White laundry rooms are both traditional and practical, but they can feel plain. Despite being easy to clean and bleach, more and more people are moving away from a all-white color schemes. Adding interest through multiple small renovations can lift your laundry room from a sterile, no-nonsense space to a homey place that fits the rest of your house.
Redoing Your Floors
Want to change up your laundry room? Start by looking down. Whether you’re building up from a bare concrete basement or replacing old, worn-down flooring, upgrading your floors will improve your laundry room’s appeal in a variety of ways. New flooring is easier to clean, nicer to stand on, and can hugely beautify a big portion of your laundry room. Better still, there are more options than ever in water-resistant, easy-to-clean porcelain. Pick a unique tile to accentuate the space to get the most bang for your buck. Even if you stick with a white tile, changing the pattern or finish can breathe new life into the room. From a herringbone pattern to a marble-like or wood-look finish, you’ll notice a difference the second you step into the room.
Luxe Laundry Room Lighting
How you light your laundry room is not only important for doing your laundry, but also in making it feel like an inviting space. You want something practical to highlight all the important parts of the room, but the actual style can be up to you. Fun overhead lights include pendant lights, chandeliers, and even kitchen island fixtures. The less utilitarian the room looks, the more likely you’ll stay in it long enough to actually finish your laundry in one sitting. Even if you’re updating a basement laundry room where a fancy fixture would feel out of place, better, brighter lighting can still make your space more usable (improved stain-spotting!) and feel fresher and cleaner.
Non-Traditional Hardware
While any kind of sink is helpful in your laundry room, there are some that are a better fit than others. Utility sinks are the preferred kind for their deep basins. That said, a lot of utility sinks can take up almost all of your potential counter space, making it difficult to store detergents and fold clothes. A way to get around this is through a utility sink with a cover board. Perfectly fitted to sit on top of your basin, these covers let you switch between using the sink and using your counter without sacrificing either. Best of all, they prevent accidents where you drop your clean clothes into a wet and soapy sink.
Upgrading Your Washer and Dryer
You don’t think much about appliances being an aesthetic component of a room, but they do have a visual impact. Each washer and dryer brand has its own style, ranging from unobtrusive to flashy. Even switching to a contrasting color from the rest of the room can bring new depth to the space. But don’t just upgrade your appliances for looks. While a heavy initial investment, newer washers and dryers are more efficient with water and energy usage and save you money over time.
Adding Laundry Room Accessories
The easiest (and cheapest!) way to add interest in your laundry room is to accessorize. This can mean adding purely decorative elements to the room like wallpaper and framed art. But it also counts if you simply switch out your practical laundry items for more fun ones. Decorative, colorful, or distinctive laundry baskets and towels can change the aesthetic of your entire room. Removing laundry pods and dryer sheets from their original packing into unique containers (like glass jars) can not only add a visual component, but also let you know when you’re running low at a glance.
Whether you want to invest a lot or just a little into a laundry room makeover, there are options for every aspect of the space. Adding or replacing a single aspect of the space can revitalize the entire room and maybe even make your laundry more efficient.
