Inside: Advice For Perfectly Designing Your Utility Room. Collaborative post.
Not all houses or apartments have a utility room, but those that do get to enjoy extra space dedicated to household maintenance. There are no real rules about what you do with a utility room, but some people use them to store their washing machines and dryers, and perhaps even more personal options, like placing the doggy bed in a secure area like this for them to sleep at night.
Unlike a living room, bathroom or kitchen, you may not instinctually know how to design this space to your standards. Perhaps you have other ideas. In this post, we hope you (and especially new homeowners) can find a sense of purpose for this space, and use it to lighten the load of the rest of the household.
Let’s consider some of the following advice:
Add Storage Sections
Think about using a mix of open shelves and closed cabinets. Open shelves work great for items you use often, like laundry detergent or cleaning supplies, and you can also raise them up so small kids can’t grab such utilities. You can also grab what you need quickly without rummaging through drawers. Closed cabinets are perfect for storing less-used items or keeping things out of sight, such as your cat food or jars of preserves you don’t want to keep in the main kitchen.
We’d also warmly suggest you don’t forget about vertical space. Wall-mounted hooks or pegboards can hold brooms, mops, and dustpans to get them out of the way and limit trip hazards at the same time, which is very helpful if you have children who like to explore everywhere. This also keeps them off the floor and easy to grab when you need them.
Two Tiers Of Lighting
Having two tiers of lighting can make the space more comfortable throughout the day, but without feeling dingy or clinical either. Depending on the natural light and weather, you can flick between them. Installing bright, overall lighting for when you’re doing tasks like folding laundry organizing your general goods, or cleaning can be a good place to start, especially if you need to pay attention such as when measuring your pet’s medication. Brighter lights could be recessed lights or a simple ceiling fixture that brightens the whole room and limits showers too. Then you can add task lighting, as it helps when you’re focusing on specific jobs, like treating stains or sorting small items. It also creates a more pleasant ambiance than harsh overhead lights alone, again useful if your pets rest here in the evening.
One Large Utility Surface/Sink Space
It’s wise to install a larger countertop or work surface, this is a utility room after all. It gives you space to sort laundry, fold clothes, or work on household projects, as well as dealing with dirty jobs and tasks, like storing your dog’s toothbrush before you give their pearly whites a nightly clean.
If you’re dealing with a smaller utility room, fold-down surfaces that can be tucked away when not in use or pulled out to give you more space when you really need it are a great investment. A large enamel sink that you don’t mind getting dirty (but not for food or dishes) can be helpful too, such as if they have a large hose to remove dirt from boots.
Set Up A “Dirty” Or “Drain” Area
The purpose of a utility room is that it gives you space to handle many of your household items without necessarily dirtying them. So for example if you need to store a few outdoor cushions from your garden furniture over the winter, resting them against a wall here can’t hurt.
It’s also a good place to store dirty laundry that you don’t want to be outside in your main laundry baskets due to being more soiled than usual. Think about your child’s gym kit or kids waterproof jackets that may have been soaking wet – you don’t want them in your bathroom’s laundry bin for days before you wash them, but here they can be stored without worry until you’re ready to wash again.
But what does a dirty space look like? Well, it’s an area you can store laundry bins if needed, a side sink you don’t mind dirtying, or just a space you can tile and divide from the rest of the room. This could also be helpful if you need to groom or wash your dogs, if you own them.
With this advice, we hope you can design your utility room up to the best possible specification for your needs.