How to Arrange a Laundry Room in an Apartment: Designer Tips

Having a separate room at home where a washing machine and dryer, household chemicals, an ironing board and other equipment are located is convenient and practical. We found out from designer of 'Studio 3.14' Marina Kozlyakova how to arrange it.

1. Choosing a Location

The main condition when choosing a place for a laundry room is having a water supply and sewer pipe nearby: they will be needed to connect the washing machine and sink.

If the location is favorable, you can convert a storage room or one of the bathrooms into a laundry room, or allocate part of the hallway.

2. Filling

Of course, one of the key elements will be a washing machine. There are many models available, varying in size – from standard 600x600 mm to compact versions with a depth of 350 mm.

Choose based on the room size and your needs. To make use of space above the washing machine, you can install it in an open shelf or simply place it on a shelf where laundry baskets, detergents, cleaning agents and other household chemicals will be stored. You can also hang a water heater above the washing machine to additionally free up space in the bathroom.

The second important element of a laundry room that helps avoid problems with placing wet clothes is a dryer. Today, there are not only standalone models but also those that can be installed in a column next to the washing machine, thus saving space. 

A sink will also be convenient in a laundry room, where you can quickly wash or treat tough stains if needed.

Prefer practical models: the sink should be large and deep enough for comfortable use. As an option, you can consider installing a kitchen sink (they are usually deeper and made of stainless steel). You can integrate such a model into a floor cabinet-shelf, thereby gaining additional storage space. 

Even if you have equipped a laundry room with a dryer, a foldable mobile clothes rack or towel radiator will not be out of place – they will help dry small items.

A cabinet for household equipment (where you can store a ladder, broom, bucket) is best placed as close to the entrance to the laundry room as possible so that you don’t have to carry items past freshly dried clean clothes.

If there is enough space in the laundry room, you can also use it as an ironing room. In this case, you should plan space for storing an ironing board or order a built-in / pull-out model from the cabinet. Also consider placing a small suspended TV or setting aside space where you can put a tablet or laptop opposite the ironing board.

Next to the ironing board, you should place a cabinet or a hanger rack where you will store already ironed items before taking them to the room and hanging them up in their proper places. 

If there is very little space...

If the area or layout of your apartment does not allow you to allocate a separate room for a laundry room, you can set up a small 'laundry block', placing it in a niche behind sliding or swinging doors or in a built-in cabinet.

The depth of such a block depends on the size of the washing machine and can vary from 450 to 700 mm. The width is determined by you, based on your preferences for the contents. An optimal solution would be to divide such a block into three sections. One of them will house the washing and drying machines; another – shelves for laundry baskets and household chemicals; and the third – bulky but necessary items at home: ladder, bucket, broom, vacuum cleaner.