Laundry Room
Organizing the laundry room can be a challenge. There may not be enough places for laundry basics. Leaving the ironing board up for convenience is out of the question due to lack of floor space. Sorting clothes is a challenge if your laundry area is small. It might also be uninviting, dark, damp or just plain boring. However, there are ways to help your laundry room live up to its full potential as a pleasant and orderly place to be. Does this Spark an idea?
Walls
There's no reason your laundry room walls can't be as attractive as those in the rest of the house. Tile is a good choice for brightening them up or hang wallpaper that compliments your decorating style. Install bead board half way up, top with a chair rail and paint the rest of the way. Stencil a border around the ceiling. Paint the walls in a cheery color that raises your spirits as you go about doing the laundry. If your laundry room has windows, dress them simply with café curtains or a valance to let the sun shine in.
Storage
You can find storage solutions for laundry rooms of all sizes and locations. Hang shelves above and to either side of a laundry room secreted in a family room or kitchen closet and line them with baskets to store bleach, spot removers, detergent and fabric softener. Install counters over a front load washer and dryer and hang cupboards above them to hide away laundry basics. Buy a closet organizer kit like those available at home improvement stores and put it to work with an area for hanging clothes, shelves, cupboards and a place to store your ironing board when it's not in use. If money is no object, have a storage system installed by a company like California Closets. Have custom cabinets built around your appliances. When the doors are closed, they will resemble a hutch. Design a small closet so that you can fold up your ironing board. It will be at your fingertips when you open the cupboard door. Create more storage room in a small space with a stackable washer/dryer unit.
Accessories
Rather than a traditional laundry tub, install a deep farmer style sink. Choose attractive hardware and hide the plumbing with curtains. For an old-fashioned look, hang a vintage washtub and scrub board on the wall and set up an antique ironing board. Use it as a plant stand or a place to fold clothes. Line open shelves with attractive shelf paper that compliments the colors in the rest of the room. Hang vintage dresses and lingerie on hooks for a Victorian touch. Feature folk art signs with laundry themes.
Tags: laundry room, ironing board, your laundry, your laundry room, laundry basics
