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Creating a Functional and Stylish Laundry Room

Efficient and Stylish Laundry Room Layout

Well, we've gone and changed our floor plan again - we're moving our laundry room upstairs! And that means I get to design another room! So I've been doing some research and finding inspiration about how to create a functional (and stylish!) laundry room. What are the must-haves? What can I actually fit in the space available? How can I make the best use out of the space? But before I get into all that, let me explain how we got here.

Back when I first posted about our big renovation, I shared our original reworked layout that actually had plans to move the laundry room upstairs.

But within a few weeks, we reconfigured our master suite and the space that was going to be the laundry room became my closet after I realized I apparently don't know how rulers work (notice how the closet is MUCH smaller than the laundry room).

We decided to compromise by adding a laundry chute down to the current laundry room and moved on with the renovation.

WELL, as I mentioned recently in my post about staying positive and motivated during renovations, plans change and you just have to roll with it. So roll with it we did!

You see, in all versions of our floor plans, we figured the most logical option for the "shower room" from the original master suite layout was to turn it into a full bath for the loft.

I was okay with turning it into a half bath but definitely wasn't pumped about adding ANOTHER full bathroom to clean. I mean, who would ever use the shower in there? We already have two and a half baths - adding a third full bathroom to this four-bedroom house seemed like overkill. But the room is actually a pretty good size, so only making it into a half bath would have been a weird use of the space.

So last week while Lucius was demoing that room (ha - and I bet you thought we were done with demo), he asked me how I felt about turning that it a storage closet instead of a bathroom. For having such a large house, we actually have very little storage, so this wasn't a terrible idea. But my first reaction was, "What about turning it into a laundry room?".

After talking it through, we decided that made a lot of sense. All of our bedrooms are upstairs, so 95% of the laundry is upstairs too. Not lugging baskets of clothes up and down the stairs sounds like an absolute dream! And we figure we can turn the current laundry room into a storage closet as we had originally planned.

So here's the new (and final?) renovation layout!

Now let's get into the details - how do you create a functional and stylish laundry room? Since we’re pretty much rebuilding this room, we have a lot to think about. Here’s how I’m tackling it.

Consider Plumbing and Venting

First thing’s first - you’ll likely be somewhat constrained by the placement of your plumbing for your washer and access to venting for the dryer.

Because of the door placement and the size of the room, we really only have two options on  which walls the washer and dryer can easily go. We're fortunate that we have this room and the adjacent room demoed and can see all the innards (including existing plumbing) to help us determine if either placement is out of the question. We’re also lucky that the new laundry room will be directly above the old laundry room, so we can run the venting for the dryer out of the current vent that already exists.

Think About Function

Laundry rooms might just be some of the hardest working rooms in a house. They serve so many purposes! So when designing your laundry room, it's crazy important to really think about all the things you want to use it for.

Do you store brooms, cleaning supplies, pet food, or other items there? Plan for that. Do you want to soak and/or iron your clothes in your laundry room? Plan for that too. Of course, with the space you have available, the world might not be your oyster, but it doesn't hurt to see what you can shift around to make your laundry room work for you!

In my case, we have other areas of the house where we store brooms, cleaning supplies, and pet food so there's no reason to find a place to put that stuff. However, our current laundry room doesn't have a utility sink and it's a huge pain in the behind so that's something I definitely want in the new space.

Other must-haves: maximum laundry-folding space, a shelf for typical laundry supplies, a hanging rod, a drying rack, space for a small trash can, and room for laundry baskets. Would you believe that our laundry room will only be about 6x8 feet!? That's a heck of a wish list for a pretty tight space! But I think I can make it happen. The next step is figuring out how to get it all to fit.

Lay Out Your Plans

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Now that you have your wants and needs hashed out, take a good look at the space you have available to see how you can make it flow.

After thinking it through, I've determined that putting our washer and dryer on the longest wall in the laundry room will make the most efficient use of the space. Here's how I see it working:

Placing the appliances on the longest wall leaves room on either side of the washer and dryer. So, why not put the utility sink to the left of the washing machine? (The image above is obviously upside-down.) That way, I can soak my clothes and easily transition them into the washer when ready.

Next, because I have a front-loading washer and dryer, building a counter to sit on top of the appliances will give me the space I need to fold laundry. And I can actually extend that to the far wall on the right. Underneath the counter on the right, next to the dryer, is the perfect spot for a small trash can.

Above the utility sink, I picture a wall-mounted drying rack. And over the counter, I plan to build a shelf to hold detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, and other laundry-related items.

I’m picturing a butcher block counter and open shelves above. Something kind of like the picture below. Maybe with some cool looking brackets?

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This is a good example of the layout I described above, though my drying rack would be above the sink instead of cabinetry and there would be a little space on the right-hand side of the dryer for a trash can.

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In front of the utility sink, there should be enough room to put some laundry baskets. And above that, I'd love to install a rod for those items that need to be hung right away. Maybe something like this:

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Although I really hate ironing clothes and rarely do it, it's something I should plan for. But that doesn't mean I need to find space in the laundry room to iron. I can just as easily store the ironing board on an over the door ironing board holder and pull it into another room, preferably in front of the TV, when needed.

Style It Up

And now for the REALLY fun part - making it beautiful and stylish!

I don't know anyone who actually looks forward to doing the laundry - so why not try to make your laundry room at least somewhat enjoyable by making it a beautiful, stylish space? This is where you get to have some fun! And because laundry rooms are typically pretty small, you can even splurge a little bit. 

For instance, what about installing some cool tile as an accent wall?

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I love me some scalloped tile. But look how it pairs with that pretty butcher block. And hexagon tile on the floor!? Ugh, pinch me.

Speaking of hexagon tile, I’m loving the smaller pattern in this laundry room.

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But let’s be real. Obviously, that cheery wallpaper is the real star of the show. It makes me so happy!

Final Thoughts

I’m still working through the details of how the laundry room will look exactly, and considering it was just demoed, I’d say I have a little bit of time to figure it out.

As we get closer to putting the room back together, I’ll be sure to share my design plan!

Related Home Renovation Posts

How to Create a Functional and Beautiful Laundry Room