Finish your laundry room so it becomes an attractive room in your home.
In the past, a typical basement laundry room was strictly utilitarian and often ugly in terms of finishing and decor. Today, many homeowners finish their laundry room in an attractive manner to make this routine chore more of a pleasure and more efficient in terms of space and storage. A finished laundry room isn't an effortless project, but it is one that pays dividends. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine the degree of "finish" desired in the laundry room. Laundry rooms can run the gamut from a space just barely decorated to a room that has been finished like other rooms in the house. The degree of remodeling, renovation, or decorating will depend on your time, budget and skills.
2. Locate your washer and dryer in the room where connections to water inlets, drains, 220-volt electric service, natural gas lines and vents to the outside are available. If your washer and dryer should be relocated for the best use of space, do so early in the project, not after new drywall or ceilings have been installed. Include a new, deep laundry sink for maximum convenience. Seek the help of a professional plumber or electrician in establishing any new service connections.
3. Finish the walls as desired, especially to hide plumbing and other mechanical equipment. Build standard wall studs; place a plastic moisture barrier behind the studs and against any concrete or masonry walls. Run new electrical or water lines through the studs before enclosing them with wall covering. Insulate between the studs. Surface the new walls with drywall, paneling, ceramic tile or combinations of these products.
4. Upgrade the flooring if possible. Level the floor if it drastically slopes, but be careful not to over-level a floor that needs to slope for drainage purposes. Use sheet linoleum, tongue and groove tiles or laminates, terra cotta tiles, or porcelain tiles to make the floor attractive. You can also stain or paint concrete floors with solid colors or faux finishes. Consider installing under-floor heating systems for comfort under foot.
5. Finish the ceiling. After running all necessary pipes and electrical lines through the ceiling joists, and insulating them for heat retention and sound, install an appropriate ceiling panel treatment. Drop ceilings are convenient especially if plumbing and other mechanicals have been installed in such a way that it is impossible to install ceiling panels directly against ceiling joists. Drop ceilings are also handy for maintenance purposes later.
6. Plan for good lighting. The laundry room should be as brightly lit as a kitchen in an even pattern of general illumination, either achieved with one or unobtrusive ceiling fixtures or recessed pot lights. Add recessed task lights over areas like the washer, the dryer, any laundry folding area, or an ironing center.
7. Include plenty of cabinets for storage. For a designer look, avoid plastic utility cabinets. Cabinets made of particle board or medium density fiberboard (MDF) are not the best choice for a damp area like a laundry room as they will tend to swell when exposed to moisture. Solid wood kitchen cabinets, with fashionable hardware, are preferable. Remember to add waterproof "airy" storage containers for holding dirty laundry or damp items awaiting further attention.
8. Set aside space for an air-drying rack or clothesline. Retractable clothes lines are especially handy.
9. Design a convenient and uncluttered way to hang clothing on hangers after coming out of the dryer or after ironing. Clothes on hangers should not be hung overhead in a way that would create an obstruction or present a nuisance to family members using or passing through the room. Build an out of the way hanging closet and include storage for empty hangers.
10. Add accessory equipment like a work counter with a comfortable stool, a television, networked laptop computer, sound system, or wireless telephone to make doing laundry pleasant and convenient.
11. "Dress" the laundry room as you would any other attractive room in the house. Decorate any windows with curtains, lay down a nice, no-slip area rug on the floor and hang artwork on the walls.
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