Have you ever wondered how you can keep the space where you wash, machine-dry and/or hang-dry your laundry organised and always tidy? What are the minimum dimensions you need to consider? What are the essentials to keep in mind and what should you steer clear of to avoid finding yourself overwhelmed by clutter?
A bustling lifestyle and reduced spaces require us to rethink our habits and start with properly organising where we live.
When planning your laundry area, you need to make sense of it all and establish how you would like to arrange and organise the various elements.
Laundry room or laundry area?
If you find yourself in that chaotic and creative stage of your life where you're either refurbing or designing your home, stop for a second and think about how many moments of blissful tidiness and cleanliness you intend to set aside for your laundry room.
If space isn’t an issue, we recommend setting up your laundry room in a well-lit and ventilated room that can contain all the things you'll need to ensure that your laundry is perfect, pleasant-smelling and always neat.
But today, let's take on the challenges!
We want to help you create a laundry area by making the most of what little space you have available or that you need to adapt for this purpose, making every corner not just spick-and-span but functional as well.
Where to start.
- Think about which small space you want to be your laundry room
- Calculate how much footage you have available and how much you need
- Let's work together to make the most of every inch!
The options to choose from: a dressing room, a corner of the conservatory or a cupboard are just some of the ideas.
If these spaces aren't already equipped with plumbing hook-ups, you can always use a platform: a raised structure that usually rests on soft material and is great for hiding water and electrical connections, while also providing sound insulation, which works like a charm when using a washing machine or other noisy appliances.
In any case, choose a dedicated space in a room that possibly offers good ventilation and that can be easily hidden away.
Essential elements and occupied space
Now we can start filling our beloved laundry area: what are the essential elements and how much room do we need?
Let's start by making a list of what we’ll need to equip it:
Essentials for a laundry room:
- Sink - minimum 50 cm
- Washing machine - 60 cm
- Vertical cabinet - 30 cm
A total of 1.40 m in length and approximately the same in depth, to allow for at least 60 cm of space for loading and emptying the washing machine.
Optional elements:
- Tumble dryer - 60 cm
- Laundry baskets - 40 cm
- Vertical cabinet for the ironing board and iron - 30 cm
A total of 2.70 m, which can be reduced to 2.10 m if the dryer is stacked, as shown in the picture.
So, do not despair: with a little bit of imagination and a pinch of creativity, even if the space is small, there is always a solution!
Colours, furnishings, lighting, ventilation
Let’s not forget that aesthetics are important, therefore it is key to choose these elements carefully in order to achieve a good comprehensive design.
Always remember that the goal is to obtain an overall effect that is not only tidy, clean and pleasant but one that conveys a sense of space greater than the actual footprint.
Colour
Colour has a strong impact on our psyche and on our health: what we commonly call colours, indeed are nothing more than electromagnetic energy and frequency ranges that stimulate our receptors.
Each colour has a specific wavelength that, if used for certain purposes, can improve our mood and our cerebral vibrations.
For your laundry area, choose a colour that puts you in tune with yourself.
In our case, white is always the best choice because it amplifies the perception of space. However, if the total white effect seems too cold, you can tone it down with a warmer shade, such as cream, perhaps combined with pastel colours: lavender, light grey, beige, mint green or light blue.
Just keep in mind that while warm colours make a room more welcoming, they also tend to make it appear smaller. So, if you're designing reduced spaces, it's probably best to go for slightly cooler nuances.
Laundry area furnishings
After having studied the colour of the walls, it's time to choose what goes in. The furniture, both in style and colour, is central to creating the right combinations that will make the space pleasing to the eye.
There are many options and you can have fun depending on the dimensions and your personal taste: from concealed units to equipped columns; from cabinets with sliding doors to open shelving.
Open shelving in particular makes any space look bigger: visible walls or flooring always generate a sense of lightness and magnify what we perceive.
The choice of style will depend a lot on the surroundings. The same goes for the colour pallet. Black and white are usually seen as more modern.
However, there is one imperative rule of thumb:
“Everything in its place and a place for everything”
Lighting
Another great tool for tweaking the sense of space is the use of light.
The ideal is to always have an area that is well lit by natural light, with an abundance of windows or glazing.
However, whether or not you have natural light available during the day, always plan for various light sources in the laundry area, especially under hanging units, which tend to create pesky dark areas when the sun goes down.
There are a multitude of choices using either LED or remote-controlled lighting solutions, which solve many issues and are also aesthetically appealing.
Laundry area ventilation
Having a window in the laundry area would be ideal.
We definitely recommend either constant aeration or forced ventilation, both of which prevent moisture build-up and allow for the laundry to dry faster and more naturally.
Indispensable home accessories for keeping your laundry room tidy
Drying rack
When talking about laundry rooms, there are definitely some essentials: a washing machine and a drying rack.
In fact, even if you have a tumble dryer, a drying rack is still fundamental for hanging your delicates and your lighter loads of laundry.
Also, during the warmer seasons, hanging your laundry to dry naturally is always the preferred option.
Speaking of which, have you already read our article “Dryer and Drying Racks: Two Allies for Perfect Laundry”? You can find it here
When it comes to finding a smart and functional option, your answer is Foxydry, the ceiling and wall laundry rack designed specifically for those who love optimising space.
In fact, there is no better solution than to get rid of that old free-standing clothes airer which can occupy up to 2 sqm of usable surface, and go for a more practical and space-saving choice.
Installing a wall or ceiling rack doesn't just mean no more bulky traditional drying rack in your way. Foxydry lets you manage your laundry in a very neat manner: the Foxydry Air remote controlled model features up to 24 hanging points for fleeces, shirts, blouses and T-shirts.
In general, an overhead system makes it easier to use clothes hangers, thus guaranteeing better drying with less annoying creasing and no peg marks.
Not only: thanks to the height, you'll finally be able to air out lengthy garments such as coats, winter jackets and long dresses.
Ceiling laundry rack
If you want to install it on the ceiling, there are three models to choose from:
- Foxydry Air, which combines the ease of a foldaway laundry rack with the convenience of a remote control.
You can also hang sheets and blankets without having to fold them thanks to the extendible side tubes, while it also provides your laundry area with additional lighting, as this model features a built-in LED lamp, ideal for adding light to the room.
For more information on the advantages of this solution, you can visit this page.
- Foxydry Mini is manually operated and, with a simple gesture, it will extend from the ceiling to a height that is most comfortable for you.
Its minimalist design is so discreet you won't even notice it.
If instead you are cramped for room on the ceiling or you simply prefer installing it on a wall,
we recommend:
-
Foxydry Wall, manually operated using the same pulley concept. Equipped with one or two handy grids, this wall-mounted rack can hold up to 20 kg of laundry.
Easy to install both indoors and out.
