage :)
Next, it was time for the pink! I used regular latex paint, in a very happy shade of pink. I ended up doing three coats to get it completely covered. Here's after the pink:
 Aren't they pretty?! They make me happy!! The tutorial I had been following used a stencil to add the white polka dots. I didn't have a stencil. I also did not want to trace polka dots all over it & hand paint them. So I went with an easier & faster solution. White vinyl! I used my cricut to cut out circles of various sizes in white vinyl. I then just stuck them on. Super fast & easy! Only problem- I ran out of vinyl.
At this point, I really wish I would have left the dryer white. Then I could have done it opposite, white dryer with pink polka dots. O well, too late!!
And yes, I did go out & buy more white vinyl for the dryer but before I had a chance to add the polka dots, our washer broke. Yes, our freshly painted washer broke!! Can you say OMG?!!
And in the process of it breaking, it flooded the laundry room. And the water messed up the attached living room carpet. And it seeped through the walls & soaked the master closet. Once again, OMG!!!!
I'm not even sure what I was more upset about, the washer being broken, the floors having to be replaced, or the fact that I just painted that stupid thing!!

Anyway, two weeks later & the washer has been banged around a bit but it is fixed. The lid switch broke. So that was a cheap fix. Well, except for the floors. We have also picked out new flooring that is to be replaced within the next two weeks.

Drew says the whole thing was my fault. His washer & dryer didn't want to be pink because they are manly. Whatever, it's fixed & we're on the road to new floors!!

3 comments:

  1. Looks like you live in a Barbie playhouse, there Baby Cakes!

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  2. omg! that is so cute! i love your creativity! keep up the good work. im going to do my washer, refrigerator and kitchen aid mixer with cricut designs soon! thanks for sharing and the ideas. :)

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  3. How did you get the polka dots to stick? I'm still a little confused on how you got the did so perfect around the controls. You say you traced bowls, but how did you get the paint to look so perfect around the tracing?

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