I have a huge double sink with a sprayer - it’s great for dog washing, or for soaking dirty clothes in one sink while using the other one. Instead of drying racks, we added several hanging rods along both sides of our laundry room - it saves a lot of space, and allows to hang dripping clothes above the sink if necessary. We also installed an automatic valve that detects leaks as a safety feature. And finally, we have a designated space for a powerful steamer which we use often
@mathmom, check your manuals. My front loaders have reversible doors.
I love having a laundry tub as well as cabinets above the washer and dryer. I wish my laundry/mud room were larger as I would like to have a small utility closet in there.
Don’t like a hanging bar since they aren’t usually big enough–I have a rolling rack I use. Bins underneath the rack keep the clothes. I avoid ironing like the plague but have room for a steamer. Folding is done on top of the dryer.
What I do like if I didn’t have room and redid things would be to have one of those drying racks that are suspended from the ceiling so it’s up and out of the way when you don’t need it.
Mine don’t have reversible doors. Very annoying!
GENIUS
Can’t picture how the ceiling drying rack works, but it sounds like great use of otherwise wasted space. I am going to redo my laundry room, more for the purpose of adding storage shelving for kitchen items, but it is good to read all these ideas.
We have a super tiny kitchen, and can’t afford a complete makeover, but realize we have a rather large but not properly utilized laundry room. So, our plan is to get as much kitchen type storage to fit into our revamped laundry room so we can remove a big piece from the kitchen and at least open up the kitchen to the lr/dr area.
I love my hanging rod in the laundry room, and the shelf above the w/d is indispensable. Want more flat space for folding, and want to find a way to have baskets for each person’s clean laundry.
I’ve seen the ceiling drying racks and maybe I would like them. But the clothes might be in the way of walking or working areas, not sure.
I couldn’t live without my laundry sink. Mine is built in so it has cabinets and drawers below and around it. Also love the cabinets above the washer/dryer and sink. We have a large coat closet that doubles as a hanging rack for clothes taken from the dryer.
I wish I had space to leave the ironing board up 24/7, and a place to drip dry clothes on hangers. I also wish my laundry room was not a second front door entrance that everybody seems to use when they visit because I need to have the flexibility to allow the laundry room to become cluttered. But after 25 years I’ve become used to it.
I would not want a second floor laundry. Friends of mine who have it found they are limited in when they can do laundry because of the noise which can disturb sleep. I wouldn’t want to be running up and down the steps since I don’t usually hang out upstairs, and am pretty finicky about getting wet wash out of the machine as soon as it’s done.
I first used the ceiling rack in France MANY years ago and we couldn’t bring one back on the plane. So sad.
It hung above the washer/dryer in the tiny laundry that our house had. I looked for years in the US thinking somebody HAD to have one! Finally found it a couple years ago (too late for me) at IKEA. Good ol’ IKEA!
LW absolutely loved the build in ironing board we installed in a previous home…but it was in the walk-in closet, not the laundry. Most of our ironing was as-needed and that made it handy when she wanted to wear the clothes.
So many of the things we wear nowadays only need ironing if they are not hung up right out of the dryer.
We have a laundry room that is from the 30s. It has a build in milk box, ironing board, drying tack and shoeshine gizmo. It is unusually large…but again…we don’t have live in help anymore. We need a sink and a housekeeper.
We have this wall mounted ironing board. Love it. It swivels out and folds up and is very sturdy. Over it we have a wire rack that has a top shelf where the iron sits and a rod to hang clothes. Everything happens in one compact space. We like to fold laundry in front of the TV.
Hafele 568.66.700 Ironing Board Wall Mounted
ClosetMaid 8278 18-Inch Wide Laundry Utility Hanger Shelf
My ironing board is in my craft room. Need it too often for quilting to have it in the laundry room. Our laundry is long and skinny, so I’ve been trying to figure out where to put a rod for hanging clothes. We also have a fridge in there, and are somewhat constrained to where the fridge/washer/dryer can go because of the outlets. Would not mind if my BIL came and installed cabinets above the washer & dryer, though!
I also fold laundry while watching TV. Must multitask!
Definitely have a large sink. Larger than the kitchen sink and used for many things you wouldn’t want in the kitchen and useful for soaking dirty stuff before washing- mine gets used for garden gloves and washing dirty shoes et al. Old house I gave our small dog a bath in the laundry sink- not sure I would have wanted him scrambling out of the kitchen sink onto my counters. I fill the pail for floor washing in the laundry room.
Front loading washer/dryer- I put mine on pedestals so I do not have to bend as much- you’re only going to get older and appreciate the level more- worth having the tops higher. Made the mistake of having the dryer on the left in the old house- easier for unloading further from the wall and worked for a top loader. But when I got my first front loader I learned only the dryer’s door hinge can be reversed- it was awkward (and venting directly through the outside wall meant not moving that).
Skip the fixed ironing board. Who wants to be stuck in a laundry room to iron? When I used to iron I placed things so I could catch TV shows. I also find I change the orientation for things like tablecloths (holidays only use) or other large non clothing items. No versatility with a fixed board.
First floor is best for me. Easier to notice when a load is done because I am in the public areas during the day. No need to climb stairs to check or change loads. We had a chute from an upstairs bath to the laundry room closet in our old house, no need in our single story house here.
Current house came with laundry as a narrow room partly hallway on the way to the garage- but it has a laundry tub. Old house had sink in a cabinet but in this small space an open tub leaves room under it for leaving the flip flops/sliders used to go outside ( we do not wear shoes in the house). Definitely cabinets above. So little storage in our Florida house, especially since there is no basement and a smaller garage with the water heater, sigh.
Get a washer/dryer that accommodate king sized comforters- 3.? size is big enough. Even if there will only be two of you.
Wish my current laundry room had the nice closet and room for the small chest freezer like my old one did. Also built that house with the laundry room convenient to the garage/outside entrance but off to the side so we didn’t need to go through it. In old house son’s dirty laundry sat there the whole winter break (I think he took some undershorts from there when he ran out- gross). He never took it upstairs and it was convenient when he finally did it before loading it back in the car.
I have sorted laundry in front of the family room TV but now we dump the clean basket on the bed and we each do our own folding (that way H and I get things done the way we want them- now that he’s retired he has the time).
I like the BBB one better, as it doubles as a towel rod and has nylon clothesline strips instead of metal rods. They seem kinder to clothing. Search on Amazon and you will find others.
My favorite thing in my laundry room is my bulletin board walls. I have a zillion photos on the walls and I change them out regularly. It’s where I put my dog show ribbons, too. Folding laundry is never boring.
I have lots of counter space and a stacking sweater drying rack, too. Two washers (one for really disgusting stuff, like dog-drying towels), one dryer.
I’d like a laundry room with natural light…windows or skylight. our laundry room is only lit with overhead fluorescent tube lighting and it always seems close in the small enclosed room.
Lavage Mahal thread!
A friend of mine has a big laundry room located next to the garage entrance to the house. It does double duty as sort of a locker room for the family. Everyone has a designated area to put coats, shoes, purses, backpacks, mail, keys, etc. This really helps keep clutter at bay in the rest of the house. I wish mine was large enough to serve this purpose.