When small laundry room is lacking in intentional design, the chore of laundry seems just that much more tedious. Nobody likes doing laundry – in the chore hierarchy, it’s pretty much at the bottom. Maybe it’s because of the multiple steps: sorting, cleaning, folding, and putting clothes away. It’s also possible that laundry rooms tend to be the least fun spaces in a home.
Whether your washer is in the basement or off your kitchen, it probably could use some sprucing up. This is especially true if you’re working with a small laundry room that’s currently barren and uninviting.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though – your small laundry room can be a fun and cozy place that begs you to complete chores there. Though these design ideas won’t do the laundry for you, they’ll make the process more pleasant.
My standard disclaimer: Please note, some of these items may be offered through affiliate links which means I could get a small commission if you order. That will never influence what I find lovely and want to share with you. I always offer suggestions I would buy for my home or recommend to a client. Also, rest assured it won’t affect the price you would otherwise pay.
Small Laundry Room Organization
One of the most important parts of decorating a laundry room is the artful use of organization. Because you won’t have a lot of space, cabinets and shelving are critical. Additionally, containers of laundry detergent and other materials are usually in big, garish, plastic containers. Better to hide them or put the material inside a more tasteful container.
Frosted glass cabinet doors
Consider frosted or fluted glass doors for your cabinets. This will make storing ugly containers easier and glass makes the space feel more open, even if it’s obscured.
Stand-alone cabinets
If you don’t have built-in cabinets, stand-alone systems are a big help by giving you plenty of space to organize. A tasteful stand-alone cabinet or shelving system saves space and makes your laundry room look less cluttered. They also give you a place to display knick-knacks or other attractive pieces that otherwise might not fit in a laundry room.
Shelving units can even double as a place to fold clothes, which is a huge benefit in a small room.
Laine Cabinet
This cabinet’s breezy rattan front will look perfect in your laundry area, offering spacious room for anything you have to store. This piece is large enough to handle all of your storage needs, preventing you from having to stuff in multiple pieces of furniture.
5 Shelf ladder bookcase
This stylish bookcshelf will fit in even a small laundry room, holding anything your heart desires. You can store heavy items down low with décor up top, or use the tiered ladder system to separate clothes into piles. The lightweight design and lovely Alpine gray finish make this a welcome addition to your laundry routine.
Make Use of Laundry Pedestals
Small laundry rooms need to take advantage of any space they have available, even if you have to make that space yourself. These laundry pedestals have slide-out drawers that make storing unsightly items a breeze.
Slide-out cabinet organizers
These cabinet organizers maximize space by sliding back on themselves when not in use. You can even attach them to the sides of cabinets or shelving, really utilizing the space around them. Though they’re not the most attractive, they’re out of sight, out of mind, and really help tidy up your space.
Laundry Room Chic
Less space means a higher need for innovation. These are some of my favorite ideas for maximizing space with attractive pieces. Some of these ideas actually make for great opportunities to tie in different design elements from around your home.
Use a kitchen island
Though unconventional, a kitchen island is a great addition to a laundry room. With lots of space for storage underneath and a flat surface on top for ironing and organizing clothes, you’ll get great use out of an island.
Williams-Sonoma graphic lidded baskets
Hampers help organize clothes that need to be washed, keeping your lights and darks in their respective piles. Lidded basket sets create a unified look in your laundry room, with various sizes for different laundry. The lids also make the space feel cleaner and less cluttered, keeping your unwashed laundry out of sight.
This graphic set from Williams-Sonoma comes in three different sizes to fit your laundry room perfectly.
Use doors differently
Pocket doors are a great choice for a small area.
Sliding barn doors are another way to close off the laundry room from the rest of the home. They don’t require the space that an outward-swinging door would, which is a great space-saver for small areas.
Laundry Room Art
Art fits in any room – this is especially true for laundry areas in places without windows. If there’s nothing else to look at, add something lovely or inspiring to add personality and make the space more enjoyable.
Linen Coast
This lovely piece by Julia Contacessi offers calming blues and whites, fitting in with any clean, crisp laundry room. In general, it gives a sense of peace and order to any space.
First Snow
This minimalist piece by Robin Ott will fit any color scheme with its clean lines and subtlety. The rustic charm lends itself well to a space of cozy cleanliness like a laundry room.
Enhance your background
Like art, tile can take the space on your walls to the next level. Consider the beauty of mosaic tilework or an imaginative use of a kitchen backsplash. Don’t get stuck on the idea that you’re working on a laundry room; draw inspiration from around your home.
Laundry Room Decor That Works
A laundry room can be comfortable and cozy, and many small décor pieces help build that feeling. However, when you have a small space, you need your decor to do more than just take up room. These pieces all pull double-duty and help brighten up your laundry area without sucking up all your storage capacity.
Label Your Dispensers
These jugs are ideal for detergent, fabric softener, or whatever other commonly used liquids you have around. With their clean, charming labels, they add a flourish to your space while doing a job – helping you get rid of those unsightly detergent bottles.
A.J.A dryer sheet dispenser
These unassuming little items dispense your dryer sheets but without the garish orange box. Creating a nice, neat stack of sheets creates an intentional, organized-looking room, rather than a space filled with boxes and jugs.
Rustic glass jars
These jars can hold anything you routinely use, and can even be placed in a basket to be hung from a pegboard or on a cabinet. The glass and metal make this piece work with any décor, as well.
Paint, colors, and fabric
Using paint and fabric textures from around your home is a great way to make your laundry room feel less chore-like. For instance, if the adjoining rooms utilize colors in common, use some of both in your laundry room. This creates cohesion and flow, which minimizes the stark contrast traveling from one space to another.
Fabric is another opportunity to add flair while being functional. For instance, if the area under your sink is open, use curtains as skirts to hide the plumbing. If your laundry room is especially small, you can even install a bar and use beautiful fabric curtains to hide your appliances.
Another use for color and texture is to let your various items play off each other. If you have a dark wooden cabinet, use matching hangers or countertops. When you have an interplay between colors and textures across multiple functions and forms, you create an elevated sense of order.
Make your small laundry room storage pop
The very things that are designed to hold your laundry room items can be beautiful. Consider these containers and baskets – their very existence is art and they serve a purpose, too.
Mikasa Gourmet Basics collection
These baskets are designed for the kitchen but their simple-yet-ornate beauty is great in the laundry room, too. You can hang them from the wall or place them on your folding table as well.
iDESIGN Stacking Wire Basket with Label
iDesign takes a time-tested standard – a seemingly simple wire basket – and makes it a stylish new accent piece for your laundry room! I love that the handles fold inward with this piece, so you can maximize vertical space and keep things nicely organized, but looking chic.
Functionality and minimalism are key to small laundry room design
Laundry rooms need to be functional – probably more than any other room in the house. This is largely why they’re often not as attractive as other areas. That doesn’t mean they need to be industrial or utilitarian, though.
By embracing minimalist design and using storage that gives you much more room, you get more mileage out of accents like paint, fabric, and art. Pull in aspects of the rooms adjoining your laundry area to tie it all together. If nothing else, clever use of storage declutters your small laundry room and hides unsightly items.
Don’t be afraid of using unconventional design items, either. Kitchen baskets and islands are perfectly useful and attractive in your laundry room, and a tile backsplash is great to liven up the space. At the end of the day, the most important part of a well-designed small laundry room is functionality that allows for style. A decluttered space that feels cozy will have you excited about doing laundry, even if you’re not incredibly fond of it.
