It's no question that most laundry rooms are drab. Usually, they're in a basement, out of sight and out of mind. However, you shouldn't leave any room untouched when looking to revamp your home. With that in mind, we look at the top ten best ways to update the laundry room in your home.
Decorate the Walls
You'll be surprised what a new splash of paint can do to a room. If the washer and dryer are in the basement, you might only see concrete surrounding them. This is the last thing you want. From an interior design perspective, concrete makes a space look drab, dank, and unusually dark. Just because your basement is typically out of sight doesn't mean the laundry room in your basement or any other part of the house has to be drab.
Throwing a new coat of paint on the walls can be a lifesaver, and what’s even better is that you can customize the colors to suit your needs. Color psychology has much to say about various hues’ impact on the body and mind. Yellow promotes energy and creativity, red symbolizes aggression and ambition, and blue is calming. If you don't want to, you don't even have to consider color psychology—though it can help you add a nice touch. Do what's good for you.
Add More Storage
Do you want a place to store clean clothes for folding later on? Add a few laundry bins on the inside of your cabinet. If you do this, you can keep your clothes out of the way while staying organized. To save space, you can use a pull-out drawer with a laundry bin attached for easy access. If you don't have storage, you can install hooks over your door to hang clothes on to keep them from getting wrinkled. This is also a great way to store clothes, fabric softeners, laundry detergent, and other essentials. This way, they'll always stay organized and close at hand.
Hide Your Washer-Dryer Set
Only some houses have a designated laundry room to do your washing and drying. Because of this, it could be difficult to integrate your washer and dryer set into a room. And in some cases, it can appear unsightly and out of place if it's around the other décor. Instead of having it draw everyone's eye, a great way to update your laundry room is to hide the washer and dryer altogether. You can build a wooden door that slides open before your washing and drying machines if you're handy. Alternatively, a curtain with strong but colorful fabric might do the trick.
Create an Ironing and Folding Space
Typically, when you finish washing and drying your clothes, what comes next is ironing and folding them. Why not include a folding and ironing station next to the washer and dryer so that you can knock both tasks out in one fell swoop? You can even install it so that it comes down from the wall. That way, you can push it back up again, and it won't take up any space. You can also include a wall-mounted ironing center. This way, you can double up on functionality while still conserving space.
Create the Right Amount of Lighting
We talked earlier about concrete and wood finishes making your laundry drab. In addition to changing your wallpaper or giving it a fresh coat of paint, why not buy some new lighting fixtures or get skylights put into your ceiling? Laundry rooms have a reputation for being drab and dim. Even worse, the lighting normally in these spaces is usually uncomfortable florescent lights or perhaps one bare light hanging from the ceiling. Why not try and be different from the rest of the fray? You can even use energy-efficient LED bulbs and skip fluorescents together. If you go energy efficient, your wallet will thank you.
Make a Drying Rack
Some things are great to wash but better to air dry. This is especially true of towels, which have fibers that can break down in the dryer. It's especially true of delicate clothing that might do the same. Because of that, a small drying rack is ideal for situations like this. Place it somewhere near your washer and dryer, and watch the difference it makes. The idea is to consolidate everything you need in one place for a completely organized room that revolves around preparing your clothes for wearing. This is a great way to move toward that goal.
Get a Sink
A sink is a great addition to your laundry room. Sometimes, you get downstairs and realize that you need to handwash a delicate piece of clothing and hang it on your drying hanger or throw it in the dryer when it's time for your washer to finish. At other times, you must spray pre-washing chemicals on clothes with tough stains. This may require you to use water in the sink. The possibilities are endless. We suggest a sink just in case you need it.
Organize and Label
We recommend you organize everything. Make sure it's tidy, and arrange everything logically so that you don't have to move around a lot. You'll likely add shelves with matching containers to hold dryer sheets and other necessary items throughout your washing cycle. Label your bins with “dirty clothes” and “clean clothes” signs if you need to place them in a container before you iron and fold them. If you put your detergent and fabric softener in different containers, label those too. Place your cleaning products in an active zone where you’ll easily be able to use them. Other than your apartment-size washer, this is a key way to maximize your space while keeping things tidy. You’ll be more efficient and comfortable in a room without clutter.
Incorporate Plants or Artwork
Did you know plants can alleviate depression and help purify the air in a room? Beautiful artwork is another way to feel at ease in this space. We've mentioned throughout this article that there's nothing worse than a dreary laundry room. This is another way to spruce things up and maximize your space. If you don't have any ledges, you can put your plants on hooks and hang them from the ceiling. It only takes a second to put artwork on the walls, and it can make all the difference in your laundry room.
Make Use of Glass Jars
This may seem strange, but those containers of detergent and chemicals can be eyesores. Why not put your personal touch on them? As we mentioned briefly before, you can place your pods or liquid detergent in glass jars to give them a crisp modern look and throw the original containers out. Your laundry room will look far better as a result.
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