I have been talking a lot about customized storage solutions trending in a big way. I have heard from many of you that you love the idea of an organized laundry room but feel nervous about where and how to tackle the project. I get it!
Disorganized cabinets can overwhelm a space, so now I wanted to walk you through a few tips for how to use these storage ideas to make a beautiful impact.
1. The Elegance of White Cabinets
You can just never go wrong with white cabinets. They bring such a clean, bright feeling to a laundry room, which is exactly the vibe I’m going for. I love that white is a perfect neutral backdrop that plays nicely with any other color you want to bring in.
A laundry room with white or beige walls just looks so good with grey cabinets and a countertop that pulls those neutral hues together. White shiplap is another look I adore with white cabinetry, and it is pretty much a necessity if you love that farmhouse style like I do.
White cabinets also give you so much freedom to play with pretty decorative accents. Ideally, your decor can also double as a clever storage solution. For example, you could put laundry pods in a sweet antique tin or store powdered detergent in those beautiful clear glass canisters.
And if your all-white laundry room needs just a little pop of color, some green plants in pretty ceramic or metal pots are the perfect touch.
2. Stackable Cabinet Concepts
Can we talk about stackable washer and dryer units for a minute? They are an absolute game-changer, especially for smaller laundry areas. I love how stacking them opens up so much room to build cabinets right next to them, and maybe even a little one on top.
If you can squeeze in a small sink beside the combo, that’s even better, because a sink always means you get that handy cabinet space underneath it.
Even in a really spacious laundry room, I think switching to a stackable unit is such a smart move to free up more room for storage. Stacking the machines can leave enough floor space to add some really fun features to your utility room or mudroom.
For instance, the laundry room is the perfect spot to turn an open cabinet area into a cozy cubby for your dog’s bed. If you have the space, you could even have a plumber create a pet bathing station in the spot where the dryer used to be. Genius!
3. Effortlessly Chic
A laundry room refresh doesn’t need to be complicated to have a huge impact. Depending on the style of your home, you could choose modern flat-front cabinets or simple recessed panel ones for a classically chic look.
Sometimes basic cabinet hardware, or even no hardware at all, is the perfect choice for a simple cabinet design. A white enamel farmhouse sink is so beautiful, mimicking the glossy finish of some washer and dryer sets and blending in perfectly in an all-white laundry room.
Rolling canvas hampers are such a simple tool for laundry organization. I love how they help you move clothes around the house. You can create an open spot between your lower cabinets, right under the countertop.
Having this little parking spot in your laundry room design lets you tuck your rolling baskets away when you’re not using them.
4. Embracing Wooden Designs
Wooden cabinets are just one of those classic choices for laundry room organization. They are so durable, and I love that they’re relatively easy to update with a fresh coat of paint or stain.
Wood can be styled to look rustic, modern, or even beachy. It’s such a natural material that works with any kind of design vibe, from craftsman to contemporary.
If you have an older home, you might be able to keep your existing cabinets during a laundry room renovation. Sometimes all it takes is a new coat of paint to make solid wood cabinets look brand new again.
If the doors are damaged or just don’t fit your style, you can always leave the cabinet boxes but swap out the doors and hardware for something you love.
Wood shaker cabinets are a timeless design that is always in style. I think they are always a great laundry room idea, whether they are finished with a natural wood stain or painted.
For a really cohesive look, you could paint your cabinets to match the color of your laundry machines. For example, if you have stainless steel appliances, a soft grey paint on your cabinets would look amazing. Black appliances also look stunning nestled between matte black cabinets, especially against lighter-colored walls.
5. Maximize Space in a Small Laundry Room
A small laundry room might not have a lot of room for big cabinets. This is when you have to get creative with your storage ideas.
If that sounds like your laundry room design, you could install shelves above your lower cabinets and use pretty baskets or bins for extra storage. If your washer and dryer take up too much floor space for any lower cabinets, you’ll have to rely on upper cabinets instead.
Even the tiniest laundry room can get a boost from adding a wall cabinet above the washer. If you live in a small house or apartment, your utility room might also have to be your linen closet.
In that case, you’ll definitely want to install cabinets for all your linens. Don’t forget to look at the space between your washer and dryer. It might be the perfect spot for a narrow cabinet or a slim shelving unit.
6. Seamlessly Integrated Mudroom
If you have a combined mudroom and laundry room, you might want to hide your washer and dryer behind some chic folding cabinet doors.
If you don’t want to do a whole DIY cabinet door project, you could just hang a pretty curtain to hide the machines. Both of those ideas also work great if you have a washing machine in your kitchen or bathroom.
I love the idea of livening up your mudroom laundry cabinets by painting the upper and lower cabinets in different colors. You can make the upper cabinets almost disappear by painting them the same color as your walls.
Then you can make your lower cabinets pop by painting them in your favorite bright color. You can use your mudroom cabinets to store everything from cleaning supplies and school supplies to all your winter gear.
7. Innovative Hanging Laundry Room Cabinet Ideas
A well-thought-out utility room needs to have some kind of drying rack for all those clothes that can’t go in the dryer. A folding drying rack hidden behind a cabinet door is perfect for some, but if you have limited floor space, you might need a different solution.
An open space over the laundry sink, right between the upper cabinets, is the perfect spot to install a bar for hanging clothes to dry.
Just hang a few plastic hangers on the bar and you’re all set to let things air-dry, with the sink right there to catch any drips. If you do your ironing in your utility room, you can also use that hanging bar for your freshly ironed clothes.
To really maximize storage in a small laundry room, you can hang hooks on the sides of your cabinets. I love using them for little linen bags, storage baskets, or towels.
8. Transforming Hallways
If your laundry spot is located in a hallway, cabinets are one of the best ways to really take advantage of all that vertical storage space. How many cabinets you can fit in a hallway laundry room really depends on the size of your hallway.
If it’s a bit crowded, I would definitely consider painting your walls and cabinets white, which always makes a space feel bigger. Glass cabinet doors can also make a hallway laundry area feel more open and airy.
Sometimes a hallway laundry room is really just a repurposed closet. If a laundry closet is all the room you have for washing clothes, you might not have space for actual cabinets over or next to your washer and dryer.
In that case, open shelves with pretty bins are probably a better storage idea for a hallway closet.
9. Space-Saving Inspirations
A narrow laundry room setup might not leave much room for anything other than the washer and dryer. But if you can, doing a little laundry room makeover to add some cabinets, a small undermount sink, and some counter space will make laundry day so much easier.
Lots of retailers now sell smaller utility sinks that can fit into the tightest laundry spaces. This video will show you the basics of how to install a small cabinet in your laundry room:
Just like with other small laundry room layouts, a narrow utility room looks so much better with white paint to make it feel open and bright. Choosing a white washer and dryer, white countertops, a white tile backsplash, and white cabinets all work together to create that feeling.
If your laundry room is narrow but has high ceilings, you can extend your cabinets as high as they can go.
