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abkwell

Entering house through the laundry room from garage

14 years ago
I'm hoping the design junkies here on Houzz can give me some ideas for this. My laundry room is between the family room and garage and is usually the way we enter the house. There is also a second fridge in the garage that is accessed frequently by both family and guests. We are in the midst of a remodel of the whole space and are expanding the laundry into the den by 20" to make it wide enough for 2 people to pass by each other. I would like to have a small amount of hang-dry space, primarily for unmentionables, in the laundry that is not visible to the "public". I live in a house with a husband and two teenage sons and there is no need for all the guests to see my underclothes. There is a closet in there that we are converting to a cleaning/broom closet and my first thought was to add an expandable rack in there. Any other great ideas?

Thanks,

Amy

Comments (16)

  • 14 years ago
    Here's a cute solution for concealing your unmentionables:)
    Cheery Laundry Room · More Info
  • 14 years ago
    I wouldn't put clothes to dry in a closet - you might get a musty smell. I like these wall mounted racks:
    Laundry & Mudrooms · More Info
    You could mount in an inconspicuous spot.
  • 14 years ago
    HI - Amy , if you stacked the laundry unites then that would give you some room for a counter with shelves for two laundry baskets , or maybe a laundry sink with an overhead cabinet and or a pullout or tipout drying rack. Any of this - there would be storage for your soaps etc. An overhead cabinet w/ drying rods - can be enclosed with venting in the door or bottom for your undies to be out of sight. Anyway Houzz has lots of pictures of laundry rooms for ideas.
  • 14 years ago
    HI - Amy , that's a great idea - I'm going to save this for myself as I am going to be putting in a new laundry room too ! Thanks
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    How about just a plain old rod...
    Traditional Laundry Room · More Info


    You can put a pull curtain in front of the rod, so it's not exactly a closet. You could use space below as open storage. Do you have at least 24" for something like this?
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    I like the slide out Amy. Good choice
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    Hi Amy, I can see a built-in storage / bench area on one wall, and a compact washer / dryer with a drop zone on the opposite if there is space.

    KBK Interior Design Portfolio · More Info


    Michaela Clancy · More Info
  • 14 years ago
    Those pull out shelves for drying is an excellent idea as well as Cherry's Idea but certainly this will go better with some ventilated bifold doors instead of cloth/curtain as this may hold the moisture. Another thing would be to include within the enclosed area an extractor fan that can remove the moisture and unwanted musky smells.
  • 14 years ago
    I can picture cabinets above the washer & dryer with those pullouts you like just under the cabinets. I like hanging my clothes right out of the dryer so a pullout rod would be handy. They have pullout rods for belts and ties in custom closets so there has to be something out there like that. I just had custom closets installed that were only slightly more expensive then buying the components and they gave me alternative choices. If I were in your situation I'd call a closet installer.
    I have a stacking unit in a closet so I'm a bit envious of your laundry room. Congratulations.
  • PRO
    14 years ago
    How about a cute shower curtain, cut to fit the space to cover the unmentionables? Or create a nice drapery treatment that slides on a rod. The other option is to hang a shade from the ceiling and pull it up and down as needed. This space can become fun as a pass through
  • 14 years ago
    Hi so funny we are in the middle of exactly the same remodel.....in fact you laundry looks exactly like ours! I coulnd not take the small pass thru to the garage, I would be doing laundry and get smacked by the garage door. Anyway we are knocking out the entire wall and turning the office/den into a hige mudroom/laundry room/office space---any reason you are not doing this? Just curious if I am setting myself up for failure. Thanks!
  • 14 years ago
    Whatever you decide to do, do with style and some sophistication but most importantly be happy with it!
  • 14 years ago
    Tuttljm-we are not opening it completely up to one room because my husband really does use that space as his home office and needs a modicum of privacy from time to time. He also needs a space that is completely "his" and would go crazy sharing it with the laundry and mudroom. We are going to outfit his new, smaller, office with built-ins to make it as space efficient as possible. I think that as long as we have a 48" clear passageway, we will be fine with the enlarged laundry. I have a space in my family room directly off the laundry room that can we used as a drop zone for the kids' stuff so we don't have to make the laundry the everything room. I hope it works out as well as I am hoping, you will have to keep me informed about how yours goes as well! Best of luck!
  • 13 years ago
    The project is long completed and we love the new space. We have incited jealousy from our neighbors with the same floor plan. I did end up adding an expandable rack to the broom closet area but it is above the closet, attached to the header, and is able to be hidden by a curtain on a curved ceiling track. I intended to have my contractor build slide-out racks above the dryer but then I found a basket with collapsible legs that I had to have and it needed a place to live. The shelf above the dryer houses the laundry baskets but it is ventilated in the back so that I could place a sweater drying rack up there if I wanted to (haven't so far.) It has been a great addition to the functionality of the house.
  • 13 years ago
    Thank you for sharing finalized pictures. It is wonderfully functional and organized. I can see why your neighbors want the same in their homes. Congratulations on a project well done.