Thursday, November 17, 2011

Design Ideas For Laundry Room Cabinets

You can use open-faced cabinets to store laundry baskets.


Choosing the proper cabinet design for your laundry room can make the difference between a space that is cramped and difficult to use and a space that is flowing and functional. Laundry room cabinets come in many different sizes and styles, and choosing the best ones will depend on a number of factors, including the amount of space you have available and whether there are small children in the home. If you are considering remodeling an existing laundry room--or designing a new one--are several ideas can help. Does this Spark an idea?


Kitchen-Style Cabinets


Kitchen-style cabinets, both the waist-level, floor-based varieties and the elevated, wall-mounted varieties, are popular and functional options for laundry rooms. In addition to providing plenty of storage space for detergents, fabric softeners and linens, waist-level cabinets provide room for countertops. You can use these countertops as work surfaces for folding clothes and other tasks. Wall-mounted cabinets, in comparison, provide optimal storage spaces for poisonous, flammable or otherwise dangerous chemicals and supplies, which you should keep out of the reach of small children. As This Old House recommends, instead of constructing kitchen-style laundry room cabinets from wood, try using laminate. This synthetic, plastic-based material is nonporous and easy to clean.


Tall Cabinets


According to Building Tips, if your laundry room is lacking a built-in closet, a tall, floor-to-ceiling cabinet makes the perfect replacement. You can use a tall laundry cabinet for storing items like brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners and ironing boards. Consider installing an electrical outlet in the back of your cabinet so that you can charge hand-held vacuums and other rechargeable items.


Open-Faced Cabinets


Installing open-faced or door-less cabinets above washing machine and dryer units is a convenient and timesaving laundry room design option. You can use the cabinets to store your most frequently used items, like detergent and fabric softener, so you will never have to search around for them. As an alternative to keeping the cabinets entirely face-less, try installing easy-to-open, sliding wood-panel doors, as This Old House recommends.


Hide-Away Baskets


In addition to using open-faced cabinets above washers and dryers, you can also use them at lower levels. According to Building Tips, one option is to divide base cabinets into four separate, open-faced cavities and then to fill each cavity with its own laundry basket. You can use the baskets to store and sort laundry in whatever arrangement you desire. For example, you can label and fill the baskets according to who in the home is responsible for folding those particular items, or you can divide the baskets up by category: one basket for white clothes, another for dark clothes, and another for towels and so on.


Wallpaper Treatment


Regardless of what type of cabinets you install in your laundry room, lining the interiors with floral-patterned wallpaper can help create a cheerful atmosphere, as Country Living mentions.

Tags: laundry room, your laundry, your laundry room, According Building, According Building Tips, Building Tips