Nowadays, doing laundry does not mean descending into a dark and dank basement. Keeping all of your laundry supplies hidden from your living space is perfectly acceptable, but more people now prefer to have their laundry supplies on an upper or main floor rather than in a basement.
There is no denying that doing laundry adds considerable clutter to a small home. Still, many people find it unnecessary to devote an entire room (or more) specifically to this task. If you don’t have space, consider a laundry closet. They can offer as much or more convenience without sacrificing flooring space.
A laundry room in a closet may be small, but there are ways to make it efficient and functional. We will show you how.
Need help? These solutions will guide you in creating a more functional and organized laundry room. Get even more inspiration here about small laundry rooms and linen closet organizing tips to help organize the entire space, not just the main area.
Table of Contents
Things That Must Be Considered In Designing And Organizing Laundry Closet
Safety
When designing a laundry closet, make sure to allow for proper venting and other factors.
Efficient Use of Space
Using doors that slide back into the wall or sliding barn doors, fold-out ironing boards for more closet space, and so on, it has a solution to save on space.
Think Pretty
Organize the inside of your closet with shelves, baskets, and more. Then have the outside work seamlessly in with your home decor.
Inspiration of Laundry Closet Ideas
Small Laundry Closet
A laundry room, by its very nature, is relatively small. But it’s possible to create a functional space in even the smallest area.
While standalone washers are more popular than combos, keep in mind that combo machines do exist. Combo machines make a difference when you’re working with limited space (like in an apartment or small home).
When you have a small laundry room with no space to spare, use the walls as your main focal point. Decorative projects, such as a sheet of wallpaper, set of decals, or a coat of paint scarcely take up any more space than white laundry room walls.
Your laundry room space should be designed with your needs in mind. Even if there are many styles and cool ideas for a laundry room, it’s okay to have a simple setup that holds the washer and dryer if you don’t need more than two machines or an extra storage section.
Side-by-Side Laundry Closet
Side-by-side washing machines take up a lot of space. However, there is still plenty of vertical room for storage. Adding overhead shelves or cabinets to this space can transform it into an ultra-functional laundry room.
Investing in a new washer and dryer will affect your laundry room design, so it’s important to decide which type of machine you want before purchasing one. One example of the many issues you can run into when installing your appliances is that, with top-loading models, there will not be enough clearance for any countertop sitting directly on top.
Laundry room organization can be tricky when you have a side-by-side washing machine and dryer. When buying hampers, drying racks, or ironing boards, select folding or narrow items for storage.
Hallway Laundry Closet
If you want to keep your laundry room out of sight but still accessible, a hallway closet is the best option. You can convert even a tiny closet into a small laundry room as long as the necessary utility hookups are there.
Although you can apply any closet in the house, one near your master bedroom or mudroom is a good choice. The upstairs space is large enough that makes it ideal for the laundry room and also linen closet.
Equipping the space with an ironing board, household cleaning supplies, also drying rack for a laundry area that meets every need. If space permits, consider installing baskets for dirty laundry near your washer and dryer.
Traditional swinging doors will probably force a big traffic jam in any crowded hallway. Alternatively, go with sliding doors or no doors at all.
Installing a sliding barn or pocket door is the perfect solution to save space. You can also hang an easily installed tension rod and curtains.
Hallway Closet with Washer and Dryer
The stark white hallway toward a door at the end opens onto the laundry room. A silver front-load washer rumbles in an adjacent open space; to its left is a matching dryer with an iron lantern stretched across them like an archway. The floors are pale blond wood, and four overhead light fixtures light the hall
Narrow Place Laundry Closet Ideas
f you would like to build the laundry closet in a narrow place such as the hallway, it is impossible to install a door with a regular open. This only takes up too much space.
In these cases, a door that slides in will be the best solution. These can fit in small places like hallways where most other doors cannot.
One advantage of this door type is that it provides the space for a walk-in laundry room. The most important thing to remember when deciding on this type of door is finding enough empty wall space at the spot where the door will open.
This white farmhouse sliding door, which serves as the cover for a laundry closet, provides an excellent example of how to gain inspiration.
The entrance to the laundry closet can be seen in the photo, and it is large enough to fit a side-by-side dryer and washing machine. As you can see in this picture, there is also enough space for a wall-mounted folding drying rack and custom shelving for the storage of various items.
Laundry Closet Counter Ideas
When you find yourself juggling the laundry detergent, fabric softener, clothes hamper while trying to fold your family’s clothes on a bed or starting a load of laundry, or balanced atop your washer and dryer to have enough counter space for folding them; add more counter space.
When your laundry closet comes to designing it, there’s no need for expensive or heavy countertops. A stained or painted wood will work as well, and you have to seal it from moisture if you do not want it to get damaged over time.
Before laying out a countertop for a laundry room, make sure your current appliances can fit on top of it. If you have front-loading washers and dryers, your options are almost unlimited. Top-load machines, however, will not work with an extended counter.
Stylish Closet Laundry Room Combined with Gray Floor
The laundry closet is a perfect spot for doing your dirty work with the help of clean and efficient whitewashers, dryers. Gray flooring provides a stylish contrast to this otherwise stark environment.
Spacious Visual Effect with Mirrored Sliding Doors
Laundry closet doors can be much more than just a cover for your washing machines and other necessities. Doors can make your laundry room seem larger.
Here we are talking about mirrored sliding doors. This type is perfect for a small place, which can be used in a variety of ways.
Laundry can be placed comfortably in modern homes, as shown in the picture above. The entire room functions both as a place for appliances and blocks the view into the next room from this one, giving you more privacy.
Although they seem to limit the space near the bathroom entrance, mirrored sliding doors have many benefits. They still make the area look spacious for better comfort. Besides, a mirror can act as an accessory for checking your appearance, too.
Hide It In The Kitchen
If you’re blessed enough to have an extra room in the kitchen, try placing your laundry closet here. Behind floor-to-ceiling kitchen doors, Architect Solveig Fernlund decided to hide a one-of-a-kind laundry setup that is compact and hardworking.
Laundry Closet Cabinet Ideas
Stylish decorating in a laundry room will not replace the need for functional storage. Even one wall cabinet will provide vital storage space, so come up with an arrangement that meets your specific needs and those of your laundry closet.
Narrow and tall cabinets can be used beside a stacked washer and dryer set. If you have plenty of vertical space available in your laundry room, try hanging some cabinets overhead.
To get easy access to your new cabinets, install a set of shelves. Shelves are perfect for storing laundry detergent and other household necessities, which you will use every day. A closet rod can maximize space for drying clean clothes and organizing dirty ones after being washed.
You can easily add cabinets to your laundry room with some simple improvements. Consider, for example, the old cabinet from a kitchen or bathroom remodels. New paint and hardware updates will add new life to the furniture!
Carve Out A Slot for A Drying Rack
A stream of wardrobes in an ultra-limited house includes a laundry closet with a section to store your laundry rack when it’s not being used.
Laundry Closet Ideas with Stacked Washer and Dryer Machine
Have you ever wanted to install a washer and dryer in your home but couldn’t because they wouldn’t fit? A stacked machine might be the answer. These appliances can make suitable for small or big spaces, depending on what space is available for them, including super narrow ones.
Stacked machines leave enough room for various items such as a sink, folding table, or ironing board, even if they are in a normal-sized closet. The more space you have in a laundry room, the more tasks you can complete at one time.
Turn your laundry closet into a multi-functioning space by adding an upright storage system next to your appliances. Or, if you have a walk-in master closet or mudroom, you can add stacked washers and dryers for easy access to the clothes that need frequent washing.
Laundry Walk-In Closet
Walk into the large walk-in closet, and you will find an enclosed washer and dryer with built-in cabinets, open shelving for storage bins, as well as a slot perfect for holding stacks of clean clothes.
Laundry Closet With Flat-Panel Door
The additional idea is that you can add a laundry closet to the kitchen space of your new home. One way for this to happen is through design, as shown above.
Cabinets are important pieces of furniture for every kitchen. If your house lacks a laundry room or prefers it to be near the kitchen for whatever reason, take advantage of this opportunity.
We intended to include the closet as part of the kitchen cabinets. In this scenario, you must build a new set of specialized cabinets that can house laundry equipment.
If you do not have enough space, we recommend choosing a stackable design such as the photo. This stacks up and saves space even while providing all of the functions that you need.
One thing you should not forget about is whether the appliances in your clothes closet are stacked. FYI, many dryers and washing machines are designed to be side by side instead of stacked on top of each other.
Make It Incognito
Though this laundry closet is small by most standards, it still manages to fit a whole utility room inside. We love how the space isn’t afraid to squeeze in some style, too.
The shelves and cabinets provide a spacious storage area, and the countertops make for ample space to fold laundry. Homeowners can also hang their wet clothes on either the clothing rack or spare drying line outside. The wallpaper is an added perk as it adds personality to this already fantastic room.
Two-tone Laundry Closet Ideas
Clean laundry will be more inviting in this two-tone space. The white front loading washer and dryer sit on black, herringbone floor tiles behind a white, louvered door. Built-in shelves provide space for detergents beside the washers and dryers.
Laundry Closet With Pocket Doors
Many people enjoy how sliding doors are friendlier for a laundry closet that can be built anywhere, but some of them also want something to conceal the door from sight when they’re open.
If you’re living in a smaller space and worry that regular doors will make it feel even more cramped than it already is, the idea of using pocket doors may be appealing. As we discussed earlier, when opened fully they don’t block off your laundry closet area or any other storage space. You’ll also notice that the doors are concealed in a unique pocket on the wall. A design like this is perfect for creating an organized appearance.
The visual example of this that we found is shown in the picture above. The pocket door is white, and it matches the white wall on either side when closed to ensure a continuous flow of paint along the hallway.
Besides the door design, we love how the designer placed a two-seater couch in front of the laundry closet. With this type of furniture, you can wait for your clothes to clean while reading or even nap.
Black Laundry Closet Ideas
The dryer and washer have a luxurious appearance. They are stacked in an orderly fashion, with the silver steel on top of white tiles covering the floor behind black shutter doors next to shelves lit by clear glass fixtures.
Laundry Closet with Shiny Backsplash Tile
This laundry closet is beautiful and elegantly designed. The shiny metal backsplash tile really adds to the beauty of this room, as does the perfect backspace configuration in a small yet noticeable way with the glass sliding shelves on top in front of all those neatly arranged clothes below. Sure there aren’t very many places to hang my wet.
Laundry Closet for Small Space
Because of the tight space we had to work with, and our laundry closet accommodates a top-loading washer and dryer. This meant no folding table or countertop for sorting clothes, as you might see in other Pinterest makeovers. I wanted to add a fun design element into the makeover anyway, so we installed this stick wallpaper combined with black and white buffalo check peel. It was my first foray into the wallpaper world, so I am glad we went for it! Not only does it add visual interest, because it adds depth as well. The cost of wallpaper from the back wall was minimal, costing $60 for two rolls. But I really like that we can easily pull it off if we start to get sick of it.
Closet Laundry Ideas Combined with Drying Rack
Closets can be a useful space for washing clothes in inconvenient locations. These spaces usually serve the purpose of storing clothes, but it becomes a good option for all your laundry needs if there is access to water nearby.
The bifold door provides an excellent storage option for appliances and other housewares when not in use. It is a wise solution that hides your often-used items from view until needed and gives more space to do laundry or other chores requiring bulky items.
Put Your Washing Machine in Closet Laundry
It may be possible to create additional space in your small kitchen by adding a new room or converting existing spaces. If you are installing a range, for example, you should take the needs of your washing machine and dryer into consideration during renovation plans. Neat and tidy is the solution, potentially creating more space if implemented in other home parts.
Functional Laundry Closet
The last idea we’ll share in this post is the use of flat panels as the main material for a laundry closet’s doors. This innovation, used many times by designers to create concealed designs, continues to be a good choice.
When you look at the photo we shared above, what do you think? It resembles a regular paneled wall with metallic uprights in modern interior design. However, this is actually a functional laundry closet that’s even completed with neatly designed storage cabinets and a sink beneath the flat panels. As you can see, the panels don’t have any handles, which makes them like a regular wall.
This design provides a classy way to conceal laundry facilities in restricted spaces such as hallways or narrow entrances. It blends discreetly with the interior’s décor and is non-obtrusive, practical, and functional.
Common Question About Laundry Closet
What is the best way to organize my laundry closet?
To start organizing, first, add shelves and baskets to place items. Use hooks to hang brooms or dustpans on the wall. Labeling your items is a good way of keeping organized as well. If you have room on the door, use it to create storage space by hanging some things.
How Much Space Do You Need For A Laundry Closet?
Give the dryer and washer plenty of room in new laundry closets. With a standard size, give at least 40 inches deep plus extra space on all sides.
Is It High-priced To Change A Normal Closet Into A Laundry Room?
One of the major obstacles homeowners face when designing their laundry room is the availability of utility hookups. If your intended laundry room has no running water, electric outlets, or dryer venting system installed, you are in for a tough installation project.
Installing these hookups in a closet will cost money. Still, you can save on the expense if you can install the new hookups adjacent to another room that already has plumbing and redirect the water lines for your clothes washer so that they flow into your new installation.
What Safety Precautions Should I Take When Installing My Washing Machine Upstairs?
Water damage is never good, but leaks can be even worse when they happen upstairs. Homeowners should carefully assess the risks of installing a washer upstairs. However, there are ways to reduce the risk of a disaster before it happens.
If there are leaking clothes in the washer or leaky hoses, a washing machine tray will redirect the water to a drain somewhere else. It is also advisable to install a shut-off valve where you keep your laundry supplies for emergencies.
These precautions are an extra cost and time but could potentially save you thousands in water damage later.
How Can Reduce Noise From A Washer And Dryer?
Install main-level laundry rooms, which are easier for everyone to use. But many homeowners don’t realize how loud a washer and dryer can be until the machines are just feet away from your bedroom, living room, or home office.
Place a motion-arresting pad under your washer and dryer to avoid rocking during high-traffic periods.
Adding insulation or sound-dampening material (or both) inside of one’s laundry closet walls is a practical way to diffuse noise, which keeps washing machines and dryers from being all that disruptive.
The most important step is to purchase quality appliances. If your washing machine or dryer needs repair, soundproofing will not solve the problem.
Conclusion
These are the best options for tight spaces that we can share with you. As discussed earlier, these choices are intended to maximize your storage space and make room for a laundry closet in cramped quarters.
While the ideas might seem limited to a single space, they are also applicable to large spaces.
One of the most important things we want to show you is not just how big or small your house may be. It’s more about ways to use every square inch efficiently.