If you have a busy household, odds are you spend hours per week doing laundry. In my opinion, any chore requiring that much time and life force deserves a beautiful space in which to work. Adding color to the laundry room brings new energy and a re-inspired feel to a space that often seems more like a source of endless drudgery.
Tips For Adding Color to Your Laundry Room
There are all kinds of ways to add color to a laundry room space – from a complete remodel, to an accent wall or eccentric appliance choices, simply find what works best for your household.
Get bold with your washer and dryer
Why on earth are washers and dryers predominantly selected in white or black? Get over that boring, standard route and choose something vibrant instead. Today’s washers and dryers – including high-end models – are available in beautiful, metallic and jewel-toned options that will cheer you up in no time flat.
It’s definitely more fun to throw laundry into a cherry red, kelly green or pink dryer – let me tell you. Checkout this article from Apartment Therapy and then re-think your replacement options. It’s a sneaky way to go bold in a room where the doors shut – and the public never has to know that the rest of your sophisticated, neutral interior design is anything other than it appears.
Add a coat of paint or some funky wallpaper
As I was saying about rooms that are typically closed off – I think laundry rooms, like powder rooms, offer an opportunity to play with color in a way you might not risk in more common living spaces. In these small rooms, the world is your oyster.
Remember that really bright blue or red you considered for an accent wall in your home – before you chickened out? This is the time to use it. How about that amazing wallpaper that you saw on Houzz but decided was too busy? Put it up in the laundry room – or use it as a border.
Again, this is a room – when it comes right down to it – guests don’t really hang out in much, so view it as a space where to explore crazier, zanier, bolder and more eccentric aspects of your interior design style.
Paint the cabinets
Not sure about painting all of the wall surfaces? Then paint the cabinets instead. I keep repeating you should go bold and bright – but not everyone likes those types of colors in their living spaces. Even a neutrally painted laundry room space is enhanced with cabinets painted in softer, more muted shades of your favorite colors. Perhaps that robin’s egg blue you’ve pined for, or a pastel green? That simple accent will change the feel of the room – especially if you have a decent amount of cabinetry. If the laundry room space is large enough to have upper- and lower-cabinets, or cabinets on both walls, consider choosing two, complimentary shades to mix it up a little.
Paper the walls and paint the ceiling
If you want to be playful, I recommend finding a wallpaper you love and using it on one, two or all of the walls. If you go the one- or two-wall route, paint the other walls in a softer hue found in the wallpaper. Then, go big with the ceiling featuring a darker or bolder color found in the wallpaper pattern. While you’re at it, think of other rooms or spaces in the house that would benefit from a painted ceiling.
Use artwork and throw rugs
If you live in a rental, color options are limited. Replacing your own washer and dryer (see the first section) is one colorful option you can take with you. However, returning walls to their original color when you’re ready to move out is such a labor-intensive chore – and who needs that? Instead, leave the walls alone and bring them to life using colorful art and complimentary throw rugs. If you have the space for it, turn a wall into a gallery – eclectic or conservative. It will warm up the space, add a little life and the throw rugs will feel better on your feet, joints and lower back if you use the laundry room to sort and fold.
Don’t let your laundry room languish in a state of bland neglect. Re-envision it and bring it to life by adding a little – or a lot of – color.