How to plan your laundry room design
When it comes to designing your laundry room, the practicality should be your first priority. Because laundry rooms are noisy, humid and messy, most are located near the back door and away from bedrooms and living areas.
Unfortunately, this is where the interior design suffers as it slowly becomes an afterthought — “alright what’s leftover?”
Dark, cramped and uninviting laundry rooms make doing chores unbearable. However, with the right planning: use of space, storage, sink, and tapware, you can transform your laundry into a more practical space that makes doing chores a breeze.
1. Laundry storage solutions
How you utilise the space in a small laundry room is very important and will impact practicality and how much time you actually want to spend there.
Based on where your appliances are located and how you have divided up the space, storage can be split into either undersink or overhead.
For example, if your washer and dryer are located on the ground, you may opt for overhead laundry cabinets.
That said, if accessibility becomes a problem because you need a step ladder every time you do the washing then you may benefit from a laundry sink cabinet.
Floating shelves or open shelves are also an excellent option for storing commonly used items in a convenient and accessible location.
2. Choosing the perfect laundry sink
Laundry sink types
Drop-in
A drop-in style sinks are super easy to install and simply drop-in to a precut hole on the countertop with the sink sitting below the counter with only the rim remaining above.
Undermount
If you’re looking for a single sink that sits flush with your laundry countertop then you’re in the right place. An undermount sink is extremely versatile, modern and sleek, providing a seamless finish that will suit most laundry layouts.
A flush finish makes cleaning up after dirty clothes far easier. But that’s not all. Typically available in stainless steel, ceramic, with the option of a single bowl and double bowl.
Laundry sink size
How much space do you have? This will ultimately determine the size of the laundry trough you go with.
Smaller size compact laundry tubs can do up to 30 litres of laundry and can go as high as a 70 litre laundry tub. If your laundry doesn’t have enough space for 70 L, there are 45 litre laundry tubs in between.
Laundry sink materials
Stainless steel
If you’re purely after functionality, then a stainless steel laundry sink will be the best choice. Not only are they light and easy to install, but they are also one of the easiest to clean and maintain.
For this reason, you’ll find that many Aussie homeowners will tend to gravitate towards a stainless steel laundry tub. Available in single, double sinks, undermount and top-mounted.
Ceramic
Ceramic laundry tubs are a non-porous surface that is highly resistant to stains, durable and easy to clean. And of course, they are far more appealing in the looks department when compared to stainless steel.
3. Choosing laundry tapware
Laundry tapware defies all design ideas. Although it still needs to be somewhat aesthetically pleasing, it’s the main purpose is to provide functionality.
If it looks spectacular but adds an additional 15 minutes on laundry days, is it even worth it? Thankfully, choosing laundry tapware is considerably easy, with options for both top and wall-mounted taps.
Consider a swivel gooseneck spout which can be easily moved to one side to allow for more space in the laundry sink when necessary.
Top-mounted laundry mixers compared to tapware, allow you to easily control the water flow and temperature with one single lever.
What is the best material for tapware?
The best material for laundry tapware will all come down to personal preference and finding something that satisfies your laundry room ideas and complements the existing interior.
The Plumbing Store supplies a modern range of high-quality chrome tapware made to last.