Add a load of functionality and style to your laundry

From sterile to show-stopping

What if you could refresh the hardest-working room in your home with a simple redo that lightens your load? An affordable update that elevates your laundry’s personality and practicality for a modern, busy family (pets included).

With a thoughtful design, it’s totally possible to create an effective, tidy laundry room that draws you in. Consider storage and benchtops that do double duty, built-in features and fittings for a multifunctional space, and designer-approved details to keep it looking cohesive.

Scroll through these genius ideas on how to stop Mount Laundry from becoming insurmountable. You can even think about them while you’re waiting for your wash cycle to end.

But before you start making any improvements, have your home tested for asbestos, especially if it was built or renovated before 1990. You can hire a licensed contractor to test for asbestos and safely remove it and dispose of it too.

Design your dream laundry

IQuick wash cycles aren’t the only way to make laundry day go faster. Using your existing layout, you can plan to maximise key zones for each task – washing, drying, folding and ironing, as well as storing. This basic galley-style floorplan brims with potential. By installing items for each activity along one wall, you’ll minimise movement and improve the flow of your routine.

Choose a round sink for a soft touch and install it either to the left or right of the bench. This will increase surface space for folding and ironing. If you have an external door near the end of your bench, that is the best place for your sink. It lets you turn your single-purpose space into a hybrid one. Think mud room and pooch-pampering zone.

Barkitecture is booming

Prioritise Fido in your makeover with an animal-first design. In addition to soaking clothes and rinsing shoes, the sink can supply warm water to an open-air preening station. Connect a hose to an indoor tap adaptor, attach it to your new swivel tap, then extend the hose outside – and shower Fido with love.

You can make the most of dead space by building a doggy drawer into the kickboard. It removes the trip hazard of loose pet bowls and accessories, and slides back in when not in use. Make the box frame from kickboard offcuts and choose a multi-purpose panel with a gorgeous grain for the base, then seal it with a clear coat.

Create a new benchmark

Install a benchtop at a comfortable height over your front-loading washer/dryer. A warm timber surface will reflect the nature-inspired colour theme. Get a designer look on a D.I.Y. budget by using an off-the-shelf benchtop. You can get kudos for cutting out the inserts for the sink and tap. Opt for a mixer tap with a high swan neck to make filling buckets a breeze.

Benches offer the perfect place to curate pretty arrangements for the crowning touch. Get creative and curate displays that capture your personal taste.

Keep cool with colour

Staying calm in a busy laundry isn’t always easy. For a clean, fresh feel that instils a sense of serenity, choose a sage-green palette pulled from nature outside. Once the benchtop is in, the eye-catching splashback can go up. These porcelain tiles will protect your wall from moisture, while their intricate patterns will keep you mesmerised as you fold the washing. A helpful hack for patterned tiles is to start from the centre of the wall so you finish with the same pattern on either end.

Cabinetry is king

Echo the green tones of the splashback in your cabinetry. Flatpack cabinet panels and doors in raw MDF can easily be customised with your choice of paint. These cabinets will maintain a sense of order by hiding messier elements behind closed doors. Use base-mount hampers to sort your whites and colours, and slide them into the cabinet next to your washing machine to streamline workflow.

As you pull damp clothes from the washer, quickly hang them on convenient modular drying cabinets, placed on top of your shelves. They’re a cinch to assemble, save floor space and close tidily when not in use. Neat!

Style the perfect shelfie

For ultimate flexibility and flair, combine lower closed cabinets with upper open shelving. Use panels of cost-effective non-structural plywood to build the frame, partitions and backing board. Cleverly create the illusion of floating shelves by painting the backing board in the same paint shade as the wall. For a polished look, conceal joins with timber offcuts. And to ensure these spacious shelves double as décor, display products in decorative containers.

Hang on to your hooks

On the opposite wall, install two racks with plenty of hooks for towels, hats, dog leads, and more. Keep it both kid- and adult-friendly with a low rack set at 90cm and a higher one at 150cm. Choose black hooks to match the cabinetry hardware and ebony detailing in the mat. You can also add woven accents with attractive wicker baskets. 

Ready to renovate your laundry?

We’ve got the tools and materials you need to renovate your laundry, check out our wide range of laundry products online or in-store today.