The laundry room is one of the most overlooked rooms, yet it is as important as any other room in the house. In fact, when people plan home renovations, very few people think of renovating the laundry room, after all, no one but members of the household goes there. But that the laundry room is not exactly a public place does not mean it should be an eyesore. Renovating your laundry room not only breathes new life into this space but also makes it a welcoming and warm place to carry out the necessary chores.
So if you feel the laundry room in your New Zealand home will do with a much-needed renovation, here are some tips to point you in the right direction.
Location matters
If you have the luxury of deciding where to site your laundry room during renovation or construction, it is important that you choose a location that is perfect for the engine room of the house.
A typical laundry room should be located on the ground floor with easy access to the outside. This because you will most likely be moving in and out of the laundry room while doing the laundry, particularly to have access to the clothesline and you don’t want to track water through the living area.
You should also consider siting your laundry room in a location that is properly ventilated and where plenty of natural light can reach. Remember that laundry generates a lot of moisture and heat, and the perfect location will play a huge role in preventing mould and mildew. It is also a good idea to install an extractor fan in your new laundry room to help keep the environment healthy.
Consider appliances
When it comes to choosing laundry room appliances, it pays to look at the big picture. For example, if you have a large family, it will be economical to do large loads at a go than multiple smaller washes. But this means getting a bigger washing machine.
So if you think that your laundry appliances can do with an upgrade, by all means, make that a part of your laundry room renovation project.
However, even though your laundry room is probably one of the most private spaces in the house, it is no excuse for your appliances to be all over the place. Part of laundry room renovations should include taking away your laundry appliances from the full glare of the public, and there are a few tricks and tips you can use to achieve that.
For instance, you can create a small partition behind which the laundry equipment will be hidden, so that your laundry room can have a more appealing and inviting open space.
This idea is ideal for when your laundry appliances are old and outdated and you cannot afford new ones at the moment. Just be sure to create the partition is a way that it doesn’t disturb free movement in the room.
Plan how to use your space
Everyone understands the frustration of working in a cluttered laundry space. Everything is just everywhere that there is just not enough room to carry out the necessary laundry chores. To experience a fully functional laundry space, it is imperative that you design your laundry room in a way that meets with your unique lifestyle requirements – and this is not something that can be rushed.
Do proper research and spend enough time planning your laundry space, including the placement of laundry so that you can still have enough room to do your chores and move about. If you want your, be sure to hire the best renovations company as this type of work will likely warrant a major remodeling.
Consider storage
A typical laundry room is home to a lot of things – from laundry appliances to cleaning products, dirty laundry and even abandoned bric-a-brac. This can put a lot of strain on your storage space and make the entire room completely cluttered.
It is therefore important that your renovations include practical storage in your laundry room. For most people, a combination of shelves, cabinets, and even containers is enough to give the laundry adequate storage for anything, but others may need to extend their laundry room a little bit especially if it is a really small space, or consider creating more storage close by.
However, having storage inside the actual laundry room is a more practical idea and there are lots of ways to achieve this. One of the popular ways to create extra storage in a cramped room space is to use overhead shelves and vanities.
Any item that needs to be kept out of sight can be stored overhead, and the top of the overhead shelves or vanity cabinets can also be used to store bigger items like the ironing board, vacuum cleaner, and so on.
Open shelves are rapidly gaining popularity in homes that are short of space, and there is no better place to experiment this system than in an out-of-way location like the laundry room.
Make it water friendly
Finally, it is imperative that you make your laundry room as water-friendly as possible.
Remember that the laundry room is one place where water is always used. This means that there will always be water spills and mess that will have to be cleaned up regularly. But unless the floor and walls of your laundry room are water-friendly, you will also be changing floors and walls regularly, and this will not be good for your pocket.
So when planning a laundry room renovation, use vinyl, tiles and stonework floors, as these are floors that can really work well for laundry rooms.
Definitely avoid wood floors, carpet or any other floor type that don’t work well with water otherwise you will be battling mould, rot, and a whole range of issues in no time at all.
You don’t have to be paranoid about potential water problems in the laundry room. Simply take the necessary steps to prevent these problems occurring and you will be fine.
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