apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've seen smaller versions of this as well, for people who don't have an entire wall to put this on. I'm sure I'd forget my clothes if I left them outside, but I do use a drying rack inside.

Love the idea, but I can't imagine anyone using it as shown in the picture.

I could see this being an outside option for those with HOAs that frown upon permanent clothes lines in the yard. It would hardly be noticeable when folded down.

ugly as heck but practical. Why do you think it is a computer animation, just looks like a generic stock studio set. There are much nicer looking options than this, but I can see this helping some people

I saw this a few months ago online while surfing (accidentally) an Australian website - my yard is such that I don't have two trees (or anything else) to hang a clothesline... but I *do* have a shed. I thought this would be perfect (they're available in smaller sizes).

Thank heavens for HOA's. No one wants to see your underwear period. It's not the line, it's the clothes that make the place look like a colonia.

what's a colonia?

I think this is a much better idea than having to dig post holes to install a permanent clothesline in the yard.
And personally, the idea of my uptight religious, women-can't-ever-wear-shorts-or-tank-tops-or-cut-their-hair-...ever-neighbors watching my thongs flap in the wind is funny as heck.

A colonia is a rural slum.

I'm not crazy about drilling big holes into the side of any structure.

I don't know about the product, but that photo (and model especially) creep me out. There's something about that ad that really makes me think of Stepford Wives.

Thank you! Stepford Wives was what I looking for but couldn't come up with!

The hubs and I use an indoor drying rack...mainly b/c of a restrictive HOA.

We have a line that runs the length of our yard (from the deck right through the back and we use it loads. Lots of people here hang dry their laundry - with our winds, things are dry within a few hours usually - and they smell amazing!

This kind of idea is common for indoors - we have over door clothes racks that we bought in HOlland many years ago and still use.

What's an HOA?

Neat! Unfortunately my HOA wouldn't allow it.

HOA = Homeowners' Association

Oh yes, we've had one for years. They're very common here in Australia (home of the Hills Hoist, wooo!). Ours folds down and isn't as noticeable as the one in the photo, since our house is brick and kind of variegated in colour.

As for the opinions of our neighbours, we live on such a steep hill and have such dense tree cover that neither of our next-door neighbours can even see into our yard, much less take note of our "smalls" flapping about in the breeze!

OMG

This photo is so Saturday Night Live early 1970s retro comedy skit!

Don't get me wrong; the execution in the right space and all is perfect.

You can't beat the fresh smell of clothes and towels and sheets dried out in the sun and fresh air.

Less dryer use and more sun and circulating air use: couldn't be better.

Eco makes so much sense: go the route as the opportunity presents itself.

Thanks for the reminder ...

My husband and I recently made a clothesline very similar to this one (but using wood) for about $20 and 2 hours of labor!

That photo is hilariously bad. In every way: photography, art direction, modeling, prop styling... Good god! LMAO

gryt,

She's a Stepford Wife!

Another vote for that being one terrifyingly Stepford-esque photo...

Kind of distracts me from the whole dryer thing, her shoes are particularly horrific.

I find this whole thing utterly bizarre - in Australia, pretty much everyone has a clothes line. Even if you DO have a dryer (I know about two people who do) you still line-dry most things. The whole American 'Washing lines are ugly and make you look poor' is one of the few things I find doesn't translate. Also, so are garbage bins and garden hoses, and many other things, but after a while you don't see them.

This kind of arrangement is fairly standard - it's what my last rental has (I viewed about ten houses when looking this last time. One was great, but had no washing line. Deal breaker, I didn't apply)

"Little boxes on the hillside. Little boxes made of ticky tacky. Little boxes on the hillside and they all look just the same."

That's what goes through my head whenever talk of a Homeowner's Association pops up. I was born in New England but spent many years in Charlotte, North Carolina and one of the things that always bugged me about the city was it's endless expanse of cookie-cutter subdivisions and check-box McMansions.

I could never sign away a good chunk of my income for the next 30 years of life then be told I can't put clothes out on a line because they think it's ugly.

Ditto on finding this bizarre. Again, here in Australia it's a standard item to have a clothes line outside your house. The traditional hills hoist if you have a decent sized back yard, or a clothes line like the one above if you're in one of the more recent houses which is built on a smaller block with less space available. Yes we have a clothes dryer but it's used rarely and usually only during winter after we've had a couple of continuous days of rain and clothes really need drying.

I'm not sure people round here really care about what's on our neighbours clothes line. That said, maybe that's the problem with HOA's (which I've only read about), but they seem to be made up of people who can't help but make sure they intrude into everyone else's lives.

I thought the Stepford Wife reference was directed at LBhirise for her love of HOA's. I think the title fits that attitude better than it fits the actual photo of the woman hanging clothes. I start feeling like a Montana Freeman when I think about someone telling me I can't grow veggies in my front yard or that I can't dry my clothes on a line.

I pity people who live in homeowners' associations. I cannot imagine being told what to do. There are rules not just for clotheslines but also for mailbox edifices, paint colors, and lawn maintenance. Talk about taking the creativity out of living!

I'm really serious about line-drying, but I have some doubts about this rack - I'd need to see it in person to check out how sturdy it was. Also, I like freestanding racks because you can easily move them into the sun. The laundry cart on wheels is pretty rad, though.

@splatgirl---LoL, are you sure that photo isn't one OF your neighbors? From your description, it sure sounds like it!
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

This looks like one of those product demonstrations from the Price is Right. "And the next item up for bids... a lovely drying rack!"

I live in downtown Montreal and hang my clothes outside over a busy road, and they still smell amazing! I can't understand what the advantage is of owning your own home if your neighbours get to tell you what you can do in your own backyard.

In agreement with nathanr - these are very common in Australia. Air drying your clothes is the normal thing to do here.

My grandmother has one of these drying racks on the side of her brick house. Its just outside the laundry door for easy access. It's never seemed odd to me, but I suppose that's because I've grown up with it.

I agree with nathanr and Kaviare - I live in New Zealand, and using a clothes dryer is considered a luxury - expensive, and wasteful.

My block of five apartments has three of these mounted on different walls of the building. While there's a constant fight for the one North-facing rack (of course, North is the sunny direction, being in the southern hemisphere) there's no objection to anything tenants might hang out, underwear or jeans, it's all the same.

As homes in New Zealand are chronically damp and badly insulated, hanging clothing inside to dry can cause all kinds of problems, particularly mold and condensation. However, we are far from a 'colonia'.

I live in Brisbane, Australia. My Mum has that laundry trolley and basket, but she has the Hills Hoist, instead. My Nan has a line like the one in the photo. I have an airer and also lines out the back of the units (apartments) where I live.

I can't think of a better way to dry clothes it saves a lot of wear on clothes from a dryer, saves a lot of money, clothes smell fresher because they have been in the sun and fresh air.

We used to ALWAYS hang our clothes outside on a line to dry when I lived inside the NYC boroughs. They do smell amazing! Ironically now that I live in the burbs of northern NJ where i have much more space (and cleaner air) I would be afraid to risk it as my neighbors are of the exterior police/lawn Nazi type. They would die and then maybe call the actual police. You would think that the environment and the financial climate might sway people but not these people.