Designer Virginie Martocq helps readers tackle tricky home improvement situations, this time transforming a long, narrow laundry room into an elegant and functional space. The key changes involve moving the sink to the opposite wall, repositioning the door, and adding two different counter heights for folding and washing.
Problem: A catch-all dumping zone
Sophie from North Toronto wrote to Martocq describing her basement laundry room: 'It ends up being a catch-all dumping zone, rather than a well thought out laundry area.' The room was long and skinny, with machines placed awkwardly in the back corner, making them hard to access. A door on one end had a laundry sink in front of it, a long counter, and a row of low, deep upper cabinets that interfered with folding.
Solution: Gut and restart
Martocq recommended gutting the room and starting again. Her first move: relocate the entry door to the middle of the wall. If a door isn't needed, she suggests making the opening substantially wider to reduce the narrow, boxed-in feel. If a door is required, pocket doors or barn doors hung on a track are ideal because they don't swing into the room and take up space.
Next, place the washer and dryer to the right of the new opening (across the room's width, about five feet), with the sink and storage to the left. A plumber may need to move the washer connection, but Martocq says 'this change will make a world of difference and shouldn't be too difficult a job.'
Counter heights: Two for better function
Separating the sink from the washer and dryer allows for counters at different heights, making both more usable. A counter above the washer and dryer is for folding, while cabinets on the opposite wall house the sink and storage. Martocq recommends mounting a rod above the washer-dryer for hanging clothes to dry. A special hinged rod can be pulled down from the ceiling when needed. For those who don't hang many clothes, dividing the area with a pull-down rod on one side and open shelves on the other for soap and dryer sheets keeps laundry-specific items together.
Sink wall and storage
For the sink wall, Martocq advises keeping the sink in the far corner to maximize storage on the other side. While a sink against a wall isn't ideal, centring it would leave two narrow cabinets on either side, which is less useful than one large cabinet. She also suggests investing in a tall, narrow steam cabinet that fits perfectly to the left of the sink, leaving about six inches to slide in an ironing board. If a steam cupboard isn't in the budget, a drawer cabinet works well in the same spot. Shallow (12-inch) upper cabinets above the sink provide additional storage.
Decorative touches
Martocq recommends simple marble subway tiles, such as 3x6 glossy Carrara tile at $8.41 per square foot from centura.ca, as a clean, classic choice. Even laundry rooms benefit from art; she suggests an Absinthe Robette Poster Wall Art by Livemont, Henri Privat, framed at 27x36 inches, available for $591 from greatbigcanvas.com.
