apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wholeheartedly agree. Before even looking at Maxwell's response I thought a curtain would be easy to install and get around when you need access, plus a nice, crisp, white one will make that little space look really neat and trim.

Bamboo blinds that roll up - this is what I did to my kitchen to hide the hideous HVAC thingy. You get to choose colors to match the kitchen too.

I second the bamboo blinds.

Or Roman shade.

If a "real" door is what you want/need, you could try padding the frame of the door with some 1x4s. What I'm basically suggesting is that you "extended" the door frame a bit. Then, finish off with some molding, rehang the door, and you should be fine. Providing, of course, that you don't mind the door "protruding" an inch or so beyond the wall.

Aside from that, some ultra thick curtains would be the only other suggestion I've got.

Lots of luck!

Solid Core Door/Doors!

Anything else won't block the annoying noise.

S

Yeah my sister just did this with a nice neutral Ikea curtain. Maybe if you splurge on heavier lined curtains it will help with the noise a little bit.

I'm going to have a similar situation, and plan to go with a high-end shade. I haven't decided exactly what yet, but probably something patterned, that will fit with the colors of the room, but also be decorative.

I don't think you will be able to block the noise, no matter what you decide to go with. That said, I'd attempt to extend the door frame as recommended above and then install a clean looking door. If not, some taut, clean shades that will roll up easily. I wouldn't go with curtains. Personally, I really dislike that look. I think they look like dorm room accessories.

I was thinking along the same lines as Maxwell, except my fabric suggestion is a nice new canvas (canvasy) dropcloth. I just got 2 to make draperies in my bedroom. Be sure to buy ones ( in this case, one) that don't have the maker's name printed on them, and that also don't have [what will be] horizontal seams. Creamy-colored, nicely draping, and substantial looking. Almost luxurious for under $20!

What about a retractable screen door? You could leave it as a screen door, or maybe alter it to include a fabric insert instead of the screen.

How 'bout a nice DIY mix of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's Hanging Treillis and a more tight knit wooden trellis door.

What about a roll up garage style door? It might be kind of expensive because I'm guessing it would have to be custom made, but wouldn't that look cool next to the stainless steel refrigerator?

The first thing I thought of was those drapery arms that swing open. If you got one sturdy enough, you might even be able to hang a light weight wood door from it, or at the very least, a heavy enough fabric to muffle some noise.

Do the washer and dryer fit with just a 1/4" of space to either side of the door frame or the closet they are in? If there is more side space in the closet, I suggest that you pad your closet with 1/4 to 1/2 inch sound absorbing insulation panels and place the two units on a sound/vibration absorbing pad. This will absorb sound emanating from the 3 sides, back, bottom and top of the machines. Then I would use your original idea, a vertically rolling tambour door/panel for the front. If you get it in metal, it might match the refrigerator, in wood it can coordinate with your kitchen finishes.

Oooh I cant tell you how excited I am that Ptoo already suggested my idea. Roman shades. or even just a simple hanging sheer that you can put small magnets in the bottom seam to keep it neat in against the washer dryer and not blowing in the wind. A tension pole would probably sit just fine in that doorway...very simple, very reversible.

As the proud owner of a washer/dryer I can tell you its not often you will be doing laundry with company around (unless your company has had to strip down to their boxers like the old levi's advert) so unless your TV/relaxing area is in the same room as this dont worry about soundproofing.

I find Washer dryer noises are somewhat soothing as it gives you the feeling of doing something productive...and when you hear it stop you know its time for the next step...

Are you ashamed of your new washer dryer combination? Or are you maybe sorry you didn't purchase a white fridge? I say leave it as it is. Less is more, it is what it is. I've never found appliances to be offensive looking.

Also, who cares about noise? It beats the heck out of going to the laundromat. (Less likely to get those bed bugs terrorizing the East Coast.) And, if you can hear the washer, you can tell if the load is off balanced.

I'm with Kurt.. It's a great looking unit, why hide it away? Take off the hinges, clean up the molding, paint the inside of the closet a deep color to set the whole thing off, and get a decorative basket for the top of the unit to hide detergent, etc.

For around $100 you could order a custom cellular shade with the top down feature. This will allow you to have total access to the space above the dryer.

Ok, here's what you should really do ;)

Get some MDF. Cut it so that you have two tall, narrow panels.
Get about 6 to 8 Eurpean style kitchen cabinet hinges and install 3 to 4 on each side so that the MDF doors swing out of the way and the hinges do not block any drawers or doors.

You will need a circular drill bit to make the large holes in the MDF to fit the hinges.

What you will get is a nce clean look, very dense and rigid enough with a smooth surface that can be finished very well.

It looks like you have enough space for the MDF doors to sit flush to the trim when closed.

I agree with Maxwell in regard to the cotton duck curtain. You can use a tension rod, and the whole thing should cost you about $10-20 at Target.

And may I say how envious of you I am? I would love to have that set up.

And, Maxwell, that lunch sounds a lot better than the peanut butter crackers I had from the vending machine.

TGIF....

How about a thick felt door like Maxwell made for their apt.? Make it extra tall and hang it from the ceiling with a short piece of hospital track (they have it at Ikea). When closed it would cover the laundry closet. When you need to do laundry, it would slide open in front of the fridge. And the thick felt would absorb sound.

I don't think solid core doors are to code. I think if you do doors, they have to be louvered.

I'm not a fan of the curtains going to the floor in a kitchen.

Why not make your own doors? Get two pieces of thin plywood..I think it's called luan..cut to fit the door frame.
Attach hinges to each side and knobs in the middle and have the doors open like a 'side by side' fridge.

The material I'm talking about is maybe 1/2" wide. If that is thin enough to close without hitting the protruding elements of your washer, you could hinge them from the inside.
If it's not thin enough for clearance, you could get the pieces cut to match the outside edges of the door frame and hinge them from the outside.

You might need to use Piano hinges on each side for sturdiness. You could find hinges and knobs the same color as your stainless appliances and make them a decorative element.

Then you'd have doors you could paint to blend in with the wall. or it Might be fun to paint them with chalkboard paint.

i vote for a heavy clean white curtain.
its easy.
its inexpensive.
its washable.

why block the sound? when i was little, my mom would wait to turn the washer on until i went to bed. the gentle chug-a-chuga and the wirrrrr-ing would lull me right to sleep...

ColumbusOH, that's basically what I said but you described the way it would open better than I did.

I guess we're both assuming that the hinged on the left with standard door problem mentioned by Andrew would be solved by our thinner door suggestion.

BTW josie, I guess location is important for code regulations. In nyc solid doors for w/ds are code compliant. As long as venting is up to code of course.

I wonder if the felt doors that maxwell and skgr used in there apt would work. I thought they looked great in their apt and it might provide a bit of a noise buffer.

Wow, thanks to everyone for their suggestions, and to Maxwell for posting.

Yes, I'm hung up on the sound insulation thing: the whine of a frontloader on its final spin is not so soothing, and we have a combined kitchen / living room. I'm tired of retreating to the bedroom and turning on the radio. So I feel as if I've got to try something.

I like John H's idea of using soundproofing on the sides/top/bottom of the machine; that might actually work--unlike my idea of just doing something to the front--and it would give me more flexibility in my choice of covering.

And the felt door idea? Not bad at all...

If you mounted a regular door with regular hinges on the right side of the door frame (frig side), when you opened it and it swung all the way to the frig, you would have the same access to the washer and dryer as you would without a door. A regular door gets completely out of the way, unlike a bi-fold.

maybe a door that opens up and down from the center?

While a Roman shade would look lovely, it'll compromise access to the storage on top of your units.

A roller blind. I don't think you will solve the noise problem. Since I moved to an open plan kitchen/ living room, with no laundry room, I realised I would have to organise my washing to times when I was either out or doing something elsewhere. Unless you have a big family it is not too difficult to manage. In fact, where I live I have cheaper rate electricity during the night and so I often use the timer and run it when I'm asleep.

a rolling blind made of natural slats would get my vote.

Hi There,
my first thought went alomg Maxwell's idea. Ikea has a nice felt panel with small cutout holes as a design. Just don't make go all the way to the floor. That would make cleaning easier.
I also think that a sliding door would work. The track would be installed outside the doorframe. When you do the wash you would slide the door to the right, temporarily blocking the fridge. I did well with a PAX closet door from IKEA's as is department for a similar project.

Hire a carpenter who can mount two small doors to open up in the middle, with hinges on each side. This is not a difficult project for a craftsman. Frankly, I've never seen anyone use a blind to cover a closet or a pantry and I can't imagine it to look very polished. It seems a little "quick fix" to me. But I'm certainly in the minority with this opinion. :)

Hi! If you decide to go on with curtains, try to find some professional sound damping heavy curtains, the ones used in TV-studios for example. The amount you need won't cost that much, and the curtain is very heavy material, which blocks the sound of the washers quite nicely.

Go through the web or yellow pages for companies that sell studio equipment, professional stage lighting etc. Cheers!

I think it looks good as is. Why hide a hot commodity as a washer/dryer in NYC!

Accordian doors, but made out of wood would look very nice.

Have you thought about removing the moulding around the door? And the door jambs?
You could flatten those areas out and you would have more room to work with. Then either you could replace the door. Good Luck