Laundry Design Fundamentals

Laundries are an important part of all homes, even if they are not on display, they still need to work hard in terms of being able to store, wash, dry and fold laundry.

I have seen many laundry designs that have made me gasp in terms of how poorly the design has been thought out, and how that space is really going to work.

I always approach laundry design with key factors in mind – every single time! Things that many clients had not even considered (but that’s my job, right?)

So let me share the essential elements required for a well designed family laundry and how functionality needs to combine with storage requirements for the ultimate laundry design.

Core areas to consider; 

Enough Space– A laundry area is for washing right? So you should be able to machine wash, hand-wash, dry and fold clothing easily in the laundry space. Make sure they is enough lateral bench space and the sink is located logically.

Adequate Storage– You need to be able to store long items like an ironing board, broom or vacuum cleaner in a broom cupboard, along with detergents, first aid and buckets elsewhere. A pull-out ironing drawer, or fold out ironing board is another alternative for easy access.

I have lost count on the amount of times I’ve seen a laundry design without a broom cupboard!

And don’t forget linen storage, which can also be stored outside of the laundry, but still needs to be factored into the overall house design

Finally – pull out laundry hampers for dirty washing. This is so often forgotten, yet for me is one of the most critical components of what the laundry is for – so don’t leave it out!

Top Loader vs Front Loader Washing Machine

Whether to have a top or front loader washing machine is a personal preference in terms of your needs and what works best for you. A top loader doesn’t provide as much flexibility as what a front loader can.

A front loader frees up more bench space and allows for overhead storage too (be that a dryer or cabinetry).

Overhead cupboards– To create additional storage adding overhead cupboards is essential for keeping detergents, first aid and medical suppliers out of reach of children.

Drying in Winter– Think about how you are going to dry clothes in winter I personally prefer that all the washing is able to be dried in the laundry rather than a spare room or the family room. So you need to provision for drying clothes indoors. A clothes horse, cantilever drying rail or drying cupboard are alternatives to a dryer, for when the weather is not conducive to drying outside.

Finally, like with all rooms, think about how you want to use the space, and design around that purpose and functionality. We’ve designed laundries with hampers especially for running gear and large drawers for dog suppliers (lovingly called the Dog Drawer), as it’s suited the owners and how they want to use the space. Make sure your laundry is going to work for you. It needs to serve you, so design it with that in mind..

It can be challenging to work out how everything is going to fit, and the layout that will work best Don’t under-estimate the value of good laundry design and the frustrations caused by one that doesn’t work how you need it to.

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