Laundry Room Trends

Since the average person spends at least six hours a week in their laundry room washing clothes, it's no surprise why homeowners crave a more organized and attractive laundry space.

The laundry room has steadily been coming out of hiding in basements and closets and moving into more convenient areas of the home, such as the master suite, mudroom and off the kitchen and garage. In fact, most architects and designers are incorporating more detailed laundry rooms in their house plans so homeowners can create a comfortable and functional space for the whole family to enjoy.

Some of the more popular trends in the laundry room are a change to bold colors and designs. Up until a few years ago, you basically had a choice of white or cream colors with the occasional steel or black, but now you're seeing manufacturers offer a broader spectrum of colorful washer and dryers. You'll find rich colors such as Pacific Blue, Black Diamond, Wild Cherry, Emerald Green, Titanium, Ocean Blue, Tuscan Chestnut and Champagne, which add style and elegance to your laundry room. Unfinished or stark white walls have been replaced by bright colors to match these new and stylish washer and dryers, to enhance the look and feel of your laundry room.

Organization is critical to ensure functionality and efficiency in the laundry room. Incorporating a storage system that meets your needs is a great way to get organized and depending on your budget you can add cabinetry. When you pick out your kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, be sure to see if they offer a line of laundry cabinets. It's a good idea to have your cabinets go up to the ceiling so you can store more and avoid dust collecting. This is one room where you can't have enough accessories to help with organization and multi-tasking, like all-in-one ironing stations, sorting and drying tables and units, storage space and a small soaking sink.

When it comes time to purchasing your appliances, make sure that your washer and dryer are energy-efficient so you can save money on water and energy costs. Almost all appliance manufacturers have ENERGY STARŪ approved washer and dryers and offer large drum capacities so you can wash more clothes in fewer loads.

With so many advances in laundry appliances and accessories, it's a good time to think about how you want to design your laundry room.

	Make sure that you allow space for a sorting and folding table, since there is nothing worse than putting dried clothes into a basket knowing they are going to get wrinkled before you have a chance to sort and fold them. Have your designer or builder incorporate a drying area in your laundry room. This will cut down on the energy you use to dry clothes that don't generally need a lot of drying power. Another great design element is having an ironing table either built-in or placed on a center island with storage cabinets underneath. A nice touch is to add a TV or audio system so you can really enjoy the time spent doing laundry, which could be hours.