Yes the countertop is for folding and to add more functionality to the room.

Agreed that a countertop doesn't really fit the space. Was hoping there's a way to make it work but all of the options we thought of are less than ideal.

Here's a plan of the room.

You can't extend the counter further on the right as it will infringe on the door area. Are you able to push the washer/dryer back further? Or are they constrained by the dryer vent, etc? There are some dryer vent attachments that might gain you an couple inches, which in this situation would be a lot.

You could also change your design plan and stack the washer/dryer to the left, and put a counter to the right.

As you can see in the inspiration photo, they have selected washer/dryer with a much smaller footprint.

I feel for you because I have a sorta similar situation in my laundry room.

I like Flo's idea on the sliding shelf. What about something like this? Just the shelf, not the stacking. This way you could have the wider counter, but keep it narrower, but have the shelf pull out further when needed.

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You can certainly introduce upper cabinets but with the space your choices are limited.

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Yes they cannot be pushed back any further due to the dryer vent.

In hindsight definitely should have went with a more compact washer/dryer combo. Did not think ahead at the time. There are models that are 5 inches less deep with similar capacity. But that's neither here not there.

I think stacking them is off the table.

Right now I'm thinking to go with just upper cabinets for storage.

Having a 21.5" deep counter would not look great, similar look to this:

Adding a countertop will give you exactly the same folding space as you have now. Adding one upper cabinet over the washer and a closet rod over the dryer will give you closed door storage for detergent and two other bottles on the easily reached bottom shelf. The closet rod will give you space to use hangers for clothes as they come out of the dryer or to hang clothes that need to be air dried. I'd get the new upper cabinet and the closet rod, then skip the countertop.

A key strategy to dealing with small laundry rooms is to bring only one load at a time, no more than you can fold on the space you have. As you put away the folded clothes, pick up the next load from whatever room it's in.

I also have a laundry that is a pass through to the garage. it is slightly wider than yours and I do have a countertop across from my washer and dryer. I have a top loading washer so over that was not possible. The countertop is over a curtained shelving unit which hides the laundry baskets. However, because this is a pass through to the garage, the counter never gets used for folding because it gets stuff dropped on it waiting to go out (returns, recycling) and dog stuff etc. So keep in mind that the counter will likely just pile up stuff and your fine without it. The cabinetry will be wonderful and well used.

I agree with jhmarie. Cabinets with doors, are fine and I would hang them lower than normal leaving room to pull out washer dryer if needed. Just hard to reach cabinets when washer and dryer stick out that far. I have the same pass through laundry area and it is not convenient, so we just bring the dried laundry out and fold on the kitchen island. Not a big deal.

You might think about putting the cupboards lower, or alternatively bringing them out further. Trying to reach back over the washer/dryer and into the cupboards is going to be difficult if you are vertically challenged. Haha. Just saw exact same comment from Flo!

I actually put a wall shelf below my cabinets for easy access to regularly used items... detergent, fabric softener, softener sheets.

If you do one load at a time, really easy to just fold right on top of washer/dryer.

O.K. so one more thought. You could make a counter that just mimics the shape of the washer/dryer. However, I'd still work on getting them pushed back closer to the wall. There is a vent contraption that is a rectangular duct so it will lie flatter against the wall while giving the same ducting volume. And we did the same thing... got washer/dryer that were too large because we didn't think about the space enough :(

Unless the entrance through the garage is the main entrance, then not many people are going to see the laundry room. I would go with whatever is practical and not worry too much about the look. I have a similarly small laundry room. When it comes to folding, I just put everything in the ironing basket and fold it all when I am doing the ironing (which is not in the closet-sized laundry room).

I have a front load washer and dryer and I fold clothes on top of them...But also have cabinets over the machines. I am an average height woman and can only reach what is stored in the front of the cabinets.....need a step stool to get to anything in the back. That might be something to think about...the inconvenience of getting into the cabinet if you are short.

If it's just the dryer vent preventing you from pushing the machines further back, then I suggest you look into installing a dryerbox. The dryerbox itself is inexpensive, and if you are handy, you can install it yourself. Otherwise, get a handyman for a few hours work.

It's not just the dryer, the washer also can't go back any more...

We put up some cabinets, do you think we can put up a simple subway backsplash without a counter or it would it not look good? I've never really seen a backsplash without a counter before

You might want to do the subway like in a bathroom - from floor to part way up the wall - as high as you want to go. I have bead board done like that.

Your cabinets and hang bar setup look great! I agree there is no need to tile there. If you absolutely want to do something, you could put up wallpaper. But this is a laundry room and paint is really just a fine surface. To be honest, I had just a washable matte paint in my laundry room for years... I changed the color every 5 years or so just for fun, but the paint was just fine :)

Oh, I also have two probably 12 x 12 canvas prints of flowers that I really like. I hang them in the laundry above the washer/dryer :)

Great job!

Agree that you don't need tile. A hard surface like tile doesn't absorb noise so adding tile would add to the noise factor.

You do need some color in there. The photo looks like it was shot in B & W??

Not a Pro.

Paint the walls and put a peel and stick Wall Words on the wall. In black and or orange, really any color you want.

There are so many cute laundry saying and pictures. The peel and stick will be easy to remove when you tire of them.

Some inspiration:

Wall Decal Quote Vinyl Sticker Art Self Serve Laundry Funny Laundry Room LA17 · More Info

Yes agreed that tile doesn't really fit the space...

Here's a couple of pictures from different angles.

Perhaps changing the fluorescent lighting would help the colours?

I think it's looking really good. I like the keyholder and art.

I would just use it! See how it works for a few weeks/months. Not sure on fluorescent... not my favorite lighting but would probably leave it alone for now and see how it works :)

It is looking good. The walls are gray so they are not going to be colorful - gray is what it is. There are many pretty wall colors with gray undertones if you want it to be more colorful. njmomma's pic shows a very pretty wall color.