Laundry rooms are hot spots for household improvement these days. Whether your laundry room is in the basement, garage, kitchen, or closet — or you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated laundry room — these 10 laundry room ideas will help create a space that’s organized, up to date and is so beautiful that you’ll look forward to doing laundry.
Where’s the best place to add a laundry room? Consider convenience first. Set up your laundry close to where dirty laundry collects, or near the bedrooms where clean laundry goes. Other favorite laundry room locations include near the back door, in the mud room, the kitchen, bathroom, closet, or dressing area.
Keep in mind that accidental flooding could happen in your laundry area. Waterproof flooring below the laundry machine is essential, especially if your laundry room is located on the second floor. Good ways to waterproof your floor include adding plastic sheeting over the subfloor, building out a shallow pan for the laundry machines to sit on, or using tile or waterproof vinyl under your washer and dryer.
Another thing to consider when choosing a laundry room location is the noise from the machine’s vibrations. Laundry machines that are located on the second floor should be fitted with vibration pads that dampen the noise that occurs when the machine is in motion.
Although a few of our inspirational photos in the gallery are large rooms, these ideas work well for small laundry rooms or laundry workspaces in a closet. With a little creativity and planning, a useful, efficient laundry room is possible.
Here’s a laundry list of 10 easy laundry room ideas that organize, add value and upgrade your space.
1. Vibrant Laundry Room Paint Color
Make the laundry room workspace bright and cheerful with a fresh coat of paint. Paint is an easy DIY way to upgrade your laundry room on a budget. Choose a color theme that’s bright and uplifts your mood. Popular paint colors to liven up your laundry area include vibrant citrus tones like lime green, yellow or orange. A crisp, bright white is another clean option that makes the room and your mood feel fresh. Don’t stop with the walls, also consider painting your laundry room cabinets!
2. Extra Laundry Counter Space
Counter space is key in the laundry to make sorting and folding laundry easy work. Create a custom laundry room design by adding a counter over your side-by-side washer and dryer.
If you have the square footage, add an island to your laundry room to increase counter space.
3. Built-In Cabinets
To create a high-end, custom laundry room, install kitchen cabinets around your washer and dryer. Stay on budget by buying inexpensive cabinets and upgrading them with contrasting, bright wall colors or wallpaper. Remove builder-grade hardware and replace it with custom drawer pulls. A versatile and contemporary drawer pull will uplevel your style and can work as a towel or hanger rack.
If your budget is tight, visit a restaurant supply shop’s used section. Stainless work tables and shelving are a solid modern laundry room idea and easy-to-install alternative to built-in cabinets.
4. Creative Washer and Dryer Mounting
If you don’t have enough space to keep your washer and dryer side by side, stack them vertically. This is a great way to work with smaller spaces while still having a functional laundry area.
Another creative way to mount your washer and dryer is to lift them off the floor. Raising your washer and dryer makes it easier on the back by eliminating the need to bend over to load and unload the washer and dryer. Create a storage area in the space below the washer and dryer. This also leaves room to create a storage area in the space below the washer and dryer. Some washer and dryer manufacturers offer the raised storage unit in the matching appliance finish.
5. Extra Laundry Storage Ideas
Wall cubicles, floating shelves, baskets and clothes bars are all good storage options in a laundry room.
Be sure to add a dirty laundry sorting system to save time when doing laundry. A good rule of thumb is to have a minimum of three dirty laundry bins for white or light clothes, and dark clothing. Don’t forget – asking everyone in the household to sort their own dirty laundry in the proper bin saves time.
6. Upgrade Lighting
Laundry rooms are often located in dark or windowless spaces, so good lighting is important. Add under-cabinet lighting or a large, overhead fixture to brighten and enlarge the space. Good lighting also helps you find spots and stains on laundry items, so you can pre-treat before washing. Better yet, add a combination of lighting that includes canned ceiling lights, pendants and under cabinet lighting like the image above.
Beautiful lighting fixtures are not only practical, but they enhance the design of a laundry room.
7. Accessories That Hide Laundry
A wall or cabinet mounted drop-down ironing board is a great way to hide clutter. Most designs not only hide the ironing board away, but have enough room for storing your iron and laundry supplies.
A wall-mounted drying rack is another smart option for air drying delicates like lingerie or sweaters.
8. Interesting Patterned Walls
Besides paint, give your laundry room a modern look by adding visual interest to the walls with pattern and texture. Two great ways to achieve this include:
–Wallpaper. Choose a bold, modern pattern in a moisture-resistant, vinyl paper that’s easy to wipe down
–Backsplash. Add a high-end backsplash design to your laundry room. While some of the most beautiful backsplash tile options can be expensive, a smaller laundry room doesn’t require much tile at all
9. Multi-Purpose Laundry Room Functionality
If you have limited room, make your small laundry area a multi-use space. Multi-function laundry room ideas include:
–Craft room
–Mud room
–Sports equipment storage room
–Household cleaning supplies storage room
10. Converted Closet Laundry Space
One of the most clever laundry room ideas is to convert a hall, home office or guest room closet into a laundry room.
Be sure to put up plenty of shelving and watch out for door clearances, so you can shut the doors when the laundry room is not in use.
Many of our laundry room ideas are easy DIY projects you can do in a weekend. Take a fresh look at your laundry area and see how you can upgrade yours to organize it better and add value to your home. What are your favorite ideas to try?
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