19+ laundry room design ideas for your home

Where to start?

If you’re in a position where you’re designing a brand-new laundry room, there are a lot of things to consider. Unless you’re building a new home, chances are that your laundry room already has its location chosen. It’s a lot of work to install the electrical and plumbing systems needed by washer/dryer units. You probably don’t want to bother moving the laundry room to a different part of the house unless you’re planning a large-scale renovation.

That said, if you do have a choice about where to locate your laundry room, one of the best places is near the home’s bedrooms. Keeping the laundry-to-bedroom distance short encourages people to move their dirty laundry to the laundry room instead of letting it pile up. If you live in a two-storey home, it’s best to keep the laundry room on the main floor (or basement). This way, if your washing machine should ever spring a leak, the water won’t seep down through the house.

There’s also the noise consideration: washers and dryers vibrate and hum, so you’ll want them away from your bedrooms if you plan to ever run them at night. If you’re missing the convenience of a laundry room near your bedroom, you can add a laundry chute from the upper storey down into the laundry room.

The location of your laundry unit is going to determine a lot about what design choices you make. If you live in a large home with a dedicated laundry room, you’ve got plenty of space to work with. If you have a small laundry room or a stackable washer/dryer installed in a hallway closet, you’ll have to be a little more creative about how you use space efficiently.

When undertaking a laundry room redesign, start by sketching out a plan. Measure out the room and the spaces where you might want to install shelves or cabinets. Decide what kind of colours and patterns you’ll use to make your laundry room look stylish. This way, you’ll be able to easily shop for washer/dryer combos, shelves, drying racks, and any other furniture or equipment you’ll need.

For those blessed with a large laundry room, you can consider all kinds of helpful additions. Extra counter space for laundry folding is always good. Including a laundry room sink is a good idea as well. Even a small laundry sink is useful to assist with pre-scrubbing stains and other dirty work. A standalone utility sink can be added easily to any laundry room. If you have a lot of counter space in your laundry room, consider an in-counter sink. Install it at either end of the counter rather than the middle to maximize your countertop workspace.

Dog owners may wish to include a dog washing station or even a full shower. The room already has plumbing connections, so if you’ve got the extra space, it’s worth considering.

Start from the bottom: laundry room floor ideas

The laundry room floor should be considered an important part of any remodel. A new floor can do a lot to improve the appearance of the room. Choosing the right floor is also important, considering the laundry room’s unique use compared to other rooms in the house. Certain floor materials are much better for laundry rooms than others. You want a floor that’s durable and easy to clean. It’s also important to consider how well the floor will stand up to water leaks; the laundry room is at a higher risk of leakage than most rooms in the house.

Good candidates for laundry room flooring include ceramic tile, vinyl tile, and stone. Vinyl tile is easy to install, durable, and low maintenance. Ceramic tile requires a little more maintenance in the form of grout cleaning, but it’s a durable and water-resistant choice. Stone is virtually indestructible, but may not be DIY-able depending on your comfort level with installing heavy tiles. It’s also a little pricier.

Some not-so-great ideas for laundry room floors include laminate, carpet, and hardwood. Laminate flooring is cheap and easy to install, but is prone to warping when exposed to water. Hardwood has a similar drawback, but is also quite pricey. There’s no reason to overspend on a beautiful hardwood floor for a room in which most people won’t spend any time. The drawbacks of carpet in the laundry room are obvious: one water leak, and you’re ripping up the whole floor to replace waterlogged carpet.

Get in, get out: laundry room door ideas

Give some thought to how you’re going to separate your laundry room from the rest of the house. If it’s in a separate room, odds are you’re doing to use, well, a door. But for those with small laundry rooms tucked into a closet or a corner of the mudroom, you can still creatively conceal your laundry room without a door. If you don’t have space for an actual laundry room, you can create a miniaturized version inside a closet. With the doors closed, no one will suspect a thing.

For a more stylish flair, you can hide your laundry machines and supplies behind a curtain or a sliding panel instead of a door.

Keep it neat and tidy: laundry room storage ideas

There are a few different things to think about while considering storage for your laundry room. Cabinets (and storage of all kinds) are crucial for keeping your laundry room organized and tidy. You’ll have a lot of stuff to store, so make sure you’ve got shelving or cabinets in your plan. Don’t forget that you’ll also have clothes to hang dry! Planning for some drying rack space can help a lot, and make it easy to hang dry clothing in your laundry room.

Shelving ideas

Your shelving and cabinet plans are going to depend on how much extra room you have. If you have a small laundry room, you can focus on shelving that maximizes the usage of space. Building a countertop above the washer and dryer is a great choice if your machines are both front-load. If you have unused corners or small alcoves in your laundry room, these are great places to squeeze in some small shelving. Wall-mounted shelving is a great idea no matter the size of your room; you can save precious floor space while improving the overall look of the room.

Building a laundry riser underneath your washer and dryer is a highly efficient use of space, with the bonus of raising the machines so you’ll have less bending over to do while you wash laundry. Just make sure the construction is robust enough to handle the weight and motion of your laundry machines! Many laundry machines will have the option to purchase a riser along with them as well.

Hanging shelving from the back of the door is a great idea for a small laundry room. It’s easy, cheap, and takes up virtually no space.

The laundry room is a great place to re-use furniture from elsewhere in the house that’s been replaced with new furniture. Instead of tossing old bookshelves or cabinets, you can give them a new life as storage for your laundry room.

Drying rack ideas

One of the most useful things you can add to your laundry room is a well-designed drying rack. Even if you do most of your drying in the dryer, it’s still nice to have a place to easily hang delicate clothing. If you want to save some energy and reduce your dryer usage, you can easily create a drying rack that offers tons of space for hanging clothes without occupying half the laundry room.

A wall-mounted rack that folds up is a simple, effective idea for your drying needs. If your laundry room is short on wall space, you can hang a drying rack from the ceiling. An old wooden ladder suspended from the ceiling makes the perfect drying rack, and it doesn’t take up any precious floor space. If you have the appropriate space, you can use tension rods to easily create bars for hanging clothes. A swivel-style towel rack makes an excellent drying rack. You can even install multiple towel racks for added space. Similarly, a wall-mounted accordion-style collapsible drying rack offers tons of hanging space and folds right against the wall when it’s not in use.

Other laundry room storage ideas

There are plenty of small things you can do to optimize the organization of your laundry room. Collapsible drying racks and folding tables are great for small laundry rooms. You can find space for a hideaway ironing board as well. Disguising a pull-out ironing board as a drawer is a creative idea to save space and keep your laundry room looking organized.

You know your laundry room is going to be ground zero for laundry piles, both dirty and clean. Make sure you’ve got a plan with how to handle it by including space to store bins and hampers. A laundry cart is a nice way to make your laundry storage portable.

You can save yourself a lot of time by pre-sorting the laundry. Have separate bins available for whites and colours, or however else you subdivide your dirty laundry. Make sure your family follows the pre-sorting rules as well!

Installing a pegboard is a great way to add some extra storage for tools and miscellaneous items that you want to have easy access to.

Finally, include plans for how you’re going to store the odds and ends that are part of any laundry room. If you want an aesthetically-pleasing way to store your laundry detergent, find some nice-looking jars and transfer the detergent into them. A tissue box cover can also hide a box of dryer sheets. Keep a bowl or a jar near the washer and dryer, and use it to deposit coins and other loose items that fall out of clothing during the washing process.

It’s important to keep your dryer’s lint trap clean, as a blocked lint trap is a serious fire hazard. To help you remember to do it, place a lint bin next to the dryer for collecting the lint as you remove it. You can even hang the lint bin on the wall next to the dryer.

Dress it up: laundry room décor ideas

Once you’ve got all the practical aspects of your laundry room figured out, you can start thinking about the finishing touches. As with any room, a fresh coat of paint is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to transform the look of your laundry room. Paint ideas are infinite; there’s no special colour that’s particularly great for laundry rooms, so choose something that you like and that works with your grand design. Choosing the colour of your paint should be part of your initial planning, as it’s going to help you decide what the rest of your laundry room’s décor will look like.

With a paint colour in mind, consider what type of paint you will use. The laundry room tends to be more humid than other rooms in the house, thanks to the presence of extra heat and water from the laundry machines. Try to find mould-resistant paint. It’s a little more expensive, but it could end up saving you a headache down the road.

Your paint colour will help you choose other decorative items. For example, if your ironing board is stored somewhere that it’s visible, you can buy a cover for it that harmonizes with your chosen colour scheme. You can find some wall art that matches as well for an additional artistic touch. A stylized chart of laundry care symbols is a great practical choice for laundry room wall décor.

Your décor scheme might also help you decide what colours of appliances and flooring to get. It’s up to you if you choose furniture and appliances first and design your décor around them or the other way around. Whichever method you choose, make sure you have a plan before you start renovating and buying new stuff!

Make it happen

Once you’ve got your beautiful new laundry room planned out, it’s finally time to make your vision a reality. Take some of the laundry room ideas you’ve collected here, and get started with your grand plan.

If you’re investing in new laundry machines or doing extensive renovations, make sure you keep track of how much you’ve spent. Your home insurance provider will want to know about significant renovations, and you’ll want to ensure that your Personal Property coverage is sufficient for your new stuff.

Want to learn more? Visit our Interior Design resource centre for inspiration and tips to help you create the perfect living space. Or, get an online quote in under 5 minutes and find out how affordable personalized home insurance can be.