Laundry is a chore that’s often left last on our to-do lists. Maybe it’s the fact that you have to run up and down the stairs multiple times. Or it could be the fact that your laundry room is cold, dark and uninviting. Whatever the reason may be, if you’re struggling with your laundry it’s time to renovate the space! Laundry is inevitable so creating a comfortable and accessible room for you to do it in will make it feel like less of a chore. Check out these five laundry room renovation projects to get inspired.
1. Flooring
Loading, unloading, rinsing, ironing, and folding your laundry can take some time. With an unfinished floor, these tasks can be annoying. Standing on a rough and cold surface will probably make you want to rush through or not even do it at all. Plus, you shouldn’t have to put on shoes to walk into your own laundry room.
Adding a waterproof floor covering in your laundry room will raise the aesthetic of the space, but also make it more comfortable to use. Vinyl plank and ceramic tile are a couple of options that can be inexpensive and also withstand water. Finishing your floor in your laundry room will allow you to comfortably use the space without dreading the task or having to put shoes on.
2. Lighting
Doing laundry requires using machines and sorting through multiple items of clothing. Without adequate lighting, this can become difficult. Many laundry rooms have one, single ceiling light to light the entire space. Often placed in the center of the room, your body easily blocks the light, leaving it impossible to see in front of you. Adding multiple lights to the space will allow you to have light in all areas, making it easy to do laundry. Tip: Installing recessed lighting (think pot lights) will help to save space and allow you to have more lighting in a small area.
3. Storage
Laundry involves using multiple products to get your clothes cleaned and ready to wear. This can include all detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, as well as an ironing board and iron. With lack of storage, most homeowners will store all of these products on top of their washer or dryer. In doing so, it creates a look of chaos and can actually be dangerous, especially if there are little kids in the home.
Adding either shelving or custom cabinets above your washer and dryer (or where there is space) to the room will allow you to store products out of sight, cleaning up the space and keeping the products out of reach of children.
4. Usable Space
Having to take all of your laundry to the living room, or even your bedroom to fold can be a hassle, especially for multiple loads. Folding on top of the dryer or washer is not practical either as there isn’t much space. If you don’t have any counter space already, consider adding some. If there isn’t enough room to add a table, adding a shelf that sits right above your units is a great way to create counter space, or even a table that folds in and out of the wall. This way it doesn’t take up any room when you’re not using it.
5. Sink
If your laundry room has a utility sink, but it isn’t hooked up, old, or you just don’t use it, consider getting it repaired for use again. And if you don’t have a utility sink, have one installed. Installing a sink in your laundry room is fairly easy as there is already all the plumbing in place.
Utility sinks can be overlooked in a laundry room as it’s hard to picture what exactly you will use it for. However, there are a variety of uses, ranging from washing hard stains out of clothes prior to putting them in the machine, rinsing dirty shoes off, and rinsing paint brushes or other tools. Without a sink in your laundry room, all of the above would have to be done in your kitchen sink. Mixing dirty clothes, dirty shoes, and paint into a space that is meant for cleaning your dishes that you eat off of doesn’t sound too appealing.
Laundry rooms are often put in the basement due to easy access to plumbing, reduced noise, and it keeps the room separate from other areas in your home. For this reason, laundry rooms are often neglected when it comes to designing them. Since they are in the basement and only used every so often, they are often not finished, have poor lighting, and lack of storage. Updating the above designs in your laundry room can vastly improve the space, transforming it from a dark and cold dungeon to a warm and inviting space that you actually won’t mind spending time in.
