With the demand for Australian housing continually growing, home sizes and lots are getting smaller to accommodate more homes per hectare. Along with more modest home sizes, homeowners are being challenged to squeeze a laundry in and to make the most of the proportionately smaller area. While it may seem difficult to integrate a full featured laundry, with a few ingenious design tips, your washing woes will be gone.
- Mobile storage units – not everything that’s used in the laundry needs to live in it. Storage baskets and hampers on wheels can easily be moved in and out of the laundry area whenever they are needed.
- Watch your colours – white may be a plain colour, but it can help make small spaces feel more open than they are. White tiling, paint and laminates are readily available and can make all the difference to the home.
- In-door shelving – If the laundry has to be hidden behind doors, why not put those doors to use? By building shelving onto the backs of doors, homeowners can have easy access to all the items they may need at their fingertips.
- Think vertical – with space at a premium, it makes sense to stack laundry components in the space available vertically. By opting for a front load washing machine, the dead space above a top loader can be used far more efficiently. Building the appliances into the cabinetry can seem daunting, but with the right cabinetmaker, it will be easily integrated.
- Look at the ceiling – a hanging drying rack, while unconventional, can make for an efficient use of space. With the right design and a touch of flair, a hanging drying rack can take on the appearance of a feature ceiling.
- Pick the right appliances – knowing how much space is available is one thing, but understanding how big a washer and dryer is needed is another altogether. By making an informed decision on their home’s actual laundry needs, homeowners can ensure that they aren’t using excessive space on larger equipment they may not need.
- Placement is essential – when designing a new home without the luxury of space, finding an ideal spot for a small laundry can be challenging. With clever design, a fully capable laundry can be squeezed into an area the size of a wardrobe.
- Folding equipment, not just clothes – with space at a premium, an optimal solution is to incorporate components that fold out when they’re needed. This includes drying racks and ironing boards. Folding systems can be made to hide away when they aren’t needed, without breaking the home’s aesthetic appeal.
- Streamlining cabinetry – when space is at a premium, door handles can make all the difference in whether a walkway is wide enough to pass through. By opting for cabinets with finger grips, the doors can be opened without impacting on an already tight space. If doors opening pose a problem, then why not eliminate them as well with an open shelf storage system?
- Make rooms multi-purpose – Rather than finding a space in which to squeeze a laundry, why not build it into a larger room? With bathrooms already having a supply of running water and drainage, they make an ideal area to incorporate a laundry. With numerous large ceramic troughs on the market, it is easy to replace the vanity basin with a fixture that would look just as sharp.
Designing a fully working laundry into a small space is no simple task. With the right advice and some lateral thinking, all the necessities can be made to fit while maintaining a sense of style. For more tips, call the professionals at JEDI Plumbing on 0411 774 381 today.