Entry #49, March 25, 2010
Remember I told you I could live in a really nice Laundry room? Especially in the HGTV – Dream House 2010 one! Although, big is always nice, many people have limited space. Whether living in an apartment, condo, or small home, the kitchen often is the only place for the laundry “room”. Apartment Therapy has a feature on laundry rooms incorporated into the kitchen!
Use what you have! This stackable washer /dryer is hidden behind the beautiful cabinetry
Have a more eclectic, hip kitchen with bright colors? Look how the washer and dryer were integrated in this kitchen.
Style doesn't have to be lost because the laundry is in the kitchen
The Remodeling Center has some ideas for concealing the washer/dryer below countertops. This is a brilliant idea, especially in space constrained area. The countertop serves as a folding area for the laundry functions, and as a cooking surface when using the kitchen.
Under the countertop and behind cabinet doors, ingenious!
Have a pantry area that has sliding doors? You could place your laundry here, and conceal behind closed doors!
These sliding doors will remove the case of bumping into open cabinet doors – especially in high traffic area!
Tip: Measure, measure and measure again. Before ordering appliances make sure you have the proper height, width, and length for your washer and dryer. Remember to leave a few inches for pulling the machines in and out!
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I have incorporated a laundry room into a kitchen before, but the last client I had said the following, which I thought contained some wisdom. She said: “I want a separate room I can close off because I sort my clothes, fold some, hang some, and leave some in piles sometimes. I prefer not to see that from my kitchen.”
On the other hand, the kitchen solution we used on a previous project was to enclose the washer/dryer in taller cabinets (38″ tall) with a countertop and wall cabinets above. The area was adjacent to the refrigerator on the edge of the kitchen, not in the center of it. The base cabinets had pocket sliding doors that slid back alongside the front-load washer/dryer for ease of use, and to close it off when not in use. The countertop made for decent folding area and basket landing space. The cabinets above kept cleaning supplies. There was adequate space in front of the washer/dryer for room to move and work, too, so it just seemed to function well.
Thanks Scott for your comment. It’s great to have options, it’s not for everyone. But for those who do have laundry rooms in their kitchens.. go for it with gusto and design flair!
Ronique, space permitting I love this idea of incorporating a laundry room into the kitchen. Also love your website photos. As long as the cabinet doors conceal it, I guess it can go anywhere. We put a washer/dryer unit into our master bathroom – (lucky me) and so the teenagers get to use the heavy duty one downstairs and we get to use the upstairs one. I’ve even seen it work in the passage of a home. Bottom line, it should be hidden by matching and preferably stylish looking doors ….
Oh, and talking about stylish – I love your website!
Andy,
Thank you for the comment! You hit the nail on the head with the cabinet doors! I think if you can conceal the washer and dryer, and have them concealed, it’s not so daunting of an idea! Anything can be done with design and planning.
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Thanks for the great pictures…Love the idea of having washer dryer in kitchen, but wonder is it a problem having them enclosed by cabinets. What happens if you need to get to the plumbing/connections in case of problem (leak, hose breaks, etc)? Anyone have any experience with this?
Most washer and dryers you can pull out in case of maintenance, so I don’t think that should be a problem. Maybe inconvenient.