SMALL SPACES, BIG IDEAS
THEY M AY WELL BE MODEST IN SIZE BUT UTILITY SPACES CAN BE SUPER HARDWORKING (AND BEAUTIFUL) WHEN DESIGNED RIGHT
1 OPEN ACCESS
In this small laundry room, interior designer W hitney Romanoff kept things simple. ‘To save on extra material costs we repurposed and painted a cabinet from the home’s guest bathroom, then added open shelving for easy access to cleaning supplies and hid the cats’ litter box behind a block-printed sink skirt.’
Whitney Romanoff, founder of Meet West
2 UTILITIES UNIFIED
When you’ve got varied storage requirements in a small space, whether it’s tall cabinets for vacuum cleaners and mops or larger cabinets for integrated washing machines and tumble dryers, the design trick known as ‘colour drenching’ can help simplif y the look of your space. ‘To unify all of these practical functions, paint the whole space the same colour so the cabinetry, walls and woodwork all become one unit. This is a good idea for a small space that could easily become cluttered.’
Jo Lyle, founder of Jo Lyle &Co
3 STACK AND SAVE
If you’re very limited on space, stacking your washer and dryer is an excellent idea. ‘The core items required in a laundry room are a washing machine and a dryer along with a space for stowing away detergents. Sourcing appliances from the same brand is particularly beneficial here as then they can be configured to stack on one another, making the most of space available.’
Jo Jackson, appliance expert at Fisher &Paykel
4 LOCATION LOWDOWN
While utility rooms are often adjacent to a kitchen, we’re making the case for upstairs laundry facilities for a better workf low for washing clothes. In one project designers Jennifer Laouari and Tanner Morgan worked on they decided to position the home’s laundry room off a guest bedroom. ‘We added a second f loor laundry room adjacent to the guest room and it was important that it looked just as inviting and elevated as the surrounding spaces. This makes particular sense from a function perspective as it is just steps away from the main bedroom suite. And with the addition of a hanging rod and marble worktop there is room for short-term guests to hang items and lay out their things.’
Jennifer Laouari, co-founder of Morgan Madison Design
A BESPOKE SLIDE-OUT ‘TABLE’ IN CABINETRY CAN GIVE YOU A PLACE TO FOLD CLOTHES IN A UTILITY AREA
5 HIDDEN DEPTHS
Behind the doors of this lush utility room are some secrets that make this area even more useful for its owners. ‘The combined laundry/pantry joinery was all custom designed for the project. There ar
