A HAPPY PLACE FOR CLEANING
Here are some ways to transform your laundry room into a space where you actually want to spend time
Your laundry area, whether it’s a tiny closet or a corner of the basement, can actually be a happy place.
In a recent project, Jessica Centella and Kiera Kushlan designed a laundry space as part of a total basement renovation. The designers decided a patterned tile would add some spice to the tight space.
“We wanted a unique colour combination that you don’t see everywhere,” Centella says.
At Home Depot, they discovered Merola Egeo Quios encaustic porcelain tiles with a Moroccan-style motif. They installed them on the floor and halfway up the walls, painted the rest of the room with Benjamin Moore’s Super White in eggshell finish, added shelving and installed a farmhouse-style Randolph Morris cast-iron sink.
“I would encourage people to think about laundry spaces like they do the rest of the rooms in the house,” Centella says.
Laundry rooms are often small spaces where you can express your personality with a bit of bold wallpaper and some unexpected flooring.
Designers and organizers are coming up with new ways to make the most of these spaces
“Our lives are so busy, but we still have to do our mundane household tasks,” says interior designer Glenna Stone. “People have started to realize that even some of the areas that are more utilitarian in a home can actually have some beauty to them.”
Here are some ways to refresh, energize and bring joy to the place where you wash your socks.
TILE THE FLOORS
“Tile is the best pick for a high-moisture environment like a laundry room,” Centella says “Especially a laundry room in a basement where flooding is a more likely scenario.”
Patterned floor tile is definitely having a moment. Porcelain and ceramic tile offer a lot of colour and pattern options. Cement tile is another option, says Stone, but it might have to be resealed frequently in high-traffic areas.
According to designer Stuart Nordin, you can never go wrong with classic white subway tile, even if it’s just for a backsplash.
“It elevates the overall look of a room and adds another layer of dimension and interest,” he says.
Designer Josh Hildreth says old concrete floors in basement laundry rooms can be made less dungeon-like by stencilling them. Or give them a fresh coat of paint.
HAVE FUN WITH WALLS
Wallpaper can turn a tiny room into pure eye candy. If you worry about the humidity in your laundry space, Nordin recommends Chasing Paper.
“They make really cute removable wallpapers,” she says. “They are budget-friendly and easy to take down. Even if you only have one small strip of wall between cabinetry, a great paper with personality will make it feel fresh and fun.”
Designer Sheila Bridges is a big fan of using wallpaper for impact.
“One of my favourite things to do in a small laundry room is to install a bright and cheery wipeable wallpaper,” she says.
In her own apartment laundry station, she used a Harlem Toile de Jouy wallpaper of her own design in robin’s egg blue.
Hildreth sometimes takes a hint from old British manor houses when designing laundry spaces.
“Give it a Downton Abbey look,” he says. Such details could include adding traditional beadboard or wainscotting to dress up and protect walls. And look for big wicker baskets as opposed to using plastic laundry bins, he says.
ACCESSORIZE STORAGE
For detergent and laundry, Bridges likes baskets made of various materials, including seagrass, recycled plastic and water hyacinth baskets. She’s also fond of using indoor/outdoor rugs that are washable or wipeable and won’t get damaged if they get wet.
“Go for anything that makes laundry less of a chore,” says Meg Wittman, a professional organizer. Supplies look better in large jars such as the Salt clear acrylic canisters from Bed Bath & Beyond, she adds.
Centella uses trays to help corral supplies.
“Even a bunch of ugly soap bottles can look more contained and pretty on a nice tray,” she says.
She often uses a flip-down wall hook, which folds down to provide a spot to hang clothes and can be folded up when not in use.