Laundry rooms are often the last source for inspiration, so few homeowner's put effort into making them special. But talk to any mom with a house full of kids, pets, and various other "life" happenings, and they will tell you that they do some serious laundry!
When designing a laundry room it is important to get the necessities in, and make it functional, but why not make it inspirational, and inviting? If you walked into the room above to do your laundry, wouldn't you be a little more excited to spend your day there?
Last Friday I met with some homeowners who have two kids. They do two to three loads of laundry a day, and share their laundry room with the powder room. It is a very small space. The toilet and door touch, and in order to get to the bi-fold doors, that house the washer and dryer, they have to walk around the door and shut themselves into the room....amidst a pile of clothes consuming the floor like Jabba the hut, just to do laundry. How do you think they feel about doing laundry? {Not real good.} It is a hassle, hard to move, and a challenge not to trip and fall with so much chaos. This is not a functional and happy place. But I see this ALL the time. And few people want to invest in a place that no one sees, and does such hard, and dirty labor. Remember that post I just did on a glamourous life? Well it is the simply luxuries, like a fabulous laundry room, that make life glamourous. So what can you do to make your space better?
1) Plan your room carefully. Think about how you use the space. How much room do you have? Can you expand the space? How can you make the space better?
2) Give yourself as much storage as the space will allow, no matter how unique your storage needs are or little the space is. You can never have too much! Think about how you will use the space and how you can make it better.
3) Choose lighting that is appropriate for the room. Don't use harsh lighting if you don't need it and use fixtures that make a beautiful room. Layer your light, and put everything on dimmers. Laundry is not rocket science. If it has been a long day, you just need a little light to start the load, and a little light to fold. ( I went to Arizona a few years ago, chandeliers and sconces were in laundry rooms everywhere and I thought it made a beautiful and unexpected surprise!)
4) Add electronics to your space like a TV, or a place to sit and do work on the computer. These distractions can double as entertainment, and make doing laundry a little more fun. Especially if you can catch up on that guilty pleasure that you swear you don't watch!
5) ALWAYS put in the biggest utility sink you can. It needs to be as deep as possible, and prepared to handle war!
6) If possible add a built-in ironing board or have a place to put one. Few people iron anymore, but it nice to have one when you need it, and they don't take up a lot of room.
7) Combine the room with something you love. Don't let the extra room go to waste. It can double as a craft room, office, homework station, reading spot, TV room, etc. A client came to me with this photo above three years ago. They were building a custom house and she loved scrap booking so we duplicated this room down to the tile. Because the room is so colorful and fun she LOVED being in here! Can you blame her?
What are some things you could add to your laundry room? How can you make it better?
And remember there are no rules when doing laundry! Unless you do it in public....
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