So you’re building or renovating and a new laundry is part of the game plan?

Take it from us, a well designed laundry will cut down hours of unnecessary double handling and will be a washing #gamechanger, making the daily #washdryfold much more bearable.

Here’s how…

Your Laundry Game Plan

When it comes to laundry design, storage is highest on your must have list. Think beyond standard cupboards to create a well designed space, customised to your needs.

You’ll need:

• Tall Storage - a tall cupboard is essential to store brooms, vacuums or an ironing board in your laundry. Include a power point inside so a cordless vacuum can be charged discreetly out of sight. Don’t need a broom cupboard in the laundry? A tall cupboard with shelves for storing towels and linen is just as practical - these items can be folded and put away directly from the dryer or washing line for the ultimate in streamlined workflow. Have a large laundry space? Why not install both!

• Ample benchtop space for folding clothes - you’ll need to make your bench top at least 650mm+ deep so that your washer and dryer don’t stick out past the face of your benchtop. This will create clean lines and provide enough space behind your sink to install your mixer tap.

• Laundry hampers - whether they’re integrated into cabinetry or free standing bins - two are essential so that the whites and darks can be sorted as they go in.

• Overhead or high cupboards are essential to keep chemicals out of reach of young children.

• Incorporate drawers for the ultimate storage solution. The laundry is like a magnet for those items that seem to accumulate - you know the ones - sunscreen, spare keys, batteries, all those items you need on hand and fit perfectly in a drawer. Also consider a drawer for each family member to store bathers, spare socks, uniforms or sports gear.

Washing

• If space allows, install two sinks so that you can soak in one and still have full use of the other without having to double handle.

• A tap with a pull out nozzle makes filling buckets and cleaning sinks a breeze.

• The washing machine should be positioned next to the sink so that items can be transferred directly between the two.

Drying

• Ensure direct or easy access to an external clothesline if you have one.

• Allocate space for your dryer next to, or stacked on your washing machine so that items can be easily transferred between the two.

• Install a hanging rail so that t-shirts and shirts can be hung to dry on clothes hangers. This can eliminate the need for ironing many items altogether.

Ironing

• Install an ironing centre, which is hardwired with a built in power point. A standard sized iron fits within the unit, so there’s no setting up required #genius - just open up and you’re ready to iron as soon as your iron heats up, and it takes just seconds to fold away.

Other essentials

• Windows or a door for natural light and ventilation or an exhaust fan for mechanical ventilation in the absence of these.

• Include down lights or other ceiling lights to light up the whole room. Incorporate a secondary light source with LED strip lighting to the underside of your overheads to provide task lighting directed on your work surface/bench top.

• An open shelf to give your laundry that designer look and keep items within easy reach, or display a curated selection of special pieces.

• Tiles or flooring suitable for a wet area, so it’s easy to keep clean.

• A laundry chute in a double story home to maximise efficiency.

• A bin if you feed animals in your laundry or to save time walking to the kitchen with rubbish.

And there you have it… Zephyr & Stone’s top tips for designing a functional Game Changer Laundry.

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