Transforming the Laundry Room: Make It a Cozy, Functional Space

The laundry room can easily become a chaotic space, often housing washers, dryers, laundry racks and baskets, cleaning supplies, and various tools. Its location at the periphery of the home can make it feel like a dreaded chore to tidy up. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Even the tiniest laundry rooms can be transformed with some simple and creative solutions that enhance both functionality and aesthetics.

Solutions are available for even very small service rooms.

Here are some ideas for designing your laundry room to be efficient, attractive, and always organized:

1. Washer and Dryer Placement - In a very small room, consider stacking the dryer above the washing machine. If there's slightly more space, placing them side by side with a folding area on top can be beneficial.

2. Laundry Baskets - Depending on your habits, choose between baskets, drawer systems (don’t forget ventilation for drawers), or shelves with pull-out baskets for sorting laundry.

3. Additional Storage - Don't forget a tall narrow cabinet for brooms, mops, ironing boards, etc., and plan storage for cleaning supplies. A high shelf in the cabinet is useful for storing a water bucket.

I personally prefer using closed storage with doors to maintain a tidy appearance.

4. Hanging Rod - Very useful for clothes waiting to be ironed.

5. Drying Racks - Nowadays, there are many foldable drying racks available that don’t take up space, whether portable or wall-mounted inside a cabinet.

The Service Balcony and Kitchen

In many homes, the laundry area is adjacent to the kitchen, especially in smaller apartments.

This was the case in a recent project I worked on. The service area was integrated into the kitchen, which was already quite small. Our main goal was to separate the spaces without losing valuable kitchen space and keeping the laundry appliances out of sight.

Here’s the solution we created: We built a cabinet to separate the service area from the kitchen. On the service side, we included pull-out laundry baskets, a tall and narrow section for the broom, mop, and ironing board. On the opposite side, the cabinet served the kitchen space, making use of previously inaccessible areas.

Tammy Rotenberg is an architect and interior designer. For questions and feedback, contact: office@tammyrotenberg.com.