We moved the top load washer from small kitchen (1960 ranch) to closet in what had been carport, the lines had to go through foundation and trench the concrete slab. The plumber did all the work and put in pvc drain pipe, unfortunately he used a 90 degree turn which makes it impossible to snake out for a clog. So if you're having plumbing done make certain that you discuss this possibility.

We will be using flat bypass doors, which I will dress up with cloth or wallpaper.

It pays to get creative when tackling a small space. This shelf cabinet rolls out of the way to reveal more shelves behind.

Maximizing storage and function in a small loft space

Oh, to have a laundry room in the bath or bedroom. Every house I've lived in (save one) it was someplace where you had to drag the clothes thru public areas to get to the w/d. We did have one house with a chute in the bathroom so you could drop your clothes down to a basket in the basement. I was young and that was fun.

I never understood how anyone less than 7' tall could actually do laundry in a stacked unit. I certainly couldn't reach the controls or soap dispenser on mine, if they were stacked. I also don't think the floors of my old house would hold them, either! LOL. I like the idea of an "all-in-one" washer/dryer, but have heard they aren't terribly efficient.

I agree, merrigay.

wash them near the place where they are stored.

why the basement, garage or kitchen?

they CAN have overflow drains anywhere....

Shelving is key to a laundry closet...also drying hanging space! We installed a tension rod ceiling height, and a closet rod below bottom shelf.

I was skeptical about a stacked set - I'm only 5'0" but with these I can reach dryer controls and to the back of the barrel with no issues. No baskets. We use the divided hamper, and hang from the wire shelves when necessary. Folding space is the kitchen counter just behind. Not optimal, but it works. As you can see, the washer door will stay propped open behind the closed bi-folds. We did have a side-by-side in the same space, and I could barely reach over them to the shelves above.

That's good to know, Kim. I'm 5'3". I'm still not sure my old house floor would hold the weight of two stacked, though--once water was in the washer. I really want one of those all-in-one units. But until my big front loaders bite the dust, that ain't gonna happen. LOL.

Ours is in a hallway. We took the closet doors off and added color so we can enjoy passing by it. It also holds all our house cleaning stuff.

We had open shelves and just installed the cabinets about a month ago. It's also freshly painted to compliment the color of our kitchen. I need the cabinet for storage but I think it looks crowded. Love the color of it though! I prefer the top loader so I can add clothing during the cycle. The middle storage between the washer and dryer was a lucky find at a garage sale for $35.00.

Laundry Set Up for a client within her Master Bathroom. Units are hidden when not in use. Counter for folding laundry, cabinets below are for laundry hampers and cabinets above for cleaning products etc.. She loves her new laundry area!

my laundry rm is outside in a storage room-its dark & depressing.

I love the discussions here regarding laundry closets and some really good information. For those using the new front load 24 inch laundry we have built PanStand to eliminate some of the "problems" and expense of adding safety drain lines. PanStand web site has detailed information and pictures of installed laundry. Our exclusive air-flotation allows design flexibility. This shows a tight bathroom install. Our air-flotation allowed the installed to stack the units on the PanStand in an open space install the stacking kit and float the pair into place. No heavy lifting into a pan.

@Dee--I can commiserate a bit. My old home had the laundry in a creepy unfinished part of basement. Not entirely same, I know, but can you brighten up the shed with color? Guessing you can't paint interior, but perhaps Velcro cheery fabric onto walls? Or I've seen people paint/upholster foam core boards and Velcro/3M those on walls as well. Lighting also helps! You've got laundry, so maybe tap into electrical and put in a nice outdoor rated hanging fixture? Also a nice outdoor rug might help.

Love my washer and dryer in my bedroom cupboard. You can see water taps to the left to turn off if necessary. Dryer vent is easily accessible, can reach in without even pulling the machine out to check it. It goes directly outside. The machine can be pulled out by me easily. I get undressed, put my dirty clothes right into the washer. When it's full I run it. Fold clothes on my bed, put them away in cupboard to the left of washer. Spring through fall I take them out of the washer and hang them out on the line which is on the deck, which is on the located through the French doors behind me. Easiest system in the world! Love it!

This is my laundry room, behind a barn door off the kitchen.
I copied the design from a story on Houzz. We built this house and moved in on May 28.
It is my husband's domain.he never fully organized it. After the New Year, I Decluttered and put all the little clutter in labelled boxes.The hanging bar pulls down for easy loading then returns to its space and hand washing and non dryer items can hang out of the way.there are cupboards on both sides of thew&d

I love the reinforced floor with drain idea.

We reworked our laundry closet last year. It made me grouchy before. I had side by side but wanted stackables. The walls were plain. The cabinets generic and it had an awful washtub sink. We took out the cabinets and bought an extra one and stacked them as a built in unit. We took out the washtub and replaced it with a beautiful pedestal sink and found a cabinet for odds and ends to place above it with a cute shelf towel holder beside it. Also doubles for drying delicates when necessary. We subway tiled the walls with pewter and crackled tile accent and wooden molding and changed out the knobs on cabinets to glass. Wicker laundry baskets store easily reachable on top of washer and dryer. Coordinated baskets hold all things laundry room inside the cabinets. The water hookups are inside the cabinets out of sight with hole neatly drilled on side of cabinet unseen because of placement of appliances. Now i think of reasons to open the laundry closet. It makes me happy to open the doors now. The closet is in the hallway from the garage. My husband installed a beadboard wall with hooks across from the closet within 6 to seven ft of the washer and dryer. So great to hang clothes while unloading from dryer plus great place for dog leash and purse and jackets all in one. We painted the walls a lovely light sky blue. I'm a happy girl now. Click on individual photos to get complete view of sink and cabinets. Even better, the new LG appliances whistle a happy tune rather than buzzzzzzzzzzz.

No matter how much you hope for the best you always have to prepare for the worst. I can tell you that our LG machine has broken down many times moving it in and out easily was a priority. I would never make a machine unaccessible and raise it off. These machines are not built to last and when one goes the new one never matches. My counter top is adjustable to accommodate height changes.

I recently spiffed up my laundry closet in our 1980s house. It's in the upstairs hallway. Not dreamy, but very functional. We took the doors off to accomodate our machines and put up a bright curtain. (Even brand new houses don't allow for the size of newer machines, top or front loading. Ask me how I know!) Bright paint, new lighting, and bins for towels, throws, and paper goods. The floor has a drain and the machines can be yanked out if need be. We also added a shut-off valve for the water. Why risk a disaster? :-)

Good point, sydmad! We haven't had many problems with our machines--yet--but having them stacked makes it a lot harder to remove or replace if necessary. I really want an all-in-one unit, but they don't seem to be quite as reliable as the others, from what I've read.

We replaced the old soaker tub with a large walk in shower, and replaced the old shower with a laundry closet. The dryer vent goes directly out to the enclosed courtyard. We love the convenience. The washer/dryer used to be in a cramped passage between the kitchen and garage. We turned that into a butler pantry, but left the dryer vent opening, electrical and water outlets behind the backsplash and cabinets, so the W/D can be moved by future owners.

Our LG front loading machines are in a closet with a tile floor and a wire shelf above. My issue is the washer is always moving around, no matter how hard we try to load it balanced. Would building them in with walls on each side stop the movement?

My husband is looking into building a base for our front load washer and dryer. I find them to low. There are some nice bases in this article, does anyone have any good sites or tips for building them? Also are there any movement issues with them on a homemade base?

washing machine only ...don't like dryers ..washer machine in the kitchen

I looked around and measured our LG washer and dryer space precisely before purchasing our appliances and bought the top of the line. They are not that heavy and can either slide straight out or be taken apart if necessary. They dont move around and i can slide them forward to clean out the dryer vent or go under our house and clean out the vent or hire people but my husband is quite handy. I wash every day about 7 loads a week. The top of the pair do not go higher than the top of the doors which i made sure of before the purchase. I am no longer a tiny skinny person and easily fit inside the closet either side to access the cabinets or the sink. Is it possible they will break down? Of couse they will but i will call a repairman and he will fix them when necessary or when needed they will be replaced. I am in my mid 60s now and don't worry needlessly about those sort of things. Life goes on. In the meantime, the space we created is so much more functional and pleasant than what we had before. My druthers? A room 10x10 to do the wash in rather than a closet.....and a 3500 sq ft house instead of a 2100 sq ft house....lol......oh yes, and a maid to do the wash.....haha...maybe next life

Here is our built-in. Lived with a curtain for several years same issue new washer and dryer didn't fit with bifold doors so they were removed. We love it.

Gaddye, take a look at Ana White's site for laundry pedestal plans.

Our little laundry closet is in a hall. I just replaced our old washer and dryer with new Samsung ones (Activewash washer with the sink is perfect for soaking my knitting!). The cabinet above is from Ikea and we mounted it with just enough room above to store my ironing board. The green color is my all time favorite green color and it is so bright and cheerful! I need to get some fun artwork put up, and it will look even better!

Interestingly, it occurs to me that there have been many good articles on Houzz on universal design for bathrooms and kitchens but I don't recall ever reading anything on laundry. I'm not sure what would be best for elderly folks. Top loaders are hard to dig clothes out of, stacked are difficult for height- challenged, and front loaders make you have to lift from bent position. Hired help?

sydmad I love that your countertop is adjustable! How do you go about doing that? Beautiful Laundry Room by the way :)

We raised two boys with a top load washer and a dryer without pedestals. We had to replace them after the boys left for college and the army. My husband decided we needed front loading and pedestals as he didn't want to have to bend down. We do maybe 2-3 loads a week as before I did 1-2 loads a day when the boys were young. Hubby now does laundry.

You might find this amusing. When I first arrived at college (in the mid 70s) it was a big shock to me to discover the washers and dryers in the dorm were so short! They weren't of course, but it was my perception because I grew up in a series of houses that tended to get water in the basement and our washer and dryer were always perched up on some kind of structure to keep them out of the occasional floods. I never knew any different! :-)

Has anyone here had success converting a laundry closet into a regular closet or mini-mudroom? Our laundry closet is just off the garage, and it would be the perfect place to store backpacks, jackets, and sports gear. I am hoping to move the laundry to the upstairs but I am not sure whether it's ok to cap the water lines to make the laundry closet more like a regular closet.

Well, i would suggest having a plumber cap off the water and electrician take care of the electrical outlets and then sheet rock or beadboard over them unless you are equipted to do so. Depending on whether the framing studs are load bearing or not deframe the closet and open it up and the space becomes open and can be used for whatever your pupose and desire. Build in cubbies/bench or hooks. Our wash closet also shares the hallway entry off the garage. Plenty of pics of mudrooms on the web at houzz. Our hallway is over 5 ft wide. Combined with the closet that would open the space to 8x9 ft. I had my husband put up beadboard on the wall across from our wash closet and a header/chair rail at eye level on the wall and installed sturdy hooks that hold jackets, dog leash ect my purse. When i do wash and open the doors to the closet, i use the hooks to hang clothes on and the entire space at that moment doubles as washroom. We took out the washtub in the closet and installed the largest attractive pedestal sink i could find. Now when my husband or i come in from working in the garage or outside we have a place to wash off our hands. We tiled the wall behind it to protect the wall from splashes for easy care. There are pics above of our redo of the finished project. A professional can tell you if the frame for the closet is load bearing if you do not know that. We have a single story house and the hallway is off the master and the kitchen so it is totally convenient for us to toss used towels or sheets into a hamper in the corner of the washcloset on the other side of the sink. We have installed hanging units in the master walkin closet which is 14x12 and each of us has a hamper up off the floor in the closet. I simply carry our hampers out the bedroom door to sort and load the washer. Everything is kept clean and uncluttered, organized and easily accessible. Doing laundry is a total breeze. But if having the laundry area is better upstairs for you...., go for it....if the frame for the closet is load bearing, keep the framing, take off the doors permanently and build in cubbies at each end of the closet or cabinets for closed storage and install beadboard across the back of the former closet and hooks for hanging items....that would keep items out of the general walkway and reduce clutter. We are limited only by our imagination.

I love my new set up with pantry on the side!

We saved a lot of space by stacked appliances. By their side, an IKEA cabinet with drawers for dirty clothes and shelves for the laundry detergents. The curtain (and not doors) allows you to keep the toilet.

simple but perfect!

Since we live in south Florida, our laundry area is in the garage, just behind the master bedroom. It's really kind of convenient there, and I'm just steps away from where the clothes belong once washed. However, there's only so much you can do to make your garage/laundry area fun, so I kitsched it up and made it deliberately tacky, complete with a sequined, glittered, and foul-languaged sign, and a homemade, crappy chandelier. Don't hate.

@ina, so f#%king cute!

I still like a top-loading washer because I wash many of my clothes in cold water by hand and can manipulate water temperature and level, then rinse delicates as the tub fills for a regular load and add warm/hot water---no need to use the kitchen sink nor bathtub for my nice hand-wash garments.

Katie32123-your cheery closet is just about the size of my storage room where my washer & dryer are. I have some storage area on both sides of the appliances but its very narrow & hard to get anything in or out & the hot water heater & freezer also share the space. Yes I have alot crammed in there but I just think its needs painting & a new arrangement which is the part that stops me dead in my tracks..but your yellow has given me inspiration.

dee Thanks. It's Light Yellow by Benjamin Moore. I have it in my kitchen too. It's so cheerful.

We took off the sliding doors to the closet and added beadboard to cover up the water hookup (you can still access it, just don't have to see it). We got a natural wood table top from ikea and stained it for a nice area to sort and fold clothes, then added some cabinets and shelves for storage.

great idea to hide the the water hook ups looks great

I'd never hide my water hookups. I want to be able to turn the water off when I'm not using the machine.

For those of you who have front loaders in small closets behind doors - how do you keep the closet door closed while keeping the washing machine door open to let it air out so mold doesn't develop??

Nice photo sent in by Donna Hall of her remodeled laundry area using PanStand under her Miele washer and dryer