Is your laundry room more indicative of a fairytale dungeon than a Houzz.com showcase? We get it. For most of us, laundry is one of those things-to-do that gets smushed into everyday life, which can lead to a complete lack of style. If the only splash of color is the blue goop that dried up after the that fabric softener spill last year, it might be time to spend a little time on a few easy laundry room updates.
You’ll Want to do Laundry After These 6 Easy Laundry Room Updates
You don’t need to completely remodel your laundry room space in order to make it more attractive, pleasant and functional. All you need is the inspiration and a little time to implement some easy updates. Let’s get started!
- Clean it up. Whoa, there! Here’s a crazy idea, right? It’s amazing what a little vinegar, water and elbow grease can do for a laundry room. These rooms get grimy pretty quickly with all the moisture, lint, accumulated gunk from detergent bottles, etc. Taking 30-minutes to give it a good once over can have miraculous results. You may decide you don’t even need to move on to our other suggestions. If you don’t have the time, pay someone else to do it. It’s worth the minimal investment. Plus, the rest of our suggestions are all better done with a clean slate anyway.
- Think about the color(s). Is there color? Unless you are a fan of plain white walls or already have a neutral theme that you love (in which case you wouldn’t be reading this), now may be a great time to repaint the cabinets and/or the walls a bright and cheerful color. Just as powder rooms can be a great space for doing bold things you don’t have the courage for in your main living space, your laundry room can be the place to celebrate the lavender, yellow or bright green that you love so much, but don’t feel comfortable using elsewhere.
- Add an island. If you have the space, add a mobile island. You get more counter space, which is always a bonus for sorting, folding, mending, ironing, etc. You will gain more storage space if you need it and, since it’s mobile, you can always move it elsewhere in a pinch when you need a additional counter space or an additional eating area for parties or gatherings.
- Add wall-mounted drying racks. Don’t have such a large space? Add a retractable wall-mounted clothes drying rack and you’ll wonder what you ever did without it. They take up very little room when collapsed but can hold an impressive amount of laundry when extended. Plus, you’ll benefit from energy savings and clothing longevity, which will help pay you back for the rack and then some.
- Install a Fold-down ironing board. In our house, if you don’t iron it when it comes out of the dryer it will probably never be ironed at all. Sound familiar? A fold-down ironing board doesn’t take up much space and makes it easy to iron those flipped-up hems and set-in dryer wrinkles rather than adding them to a pile that never gets ironed at all.
- Conceal the mess. Have an open area of under-counter space where you tuck your hampers or other miscellaneous baskets? Put up a rod and hang a colorful or attractive curtain with a print to hide it. The results will make your laundry room feel less cluttered.