10 Must Haves in a Laundry Room when Designing One

In designing a laundry room, there are 10 must haves that I will be going through in this post. This laundry room was part of an entire basement remodel.

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The Before

Before we finished our basement, it was just a place for storage. It was unfinished, cold, musty, and pretty dungeon like. Oh, and the “laundry room” was down there, too. Basically there was a washer and dryer against the main wall, laundry baskets lined up, two clotheslines hanging and a drying rack all mixed in with boxes and junk that we’d dump into the dungeon when we didn’t know where else to put it.

What the laundry room looked like before the renovation

When we decided it was time to finish the basement, creating a laundry room was high on the list. It would be an actual room separate from the rest of the basement.

In looking at the set up of what the basement would be, we wanted to take the existing “laundry room” out of the main part of the basement to have optimum use of space. So we decided to place it to the left of the stairs.

To get a little better understanding of the basement set up, to the right of the stairs would be the bathroom. The wall to the right of the bathroom was the wall where the washer and dryer used to be. So it would be laundry room, stairs then bathroom in a row, and the rest would be the main living area.

Where the washer and dryer used to be is now the main living area in the finished basement. — This is the main living area of the completed basement. That back wall is where the washer and dryer were originally.

On our way to completing — Making progress!

The After

10 Laundry Room Must Haves

In planning the laundry room and basically building it from scratch, these are the things that I feel are must haves in what creates a well running laundry room that is also a pleasure to be in!

1. Storage Space

Storage space with cabinets — Decorated with a little Valentine decor

We chose to have cabinets put in, giving it almost a mini kitchen feel. I love having everything behind closed doors, and you can never have too much storage space. Cleaning supplies, the iron, a recycling bin, extra paper towels are just some of the things stored there. There is also a whole section just for snacks. Since this laundry room is right off of the “man cave” or “home theater” or whatever you want to call it, having a mini kitchen with snacks is great! Perfect for sleepovers and movie nights.

2. A Refrigerator

The mini kitchen idea leads to my next must have. We were able to SQUEEZE in a refrigerator, too. I mean it JUST fit! If you have kids, and even if you don’t, a second refrigerator is so nice to have, if possible. In this space it is so handy to have to grab drinks and snacks when hanging out with friends or watching tv, but it is also great in general when you need extra room when having parties, or just to be able to stock up on certain foods and drinks.

The refrigerator also has the perfect space between it and the wall to stick an ironing board! 😉

3. Counter Space

Having counter space in the laundry room is so handy and also simply beautiful. I chose this marble looking quartz and just love it. I even went with a smaller sink to have extra counter space. It’s handy to have a place to fold towels straight out of the dryer and stack them there. There’s a place to put canisters for loose change and room around a sink for soap and paper towels for hand washing. Also, since this laundry room also serves as a mini kitchen right off of a living area, there’s a place to set up a coffee bar for overnight guests. You can also make a snack on the counter or pour a drink from the refrigerator. It gets a lot of use!

Coffee bar set up on the counter in the laundry room.

4. Back Splash and Under Cabinet Lights

I feel like with a small laundry room like this especially, you can have some fun with the back splash! I made it a focal point with this gray and white pattern. It makes me happy every time I walk in there. You spend a lot of time in a laundry room, why not make it stand out and look the way you want it to! It doesn’t have to be just functional. A fun back splash is a great way to do that. Adding under cabinet lights not only helps you see what you’re doing but also showcases the back splash and what is on your counters. I highly recommend them!

A fun back splash is a must have in the laundry room.

5. Laundry Signs/Artwork and Decorative Items

To continue with what I was saying about picking out a fun back splash that you love, also have a good time with the decorating. Treat it like any other room in your house and get up some artwork. I love all the laundry signs that are popular right now. Decorate the space and make it your own. Even have fun decorating the laundry room for the holidays!

Adding some artwork and decor in a laundry room is a must!

Decorate for the holidays in your laundry room!

6. The Right Sink for You

I picked a small sink in the laundry room to have more counter space.

Our original set up of a “laundry room” included a typical utility sink that I would say was 40 years old. Yeah, it was pretty gross. When planning out the new laundry room, I tried to consider what I would be using the new sink for. I decided to opt for basically the smallest sink possible to have more counter space (it’s actually a bar sink). I also just liked the look of it more. Mainly this sink would be for hand washing. In our garage we have hot and cold running water, so for things that we used to do in the utility sink like cleaning paint brushes, rinsing dirty boots, cleaning golf clubs, and other messy jobs, we would just use the garage. I didn’t want to do those types of things in this new laundry room, and kind of wanted to keep it nice. This was my personal preference, but these are definitely things to think about when designing your laundry room.

7. Drying Rack, Hanging Bar, Hooks, Etc.

Drying racks are essential in a laundry room.

Every laundry room needs a place to hang some laundry to dry. I personally like to have a rod to hang some things with hangers as well as a drying rack to just place certain items on to dry. I also have a few hooks that are mostly decorative, but I still end up using them to hang something up from time to time.

Drying rack and rod for hanging — You can find the links to the rod and drying rack at the bottom of the post. I love them both and recommend them. They work well and look great!

8. Laundry Basket Spot

Every laundry room needs a place for laundry baskets.

What’s a laundry room without laundry baskets? In this space, under the stairs turned out to be the perfect little spot to stick some laundry baskets and even a garbage can. There are even two smaller baskets behind these two!

9. Barn Door

A barn door is a great addition to a laundry room.

There are several reasons why a barn door works in this spot. For one, I just really wanted a barn door somewhere, and this was a perfect opportunity! It’s nice to have a door to be able to pull closed when there’s dirty laundry to hide or the dryer is too loud during a movie. Really though, it is open almost always. I like to be able to look in, and it also just opens up the space. A regular door would swing out and be in the way. A pocket door would also work here, but a barn door is also great because it is a point of interest, a focal point in and of itself. I really love the look of it!

10. The Right Washer and Dryer for You

When picking out our washer and dryer, I personally prefer front loading machines. In this space it’s also necessary because I hang clothes above them. These machines, Samsung Flexwash and Flexdry, do have separate compartments on top (a second mini washer and and separate dryer unit to lay out a delicate item or something like sneakers…), but they aren’t used as often. These machines also have pedestal options, but again because of hanging things above them that would make them too high.