Laundry Room Ideas for Small Spaces

Though it's not the most exciting part of any house, the laundry room provides a vital function for your household. Yet the problem with most laundry rooms is that they're often small and lack a dedicated space for washing, drying, and folding your clothes. Talk about a chore!

Whether you have a dark basement or a tiny closet, the tips below will help you bring a little hominess to your laundry room.

Your greatest weapon for maximizing your small laundry space is organization. This can include a number of different solutions, such as making use of wicker baskets, adding storage racks, or simply keeping it free from clutter. The more organized your room is, the bigger it will feel.

Wicker baskets are a great way to contain your laundry essentials. You can use them to store everything from linen and towels to dryer sheets and extra detergent. These baskets come in a variety of different sizes and shapes, so be sure to measure out your space and choose the appropriate baskets.

Storage racks and cabinets are also great for maximizing space. Whether you opt for a free-standing unit or one that is built around your washer and dryer, your laundry room will almost double in size. You can use the shelves and cabinets to store your wicker baskets and other laundry essentials.

Don't feel like buying a new storage rack? Good Housekeeping recommends repurposing an old bookshelf into a laundry room shelf. You can even paint it to match the room's color scheme. Just make sure you measure it before going through the trouble of converting it, lest you find out it won't fit in the space.

Chances are good that your washer and dryer take up most of the space in your laundry room. While these machines are vital, you may be wondering how you can better use them to maximize the area. Well, you just need to install a countertop.

For this tip, you essentially have two options. You can take the fancier route by actually building an entire countertop that surrounds the machines, though that may be more trouble than it's worth. Or, you can simply add a piece of plywood across the tops of the machines (assuming you have a front-loading washer, of course!).

Since you're probably only looking to use the countertop to sort and fold laundry, the second option is preferable. It doesn't cost a lot of money and there is very little work involved. You'll just want to measure the length and width of the top of your machines and cut a plank of wood to fit those dimensions. You might consider painting the wood to match your room's color scheme.

If you cannot fit a storage rack in your small laundry room, then you may want to consider increasing the room's hanging space. You can do this by attaching a hanging rod or drying rack above your washer and dryer. Either option will give you more space to work with, however, each serves a specific purpose.

A hanging rod is better suited for households that need to steam-clean garments more often. In comparison, a drying rack is better suited for households with a lot of clothes that require hang-drying. Though you can use either of these things for both purposes, you may still want to take that into consideration when deciding which to install.

In today's modern age, stackable washers and dryers are more affordable and robust than ever before. These types of machines are typically front-loading and are perfect for tiny spaces. If your laundry room has enough height, opting for these stackable appliances is a great way to free up more space for storage racks or hampers.

Speaking of hampers, why not opt for stackable hampers as well? If you free up space in your laundry room with a stackable washer and dryer, consider stacking your hamper or laundry baskets next to the machines. You can accomplish this with a small two-shelf rack; put one basket on the bottom shelf and the other on the top shelf. Easy peasy!

One of the best ways to make doing laundry less of a chore is by sprucing up the room itself. This can be done in a number of ways, but it mainly comes down to lighting, choosing a paint scheme, and adding decorations.

When it comes to lighting, The Spruce recommends using an overhead pendant light to add a little more ambiance and character to your laundry room. Not only is this type of lighting practical and beautiful, but it is also an affordable solution to warm up the room.

Choosing your room's paint scheme really depends on the type of vibe you want. For laundry rooms that are out in the open, opting for darker colors will help blend the space into the surrounding wall, creating an "optical illusion." On the flip side, for rooms that are tucked away without any windows, choosing lighter colors will help create a sense of warmth.

You can add decorations to your laundry room, but keep them to a minimum. Remember, you are trying to maximize your space, so adding too many decorations will defeat that purpose. That being said, consider hanging a pleasing image or painting on the wall since you'll probably spend a good deal of time looking at it.

This last tip is more of a reminder to utilize every inch of space in your laundry room. You can accomplish this in a number of ways, but it really varies by what you have to work with. Some potential ideas include: