Double-Duty Savvy: 10 Supersmart Laundry Room Combos

If you have a typical corporate job these days, chances are that you're doing the work three folks used to do, which means multitasking is your most vital skill. Business owners and full-time parents: You wear five different hats at any given moment. Make your home work in the smart ways you do. It will cut down on the size of home you need, your energy consumption, your bills and your carbon footprint, leaving more time on the clock and moola in the budget for the fun stuff.

In this series we'll look at how to make all the rooms in the house hum along at 100 percent, starting with the laundry room. Here are 10 ways to rationalize adding a few more square feet to this secret oasis and make it a place where you want to spend time.

1. Laundry room plus potting shed and flower arranging room. A utility sink in the laundry room means you can wash off muddy hands and even shoes before they enter the rest of the house. A counter means you have room to clip, pot, transplant, arrange and even overwinter in here. It's a potting shed–meets–florist shop. It's every cut-flower gardener's and dinner party host's dream. Also, note all of the space for storing gardening supplies, vases, Crocs and more.


This is a more contemporary version of the potting shed laundry room.


2. Laundry room plus craft room and studio. I admit, this laundry room is larger than a lot of kitchens. But it's so fabulous, and it has many functions, so it's allowed. The room has natural light, overhead lights, pendant lights and that huge surface for folding, ironing, crafting or running a business. Why not get your laundry done while you're working on blueprints, collaging, making jewelry, writing a blog, working on the kids' summer schedule or getting Etsy orders ready to ship? Multitasking in your multitasking room will make you unstoppable.


3. Laundry room plus pantry. Combining a pantry with the laundry room means you'll have one walk-in space instead of two regular closet-size spaces. You'll want the space to be near the kitchen, so if your bedrooms are on another floor, look into installing a chute. Keep cleaning supplies close to the machine and don't mix items like bleach and food in the same cabinets.


This '50s ranch pantry was a very sad sight. Now it's a cheerful, stylish and functional spot for stashing groceries and doing laundry.


4. Laundry room plus extra-refrigerator room. You may be all set with the pantry but need that extra refrigerator for weekend beverages and all that meat you bought in bulk at Costco. A laundry room with just a few extra square feet can handle it.

See the rest of this eclectic Nashville bungalow


5. Laundry room plus coat-warming closet (and more). This very well-thought-out laundry room has an extra refrigerator and freezer, a craft area, extra pantry cabinets, a coat warming closet (this is in chilly Michigan, after all) and a sink.

See more of this laundry room and the rest of this Michigan lake house


6. Laundry room plus back entry. This is such a great solution for those of you with kids. They can come in, kick off their muddy shoes, wash their hands, hang their coats up, toss their backpacks in their lockers and toss their muddy soccer uniforms right into the washing machine. The dirt stops here.

How to teach kids to load up and turn on that washing machine themselves


7. Laundry room plus dog-washing station. The same rules can apply to dogs. The architects created a much-needed dog-washing spot adjacent to the laundry machines in this lovely home. They even integrated the client's hand-painted tiles into the doggie tub surround.

See the rest of this antique Cape


Your utility sink can double as a dog tub, depending on how large your dog is.

Side note: Raise your hand if you believe this dog is being primped for some sort of pageant that will air on reality TV. This is one of the photos on Houzz that make me smile the widest.


8. Laundry room plus gift wrapping department. Wrapping paper cleverly stored up top with counter space below means you can wrap a gift and get right out the door to that baby shower, kids' birthday party or holiday gathering within minutes. No searching around for paper, tape, ribbon, cards, gift tags or a spot to put it all together. The counters do double duty for folding clothes.


Even if your laundry room is tiny, you can still accomplish the gift wrap station. All you need is front loaders, so you can use the space atop the machines as counter space. A wall-mounted cabinet keeps wrapping paper and ribbons in order.


9. Laundry room plus sewing room. You don't have to wait until your kid goes to college to turn his or her room into the place where you'll sew and hang stuff on the otherwise unused Bowflex. Give yourself a modest workspace and a place to plug in (if necessary). Great lighting is key; cabinets or drawers for fabrics and other supplies are a perk.


10. Laundry room plus command central. The schedules, the wrapping paper, the files, the household binders, the desk where you look up photos of Javier Bardem online and Photoshop your own face over Penelope Cruz's and yes, the spot for folding too. It's all here. The best part is that a parent can lock the door and sneak in a private conversation with a friend that doesn't involve sippy cups or Dora the Explorer every now and then.


Houzzers, what extra functions have you added to your laundry room? Please share in the Comments section.

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