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Occasionally, I like to challenge the status quo when it comes to design. Such is the case with laundry rooms. Sure – there needs to be a washer and a dryer. Storage is also a must for things like laundry detergents, bleach, fabric softener and dryer sheets. Lastly, ladies like wet hanging for – you know their yoga tights and unmentionables. So, there needs to an adequate area dedicated to wet hanging.

When designing a large house – a large laundry is a fabulous amenity. But when square footage is at a premium, let’s consider how best to maximize the space for machines, storage, and wet hanging.

Let’s start with storage. Traditional laundry room design puts the storage of those items above the washer and dryer.

And here is my first problem: I struggle to be able to reach the upper cabinets above the appliances. The reach above the machines is further when compared to the uppers in the kitchen. The upper cabinets in the laundry room are typically mounted 6” higher than kitchen cabinets to allow access to a top loaded washing machine at 5’ above the floor. Additionally, the front of the washer and dryer are 36” in front of the back wall. Compare this to the front edge of the kitchen countertop – 24” off the back wall.

So, the cabinets above the washer and dyer are 6” higher and 12” further back. The average woman is 5’4” tall. This means she can only reach the bottom shelf without standing on her tiptoes or using a stool.

This makes the upper shelves in the cabinets inaccessible and, frankly, worthless. Is that the best use of space?

But what if the wall cabinets ran perpendicular to the washer and dryer? They would still need to be the same height above the floor to allow access to the top loading washer, but now there is nothing to reach over. Suddenly the stuff in the cabinets is more accessible.

But what about the space above the washer? Might there be a better use for it? How about stacking the dyer on top of the washer? Modern machines can be side by side or stacked. Very space efficient.

What about the space below the upper cabinets that are 90 degrees to the washer? What if we added a rod for wet hanging? With the appliances stacked, the length of the wet hanging can be 6’ or the full depth of the laundry room. I use the wet handing space for almost everything that ends on a hanger. If I partially dry my husband’s pants and hang them when they are still damp, it eliminates the need to use an iron. I don’t even have an ironing board.

Now – add a ceiling fan to aid in the drying of the clothes and you have the ultimate utilization of the typical 5’ by 6’ laundry room. Do you think I’m crazy? Maybe. But I love the functionality of my small laundry room. Reply to the blog and let me know your thoughts.