Whether you love or loath doing the laundry, a designated space for washing, drying and folding your laundry can make life so much easier.
Most new home designs include a designated space for laundry, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a practical and functional space.
Clever cabinetry and thoughtful design can cut the time you spend doing laundry in half, and make the whole experience far more pleasant.
Here are our top tips for a practical and functional laundry room.
9 tips for designing a practical and functional laundry
1. Consider the design
When trying to make a working living space more efficient, the layout is critical.
Functionality needs to be at the centre of your design choices.
Think about how and where you want to store dirty laundry in relation to your appliances.
Do you want to position your appliances near the back door for easy access to the washing line?
How you like to do your laundry will dictate the space, so think about what would make your life easier.
The team at Proform can assist with design advice and offer a complimentary 3D-design service to all clients.
2. Adjust the height of your benchtops
Lifting heavy baskets and folding laundry can take its toll, especially if your benchtops are too high or too low.
Depending on how you plan to use your laundry countertops, consider the optimal ergonomic height and make sure your benchtop suppliers and installers know your specifications.
3. Incorporate laundry hampers into your cabinets
Having piles of dirty laundry on display is never a good look.
Designing a new laundry room allows you to plan your storage options.
Hiding laundry hampers behind cabinetry is a great way to keep your laundry organised and your laundry room a pleasant space to be.
4. Space-saving drying racks
When it’s too wet or cold to hang your washing on the line, you’re going to want a space to dry your clothes indoors.
Built-in drying racks are space-savers and an energy-efficient way to dry your clothes during the winter months.
5. Choose drawers over cupboards
No one wants to spend more time doing laundry than necessary.
Lots of cupboard space sounds like a good idea, in theory, however, cupboards can be hard to keep organised and you might find you’re always shuffling the contents to find what you are looking for.
Opting for built-in drawers over cupboards makes finding and grabbing what you need much more accessible.
6. Remember to set up space for ironing
A taller built-in cupboard to store your ironing board is essential.
Another great addition to a practical laundry room is a hanging rail for your freshly ironed clothes before transferring them to your wardrobe.
7. Add open shelves
Custom cabinetry and shelving is a great way to ensure the space work for you.
Open shelves next to your washing machine can make easy, efficient access to detergent and softener.
8. Consider your materials
The laundry is a hardworking room of the home.
Washing and drying clothes means there is usually a lot of moisture in the air.
You want to choose materials for your cabinetry, benchtops and splashback that will tolerate the environment.
Visit the team at Proform’s Malaga warehouse for advice on materials and measuring up your space.
9. Get professional advice
Even if you know exactly what you want when it comes to designing a useful laundry space, professional advice can be invaluable.
The team at Proform Products have been in business for 30 years, providing custom cabinetry to homes throughout WA.
As part of our service, we offer a complimentary onsite consultation and measuring service for projects big and small. This includes assisting with your project layout, custom joinery solutions, materials and hardware advice in addition to a 3D mock-up of your design and itemised quote.
If you have a project you’d like to discuss with the team, get in touch.
