Laundry Trends 2020 – renovation inspiration for your laundry room.

The laundry is no longer a neglected room that contains simply a washing machine and laundry tub, left with bare walls, plumbing exposed and has a closed door whenever guests arrive or when dirty laundry piles become high. Interior design, planning and organization has extended into every room of the contemporary home. This has transformed this workhorse of a room from being a purely functional space, to one that is more organised than ever before, admired and pleasant to work in.

Laundry rooms are often adjacent to or are a passageway to the powder room, so in many home designs, the laundry is a room that guests will see when they frequent amenities when visiting. So today’s homeowners want their laundries to be an extension of their home decor design, both fabulous and functional.

Beautiful white cabinets with engineered stone benchtop - laundry renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Beautiful white cabinets finished with a bulkhead, engineered stone benchtop – laundry renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Custom cabinetry

Rather than relying upon prefabricated, store bought cabinets, homeowners are more often choosing to have their laundry cabinetry custom made to perfectly suit the laundry area, washer/dryer and their own benchspace and storage preferences. This has many advantages.

Firstly, custom made cabinetry allows the option of using the same or similar cabinet colour and door profile as is in the kitchen, bathroom or both. Which, typically depends upon which room is closest to the laundry, though the laundry design, colour and cabinetry is almost always paired with the kitchen.

Another benefit is to purchase a laundry sink or sinks of your own preference rather than purchasing from the very limited selection of laundry tubs available that have little storage whatsoever.

Custom cabinetry also allows the option of choosing how to organise your laundry room down to the very last detail. It may be as simple as hiding your cleaning products, appliances such as irons, ironing boards, vacuums, brooms and mops from view or perhaps a more complete storage option that includes a custom made laundry hamper or twin hampers to separate the washing as you see fit. Custom made twin hampers are an extremely popular inclusion for laundries. These allow homeowners to separate their laundry items for quicker sorting, for example: whites from colours or delicates from ordinary cycles.

A huge benefit of custom cabinetry is that a bulkhead can be built to close in the gap between the top of the wall cabinets and the ceiling, which deletes the chore of cleaning dust from on top of the cupboards.

Laundry Renovation

Gorgeous custom white cabinetry, timber benchtop & marble tiled splashback with LED strip lighting – laundry renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Splashbacks and Floor tiling.

More often than not, tiling in the laundry is simply the floor, skirting and splashback over the sinks to protect the walls from water when soaking and hand washing. Rarely are entire walls tiled in the laundry, leaving the walls painted with a good quality, mould resistant paint and a skirting tile to effect a finished look. The floor tile is often the same tile that is used in either the bathroom or kitchen, depending on which room is closest to create a continuous flow within the home.

Where choosing a tile for the laundry splashback, a simple yet effective idea is to use same tile for the splashback that is laid on the floor. This is particularly a popular option where a feature floor is created in the laundry with a patterned or contrast coloured tile. It allows the tiling to be their hero of the room and saves dollars on detailed door profiles for cabinetry and expensive benchtops.

Intricate tiling patterns such as subway, herringbone and chevron tiling have become increasing popular for tiling splashbacks in laundries, especially when these tiling styles are used elsewhere in the home. It’s not a surprise as these tiling styles add a timeless look if luxe to the home.

While it is not imperative to have the exact same cabinet colour, profile or tile, creating harmony between the 3 main workrooms, being kitchen, bathroom and laundry is key for a cohesive interior design.

Laundry Renovation

White cabinetry with engineered stone benchtop, tiled splashback and top loader washing machine – laundry renovation by Master Bathrooms & Kitchens.

Benchtops

Most customers choose engineered stone for their kitchen benchtops as it not only looks fantastic but it is by far the most durable surface for this hard working area. Engineered stone is non porous therefore, it does not require sealing nor special cleaners and can withstand a good laundry workout. As in the kitchen, engineered stone can be used for the laundry splashback too, creating both a durable and luxurious finish. The length of bench space depends largely on the size of the laundry and what type of washer is installed however, when custom building the laundry, every inch can be utilised.

A popular addition, is the inclusion of a drying rack or bar that extends over the benchspace area. This is ideal for delicates, business shirts and blouses to dry inside away from UV light and out of bad weather.

Many homeowners choose front loading washers and dryers to sit side by side, so more benchspace can be utilized above them creating a larger work space. This is, very much though, a personal preference. Some homeowners, regardless of space saving and benchspace options, prefer top loading washing machines. Regardless of the individual’s preference, the tapware for the washer can be repositioned discreetly inside the cabinetry for a sleek and contemporary finish.

Lighting

Under-cabinet lighting is a beautiful addition to laundry rooms. This is typically created with LED strip lighting and is an ideal lighting to illuminate the passage from laundry to the adjoining powder room for guests highlighting the splashback feature. Under-cabinet lighting is a soft ambient lighting that can be used to light the laundry late at night and the hallway or bathroom passageway from which the laundry is set off, avoiding bright lights in the evening.

Related Articles:

Kitchen Trends 2020

Bathroom Trends 2020

Laundry Renovation Tips

Master Bathrooms & Kitchens is a bathroom, kitchen and laundry renovation company that has been renovating homes beautiful since 1995. We offer advice and expertise that only comes from years of experience. Be sure to peruse our website for more renovation inspiration or simply call us on (02)9899-9330 for a quotation today!

Watch our video below of just some of our beautiful projects: