If your space is more like a "laundry closet" or "laundry corner," take note. These ideas will help you maximize your space to make it more streamlined and efficient.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
1
Add a countertop.
Heather Bullard
A butcher-block slab morphs the top of your machines into usable workspace. Plus, pull the cute curtains, and your utility room is suddenly just cozy nook. It's a clever trick for holiday party season — washing machines aren't exactly festive.
If a standalone version is out of the question (this blogger's laundry room is in her bathroom), line the walls with racks instead. Hinges help them tuck neatly out of the way when you're done.
Much like a sofa table can offer a much-needed spot to rest your coffee, this handy ledge turns the top of your machines into storage – without requiring much extra room at all.
Shop a similar look: shelf ($50 and more, etsy.com)
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5
Go up (up, up!).
The Cavender Diary
First of all, this might be the loveliest garage laundry space we've ever seen. But it also reminds us to hang shelves and cabinets as high as they will go — no vertical space left behind.
Shop a similar look: floating white shelves ($25 for a 2-pack,
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
6
Maximize narrow spaces.
Bungalow Chronicles
Even the diagonal ceiling in her laundry room didn't stop this blogger. She took advantage of the awkward nook by hanging lay-flat drying racks that flip up when not in use.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7
Sneak in your shelves.
2 Bees in a Pod
Shelving tends to offer more flexible storage than bulkier bookcases. And anchoring shelves on the side of a laundry closet (instead of bracketing them to the back wall), will allow you to hang the widest ones possible — and claim every inch of empty space.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
8
Squeeze an ironing board in the wall.
Apartment Therapy
Make extra space magically appear by adding a hidden closet in-between wall studs. This one holds a recessed ironing board, so it can alway stow completely (and we mean completely) out of the way.
Shop a similar look: cabinet ironing board ($160, amazon.com)
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9
Choose shelves with hooks and rods.
Craftaholics Anonymous
Souped-up shelves work much harder than their sleek floating cousins. This set has hooks (great for holding lingerie bags as you stuff them) and a rod that makes the teeny space between the machines available for hanging shirts as you press them.
In a small laundry room, not even wall space should go to waste. This blogger installed a pegboard that serves as storage for all of her tools and dirty clothes baskets.
Overseeing all things home for GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com, Lauren swoons over midcentury design and employs tough-love approach to decluttering (just throw it away, ladies). She loves anything neon coral, puts bacon on her veggie burgers, and would follow Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to the end of the earth.
Lauren is a senior editor at Hearst. She was previously the senior editor at WomansDay.com and the home editor at GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com. Her book club, ramen, and jean jackets are a few of her favorite things.