Laundry Renovation Tips for Layout and Sink Selection

A Hard-Working Room

The laundry is perhaps the most underappreciated room in any house. We spend hours there every week, but the kitchen is often the final frontier for design attention. In my eight years working in this industry, I have walked through a great many gorgeous kitchens and bathrooms — but when we get to the laundry? Well, that’s when all sense of elegance flies out the window.
But — and this is the big but — any decent laundry makes life so much easier. And it doesn’t require an expensive outlay to get right.

Start With the Layout (For Everything Else Follows)

The most common laundry design mistake I see is cramming too much equipment into too tight of a space. Before you consider which colour tiles will match best or what tapware works nicest, you need to determine the flow of the room.
It’s worth considering your real-life routine. Where does the dirty washing get sent? Where do you sort it? Do you have room for folding? Where does your ironing go? Not the most beautiful questions, but they are questions which makes a difference in practice after spending a day or two inside, and outside of this space.
In most homes, I’d allow at least 1200mm of clear space in front of the appliances – you need a bit of room to bend down and load the washing machine without cracking your head on the bench behind you. Believe me when I say that. I made this mistake and Sandro is sure to remind me of it every time we set out to build a laundry for a client.

The Bench: Counter Is Important in More Ways Than One

An efficient laundry should be equipped with a good solid work surface. This is where you'll be sorting, folding, and treating stains. If you're like me, you'll probably also stack those things that you meant to store three days ago. Let the height of the bench be guided by the surfaces in your kitchen (usually about 900mm high), because such uniformity throughout a home just makes sense.
My preference has always been for a continuous benchtop that runs right across the top of the washing machine and dryer, so as to form one sweeping countertop. It immediately means a great deal cleaner-looking room and much more useful space for you to work in. And yes, this is where the choice of quality laundry sinks can really make a difference: you want something that can cope with anything from soaking muddy sports gear to hand-washing all those delicate items.

Sink Selection: Practical First

I'm all for beautiful design, but in a laundry, durability must come first. So, I've always opted for stainless steel or composite granite for the sink; these kinds of materials will take a good beating and still look good after years in service. A deep single bowl (around 400-450mm deep) in stainless steel or composite granite is far more versatile than a standard double basin - you can get a bucket underneath the tap, soak big articles, and it's easier to keep clean.
Position, of course is important also. Ideally, put your sink where there is some natural light and if possible, some sort of view. After all, you're going to spend a lot of time standing there, so why not make it pleasant?

Tapware That Really Works

This is where functionality outweighs style. Look for taps in the laundry that have a pull-out spray or a high gooseneck - so good for manoeuvrability. You want to be able to fill a bucket, rinse the dog's muddy feet and reach any corner of that sink equally well. A fixed spout just doesn't offer the flexibility you need in a laundry.
When selecting laundry tapware, it's worth investing in quality fixtures that will stand up to heavy daily use.

Smart Storage

While it is difficult to completely clear away the signs of a lived-in laundry, use every single square centimetre for wall space. Cupboard or shelf slots on upper levels, clothes hooks, folding drying racks - all these contribute to the room feeling organised rather than chaotic. I recommend closed storage for cleaning products and open shelves for items you use daily, like your laundry basket or ironing spray.

Final Thoughts

You may not expect a well-designed laundry room to change your life, but it will make those everyday tasks that little bit easier. And that is worth more than any design award in our busy lives. Begin with a layout that works for how you work, select materials that will stand up to wear and tear, and don’t hesitate to spend more on the parts of your kitchen that are going to get heavy use.
Your laundry may not be glamorous, but when it’s doing its job well, it makes those mundane chores just a bit easier. And in our frenzied lives, that is more valuable than any design award.