Todays Laundry Room Trends Elegantly Raising Profile of Utilitarian Spaces

For this Santa Barbara home, Cathy Haslem and Julie Pickert of Duet Interior Design transformed a spare but cluttered laundry room into an efficient, inviting and comfortable work space. (Duet Interior Design photo)

For this Santa Barbara home, Cathy Haslem and Julie Pickert of Duet Interior Design transformed a spare but cluttered laundry room into an efficient, inviting and comfortable work space. (Duet Interior Design photo)

By Dave Bemis, Noozhawk Contributing Writer | @NoozhawkNews | Published on 02.04.2015 1:15 p.m.

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Anyone who has ever carried a heavy load to a laundromat knows what a joy it is to have a laundry room at home. Lately, however, some homeowners are taking that happiness to another level by putting serious thought and money into these utilitarian rooms.

Based on photos posted by viewers, Mitchell Parker of Houzz.com a website for home remodeling and design has compiled a list of this years top trends in laundry rooms.

By far the biggest buzz is about pets, Parker notes, and particularly pet-washing stations. If that seems like an extravagant use of space, try getting a muddy, 80-pound German shepherd into and out of the family bathtub. And then try to clean the tub well enough that you would like to sit in it yourself. Be sure to leave enough time to wipe off the floor, walls and ceiling as well, after the clean dog shakes off all that water.

Because the washing machine already requires the same water pipes and drains, it makes some practical sense to put a pet-washing station in the same room. People planning a new home can build the idea into their design. Some homeowners who have remodeled their laundry rooms have made space for the pet-washing station by stacking their washer and dryer.

Another popular feature is a drying rack, or more than one. Some racks are rows of rods that fold down from a wall or from under a cabinet. Others pull out like drawers to reveal a screen that is perfect for laying a garment flat to dry.

Third on Parkers list are cubbies of all sizes. In tight spaces, perhaps theyre just big enough to hold laundry supplies. In larger rooms, some people have created spaces big enough so that each cubby can hold its own laundry basket. By labeling each basket with the name of a family member, the parent who does the laundry can teach the kids to take their own clean clothes back to their rooms and put it all away.

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Todays Laundry Room Trends Elegantly Raising Profile of Utilitarian Spaces