Home » Misc » Laundry closet designs

Laundry closet designs


10 Amazing Small Laundry Closet Ideas

It’s a tiny but mighty space, and one that we use nearly every single day: our laundry closet. With this fast and affordable little laundry room closet makeover, it’s now super organized, pretty to look at, and most of all… bursting at the seams with organized laundry closet ideas!

Thankfully, we made this one into a space that we love, with a charming surprise behind the shelves and washer and dryer!

I’ve had laundry on the brain lately, and it’s no wonder why! With three young kids in our house and a busy family schedule, it’s something I work on every single day.

Recently, we redid our laundry room / exercise room in our St. Louis home, and we were thrilled with the results! So much so, in fact, that we jumped at the chance to upgrade the tiny but efficient laundry closet at the lake.

Unlike the spacious laundry room we have near the bedrooms of our other home, our little cottage at the lake features a laundry closet right off the eat in kitchen space. It works beautifully for our family!

It’s tiny, yes, but perfectly suits our needs for this home. There’s plenty of space to store beach towels, sunscreen, laundry detergent, the totes we use to hop onto the boat at a moment’s notice, and so much more! It’s a powerhouse of laundry room organization, and it’s not really a room at all!

However, as efficient as it was, we knew we could give it a little character and make it much more pleasing to the eye while adding function. We did that in a quick weekend makeover and I’m so excited to share it with you today!

Table of Contents

Laundry Closet Ideas

Behind those bi-fold doors lies a cute little unexpected secret: wallpaper! Yes, I love wallpaper, and we’ve had so much fun using it throughout this home.

I’ve kept the charming floral wallpaper in a couple of the bedrooms in this home, and they look fresh and so pretty. You can read more about how to decorate with Dated Wallpaper here, and you can also take a tour of our Modern Bath with the prettiest blue and white patterned paper!

In this small laundry closet, we went with a cute little polka dot print with a water color style, perfect for the Coastal Modern style of our home. It was such an affordable, efficient way to make a big statement.

It’s lots of fun when the doors are opened, and a total secret when they’re closed. We just love it!

Laundry Room Closet

One of the biggest changes in this laundry space was the new white oak flooring. We did a continuous flooring throughout the kitchen, eat-in space, and then the closet. It makes the space feel bigger, brighter, and so much cleaner!

Can’t afford to update your laundry closet flooring? No worries. Check out our tutorials for How to Paint Concrete, Painting Vinyl, and even How to Paint Tile!

It’s not just the flooring that got a refresh! Look up and you’ll see this super cute new light fixture on the ceiling. It’s a small detail but one that adds both form and function! Read more about my favorite Brass Light Fixtures here.

One of the biggest enhancements this little closet received is a light switch! Previously, like so many closets, it had a pull string light fixture which is often installed in closets to save on electrical.

Fortunately, you can simply replace the light bulb and add a switch without doing any electrical at all! This allowed me to choose a light fixture that fit the space to add a hint of detail as well!

It’s SO easy and inexpensive. In fact, it took me less than 3 minutes to install the bulb and switch. You can even dim it! Add a light switch without electrical using this.

Laundry Closet Organization

First step for this organization project: new shelving! While the shelving in this space worked fine for our needs, it felt tired and a little dated. We bought an inexpensive shelving set in a fresh, bright white and added it for more storage to the left of the stackable washer and dryer.

A few more of the ideas we implemented into this cute and organized space:

More Easy Small Laundry Ideas

Laundry Closet Sources

11 practical and pretty laundry closets |

(Image credit: deVOL)

An essential part of the home, a laundry closet is a space that needs to tick all of the boxes: it should be practical, work hard, be easy to organize – and good looking.  

Really good laundry closet ideas will enable you to keep your kitchen space free from the noise of the washer and dryer, too, which is always a bonus. And this is where good planning comes in – you need to approach the planning of laundry closets with as much precision as you would new kitchen cabinetry. Here, we show you how.

Laundry closet ideas

If you're looking at laundry room ideas now, you'll need to include laundry closets into your design. Whether your laundry room is hidden away in a closet or designed to look more like a mud room, these laundry closet ideas will inspire you to create a space that you want to spend time in – even if it’s for ironing and folding clothes for an hour or two. 

1. Laundry closets needn’t be the poor relation of the kitchen

(Image credit: deVOL)

‘Laundry closets used to be the "outhouse" where all the dirty chores got done, they were cold, rustic and hardy and far from pretty,‘ explains Helen Parker, Creative Director at deVOL.

‘In recent years people have started to lust after these old fashioned laundry rooms again and this time round they are not just functional but beautiful.  

'If you need appliances, go for big stainless steel industrial ones, or hide away white goods behind closed doors. Spend money on a great big sink with good strong taps and space for a watering can. 

'We love the idea of stone or marble for a sink – controversial to the houseproud folks out there who want pristine, but this natural material is so authentic and although it may not stay perfect it will be perfect, just because it's happy to be knocked and stained and marked because that’s just the real purpose of a working room.'

2. Or hide a laundry closet behind closed doors

(Image credit: Paul Raeside)

If you want your laundry closet to be hidden, or if it is small, putting it behind sliding, folding or double doors is a great option. With clever planning, you can still fit in all the laundry room storage ideas you really need, and the space can remain really practical, without taking up too much of a footprint.  

3. Open shelving makes for easy-to-see essentials

(Image credit: Garden Trading)

We love the open shelving look as laundry closet idea, it makes life easier in terms of being about to see what you want quickly and to organize a laundry room – but the downside is that you ideally need to keep it spick and span. 

It is a design feature that works particularly well in a laundry closet, though. Keep the unsightly items hidden away and pop the beauties on your shelves – that’s our advice. Use kitchen shelving ideas as your inspiration to get the look of your laundry room shelving ideas just right.

4. Opt for different-sized units for practicality

(Image credit: Harvey Jones)

A laundry closet is really an extension of your kitchen – and you can use the same cabinetry to keep it cohesive. Tall laundry closets are best installed for items like ironing boards and upright vacuums. It’s those kind of practical pieces that you may want to hide away so go tall for them and use standard heights for cleaning products.  Then you can reserve smaller laundry room cabinet ideas alongside for more compact items, such as washing detergent.

5. Keep it stylish with offcuts of wallpaper

(Image credit: Kim Armstrong Interiors/Michael Hunter)

That extra roll of unused wallpaper that you can’t bear to throw away? It may be the perfect amount of your laundry closet, the same goes for those leftover tubs of paint too. Ideal if you're planning a mini laundry room makeover.

There’s no reason for your laundry closet to be as dull and dreary as the work you may have to do in it – and if you are spending hours ironing away it may as well look as lush as you want it to, right?

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball )

We love how this laundry closet by Farrow & Ball is painted in jet black with patterned floor tiles, yet the kitchen is off white with wooden boards. The two spaces are clearly defined yet still link via the use of wood in other areas. 

You can really have fun with your design process with these two key spaces, and the glass door allows both spaces to be seen. The key is to have subtle links so they’re not totally separate visually.

7. Your laundry closet is practical, but can still be pretty

(Image credit: House of Jade Interiors/Kate Osborne Photography)

Love big florals but they don’t work anywhere else in your home? Then pop them up in your laundry closet instead. It’s the place that can take a stronger look – rather like a powder room – and those favorite tiles/paint/flooring will be used in smaller quantities, too, so won't break the banke. This gives you carte blanche to create whatever look you like, as far as we're concerned... 

8. A spot of shiplap for a Shaker style scheme

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball )

Shiplap’s a great option for creating a textured feel in a room, and it lends itself perfectly to a Shaker style laundry closet like this stylish space. 

When space is tight be clever with your storage options, you can easily add a shelf or two and if it has pegs then all the better – they’re fabulous for hanging cleaning brushes, spare candles and baskets from.  

A wooden countertop adds contrast between these two similar toned shades whilst the white gives a pop of contrast. However, if you want a truly practical surface within your laundry closet, use kitchen countertop ideas as your inspiration for laundry countertop ideas – stones and composites are tough and just about maintenance-free.

9. Go for a bold and beautiful color scheme 

(Image credit: Mylands )

Anything goes in a small laundry room, and it's often a hidden space, so those favorite kitchen color ideas you’ve always fancied but haven't dared to embrace can make an appearance.

Haymarket No. 47 by Myland gives this small laundry closet a burst of color that will stop you nodding off whilst doing the chores. It will brighten up a dark space and we love the contrasting crimson that’s used on the shelving. It’s called Huguenot No. 49, and has hints of magenta and orange to add depth. 

(Image credit: Tom Howley)

We asked Rhian Williams, Senior Kitchen Designer at Tom Howley what the most common design mistakes are when considering a laundry closet:

‘The biggest design crime committed with a  laundry closet is that it is considered last. Poor things! Typically, they are behind a closed door and are considered a necessary yet secondary “overflow” to the kitchen. 

'It is tempting and common to mis-proportion a project’s budget and spend as little as possible on the laundry closet. This usually translates to an inferior countertop surface and fewer cupboards – in the space that takes the most abuse and needs to squirrel away all the bits and bobs. Then you have the inevitable countertop pile-up and… “it’s a mess”, “please excuse the state of the laundry closet” and “shut the door!”

'My advice is to invest in a hard-wearing countertop surface that can handle muddy boots and paint splatters – and ensure you have enough versatile storage. If you are worried about overloading the space, then simply design it to be future-proof by giving yourself the ability to add to it as life changes and develops.’

11. Use vertical space with a hanging airer

(Image credit: deVOL)

Let your home dictate the design of your laundry closet – this beautiful old cottage naturally lends itself to an old armoire for storing linens and baskets for laundry.   

‘Authenticity is so important these days too, so we recommend good old fashioned quarry tiles, cold and sturdy and functional and an absolute must for a laundry room,’ says Helen Parker, Creative Director at deVOL.

‘We recommend simple shelving so everything is easy to store and pile up and get to without opening cupboard doors. This means having the right baskets and watering cans and terracotta pots. You have to get the look spot on and you really can if you stick to things that are original, fit for purpose and good quality. 

'Hanging your laundry to dry is very much part of a laundry room and it’s so nice to use wind power once in a while, so be sure to have a laundry maid.’

How do I organize my small laundry closet? 

To organize a small laundry closet you need storage and more storage – you can never have too much. Just like when organizing a linen closet, laundry closets need peg rails, shelves, hooks, peg boards and cabinets are all your friends in a small space. Keep the floor clear too, hang the ironing board if you can’t fit in a tall cabinet and use doors to hang pieces from too. Only keep what you need and use, bin what you don’t. It’s all about streamlining and keeping your laundry space functional and not full of clutter. 

How do I upgrade my laundry closet? 

A paint revamp is one of the quickest ways to upgrade, and of course wallpaper and flooring. Shiplap is fast becoming the Next Big Thing and it can transform the look of your walls in no time, and it can be painted. 

New cabinets and countertops are more of an investment in terms of upgrading but can also enable you to store items better and more effectively. 

Sophie has been an interior stylist and journalist for over 20 years and has worked for many of the main interior magazines during that time, both in-house and as a freelancer. On the side, as well as being the News Editor for indie magazine, 91, she trained to be a florist in 2019 and launched The Prettiest Posy where she curates beautiful flowers for modern weddings and events.  For H&G, she writes features about interior design – and is known for having an eye for a beautiful room.

Linen closet - 80 photos of the best new linen closet designs

Many people are accustomed to storing bed linen and towels in a closet, which was originally purchased for a different purpose. It usually stores outerwear. And therefore, it is simply unprofitable to leave bed linen there. It takes up a lot of space, so sooner or later it will be necessary to remove even more personal items in order to free up a few shelves.

Mezzanines are also not very suitable for storing laundry. Since they are located at a high altitude, almost under the ceiling. Because of this, getting things out of there is extremely inconvenient. Therefore, it is best to consider the option associated with the purchase of a special wardrobe for linen. One of the models is shown in the photo of the wardrobe.

Content

  1. Features of wardrobes
  2. Options for a linen cabinet
  3. The main recommendations for choice
  4. Types of the opening method
  5. Photos people did not even suspect that a special wardrobe can be purchased for storing linen. Its main feature is hygiene. After all, all bedding is not stored next to shoes or outerwear that is often used.

    Therefore, bedding will not get dirty so quickly. They can be conveniently placed on the shelves, so finding the right sheet or duvet cover will not take too much time, as before.

    Usually a modern wardrobe for clothes and linen is installed in the bathroom. Since in this case it fully fulfills its functions, eliminating the need to constantly bring the necessary linen from another room.

    However, this is not always possible. This option is only suitable for happy owners of large bathrooms. Owners of apartments in which the bathroom area is extremely small will have to consider installing a linen closet in the bedroom.

    Installation in the bedroom also has certain advantages. For example, it will be possible to change the bed at any convenient time, and after a shower, use a fresh towel or get a new bathrobe.

    The appearance of such a cabinet can be anything. Actually, like filling. Laundry baskets can also be mounted in the closet. The most popular models, which are a pencil case with shelves. The depth of these shelves can be different, and the capacity of the structure directly depends on this.

    Choose a cabinet based on how much you want to store in it. After all, all things must be placed on the shelves in such a way that it was easier to find them.

    Moreover, remember that the humidity in the bathroom is high. This means that if you install a linen closet in such a room, you will need to take care of their timely drying. They should not be in one big pile.

    Linen cabinet configuration options

    The level of functionality of the cabinet directly depends on the variety of internal filling. This should be taken into account when choosing the right model. For example, someone is more suitable for a closet with shelves for linen. Since different storage systems are able to organize a practical arrangement of all things that will be stored in such a cabinet.

    Storage systems can be as follows:

    • shelves - it would be fair to call this option not only the most popular, but also the classic. Shelves can be of different sizes and you can place a lot of things on them;
    • baskets - if the owners of the apartment plan to store any small things in the linen closet, then this is the best option. If you use a combination of shelves and baskets, then there will be no special problems in sorting bed linen. Therefore, it is believed that the underwear closet should be equipped with baskets;
    • hangers - crossbars are an excellent option for storing bathrobes or towels, as they simplify the process of finding them later;
    • containers - suitable for storing underwear in the bathroom. They can be made from different materials. And their value depends on this;
    • mobile systems - they are mistaken for drawers. In fact, their design is more complex. Therefore, its cost is much higher. However, designers agree that exit systems greatly simplify the process of sorting things. Most often, such a system is equipped with a cabinet-pencil case.

    Often such cabinets are also equipped with a lighting system. To some, this may seem redundant. However, if the linen closet is large enough and looks like a dressing room, then this is not just a whim, but an urgent need. Since it will be much more difficult to search and sort things if the closet is not equipped with lighting fixtures.

    The best option is to use spotlights or LED strips. They perform their functions perfectly and at the same time help to make the design of the structure more interesting.

    Basic selection guidelines

    If warm blankets are to be stored in the closet, then it is imperative to select those models that are equipped with sufficiently wide shelves. They can be located both at the bottom and at the top of the structure.

    Drawers that have been installed in wardrobes must be equipped with a mechanism that will ensure a secure fit. This must be taken into account when choosing the right product.

    Although it is recommended to ventilate the cabinet at least twice a week, this does not mean that you can simply purchase a model without doors. This is not the best option. Especially if the cabinet is installed in the bathroom. After all, in this room the humidity is always high. And it is often not clear how to fold the laundry in the closet so that it does not become damp.

    Types of doors by opening method

    In order to choose a suitable model of a linen closet, you should definitely study in advance what categories they are usually divided into by the type of door opening. Then it will be easier to make a final choice.

    Swing doors - such doors not only open without unnecessary noise, but also move frontally. This is a classic version, so you can find a lot of different models in the catalogs. Swing closets for linen are the most popular.

    Folding - these doors are made from lightweight materials. The canvases used are interconnected in such a way that when opened they fold one to one.

    Sliding - models that are equipped with just such doors are very popular. They may have a more interesting design, have increased functionality.

    When choosing the right cabinet model, the design must also be taken into account. It must correspond to the stylistic direction chosen for the design of the room.

    If this is a classic style, then the design of the cabinet should correspond to its basic canons. The color palette is no less important, because the overall impression of the interior of the room will depend on how well it was chosen.

    How do you like the article?

    Linen closet

    Closet can rightly be considered the most convenient place to store a variety of items, things or linen. It is about the cabinets for linen in more detail.

    Types of wardrobes for storing linen

    As the name of this piece of furniture suggests, it is assumed that one or another type of linen will be stored in such a wardrobe. Therefore, the most convenient type of such furniture is a wardrobe with shelves. With such storage, convenient access to any thing is provided, and the linen does not wrinkle. Some types of linen cabinets for more efficient storage of small items may have drawers or several low shelves.

    When choosing a linen closet, for example, a bed closet, you should definitely take into account the place where the linen closet is supposed to be installed. So in the bedroom you can pick up the classic version of the wardrobe with hinged doors. The combined version of the wardrobe will harmoniously fit into the interior of any bedroom - with a linen compartment and a compartment for storing clothes.

    And, of course, a closet for linen will look stylish and modern in the bedroom.

    And an important point. Since sliding wardrobes can be of a very different design and internal content, depending on the wishes of the customer, even in a very small bedroom (or any other room) you can organize convenient storage of linen and other accessories by placing, for example, a sliding wardrobe in a niche or by mounting a corner cabinet for linen in the deaf zone of the room. This will unload the useful space of the room, make it more spacious.

    Another option to save space, but at the same time maintaining the convenience of storing laundry, placing a narrow wardrobe with drawers in the same bedroom.

    The same chest of drawers, carefully selected according to the design style, will harmoniously fit into the interior of the living room, kitchen, they are often installed even in bathrooms to store bath accessories. By the way, such an option for storing table linen as a pencil case is also suitable for the kitchen.

    Related articles:

    Double cabinet

    The most versatile version of the cabinet, harmoniously combining qualities such as spaciousness and compactness, is a two-door model.

    Learn more