psssst…. shop our spaces here!
We’re back today with tips for small laundry room spaces! Because ’tis the season to simplify.
I try not to hone in on it too much, but our last house was kind of fantastic when it came to laundry rooms. You know that feeling, when you move into another house and try not to compare it to your old one?
I mean, you don’t want to hurt the new houses feelings or anything… {that would be weird} but it was pretty hard for us not to. Because our old house was actually brand new when we moved in, and filled to the brim with plenty of storage, and awesome things like, well, ample laundry rooms.
We had to make it ours, since the cabinets were definitely that overly dark builder’s grade finish. And the floors we would skip because they weren’t our fave. We love how every house comes with its pros and cons. But we did love it.
Fast forward years later, and cue us: Moving to a new state from a brand new house to something like the total rehab we took on. It was quite the adjustment. Our little “money pit” has by far taught us so much about ourselves, and is our favorite ever project to date. But it came with its definite list of cons.
For starters, the house came with no such fantastical amenities as a laundry room. Cue stereotypical realtor laughing in our face. {No, ours didn’t laugh… she was fantastic. But picture it anyway. Like a well-placed record screech in a musical montage movie sequence.} Because oddly enough, it’s almost as if we fell in love with this little neglected house the moment we walked in the door, and it just so happened to be waiting for us.
So we knew we’d have to create something from the space that we had.
This space though. ‘Ew’ doesn’t quite capture it, and it was hard for a lot of people to picture. Suddenly, I wasn’t complaining about the floors in our old house anymore. {First world probs and yay perspective!}
We received a question from a sweet gal named Jennifer, who asked if we had any tips for creating a laundry area in a small space. We were more than happy to talk about it!
We actually had to live with the basement {garage} for about a year, before we were able to finish it off and expand into the lower half of the house. That meant that I was loading laundry and then squealing like a girl while I ran back upstairs afraid of giant spiders, and whatnots.
Oh wait, that was Jamin.
But we learned so much from the process. We actually have more plans down the line for this space, but for now, here are a few of our favorite tips for a small laundry space, and how to make it work.
1. Consider your configuration.
Tight spaces call for things you normally wouldn’t consider. In our case, it was the stacked washer and dryer. Because we have phases for this little space, the stack works. {See: future sink + small countertop area, and built in cabinets.}
At first, I didn’t like the washer and dryer stacked like they were. But over time. I’ve gotten used to it, and appreciated that storage space we have for our “in the meantime” phase. Because anything beats the giant spider, run from the garage like a screaming banshee, phase.
2. Be smart with storage solutions.
See our plans above. While we have grandiose ideas for a new sink and countertop area, along with built in cabinets down the road, we also needed to think smartly for that in-between phase. So think through what you need: containers for your supplies? A larger piece for all things laundry elements? A place for your iron?
Function is oh so important in a tiny laundry space. It’s the most important element you can bring in when space matters.
3. Lighting is your best friend.
Whether it’s the lights you use from the ceiling, or windows… you name it, lighting in a small space is crucial. We had this tiny corner and added a light to the stairs, over the washer and dryer, {canned} and this fabulous Kichler light for a whole lot of functional character.
This light is one of our very favorite additions – {similar light found here on their site – I believe the other has been discontinued, but we also love this line}.
We adored getting rid of the crusty old basement window, and adding fresh new additions from Window World. It’s amazing what it did to lighten up the space.
4. Make it pretty {and infuse a little humor}.
Just because your space is small, doesn’t mean it should be an afterthought. It’s in great planning with form vs. function that spaces like these are oh so wonderful. And it’s a great opportunity to let it reflect your personality.
This was a natural extension of our basement, but beyond the double barn doors, we loved having wallpaper, a great window covering, blue ceilings, beautiful tile and more to add to the feel of the space. Our little laundry space is open, so it was important that it flowed well with everything else.
5. Keep it clutter free
Maybe this is common sense, but it can be easy for little spaces that have to work hard, to become super crowded. {ESPECIALLY a laundry room. Can I get a what what?!}
We may have had that space in our first laundry room, with lots of cabinets to spare. But you know what? They only held things… from clutter to crafting supplies. And I never used them all. Some of those things {like art supplies, etc.} were moved to my current office. So sometimes, I think it actually helps to have less space, so that you aren’t stuck with a bunch of crowded cabinets. It’s a great exercise in less is more.
The only time things become crowded is when the clothes have been dried on delicate, and I have to move our drying rack out of the way. Otherwise, we use other parts of the house for ironing, etc. It helps to keep the floors clear and things easy peasy.
We hope our little tips gave you some inspiration for making your own little corner pretty.
While it’s certainly nice, you don’t need an entire room dedicated to your washer and dryer, so it’s great to let your expectations go and create something fun from what you have! Embrace that small space.
Pssst: The main basement reveal can be found here.
Thanks for checking in, and have an inspired day!
Curious…Where do you keep/sort dirty laundry? With 3 kids and one on the way we always have multiple loads waiting to be washed!
Hey! Dirty laundry is in each bathroom – we keep baskets from Target on the floor to be used as hampers. Then we carry them downstairs when I do loads. I even make my own pile of delicates from workout things that are washed separately. I don’t sort the other stuff unless its a load of towels or something because I truly just can’t be bothered. Clean laundry is usually stashed on the other side of my bed until I have a chance to get to it because I’m most definitely not that organized 😀 We just try not to let it get too out of control! I hope that helps.
I’m a long time reader, but haven’t commented before. Just wanted to say thanks for posting about this! I have been trying to make my small hallway laundry closet more functional and haven’t seen much out there about truly small laundry spaces.
One thing I have found that helps is gathering dirty laundry in each bedroom and sorting it in to pop-up hampers before bringing it down to my laundry closet.
I’m not seeing what you did with the mammoth water heater. Obviously it was removed, but did you replace it with a tankless one? TIA
Hey! Yes! I apologize for not covering that one. It was moved, and a tankless was used in it’s place. AMAZING because it never runs out of hot water – which is important with one teen and another tween in the house. ;D More of our renovation process can be found in the money pit series. Thank you so much for dropping by!
Love your laundry room and your ideas – beautiful! As someone who has done a lot of laundry in my time with four kids, I found that it wasn’t worth it to sweat the small stuff. So, as soon as my kids were old enough, around 10 or so, I gave them each a laundry basket (different colors) and made their laundry their responsibility. Of course, there was some training involved, but it was well worth it. Like I said, I didn’t sweat the small stuff, so I didn’t insist that they sort clothes a certain way, just to try not to wash new jeans with anything else, etc. In other words, I taught common sense and life skills, and it worked out pretty well. Definitely made my life easier!
Um, you’re brilliant. And I think we’re to that point. The sooner they can manage their own laundry, the better off they’ll be. Thanks for such a great tip!
WOW!!!!!!!
That is amazing – genius – your space is incredible. Wish I had that kind of insight and talent.
Well done, seriously is wowza.
Thank you so much Michele – you are too sweet.