Laundry Rooms: Designs and Decorating Ideas

Most times laundry rooms are ignored because they are either located in dingy corners of our homes, basements or just next to the garage. A well-designed laundry room will ensure that it looks neat and spacious, besides adding to the feel of the room. Although designing and decorating depends entirely on the available space, relatively small laundry areas can be made to look beautiful with a fair amount of creativity and flair.

Space Usage
Depending upon the size of the room, it is important to use the available space constructively. The washer or the dryer needs to be located conveniently in the room and should be easily accessible to all the members of the family. See to it that you don't use a very large dryer or washing machine as this would make the place look congested.

Storage Area
The storage area in a laundry room is of utmost importance as all the clothes that need to be washed are kept in there. Bigger laundry rooms can utilize the space and have storage cabinets whereas the smaller rooms can go in for storage bins. Clothes that lie strewn all over the place make the laundry room look shabby. Hence, the presence of storage bins or cabinets ensures that the area looks neat and tidy.

Decor
Although the laundry area is seldom seen or used by the guests visiting your place, it doesn't mean that you neglect the decor in the area. You can feel free to decorate the room in a variety of styles. You could choose a bright color that's water resistant to adorn the walls of your laundry area or you could opt for high quality wall paper that can be used to enhance the look of the area. You can make neat little covers that protect the dryers and washers from dust whenever you're out on a long holiday. Take care to see that the plug points you use for various home appliances are located at a sufficient height away from splashing water.

Ironing Area
Even though some laundry areas in homes have sufficient space, they tend to omit the available space which can be used for ironing. It makes sense to iron your dry clothes in the laundry room itself, rather than occupy space in other rooms.

Lighting
If your laundry room has a window and adequate sunlight, it would be wise to use a mix of natural and artificial lighting. You can choose the lights in accordance with the colors of your walls. You can use a ceiling light fixture to provide uniform lighting to all parts of the room. Although you don't need to spend a fortune on lighting in the laundry area, it should be sufficient enough to help you perform your daily tasks with ease.

Hanging Area
Although dryers are time savers, there are quite a few clothes that require drip-drying. Even with the presence of dryers in your laundry room, it is important that you have hanging rods located near the floor drain areas. While drip-drying certain clothes the use of plastic hangers is a great option.

Apart from the above design and decorative ideas for your laundry room, you can implement your own ideas to enhance the look of your laundry area. Never leave it messy or ignore its look just because it is the one room where guests would never enter into.