Laundry Room Counter Space??

12 years ago

We are thinking of making an extra small bedroom into an indoor laundry. I have pretty much decided I will have to do it galley style due to the placement of the window which I don't want to move and the size of my front load monsters. I will have a small sink on the same wall as the W&D.

All the sites I go to for design talk about making sure you have plenty of counter space. We don't have a basement and this house lacks storage for out of season items so personally I was thinking of doing a wall of mostly floor to ceiling storage. The pics I see are usually of rooms with linear after linear foot of counter top. Why? Some are staged with stacks and stacks neatly folded color coordinated towels (enough to handle a small motel) and others have plants and decorative items planted about. This is not real life to me.

I do my load and put it away. Even when we had the kids home with us the laundry was never left anywhere but in the owner's bedroom. Of course that was necessary because of the washer and dryer being in the garage. But how do the rest of you do laundry? How much counter is too little and how much becomes just more to wipe down? For folding, sink counter height just seems too high for me. Comments?

Comments (4)

geokid
12 years ago
I like a counter on top of my W/D for folding. I fold right out of the dryer in the laundry room and take the clean clothes out right away....usually. :-)

My set-up now does not have a counter above the W/D and items fall behind the machines and between them. Drives me crazy! When we rearrange our laundry room, I will add a counter. My machines are not on pedestals for that reason.

Other than that counter, I don't need any more. I'd rather have floor to ceiling storage like you. I looked on houzz for laundry rooms and I see what you mean about acres of counterspace! It looks nice, but it's not practical for me. But we also have a workshop/craft space so I don't use my laundry room for that function either.
dave1812
12 years ago
we fold stuff either on our bed or on a couch (if watching tv). there is no "rule" that says you have to have a dedicated counter for laundry! :) Sometimes I'll even fold dry clothes on top of our FL washer, which sits on a pedestal, but I'm very tall. My wife can't reach comfortably to do that. IMO, ignore what others are doing and set up your room the way that works best for you.
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oldhousegal
12 years ago
I have a large counter that I use just for folding, but also comes in handy for crafting. If a counter doesn't work for your space, how about mounting a counter on top of the front loaders and cabinets all around them, so you still have a bit of counter space for folding, yet are not losing that valuable wall/cabinet space. Of course, if the FL's are on pedestals, this would be too high for you.

Houzz has many photos of this type of counter on top of FL's and it appears to work well. The other option you may have is some sort of drawer, pull out, cutting board type of counter space that you could use to fold on that is at a height that may be more comfortable for you. I am actually thinking about putting in a 36 inch wide cabinet with the top "drawer" as a thick pull out counter space for additional work space, in my laundry area.
wildchild
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks everyone. I am glad to see I am not the only one who doesn't need or want a large counter area. I thought maybe I was missing the purpose. So I decided to ask.

I will have around 30" of counter adjoining the sink (to one side). After reading these posts it appears it will be more than enough for me. I am too short to use the top of a W/D for folding much less use the area on a pedestal. I plan to have extra deep wall cabinets over the W/D for storage. I don't use a lot of laundry products. Liquid bleach is stored in the pedestal drawer and I will have a small drawer cab between sink and W/D for things like softener sheets,stain stick etc.

Basically this our catch all room that I wish to organize and give double duty to as a laundry area. Will be nice to have it in the house as I age.