Laundry

We’ve teed up a consult with the interior designer for 12th June. So I better get cracking with the outstanding rooms.

This week is laundry week. Or as I prefer to call it, the “utility” room. Hard to make a room both practical and pretty, but here I think practical wins out. Here is the floor plan:

Laundry floor plan

Laundry floor plan

In terms of visual design, I want something bright and fresh, maybe like this:

Bright and fresh laundry

Bright and fresh laundry

The sink area is going to be a little unusual. I’ve thrown a spanner in the works by wanting the washing machine raised on a 300mm platform. Because filling and emptying a front-loading washing machine is not fun. So some ugliness will no doubt ensue.

However I did manage to find a picture that looks vaguely nice, although the difference in bench height will be higher than that shown here. We’re also making the depth of the bench such that the front of the washing machine won’t stick out.

Raised bench over washing machine.

Raised bench over washing machine.

We are deleting overheads for now, as we don’t see the point and can easily add them back in later if we want. Which brings us to the dilemma of how high to make our splashback tiling. Too hard basket, I’m afraid, will go with whoever has the strongest opinion and/or best idea. I do want a massive sink.

And I want a simple solution for laundry baskets that won’t involve expensive cabinetry, maybe something like this:

Pull-out laundry baskets

Pull-out laundry baskets

The opposite wall is a blank slate. Our laundry has been designed to be wide enough so that we can install some cabinetry on the opposite wall after handover. I have a few ideas but nothing concrete, aside from wanting to avoid anything too expensive.

One thing I’ve been seeing on a lot of American interiors sites that I really like is the concept of a mudroom.

The main idea is to have somewhere for dirty shoes and coats etc; we don’t really need to worry too much about storing bulky wellies and so on. The bench provides a handy spot to sit down whilst divesting said shoes, to be stored underneath said bench.

One corner of the laundry will also contain our wireless router etc, but that’s just a tiny corner behind the door that I’m not sure is worth writing about, aside from saying that there will be some sort of cupboard thing there.

Of course, we also need a broom cupboard – this is the original reason we wanted the extra width in the laundry.

With hooks for all sorts of things like brooms, ironing boards, etc. I’m also toying with the idea of including a drying rack, but I’m not sure which wall it belongs on. It could be built into cabinetry above the washing machine, or a wall-mounted extendable one. Or maybe I should just use my existing clothes horse.

Finally, the pooch will need somewhere to sleep.

Raised dog bed

Raised dog bed, might be a bit much but so cute. Maybe this could be the mudroom bench.

In reading back over this post, I can see a rather eclectic mix of ideas, so I’ve decided that making a mood board will be way too hard!

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4 Comments:

  1. I think you’ve got this one under control. I think all your ideas can work together, you have space. And as you say, it doesn’t all need to be done at once. Love all your inspiration pics.

    • Thanks for the encouragement 🙂 Yeah I’m not too concerned about this room, just want it to be useful mostly.

  2. Love the styling you have there so far 🙂 I do love those american interiors!

    1. raising the washing machine — are you just getting one of those stands / drawers they sell these days or doing something special?
    2. Hanging/line — that’s something I want so just curious what you will do (if anything) about a rail if you aren’t having overhead cabinets?
    3. Love the big sink idea
    4. Love the dog bed idea. Caught my dog sleeping on my MIL’s couch 🙁
    5. Broom cupboard looks great. What about a flip out ironing board?
    6. Love the mudroom bench (I keep going to IKEA to get some cheap ideas for the bench and hat/coat rack)
    7. Love the laundry basket idea too… although I’m trying to find the perfect idea that can transport from folding to in the drawer — almost like pulling out the bedroom drawer, putting in in the laundry so it goes straight in and then teleport it back to my bedroom! Somehow I don’t think it will work 😀

    • Thanks Yvonne!
      1. The builder is going to brick it up so there is a solid platform for the machine. Considered the stand/drawer thing but prefer the more solid option. Don’t really know why!
      2. You can get ones that affix to one wall and then pull out such that you don’t have to attach the other end onto something. Can’t find the pic sorry. And there are also ones that you can build into cabinetry, like this: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/240731542555092613/
      5. Yes to the flipout ironing board, but we’re going to put it in the WIR, because we’re always too lazy to iron something until we need to wear it!
      7. I wish they’d hurry up and invent that teleportation device too!

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