there is one room in the would-be house that is giving me a bit of trouble.
the upstairs laundry which needs to serve as a laundry room, linen closet, dirty clothes bin and cleaning supply storage as well.
it's fairly decent in size with an alcove on the left side for the washer and dryer
and open all along the right for the sink, storage, and counter space.
the trouble i run into is what to do with that space on the right?
i'm sort of planning on this compact but DEEP stainless sink from ikea, most likely set in a butcher block counter top.
(and junk collecting space. and all the other things that sort of get set down on any flat surface.)
i've considered a large open shelving unit like this one from restoration hardware. (to be fair, it was on sale when i was considering it. it doesn't appear to be now.) but i can't quite picture the point where the counter ends and shelving unit begins.
i tend to believe that the linens should be sort of open to the air... free to breathe and not gather musty smells. rows of neatly folded sheets and wooly blankets (and in my case, piles of quilts) can be quite attractive. cleaning supplies can be stored in baskets or boxes.
but of course, the big shelving unit means no place to dump dirty laundry... with a long counter i could leave an open space for a big canvas laundry truck.
it's so funny...
out of all the rooms in the house, the smallest is the one that's giving me trouble.
it seems to be the one place where i'm unsure. and opening one door closes another.
how does your laundry room work? do you have a favorite bit? a thing that really, really works? or maybe something that really doesn't? (i know you were all quite vocal about toe kicks in the cabinets and... we listened.)
oh help, please!!
xo. r
You can never have too much counter space. I have a small U-shaped kitchen with one long side having only dishwasher and cabinets under the counter - it's 6 feet long (8 feet if you count the corner to the wall). I use it for so many non-food activities: a mailing station, craft work station, starting seeds under a 4-foot-long grow light. Sometimes it gets messy; so then I clean it up. Great work height and it's good to work and not sit so much. Leave a space under your counter for rolling clothes hamper carts. It's one of my favorite features of this not-so-favorite house.
ReplyDeleteJust one word of advice: my kitchen sink is set into a surface made with laminated bamboo and I wouldn't do that again because wood and water does NOT go well together!
ReplyDeleteEven if you are willing to put a lot of time and energy to keep the wood in good state (drying it every time, oiling it once a month...), it's likely it will end with ugly molds and algae.
this isn't helpful, but all of your ideas are good ones! don't think you can go wrong. for my money, I have to say, I like the deep sink/folding counter space
ReplyDeletethanks for all the advice! i'm starting to lean more towards counter space now! i know how handy it can be!
ReplyDeleteIf you have a lot of counter space, but no place for baskets, consider building open shelves under the cabinets that will allow you to slide your laundry baskets under. Here are some ideas:
ReplyDeletehttp://pinterest.com/pin/44613852529022056/
http://pinterest.com/pin/212865519858274857/
http://pinterest.com/pin/46584177366015367/
But I would find some really cool old wicker baskets instead of the plastic (icky) - that would look nicer and less utilitarian.
~Liza