Our laundry room is right off of our mud room so this is a high traffic area that we see all the time. It has finally come time for this space to start getting the attention it deserves, and I’m happy to share the fun part: the design plan for this space. I also want to list some laundry room ideas to help get you thinking about your own laundry room and how it can function and look better.
Laundry Room Ideas: Lighting
Lighting is one of the first things I like to think about when designing a room. It can be a super easy switch that makes a big impact. In our current laundry room we already have a track light that is working fairly well. It definitely lights the small space super well, and it’s fairly new and classic looking. I may replace it down the line, but for now I think it’s the least of my worries.
The laundry room is a space where you want to have some bright task lighting. It’s important to see if you have stains to work out, and if something came clean. Some sort of overhead light is a great start, but you may want to add some task lighting over your sink or washer and dryer as well. Without a task light over these spaces you are likely casting a shadow which can be really frustrating.
If you have some artwork in there, think about adding some accent lights over the artwork. Or if you want the cozy vibes especially this time of year a little lamp by the sink or on your countertop is such a sweet touch. I like to have a little lamp for the evenings when I’m not necessarily doing laundry, but just walking through that space. It’s an extra cozy and homey touch.
Color Scheme
The color scheme I am planning for this room is a bit darker and moodier than my usual color palette. I think it will be a nice contrast to the other rooms that connect with this room. All that to say I am planning on, and transparently I have already started adding this dark green color to the walls. You may recognize the green because funnily enough it is really similar to the green I use on the blog.
I think it is a fairly classic old farmhouse color. After doing some power washing outside we found that our house used to be trimmed in a dark green color. So I like that this green is a nod to our home’s past.
With the green I plan on keeping some warmer wood tones. Like you see on the French doors show in the design board above. I actually scored French doors that look really similar to those on fb marketplace for $100 within 20 minutes of here. So those wood tones, with the green and then grey tones in the flooring I think are going to play off of each other so nicely.
The laundry room is a great place to take a risk and add a bolder color than you would typically choose or even wallpaper can be fun. Think outside the box a little bit. Usually people aren’t in their laundry room for hours at a time so it’s hard to get tired of that bold color or wallpaper. Also since it is usually a smaller space it’s usually financially and time wise easier to change out if you do grow tired of it.
Laundry Room Ideas: Counter Tops
I’m not great at taking before pictures. Or really pictures of an unfinished space. It’s something I’m working on.
The current situation picture does not show the table top I brought in to try out until I can get a counter top like this inspiration picture built. I plan on doing the waterfall edge on the left side and then continue the counter into that awkward corner. All of that folding space is going to be so nice.
At this point I hope to stain the wood I use as the counter top. Similar to the color of the doors shown in the laundry room design board. It depends on what wood I end up using. I may be able to score some free wood from my Dad since he has a saw mill, and I’m not sure what kind of shape that will be in. Stay tuned to see how that plays out.
As for the counter top by the sink, that is taken care of since we switched out the old sink for this old cast iron sink. After years of dreaming of a sink like this I was able snag this beauty for free. More about that and how I built the sink base here.
Obviously a wood counter top by the sink might not be as ideal unless you seal it and take care of it properly. There are so many counter top options to consider depending on your budget and aesthetic.
Laundry Room Function
We all use our laundry room’s slightly differently depending on our home, our family, the season and so on. It basically comes down to the needs that need to be met in this area of your home. Our laundry room has zones for:
- storage
- mudroom (in the winter time mostly)
- dog and cat food and water
- cleaning supplies
- sink
- drying rack (I made ours and am hoping to share that tutorial soon)
- obviously- washer and dryer
It can be helpful to make a floorpan of your space. Not necessarily to scale, like the one above. Where you establish the different zones needed, and their layout. It’s important to think about the tasks that will be completed in this space, and how to help those tasks be completed as efficiently as possible.
Laundry Room Flooring
Since this is such a high traffic area I want to do a medium color on the floor. If I do too light or too dark the dirt and grime will show a lot more. I don’t want to feel the need to clean this floor every single day.
I like the idea of this grey penny tile shown above with the range of grey tones. Again I think it will hide the dirt well and be more interesting. Hopefully when the time comes I can find something like this to install. That’s definitely a project I’m going to need help with.
I like to stick with something classic and less trendy when picking out flooring. It’s usually one of the most expensive items when renovation, and I think one of the most difficult to switch out. I like to pick it based off of the time period the home was built in and what would feel the most authentic. As well as what will work the best functionally.
Play With Your Space
I think before any serious renovation happens, it’s fun to make tweaks here and there to make your space work the best for you. This is such an under utilized step, but can save so much money and headache in the long run. The more you can figure out before you commit financially and time wise the better.
A lot of people rush right into a speedy renovation, and miss this important step. I think this step can also be fun if you take the pressure off to get it perfect first try. Changing things around, and seeing what makes the most sense can make a quick positive impact. From experience you may want to update the family on any changes as you do them. Otherwise there can be some frustration when things aren’t where they expect them to be anymore.
If you take nothing else away from this post I hope you have fun with your space, and do what you can in the present to make it as enjoyable and functional for you. Stay tuned for more laundry room updates, and eventually a laundry room reveal.
If you are new feel free to take a tour of our farmhouse from day 1 here. I also have a post on our renovated kitchen, renovated mudroom and renovated bathroom you may be interested in. Let me know if you have any laundry room ideas to add. Thank you for visiting our farmhouse!