Just checking to see if anyone has come across a nice laundry room design that tastefully integrates high capacity front loading washers and dryers.
I would like to tuck them under a custom built counter top with a sink area as well, similar to so many House & Home featured laundry room designs, but these larger units are almost 40" tall and I think this is too high a counter top height.
Any thoughts?
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We're in the process of doing our laundry room. My hope is to make it as efficient as possible so that I can be in and out as quickly as possible.
I'll tell you about our plans...maybe it will give you some ideas for your space.
We're going to use a combination of Ikea kitchen cabinets and the Ikea Stolmen storage unit. I like this unit because it's modular and can be changed around with drawers, clothes bars, and shelves. Hooks can be mounted on the vertical supports. It's also very open--so that it keeps the room feeling large. Could you possibly use something like this across the front of your utility wall leaving space behind it and at the ends to leave easy access to the furnace, etc.? The unit attaches to the floor and the ceiling which allows it to be placed away from a wall. This would give you lots of storage--including hanging storage.
So, anyway, this is my plan:
1. West wall--front loader washer/dryer. Ikea base cabinets with deep drawers for storing sorted loads of dirty laundry. Also, a laundry sink. Horizontal wall cabinets (with lift up doors.)
2. North Wall--large window on this wall (2nd floor laundry room.) Ikea base cabinets with doors. Space will be used to store baskets of clean laundry, or empty baskets. Family members will theoretically come retreive their baskets of clean clothes. There will be a small-drawer-mounted ironing board in this run of cabinets. Long stretch of counter will be used for folding.
3. East wall. Stolmen unit and 2 tall 15" wide pantry cabinets. One with pull outs for storage. The other to be used for broom/vacuum/ironing board storage. The Stolmen unit will have clothes-hanging bars, shelves, hooks and drawers. One drawer will be used for wrapping paper so that the folding counter can be used for wrapping. Clothes drying racks will be stored, folded up, under a window on this wall. We do a lot of air drying. I hope to have a sewing machine permanently set up in the corner for quick repairs.
4. South wall--has wall mounted drying racks that tilt out.
We have all the components. It's like life insurance quotes. DH just needs the time to put them together.
Optimal counter height is 36" so yes, 40" would be too high and uncomfortable for the average person. I think installing upper cabinets or a shelf above the units is a better idea.
Something like this?
http://www.houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-laundry-rooms?photo=3
Well I have one big one. How's your back? Before you consider the counter over them consider the doors on the washers and dryers are quite low so if you have a back like mine, that can be a concern. I've had 3 set ups with front loaders and the one I liked the best for my back was when they were on pedestals so the doors were higher. That means you would have a very high counter top though (they raise the machines about a foot or so). For me I would take the trade off to save my back and the pedistals make for some good storage on their own (they have drawers).
Also do plan. In one of Sarah Richardson's houses she actually put them in backwards because of the way they did the hook ups and that would be a big pain IMO. So check which way the doors on the ones you want open and plan the plumbing and gas (if you have a gas dryer) accordingly or you will constantly be fighting doors when putting things from the washer into the dryer. They are meant to configure so when the doors open they do not end up between the machines.
If you do decide on a counter top, remember the washers and dryers are pretty deep so you might want to build a kind of backsplash/shelf (does that make sense? think of sort of a little step up with roll backsplash and shelf built on top) which gives you a little shelf for holding stuff like soaps etc. Doing that means you could use standard countertop because typically they aren't deep enough to get you total coverage in one piece over washer/dryers anyway (if you want them right out to the front edge of the machines).