The laundry room is the workhorse of the modern-day home. With kids heading back to school and families finding themselves in need of a space to keep it all together, the laundry room has become one of the most important areas for today’s busy families. If designed well, it can be the central hub for organizing the household and keeping the family on track. With amenities like creative storage solutions, desks with ample workspace, pops of color and a convenient location, the laundry room can be so much more than just a space to do the weekly wash. Here are a few of our favorites, from simple to grand, to spark your imagination into dreaming about ideas for your next new build or renovation.
Personalized Pop!
Because of their historically utilitarian use, laundry rooms have always been just that, a stale, unimportant space that’s necessary to help the household function but not important enough to garner design detail or amenities. Today, that mentality is long gone, and clients are finding ways to make these spaces fun and functional at the same time. For example, need a space for your child to finish a homework assignment or for you to look up a recipe for that night’s dinner? Place a desk beneath a window or at the end of a working island to create an inviting space to do those quick activities. Are you the consummate gift-giver? Customize an upper cabinet to hold wrapping paper, ribbon and tags for that perfect finishing touch to an important package. Want to drop a hint for your family to join in the fun of washing and folding the laundry, spice up the space with a custom message written in the tile floor. You might be surprised who’s inspired to pitch in! These ideas will make your laundry room dual purpose and desirable.
Bold & Beautiful!
If you’re not interested in the laundry room serving more than one purpose but you still want it to have some design appeal, don’t hesitate to walk on the wild side. Laundry rooms are the perfect space to introduce some FUN. Throw in a bright splash of yellow, blue or green cabinetry to make your space unique and beautiful while remaining functional. Take it a step further with a playful custom wallpaper to liven up the space. Wall coverings are a great way to introduce a fun pop without worrying about it going out of style. When the covering you choose no longer has that “It” factor, replace it with something new. If saturated colors and busy prints are too much and you’re looking for a more subtle approach, try a soft pastel or classic slate gray for cabinetry and bring in some whimsy with a feature wall of your child’s artwork or a colorful print. Whatever you chose, the laundry room is the perfect spot to highlight your unique design style.
Location, Location, Location!
Once you’ve designed your space to function for the family and highlight your personal taste, it’s time to think about location. In the past, laundry rooms were never given optimal placement in the home. Often, they were tucked in a closet, basement or even a garage, depending on your climate, and as a result, became that space that nobody wanted to visit. When “aging in place” become a popular design trend among baby-boomers, the laundry was finally pulled out of the dark corners of the home and placed in a more convenient location often next to the kitchen. Our more mature clients found that placement to be a functional necessity. Fast-forward to today, younger families are finding that not only is the main level laundry a convenience, a second laundry on either the upper or lower floor is almost a necessity. Tucking a laundry space within a closet or off the hall near the kid’s bedrooms where, let’s be honest, most of the laundry originates, is saving our busy mom’s and dad’s lots of time hauling baskets from one floor to the next. In addition, our clients are also finding the convenience of a nearby laundry is inviting other family members to pitch in on the chore. That’s a win, win in any parent’s book!
