The doors concertina open to reveal a hidden laundry zone containing a washing machine, small basin, drawers and a practical hanging rail. To ensure the area looks attractive when open, the designers have continued the marble mosaic floor tiles up the wall, forming an on-trend background for the black shelving, which chimes with the steel-framed glazing.
Ceiling-mounted designs such as the one in this sleek Sydney laundry suit even the smallest of spaces. They usually operate on a pulley system and can be lowered to a manageable height while you load up the racks with wet washing, then hoisted back up out of the way to dry. If you’re not a fan of airing your washing within plain sight, drying racks can also be hidden inside cupboards – install a heating vent in the floor to blow warm air into the enclosed space and voila! Your clothes will dry out of sight within a few hours. Pulley systems similar to the drying rack shown here are especially suited for tall or double-height cupboards.
Pocket doors with glazing to let the light through are a great way to close off the scents and sounds of a kitchen or dining room without preventing light from entering deep into the house. I am often asked whether I can turn an awkward hinged door into a pocket door during a renovation. To gauge how difficult this would be at your house, think about the wall that the door would slide into. Are there any outlets or light switches on either side? These would need to be relocated. Is it a plaster wall? No matter what, the wall will need to be reframed, but matching plaster surfaces is more difficult than matching drywall.
8. Pull-out ironing board Houzzers love this solution, which was added to this kitchen at the request of a busy mum. The small ironing board in a drawer is convenient for quick touch-ups for clothes, cloth napkins and place mats, says Heather Tardioli, design consultant at Laurysen Kitchens. “Once the piece of clothing is ironed, you just fold the ironing board and close the drawer, and it is quickly out of sight,” she says.
Tip 15: Go back in time A traditional laundry airer, which runs on a pulley system, is a valuable addition to a laundry room. This is an example of a country laundry room in Oxfordshire, UK. Sometimes the old ideas are the best. Traditional ceiling racks look beautiful, and the pulley that moves them up and down is a simple and effective system.
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