Laundry rooms used to be the neglected room in the house. Find a closet or another room large enough for a washer and dryer, and that was all you needed.
These days, the laundry room has become an important working area for a busy home, and careful thought and planning will create a multi-functional area that works for washing, drying, and folding as well as numerous other household chores.
Some things to think about when designing your laundry room are:
1) Storage: Make sure you include enough cabinetry – including drawers – to store all of your household supplies including detergents, cleaning supplies and pet supplies.
2) Laundry: With today’s’ front-load washers, it is important to remember that any cabinets installed above the machines will need plenty of clearance if the washer/dryer are on a pedestal.
3) Folding/Hanging: Give yourself enough countertop space to enable folding of large loads of laundry. This eliminates the need to take the clothing to another room, losing half of it on the floor as you walk. Include space for hanging racks or a hanging pantry that opens and closes with retractable doors as needed. Built-in drying boards are also extremely useful in small spaces.
4) Pets: The ultimate luxury? Find room for a pet shower – a simple shower base with tile walls and a hand sprayer will create an easy-to-use washing station for dirty pets AND dirty feet!
5) If you have a central vacuum in your home, a handy idea for ease of cleaning is to install a toe-kick (technical term is “Vac Pan”)in the baseboard of the cabinetry. You simply “kick” the vacuum valve open and sweep the dust/lint/cat litter into the vacuum.
Make a list of the many functions that your laundry room serves, and try to incorporate space-saving and time-saving tools that will make this room ultra-functional for your family!
