Laundry Room Redesign
If your home is anything like mine, you have one room (or perhaps several) that need to serve multiple functions. This was the case with my laundry room. A pass-through space between the garage and the foyer that transitions into the kitchen, the laundry room also serves as a mud room, coat closet, and a space for excess storage. That’s a lot to ask of a 8’5" x 6’3" space, but it didn’t start out that way.
When we first moved in, I muddled through life with multiple spaces that were highly dysfunctional. The linen closet had been transformed into a pantry long before, which offered greater functionality to the kitchen but left no logical place to hang coats or store shoes. As a result, shoes cluttered the floor in the foyer and coats were flung over the banister. My temporary solution to corral the multitude of shoes was storage baskets on a hand-me-down bookshelf. While this solution was functional, it left the foyer feeling cluttered and not aesthetically pleasing.
The laundry room, though large, had very little in the way of storage. One ill-placed cabinet served as my only storage and was the bane of my existence as I often hit it with the door to the garage as I entered the house. As a result, the laundry room became a dumping ground for random items that didn’t have a home.
Additionally, because I absolutely despise doing laundry I needed to create a space that wasn’t only functional but pretty. The type of place I’d want to spend time in.
I started by identifying my goals for the space. Not only did the laundry room need to perform the obvious task of washing clothes, it also needed to serve as the central location for all things related to entering and exiting the home. I needed a place to:
- wash the laundry,
- hang coats and store shoes,
- house items we use on a regular basis for easy access, and
- store a plethora of cleaning supplies.
By reconfiguring the laundry room, I was able to maximize storage, hiding items like shoes, cleaning supplies and excess storage in new cabinets. Hooks installed at different heights along the wall make hanging items like coats, purses and backpacks a breeze for kids and adults.
Flanking the stacked washer and dryer are two deep, pantry-style cabinets that hold laundry and cleaning supplies, as well as other household necessities. An open shelf above the appliances, with two oversized baskets to swallow additional supplies bridges the space and gives the room a custom, built-in appearance.
I typically choose the area rug first when designing a room because it defines the color scheme and sometimes even the style of the space. For my laundry room this took on greater significance because, without any furniture beyond the cabinetry, the rug would become the focal point of the room. I decided to go bold and chose this one simply because it made me smile.
Here’s why I love this rug so much:
- It’s really thick, making it a durable option for a high-traffic area like a mud room (a rare find at this price point).
- It has a busy pattern, perfect for disguising the dirt that inevitably gets tracked in from outside.
- It has a lovely selection of colors to pull from when decorating the rest of the room, including cream to match the cabinetry and white to match the appliances.
- And lastly, did I mention that it makes me smile?
I chose a bold navy blue paint color for the walls to match the area rug perfectly. It turned out dramatic, sophisticated, and modern. I lived with it like that for seven years until I decided to take the design up a few notches by adding wallpaper in the same color scheme. I chose this William Morris-inspired peel and stick wallpaper.
I unified all the accessories by painting them another bold accent color pulled from the rug. The metal key box and framing mats were all spray painted a beautiful shade of green. I think they really pop against the walls.
The chandelier offers an incredible amount of light–especially important for this windowless room–and matches the knobs on the cabinets perfectly. It also beautifully highlights the pictures of my family, a personal touch to the space that really makes my heart sing.
Now that I have designed the perfect laundry room, I find myself visiting the room more often than I need to just to admire the space. It’s amazing how the smallest things (or, in this case, the smallest room) can make a big impact.
~ Louise
