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FUNctional Laundry Rooms; Emphasis on FUN!17 May, 2010
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After attending KBIS (the nation’s largest Kitchen and Bath show) there is little doubt that the laundry room is where many home owners are turning their attention. It is no longer a boring little room with a white washer and dryer. In fact, I’d be willing to say if the kitchen is the heart of the home then the laundry room is quickly becoming its nerve center. As with other areas in your home it is important that your laundry room be functional and attractive, but what’s happening now is that many of the design rules we are typically boxed in with seem to be losing their grip in this part of the house where few but the family tend to venture.

I think a good thing to consider when designing a laundry room is that you cannot have functional without F-U-N. Let’s face it, doing laundry is a tedious affair. Why not try to spice things up a bit with a laundry room that is as appealing esthetically as it is practically. Choosing color pallets that are a little outside of the norm for you may be a good place to start, but more importantly consider all of the fun and attractive ways you can add glorious storage to your laundry room without making this essential workspace an uninviting household pariah.
 
These days many eye sores and messes are being averted by combining the purpose of a laundry room with that of a traditional mud room. Armed with this combination in mind and a good idea of all of the storage solutions out there you can effectively make your laundry room the primary staging area for many of your family’s indoor and outdoor activities as well as create a work space that you actually enjoy being in.
 

·         Have custom made lockers in your laundry room where each member of the family has a space that they can store their shoes, coats, backpacks, etc.

·         Incorporate a tiled area with a drain in the floor and a hand sprayer for bathing your pets or cleaning the mud off of your shoes.

·         Place your pet’s water and food bowls in an open/ doorless cabinet, so they are off of the floor, out of the way, and easier to reach.

·         Peg boards are finding their way out of the garage and into the laundry room, where you can store important household tools and gardening equipment.

·         Pull-out or drop-down towel racks are no longer just a laundry room accessory because when you have dirty, wet items that need to dry where else are you going to hang them?

·         Custom wood rods with decorative valances in your laundry room give you some place to hang clothes that cannot be dried in the dryer.

·         Hampers and ironing boards are a laundry room must. Incorporating them into the cabinetry provides easy access and storage without being an eye sour. 

·         Mount a TV in your laundry room for times of ironing and folding clothes.

 

These are just a few of the ideas that are sprouting in the laundry room arena. What ideas has this article inspired in you? I encourage you to write them down while they're fresh, then consult us or another trusted professional.

 


Bottom line- Don't let your dryer lint have more personality than your laundry room. Seriously, if you have to lose the occasional sock why not do it in style?  
 
Contact us with any questions about this article or about planning your own laundry room.
 
We can make your laundry room dreams a reality!

This laundry room article written by Elaine and Lee
 

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