But, it didn’t have to take up valuable counter space. We recognized with how many cloth diapers we use (we use cloth during the day, and disposables when traveling and overnight) we are going to need the drying rack for many years to come. So we never used that space behind the door and, instead, just piled up laundry on the accessible two shelves (and floor). Fortunately, our dryer is electric (not gas) and the cord reached from the old location so that was one hookup we did not need to modify!īy removing half the length of built-in shelves on the opposite wall and replacing them with smaller half-width shelves, we were finally able to open up the door while maintaining tons of storage for laundry baskets! Previously, with two long shelves spanning the length of the wall, and a drying rack positioned on top, half of the storage was inaccessible by virtue of opening the laundry room door. For the dryer we lucked out by finding a clever product called a “periscope dryer vent” (see picture below) which allowed us to route the dryer vent along the wall behind the washer. We also relocated the electrical outlet below the countertop so you wouldn’t see the eyesore of the plug all the time. To move the washer, we needed longer water supply lines and a longer discharge hose to reach all the way from the far end of the room to the utility sink. Thank goodness he is handy! However, through a little research, planning, and several trips to the home center during the week and the weekend, we were able to pull it off. Specifically, it meant changing all of the plumbing, venting, and electrical hookups for both units–a time consuming and tricky job. While this seems like an easy solution, it really required quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work from my husband, E. So you couldn’t easily transfer laundry from one machine into the other. The washing machine was the closest to the utility sink but, the door opened directly into the dryer. So we decided to keep the laundry machines side-by-side but reverse the order. We contemplated stacking them, but then there wouldn’t be any countertop space for pretreating and folding, and it would require taking out one of the cabinets–and you know how much I love hidden storage! Back in the ’80s when our house was built, our laundry room was originally designed for use with a top-loading washing machine (hence, no clearance had been allotted for opening a front-loader’s doors) which left us and our front-loaders with a jam. You see, our entire laundry room traffic flow was backwards. To see my full disclosure policy please read here. We needed this room to actually work for us! So I am going to take you through key design components and laundry room ideas to consider in your own home, and what we ultimately decided worked best for us.Īffiliate links have been used. We wanted the before-and-after to be stunning but also useful.
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