Yikes! This is what it looked like before I did an overhaul.
For a family of 5 we have LOTS of laundry! Our last house had a laundry CLOSET…just enough room to fit the washer and dryer. I wanted to make sure our new house had a nice size laundry room since we spend an abundant amount of time in there. Did you notice I said WE. Yep, listen up, except for my 8 year old, every member of our family {including my husband} does their own laundry. Honestly, it’s time for me to begin teaching my 8 year old to do hers as well. This is not the 18th century. We don’t have to use a washing board to clean our clothes. Nor do we have to hang them on a clothes line outside. This is the 21st century. We are blessed with the modern conveniences of a washer and dryer. Teach your children and your husband 1.) how to sort, 2.) throw the clothes into the machine, 3.) where & how much detergent to add, 4.) which button to push and the machine does the rest! Sometimes they forget to transfer the clothes and I do it for them. The dryer is much easier to teach: throw in a fabric softener sheet after adding the clean, wet clothes and push the appropriate button. I wash all of our linens and towels.
Ahhh…MUCH better! :D
The paint color is what I would consider a robins egg blue {even though it looks somewhat green in these photos.} It comes from Benjamin Moore Pottery Barn’s Winter (2008 or 2009, can’t remember) paint line. It is called Atmospheric (AF-500.) I really like it and used it in our bedroom as well.
Room Dimensions: 9′ 7″ x 9′ 3″
We used small slate tiles for the back splash and front of the counter (Lowes.) We bought black granite tiles for the counter top…much more inexpensive than slab granite. I chose the least expensive utility sink/faucet combo. This is the first time I’ve had a sink in the laundry room and I love it! As I’m looking at this picture, I’m thinking I might want to paint the plug cover. It sticks out like a sore thumb, huh?
Sorting Dirty Clothes
This is how I sort my dirty clothes when they come into the laundry room. It was my idea to have the builder build these cubbies for my laundry baskets (Wal-Mart.) Over the years I have gotten particular about how laundry is done. This might sound a little extreme to some people, but I don’t like to put my clean clothes in the same basket as my dirty clothes. To me this makes perfect sense. The clothes were dirty when you put them in the basket, so why would you put your clean clothes in the same basket? I guess if you washed out your laundry basket before adding your clean clothes it would work, but who wants to do that every time? Not me! However, as I have talked to others they say I’m crazy. { To each his own 😉 } I found the labels and idea of attaching them with clothes pins from Better Homes & Gardens. Click on their name and you can download your own laundry labels. I was thrilled they used the same baskets I already had. I spray painted my clothes pins pink for a splash of color.
Chalk Painted Clothespins & Mirror
Thank you to Design Sponge for the creative idea of the starburst mirror using clothespins. I tweaked mine some by painting the pins with chalk paint and using a self adhesive mirror from a package of circular wall mirrors I bought from TJ Maxx. So there was no need to glue them on. I hot glued a soda can tab to the back to hang it up by a nail.
The window looking mirror above was a Goodwill find and I had already spruced it up with a can of white spray paint and used it on my fireplace mantel. My initial intention was to place it over the sink in the laundry room because we have no windows in this room. I decided I wanted to re-paint it again with my favorite chalk paint and antique it a little before hanging it.
Sorting Clean Clothes
I bought these elfa drawers at the Container Store.
Size of elfa drawers:
elfa Wide Mesh 3-Runner Platinum
20-3/4″ x 20-3/4″ x 11-1/4″ h
Product #: 10022538
Link to the drawers on The Container Store website: http://www.containerstore.com/
shop/elfa/components/ elfaDrawersAccessories? productId=10009304&N=80348
They work well and slide all the way out for taking to family member’s rooms. I only wish they weren’t as heavy. Hey, but it helps work out the arms, right? The cute chalkboard labels came from Pottery Barn Outlet. I wrote my kid’s initials on each basket. They are responsible for putting away their clothes when they are clean.
To the right of the basket is a thin broom closet where I keep my broom, mop and other cleaning tools. I hot glued a table runner to make a pocket to slide my tension rod through and it made a perfect little curtain to hide the cleaning tools. {no sewing whatsoever!!! Yippee!!}
I hope you enjoyed the tour of our family’s place for washing clothes. If you have to be in the room a lot, why not make it functional and pretty?
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After a while crocodile,
Wow, love your laundry room! It’s so fun to see some rooms of your house. I love the wall color and the tile and well, everything. You are so funny about the baskets, I think the same thing but I don’t have room for all the baskets but everyone has clothes hampers in their rooms for dirty clothes. I miss having a laundry chute. Thanks for sharing today.
ange recently posted..Roomspiration Kitchens
I would love to have a laundry chute too! Didn’t work out for us in the floor plan. Before I had room for these laundry baskets I used our room hampers too. It’s been very nice to have a place to sort the clothes instead of having to sort them all on the floor. I can’t believe how quickly you commented after I posted. What’s your secret? Do you get a notification on certain blogs you follow or something like that? I want to know so I can do it as well! 😉 Thanks for the feedback Ange!!!
I’m feeling a little laundry room envy. I’ve been doing laundry all day out of my laundry closet, I use my bed for folding. My kids usually do their own but not today.
Bummer, Linda! Maybe they will do their laundry next time. You’re a good Mom 😉
I love the mirrors you added. It looks great! Love you, Mom
Thanks, Mom!
Love you!
Now that my friend is an amazing and inspirational laundry room! I LOVE the organization of it all. Loving the bins. And, cute clothespin sunburst. And… even the wall color is great.
Kristy Swain recently posted..Painted Bench
Thank you so much Kristy! 😀
I totally agree about not putting clean clothes in the dirty clothes baskets! I’m so glad I found this site. I had printed these same labels from the BHG website, but misplaced them and couldn’t remember where I found them before. Your laundry center is adorable!
What a great setup! Would you mind sharing the dimensions of your laundry room? I would love to do something similar but am not sure ours is big enough to fit everything like you have it.
9′ 7″ x 9′ 3″ Thank you Erin…hope this helps! 😀
Thanks you so much for checking for me. I really appreciate it. We are a little smaller but I am still hoping I can incorporate most of your setup. It looks so functional.
I LOVE your laundry room. You have quite a few ideas I may incorporate into the update of my room when the time comes. I do have one question. What is the reason behind raising up the washer/dryer? Is there storage underneath or was it just for “looks”? I am contemplating stacking my washer/dryer so I have been finding lots of pictures where the pedestal is underneath for storage–just curious if that is the function of yours being raised up..Thanks!
Thank you so much Julie! 😀
The reason for raising the washer & dryer is so I don’t have to bend over. That makes me sound lazy, doesn’t it? LOL! Well, after the all the laundry I do, my back will thank me in 30 years. 😉
The pedestals Whirlpool sells {do have drawers for storage} that match the washer & dryer are extremely expensive. I decided I wouldn’t like bending over to put things in the drawers or take things out. Therefore, our wooden pedestal is purely to raise up and look pretty. However, it cost less to have the wooden pedestal made than purchasing the pedestals.
Hope this helps and good luck with your laundry room update!
This is BRILLIANT. I have seen tons of beautiful laundry rooms on Pinterest, but they always just seem “Pretty” and not functional. Your design is both beautiful & functional!
I love the idea of each family member taking some responsibility for the laundry. Terrific idea on the sorting baskets! I assume either you or the kids bring their dirty clothes in the laundry room, sort it into the right baskets & take their hamper back to their room. LOVE it. When a basket fills up, you toss it in the wash. Then more or less a “mailbox” for clean clothes… it’s your job to check it & put them away. DUH! What a concept! Thank you so much… I have a 2 year old and am pregnant with Baby #2. I am excited to add this system into my household before my kids will know anything other way!
Kim, I remember when I read this comment and the huge grin it brought to my face. These words are like gold to me because you “get it.” You see the value in something I have invested a lot of time in. I appreciate this tremendously. Congratulations are in order for your new addition! More importantly, congratulations on choosing to enact a system which will teach your kids how to work and be responsible. BTW, yes, either I or my kids bring their hamper to the laundry room. 😉 Like I said you GOT IT! 😀 Thank you again for your act of kindness to me. Come visit us again at Family Brings Joy.
I am so beyond jealous. I was so excited when we bought our current house and there was an actual laundry room. (Old house just had the garage) but now I actually miss the space of the garage. Our laundry room might as well be a closet. I am going to pin your laundry room to pinterest for inspiration for my next house. (If that ever happens)
Thank you for pinning this, Christine. Let me tell you, this space has been a long time coming. I have thought and dreamed about it for many years. We’ve only been in this house for 3 years. I know it’s not ideal for everyone and is a little on the extravagant side; meaning all elements are not necessary in doing laundry. However, it has made this time consuming chore much more manageable. Honestly, I can’t imagine having to do laundry in a garage. At least not where I live, as we have great extremes in temperatures. I’m thinking I would choose having a small indoor laundry room rather than one in the garage.
You never know what the future will bring. Seriously! So keep dreaming and pinning, because you might need these ideas. I would have LOVED pinterest when we were building our house. Back when we were building I did things the ‘old fashioned’ way by tearing out photos from magazines to show my builder. I also used blogs a LOT too. Pinterest is wonderful for organizing things you love. Thank you Christine for taking the time to write. It means a lot to me. 😀
My youngest has been doing her laundry since she was four. I let the little ones use the Purex laundry sheets – you toss the whole thing (looks like a dryer sheet) in the wash and transfer it to the dryer with the clothes. It has detergent in it and then acts like a dryer sheet in the dryer. I’ve taped arrows on the washer and dryer so she knows where each knob should be set and then she knows to push the “little green button” to turn the machine on and the “big green button” to start it. Also, I let my kids wash all their clothes together. Once in a while I will bleach all their white socks, but generally, I have just let it go. I have never had a problem with their clothes bleeding (dyes are really colorfast these days!) and they wash everything on warm.
I loved this post! We are about to move into a house where the laundry room used to be a bedroom, so it’s big! I, too, will have a wooden pedestal. I have big plans and hope to incorporate some of your ideas! Thanks for sharing. (Found you through Pinterest.)
Crissy, you are a hero for all of us Family Managers! I love what you shared. I only bleach our white towels and linens. PLEASE send me photos of how your new laundry room turns out. I am so excited for you! 😀 Happy you stopped by and shared your awesomeness with us!
I am looking to do something like this to stay organized in my basement. What size are those Elfa drawers? I think they may be the perfect look as I have been wanting to build something to hold a basket for each member also.
Sorry Briana for the delay. Here is the size of the Elfa drawers:
elfa Wide Mesh 3-Runner Platinum
20-3/4″ x 20-3/4″ x 11-1/4″ h
10022538
Good Luck and send me a photo when you are done with setting up yours. I’d love to see it!
Your laundry area is great! I have been wanting to build a pedastal for our washers – love the platform. FYI – Ana White’s site has one that you can store baskets underneath. It’s been all over Pinterest. I love the Elfa baskets! Trying to figure out how I can fit that in our house. I am curious about the trays on top of the washer and dryer. Where did you find those and what are they made of?
Anna, thank you for your sweet compliments! 😀 I will have to check out Ana White’s version with baskets. Not sure it would be a good fit for me, but sounds like a great way to maximize the use of space. The trays are Elfa too. I thought I would have space for 2 of that size (smallest basket), but turns out I only had room for one. I bought 2 & they really don’t hold much of anything but socks. So instead I placed them on top of the washer & dryer to cover up the laundry soap stains that developed before we moved into this house and had the pedestals/extra storage. The Elfa baskets are made of a wire/steel mesh. Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again.
You are very right Anna, other readers most definitely can benefit from knowing about the pedestals with baskets! Thank you for sharing that info with my readers. That was very thoughtful and kind of you.
Yes, I HATE the scratches that form on the top of the machines. The baskets sort of cover that up and add as a place for me to put single socks etc.
What a beautiful space. Everything has a place and I love that! Your wall color is so pretty.
Thank you so much Colleen. I tried to make sure everything had a place as to make the space as user friendly as possible for everyone. Thank you for the blog love.
Very pretty space. I hate doing laundry but this system might make things a but easier. I love that everyone has their own clean clothes basket. Our laundry room is downstairs so I lug clothes up and down the stairs with everyone’s undies in tow. Nice job.
Hey, at least you’re getting a good work out, right? 😉 I truly hope this system might help others make the chore manageable. That is the ultimate pay it forward, knowing I have helped another Family Manager. Thanks for stopping by Andrea, so glad you did!
Beautiful! This is a laundry room I could live in! However, I’m curious..where do you put your dried clothes which are ready for folding or ironing? I know I don’t have time to immediately fold or iron them as soon as they are dried.
LOL…what is ironing? I try to buy clothes that don’t require ironing. All clean clothes go into the baskets or straight to their homes. It’s not a perfect system, but it works for us. 😉 Thank you for the blog love, Giddy
How about folding? You mean you fold the clothes as soon as they come out from the dryer?
I LOVE your laundry room! It’s beautiful! We recently built a house and just moved into it last weekend, so it will be a while before eveything settles, but you’ve given me inspiration that my Laundry Room can be functional AND gorgeous! Thanks.
Saw the laundry room post on IHeartOrganizing and popped over for a closer look! Love your blog…following…can’t wait to see what is next!
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Love your space! I’m working on a similar sorting system. I totally agree with separate baskets for clean/dirty clothes! So nice to know I’m not alone. Do you have an area to hang dry or does everything go in the dryer? Also, what all do you store in your cabinets?
It is nice to know we aren’t alone Michele…lol. I didn’t think through the hanging space the way I should have. It’s on the list of “wish I did.” Right now when I need to hang dry something I put it on a hanger and hang them up on the nobs of the cabinets. It’s not very pretty, but it does the trick.
What do I store in my cabinets…ha ha ha…there isn’t a rhyme or reason to my storage madness. Of course I have laundry soap etc. but I also have bags of clothes I want to keep of the kids when they were little, blankets not currently in use, beach towels, light bulbs and so on. Maybe one of these days I’ll get those cabinets organized enough to reveal to the public…probably not until the kids have left the nest. 😉
Have a beautiful day Michele and hope to see you comment again on Family Brings Joy.
Hey! I absolutely love the idea of the mesh containers for sorting the clean clothes. I have a question…I looked on the container store website and I only see a 3 drawer set. Did you have them custom make this to fit in your laundry room?
Thank you!
Ashley
You can buy more than the 3 drawer set. Here’s the link:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/elfaSale/components/elfaDrawersAccessories?productId=10009304&N=80348
When we built the house I knew I wanted to use the Elfa Drawers. I planned what drawers I needed and with my cabinet guy we figured the measurements for him to make me a cabinet for the drawers. The elfa drawer tower slides in and out of the cabinet. They are not bolted in. This way I can sweep all the dust that collects at the bottom of the cabinet. Hope this helps you Ashley. Thanks so much for stopping by and feel free to ask any more questions you might have.
Love your laundry room! It reminds me of my mother’s, except her baskets to sort dirty clothes are in a configuration like where your clean clothes baskets are. Pure genius! And she has a laundry chute. Nice! Really wish I had room for at least something like that if not your entire laundry room!
So wish we were able to configure a laundry chute in our house plans for my daughter who lives upstairs. Problem was there is only attic space above the laundry room. Thank you so much for your generous comments. I love your excitement…only us Moms truly understand what a room like this means to us, huh? 😉
Glad you found Family Brings Joy Brook. Please come again
Love this space!!! Im always looking for a great laundry room as ours is sooo tiny!!! – i love elfa drawers too and have a ton of units! – Ashley the drawer units are customizable to over 3000 different dimensions- look in store
hope that helps!
Thank you Beth!
I am hoping you can post the dimensions of this laundry area. It has everything I need! I am working on plans for add’l space for a laundry room and this would be perfect!
Thank you so much
9′ 7″ x 9′ 3″
Hi there,
Just wondering about the art/writing above the counter in the laundry room. Can’t make out the words…I’m looking for something inspirational for my laundry room…
Thanks!
Amanda
Amanda, sent you a photo via email. Until I post a clearer photo of the sign above, here is what it says for everyone else:
Laun-dry /lon’dre/ n. 1 Place for washing clothes. 2 clothes or linen for laundrying or newly laundered.
I found it at Hobby Lobby. They have the best laundry room signs there and you can find them for half off like I did when they run their sales on their metal signs.
Glad I could help Amanda. 😉
I am designing a laundry room similair to yours, you mentioned that you wished that the Elfa baskets were not so heavy. If you were to do it all over again would you have considered a smaller sized elfa basket for the clean laundry? Any feedback would be very helpful. My kids are young now (6,7,and 1) but I want the laundry room to grow with the needs of our family but I dont know that they would be able to carry their own clean laundy to their rooms themselves in those baskets. Considering maybe the the 16 X 20? what do you think? Thanks!
I’m sorry it’s taken awhile for me to get back with you. I’ve been sick with a very bad cold.
I wish they made the elfa baskets in a plastic material. However, the wire mesh has held up beautifully…got a hand it to them for durability. If you bought the same baskets I did {wide ones}, they would definitely be difficult for your kids to carry. I find that sometimes my Son (14) is not careful and will ding the wood trim in our house while walking to his room…eek!
I would consider doing the skinnier shorter baskets for your kiddos. Just hopped over to their site…maybe the medium size or narrow size. I hope this helps you. Please feel free to ask any other questions. The designing part of my laundry room was the most stressful part. I’ll be happy to help in whatever way possible. Excited for your future laundry room and a million thanks for stopping by Family Brings Joy!
what size frame did you use for the elfa drawers? I noticed a few different ones & didn’t no which size you used. Thanks! Your laundry room looks awesome!!!
21 1/2″ wide x 68 1/2″ tall Thanks a million. 😉
I am currently building a house. I have been wanting a tall storage with baskets that slide in. I am very interested in your tall rack and the bins. I am trying to find a cheaper way of doing this instead of using a wood built in cabinet. They are very expensive. I saw you posted the site where you got the bins, did you buy the holder for the bins there also or how did you put this all together? I would appreciate your help. Thanks!
I don’t have a laundry room only a garage…someday maybe
no laundry room recently posted..Laugh Away!
Love this! I just had a question about the elfa frames – I looked online and they are only 41″ high – can you stack 2 together?
Saw you on Pinterest an had to pop over. Love your laundry room. What cute ideas!! Where did you find such a small tension rod. I’ve been on the lookout for one for my laundry room with no success. Thanks!
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Your laundry room is great, very organized! Thank you for sharing where you got the wire baskets, I LOVE them! Thank you!
I saw you on Pinterest and loved the elfa drawers. I wondered if, in hindsight, you would have liked to use these for sorting the dirty clothes also….possibly three high by two wide? We are considering constructing a mud/laundry room, and I thought the mesh bins would work well for dirty clothes. Thanks!
You could buy little pieces of wood and use chalkboard paint instead of buying them
Hi! I love your house décor and style. Hubby and I are finalizing our own custom home plans. I was wondering if you also keep hampers throughout the house or if you just have the kids walk their dirty clothes, towels, etc. to the laundry room as needed. I’d like to know if I need to plan for a hamper in the bathrooms, as well. Thank you in advance for your advice.
Hi there,
I am curious about the shelves in your laundry room. It looks like you have the Elfa wide Mesh 3 runner platinum, but what about the top 2 shelves? What size are those? They look a little bigger. And then what size frame did you buy? I love this!!! thanks!
Hi Shan,
Great laundry room! I agree with having separate baskets if you have room, for cleanliness and having one for each person helps immensely with sorting and putting away. Congrats on building a home that works for you, what a huge undertaking! The baskets from the container store are great, thanks for the inspiration. Have you thought about adding some under-cabinet lights over the counter? Tap lights or battery operated bars are inexpensive and work well. Also, you could add a pull-out drawer in the step under the washer and dryer for even more handy storage.
p.s. if you put a bar or curtain rod above the sink you will have some hanging room for drying clothes (need was discussed above) or a couple coat hooks would do the trick too. I have a bar above my machines and it’s the best. Wish I had a sink though, I really miss that.
I can see you put a lot of thought into the design of this space to be astheticly pleasing but functional as well. I have but one question. On the wall opposite the washer/dryer units I see you have what appear to be two shallow cabinets. What are there function? What fits in there?
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