If anyone asked me what changed most in homes recently, I would cite laundry room features.
And I’d need to credit new home builders and home renovators who are adding more functional — and at the same time more customized — laundry room features. Colored laundry appliances. Special large sinks. Integrated or hidden appliances. Laundry rooms that are multi purpose and combined with other uses. These are some of the features. Of course, it all depends on space.
When we renovated our house I took a marginally functional room, which doubled as an entry from the garage, and added a main coat closet for ourselves and guests. In my laundry room I found space for a wine refrigerator on the 14-foot long wall of built in base cabinets. The wine fridge is a little luxury that lives happily next door to my washer and dryer. I installed lighted glass-door upper cabinets for overflow china storage. A tall pull-out faucet allows my sink to also be used for potting plants or filling flower vases. My only regret is not expanding the size. Here are five more laundry room features that combine glamor with utility room practicality.
Ensuite Laundry Closet [top]
A spacious closet with custom teak shelving in an ensuite master bathroom is ample enough to hold a stacked pair of European style front loaders. Linen storage for the master bedroom and bath are conveniently stored here, too. The front loaders are only 24” wide and these have a handy pull-out stacking shelf between them. Hefty doors fold back neatly for full closet access and a stop in the ceiling keeps them from hitting the adjacent shower. This approach is great for a dedicated secondary laundry since nothing needs to leave the master suite. It’s also a good solution for a small home where space might not be available elsewhere.
Combination Laundry Room-Her Office
By most standards, this combination laundry-home office is rather modest and certainly could be described as budget-wise. The painted desk could easily be vintage or salvage and the same is true of the chair. Taking a basic approach to concealing a pair of front-loaders under a long white counter, a pleated skirt — which looks all the world like cut-down draperies — slides back and forth to conceal or reveal and keep things neat for her.
Raised Counter with Custom Pull-Out Drying Racks
A section of a room with a low ceiling is transformed into a very clever and specialized laundry space. A Miele washer and dryer are tucked under a Hanstone quartz counter in Aurora Snow. Rather than go with a standard 36-inch high counter directly above the washer and dryer, this one is raised by several inches to accommodate shallow custom pull out drying racks. The custom racks, designed by Eleanor Olsen of Seattle’s Total Spaces Design, were made using Accuride glides mounted on shallow drawer frames inset with wooden plate-rack dowels (though plastic or mesh screening could be used). The drawer brackets will support up to 100 pounds. These laundry room pull outs are a DIY dream and the set up is genius.
Space-Saving Cabinet with Drop Down Ironing Board
Older homes, especially those built during the 1920s, often had drop-down ironing boards concealed in a cupboard. That idea disappeared for years but now is making a comeback because the hardware that keeps this type of ironing board steady has gone heavy-duty. This isn’t the largest laundry, evidenced by the jumbo stacked pair, but it’s attractive and well thought through. Anyone interested in the paint color might note that it’s reputed to be Benjamin Moore CC-40 Cloud White.
Laundry Room with Sorting Basket Shelves
I’m fairly besotted with this laundry room because I’m a sucker for the kind of storage it provides. Plus, I caught a glimpse of a freestanding laundry sink in back. But the driving force for including it here is the clever arrangement of open shelves that holds a quartet of laundry baskets. I love the look. What I don’t entirely understand is how these would be used: clean or dirty? And they might be cumbersome to move around as they appear to have no handles. But the cotton liners are dear, there are tags that help with the sorting, and the look is so vintage yet still now. Everyone organizes in a different way but this is a laundry room intended for use by a family. While polished, it’s also practical and a silver-tone laundry set is my fave.
(Source: bh&g, Lucy Interior Design, houzz, braams custom cabinets, bh&g)
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