For those readers lucky enough to have a working laundry setup in your apartment bathroom, you may or may not care that the hulking washing and drying machines can sometimes be an eyesore. After the jump are five strategies for incorporating this luxury function into your beautiful space.
1. Wedge your machines into an existing nook created by the bathroom walls, so they feel like they have a predetermined place and only their front sides are exposed into the room.
2. Obscure the machines behind screens or fabric, and use these to add a decorative accent.
3. Place the machines inside specially-sized cabinetry to hide the fact that they're there completely, unless your guests decide to snoop.
4. If you have a wall of built-ins, try to purchase machines that can fit within them.
5. Leave machines exposed, but build cabinets around them so they're better incorporated into the room plan.
Images: 1. dwell, 2. decorpad, 3. Laundry Room Designs 4. PointClickHome 5. The Bon Fir Cabin
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coolest ceiling ever.
Nice solutions.
However, expect a slew of weird, squeamish american "ewwws" re laundry in bathroom.
Image 1 makes me swoon.
laundry in the bathroom beats laundry two blocks down the street!
I don't understand why anyone would think "ewwww" - not saying they won't I just don't get it. It's such a great idea, remove clothes at end of night, toss in washer. No need to carry laundry down stairs or take up closet space with a hamper.
I wouldn't care. I would die of happiness.
I love that effect on the wood cabinets - is it stenciled paint or was part of the wood surface stripped off?
I love the idea, and I *LOVE* the ceiling!
Great post! I'm currently trying to figure out how to convert my largish pantry into a small laundry room and half bath... These are great solutions.
I love the shot with the mugs. I bought us his and hers "C" mugs from Anthro and I smile every time I open the cabinet and see them hanging there!
wow - ok wrong post....this was meant for another post I was looking at too!!!
must be time for afternoon coffee...
Love the first one. The color is amazing.
I now know what I want for Christmas...
I'm facinated with the ceiling and then I think "that must have been a painful process". But it looks good!
Rad ceiling. With paint like that, I don't care what room my laundry is in!
love it. in europe it's quite normal to have the washer in the kitchen or bathroom. i'm always amazed when north americans shopping for real estate in europe (HGTV) find this bizarre and wrong. i think it's a smart use of space and it makes perfect sense. too bad i can't move our washer and dryer into our stupidly huge bathroom.
Interesting idea, I've never thought of it there. I think i like that...
I think I pre-empted the ewwwws -- disclosure: major New England/New York yank here. But there was a discussion a while back on AT re machines in the bath -- lots of people thought poorly of it. Glad I helped draw out the positive thoughts -- with which I heartily agree.
And then there are the bidet discussion -- oy vey!
Awesome ceiling!
great ideas for small spaces that want the luxury of a washer/dryer!!! Mid-c Frank,without getting too personal, bidets are the best!
We had to do this because our house is so tiny and on a slab, so running new plumbing would be insanely expensive. I've come to enjoy it though.
Functionally, it makes sense. And aesthetically, having a full-sized washer and dryer that stack helps a lot.
When we bought the place, it was one of those apartment-style combo units. We got a Samsung and love it:
http://renovationwars.wordpress.com/2008/11/09/its-a-wash/
I would love have a washer and dryer in my bathroom. Taking laundry down 13 floors is a pain. I could make it work. I miss not having my own.
My laundry is in the bathroom and it's been alright. I just wish I had space for a hamper and detergent. That would make it great. Besides, laundry in the bath beats the kitchen for me any day of the week.
I want that ceiling!
This post makes me very happy - our old house has a large, square, ugly bathroom with the usual toilet, bath, shower, etc. but also with the connections for the washer and dryer. I have been sketching possible layouts for three years without once being convinced, and now here are five great ideas!
No bidet for me though (to get slightly off-track). Since our month in SE Asia last fall, I am determined to have one of these in both the bathroom and the downstairs loo:
http://www.bathroomsprayers.com/
Yes to laundry in the bathroom (and yes to bidets!). My last two apartments in Rome had the laundry in the kitchen, and honestly, while I get it, I much prefer the bathroom solution. A washing machine under the counter takes up storage space, while in the bathroom it's logical and actually adds another surface to work with. win-win. Now the only thing I would change is the size of the minuscule 3kg machine that our landlady put in. Seriously...two towels at a time and I have to drag the blankets down to a laundromat. NOT ON!
Add me to the "ewws" of laundry in the bathroom. And only because I have one! Generally I don't see it as a terrible thing. But our bathroom layout is a little tight, and in order to get the laundry out of the dryer you have set the laundry basket on the toilet as there's no room on the floor between the toilet and dryer. It's always a little...bizarre I guess...to load fresh clean laundry into a basket balancing on the smelly old toilet! It'll probably creep me out a little less once we're done renovating that room. Maybe we can find a way to move the toilet a little further away from the washer/dryer? Haven't even thought about it yet.
Having a laundry in our bathroom, which is sort of as a breezeway in-between the master bedroom and second bedroom, has it's pros and cons. It was initially the top of my short con list before buying our townhouse. The reason being: should any waterhoses break there's the threat that not only the top floor is in peril but the water damage can creep to the bottom floor. The thought terrifies me, so I inspect the hoses constantly. I would really like a stackable to better manage the space, and until we 'hide' it behind curtains or screens, our setup is in an open niche.
However, I can't tell you how lovely it is to put a load of towels in the dryer and having a warm fluffy towel to greet you at the end of a hot shower :) And the convenience of getting out of sticky clothes and putting them straight into the wash as you go into the shower is nice too!
"...to load fresh clean laundry into a basket balancing on the smelly old toilet!"
Clean the toilet.
I've only ever had laundry in the bathroom or the kitchen, and while both are convenient for me, I enjoyed the bathroom option the most because most of the items that get laundered come from there (towels) or from clothing that I remove (in the bathroom) at the end of the day.
Love the stencils in the first picture. Where can I get that design?