Back with my little series of inspirational pictures for functional, organized, and beautiful rooms. Today, I'm focusing on the laundry room.
Let me tell you a little of my laundry story. I actually don't mind doing laundry. I love my washer & dryer. What I don't love is having a small space for all of this. I don't typically dry my clothing in a dryer (some I do, but it's not often), so I need plenty of room to hang clothes. Once they're dry, it would be nice to have a spot to iron them and fold or hang them on hangers. And, ideally, it would be nice to do all this with a tv on so I don't get bored hanging out in a room by myself.
Our current laundry room is in a small room in the basement. It's dark and cramped and pretty boring. The laundry room at the new house is much larger and I actually think it can meet all my needs with some careful planning and organization.
Here's a few inspiration pictures I'm using as I make my plans:
First and foremost, I adore that rug and WILL own it shortly. The colors are amazing, and they even go with my red washer & dryer. Laundry would be a LOT more fun if I was able to do it in a beautiful room. I love that she's using the pedestals too {I have & use pedestals, but don't find a lot of inspiration that includes them}. She has created plenty of storage and opportunities for organization by using inexpensive bookshelves from Ikea {oh, how I wish we had an Ikea within reasonable driving distance}.
There's a lot of things I love about this room. But, I think the reason I originally pinned it is because I love the way they incorporated the necessities of a laundry room into its decoration. The apothecary jars with clothes pins and detergent keep the function of the room in mind while making these mundane laundry supplies look great!
I adore the folding space and the shelf on the left of the washer. It allows necessities to be tucked away in baskets, and the whole set-up looks like a piece of custom furniture.
My beloved tv, hanging over the washer & dryer. I swear, so many chores are less boring with the addition of tv. Now, I realize it's a little extreme to have a tv in every room of the house, but if having it there means I would actually keep up on my folding, ironing, hanging and putting away...well, it might be worth the investment.
I love this island with basket storage if you have the space. I'm pretty sure I don't, but it is a really great idea.This idea could easily be modified so that it would work in a folding table or counter pushed against a wall.
Remember I said that I don't dry my clothes in the dyer? That means I have to find a lot of places to hang clothes when I'm washing them, and I don't really like hanging them on hangers {hello, shoulder bumps}. I have a couple of those collapsible drying racks, but they take up a lot of room when in use, and there's nowhere to really put them when they're not in use. Something like this drying rack might just be my answer. It could be extended when it's in use, and then tucked up against the wall later on. The question is, how many of these bad boys would I need?
The key to having a functional laundry room for my family {both now and as it grows} is to make sure everything has an obvious place. My husband will not go looking for the correct place to put something away, so everything has to be clearly labeled and visible. Fortunately, I'm finding more and more storage solutions that are as attractive as they are functional. I wouldn't mind having a lot of them out in the open for others to see!
What are your keys to making sure your laundry room stays organized, while still being functional? Do you have a room that you don't mind being in for this never-ending chore?
Have a great day everyone!
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