Laundry Room Designs Are A New Lifestyle Trend

by Catherine-Lucie Horber 

There are many new design trends emerging all the time that we embrace in our homes but we don’t seem to talk as much about lifestyle trends; their changes and how they impact designs.  In a modern busy family lifestyle, more often then not both parents are working or involved in children’s activities. They have very little time to spend on household chores. The days of having to go down 3 sets of stairs into a small, dark & dungy laundry room are becoming scarce.

People are becoming more practical, wanting to be faster and more efficient.  The closer the better, the more functional the space the better and the nicer and brighter it can be the more inviting and enticing it is to find time to do laundry or at least enjoy the little time you have doing it.

Laundry rooms are now often seen on the top floors in new home builds. In renovations, they become an open concept combined space with mudrooms.

A Designer Perspective on Laundry Rooms

As a designer, I can say from experience that I have had a much higher demand to design laundry rooms then ever before and I have enjoyed giving them the same treatment I would to any kitchen or bathroom space. Here are a few things we did in the space you see above:

• We live in a consumers world, we buy more and therefore need more storage! So we gave them storage galore by giving them as many cabinets as possible all around the room. We took full advantage of the room’s 10 ft ceilings and went as high as possible with the cabinetry.
• To help hide dirt stains and allow for high traffic area, we put a very strong and durable 12x24 porcelain tile in a color that blends perfectly with dirt.
• We put strip mosaic taupe marble mosaic as a backsplash complementing a gorgeous granite countertop tying in all the greys, taupes of the room. It creates huge impact in the space and richness.
• There is a space for a laundry bin, a mudroom section for jackets, shoes, cubbies for hats and even a full size narrow but tall cabinet for extra shoes.
• Just because it is a laundry room that doesn't mean we should short change it of accessories. We put a few useful  vases, pots,  boxes, flowers, baskets etc… that helped make the room more functional and beautiful.

If laundry rooms used to be forgotten spaces to dread and ignore… they are no longer with this one. It is bright, functional, welcoming and enticing. Definitely helps eliminate any excuse not to get your laundry done!

About Catherine

Designer Catherine-Lucie Horber is the Principal of Royal Interior Design Ltd .The firm provides decorating, staging and renovating services for both small and full scale residential projects throughout the GTA. Catherine is known for creating elegant & affordable design solutions tailored to suit different lifestyles. Find more at royalinteriordesign.ca.