6 steps to a stylish laundry

Say the word ‘laundry’ and most people cringe. Yep, it is where the ongoing chore you simply wish you could avoid takes place…clothes washing. It’s a part of life that simply can’t be avoided and a place in your home that you will visit regularly, so it’s important to make it as beautiful and inviting as the rest of the home.

We went straight to the experts to find out what steps you can take to make your laundry look as stylish as the other spaces in your home. Interior Designer from our MyChoice Design Studio on the South Coast, Angela, has come to the rescue with her style tips that we just know you are going to love.

After trying some of these suggestions in your own home, you might actually find yourself enjoying the time you spend in the laundry.

1. First, think about what you use your laundry for. Is the laundry just for washing clothes or does it at times become a space to wash the dog or as an extra toilet for the family?   Consider tapware that is functional for all purposes – a pull out tap is great to be able to give your furry family members a bath in the laundry tub. Adding a toilet can give you an extra bathroom, especially great if you love to work out in the yard on the garden (muddy shoes are a tough one to avoid) or if the kids like to play outside.
    
2. Making the laundry practical and functional is paramount. This doesn’t mean that the laundry needs to be big; just clever. To ensure you have plenty of storage space consider built-in cabinetry including benchtops with base cabinetry and overhead cupboards. You can never have too much storage! Cabinetry also provides a fantastic way to hide away a laundry hamper full of dirty clothes.
   Some other tips to help make this space as practical as possible are to choose a front loader washing machine built in under the laundry benchtop thus allowing for more usable workspace, overhead shelves with a hanging rail that you can hang shirts from and a linen cupboard that allows you to house your mop, ironing board, vacuum and cleaning tools.
    
3. Choose colours to match the rest of your décor. Replicate colours, finishes and textures in the laundry from your bathroom or kitchen for a continual and seamless look and flow through the home. Alternatively, if you would love to bring a bit of colour into your home in a safe way, the laundry is a great way to provide for that vision as it tends to be closed off from the rest of the home. Try a patterned feature tile splashback, some bright cabinetry doors or even a bold wallpaper.
   Floor tiles with a pattern are a great choice for this space because they disguise dirt, particularly if your laundry acts as a thoroughfare to the outdoors.
    
4. Don’t forget the laundry when it comes to your accessories. We spend so much time and money finding the perfect accessories for the rest of our home, but the laundry is often forgotten. Unlike the lounge room where you can easily put down a rug and change cushions on a seasonal basis, the laundry takes a little more creativity to bring this space to life. A stylish look to try is to purchase some beautiful jars or containers to put your washing powder in; this will not only disguise cleaning products but actually make them a feature. A shelving unit or ladder is a perfect and beautiful way to hold clean towels and spare rugs. Add a splash of greenery to the shelf or ladder by placing a nice pot plant of clustered succulents or artificial plants if you don’t have a green thumb.
    
5. Let the light in. A nice, bright laundry will not only create a more pleasant atmosphere for you to do the weekly wash, it will also help you to see those stains on your clothes before you put them in the machine so you can make sure they have had the appropriate treatment before being washed. There’s nothing worse than having to wash a shirt multiple times! Consider both natural and artificial lighting for your laundry. To make the laundry even more sophisticated and stylish try a pendant light with downlights surrounding it.
    
6. Think about electricity. It’s generally obvious that your washing machine and dryer will need a power point, but what about the other things that live in your laundry? Do you need power for the iron, clothes steamer or vacuum when it needs recharging? It’s also worth considering adding an exhaust fan for extra ventilation when running your dryer.

For more laundry ideas head over to our ‘Stylish Laundries’ board on our Pinterest page