Once again where has the time gone, we are a quarter of the way through 2022 and I have only just had some time to sit down and write a blog. I must change this.
This blog is all about the Laundry. Its generally a place that is left until last or barely thought about during the design process. I like to talk about the laundry though as they can be a place that is designed well and looks similar to the kitchens or bathrooms. With the new homes that are being built now, there are a lot more floor plans that have the laundry as a separate room rather than in the garage. Some floor plans are even allowing enough space in the laundry for a mud room area or extra storage cupboards, which is so great for families with kids that play lots of sports. You can get home and pop everything in its place before you walk inside the house.
With Laundries, there are still some important things to think about such as storage, practicality, colours, materials, lighting and style. I know not all laundries have the space for lots of cupboards or even have a benchtop. Some are just super-tubs but I do recommend if you can stretch the budget to put in a small laundry, you won’t regret it.
Storage – Laundries are generally the place where items get put that have no place within the house. If your laundry is big enough think about how you can store these items. Cupboards, drawers, open shelves. Anything that helps to give everything a place. Sports boots, sports equipment, ironing boards, vacuum cleaners, mops, these are all items we don’t general think about, but the laundry can store these if designed well.
Practicality – Thinking about how you use your laundry, such as do you fold the washing in there, or do the ironing, hanging up drip dry items or is it just a place where the washing gets washed. Where is the best place to put the dirty washing, what about the washing basket you take outside? How can we make these fit into the laundry cabinetry? One great tip I have is if you have the space put in some washing hamper drawers, these save on space of dirty washing baskets on the floor.
Colours – Laundries don’t have to be boring white, you can add a bit of colour to make them look a little nicer. Some timber look products are great for contrasting cabinetry colours. Benchtops can bring in a different look also. There are some lovely new laminate products that can make a statement for your laundry. The other statement feature ideas could be the use of tiles. Something that stands out and can bring some colour or fun into your laundry. Or you can use tiles that work well with the colours being used around the laundry. Handles are also a way of bring some colour and style into the room.
Materials – The products you use in the laundry don’t have to be super expensive, you don’t need to use stone as a benchtop. You can you laminate that brings in different colours and texture. But laminate is a great product for the benchtops – its durable and reliable for the wet areas. Melteca and Melamine is also a great product for the cabinetry you don’t need acrylic soft touch or veneer products they are just not needed in there.
Lighting – This doesn’t have to be over the top, just some recessed down lights in the ceiling, but if you wanted to add anything extra in you could always put some LED strip lighting under some upper cabinets if you are having them.
Style – Creating a laundry that ties in with the kitchen or bathroom is nice. This just needs to be the tiles or the colour of the cabinetry. But once again this could also be a space where you can be a bit bold and choose something that is a bit different, something that you don’t want to try in the main areas of the house. This can also be a way of bringing some greenery into the laundry by adding in a plant that sits on an floating shelf.
Laundries are a place where things need to get done, they will always need to be a very practical space so some thought does need to be put in for how you want to use this space. But they don’t have to be plan old boring you can add colour and fun into the laundry. Be creative with the tiles you use. Create a space that you will love being in as doing the laundry isn’t the best job around.
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