Seven Things to Consider Before a Laundry Room Remodel

Embarking on a laundry room remodel is a significant step towards enhancing your home’s functionality and aesthetics. It’s an opportunity to transform a mundane space into something both practical and pleasing to the eye. However, diving into this project requires thoughtful planning and consideration.

In the following guide, we delve into seven crucial factors you should consider before starting your laundry renovation or remodel. These key insights will help you navigate through the choices of layout, appliances, and design elements, ensuring your revamped space is as efficient as it is stylish.

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What’s Your Time Frame?

When does your project need to be completed? How will you do your laundry while you are renovating? At a friend’s or family member’s house? At the laundry mat or with a laundry service? This is important to fully think out so that you can decide what parts of the remodeling project you can realistically DIY and what parts you should hire out.

Make a List of Laundry Room Remodel Must-Haves

Do you need counter space for folding laundry? More shelves? Closed cabinets for storage? A rack to hang clothes? An ironing board or sink? Will you need to add outlets or move gas lines, vents, or add outlets? Make a list before you start any of your laundry room remodel, so that you won’t have any unexpected surprises once it’s too late. If space is an issue, consider the possibility of stacking your washer and dryer to save a significant amount of space in your laundry room — but note that this can only be done with a front load washing machine. If you have a very small nook to work with, stacking your washer and dryer will be essential to making your laundry room a functional space.

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Find Inspiration

Start a laundry room inspiration board on Pinterest to see how others have effectively organized their laundry room space — especially rooms that are similar in shape or size to yours. You might not have thought of mounting an expandable drying rack to the wall, or adding a bench with hooks for coats, hats, and backpacks if your laundry room also serves as your mud room. Of course, it’s not all about function, but fun, too. Maybe you’ve dreamed of having your own wall of clean, trendy subway tile, or a boldly experimental color scheme. We spend many hours of our week in the laundry room, so yours should be a cheerful and beautiful space that makes doing chores, well, almost pleasant!

Decide What to DIY and What to Hire Out

Maybe your family is all for DIY projects, but there are still some things you aren’t comfortable doing yourselves. For some laundry room remodels, you might have to move a gas line and install a new dryer vent — and you should have no qualms about hiring a professional to tackle these potentially hazardous tasks. As much as you love taking on a new project, it’s important to know your limits and when it’s best to leave it to an expert. Will you need an electrician or plumber? Drywall? What about demolition? Spend time planning out how and when the work is going to be done, how long it will take, and how this will affect your laundry room use in the meantime.

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Make a Budget

As with any remodeling project, there will always be surprises that pop up just when you think you’ve thought of everything, so be sure to give yourself wiggle room in your budget. If you’ve decided to tackle some of the renovation on your own, don’t forget to account for quality tools, in addition to all your other supplies.

Do You Need to Special Order Anything?

For the sake of time and budget, choosing items that are in stock at your local hardware store is your safest bet. But in order to make your laundry room truly unique, you’ll likely want to special order a few things — perhaps a handcrafted pendant light or even some funky drawer pulls. This could add a bit of lead time, so make sure to plan accordingly.  Also, things like countertops and custom cabinets can take extra time to be constructed and installed, so planning ahead here is key.

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It’s Just a Laundry Room — Don’t Overstress Yourself!

Yes, it can be quite a bit of work, especially if yours is an expensive or labor-intensive remodel, but these tips will ensure that the project runs as smoothly as possible. In the end, you’ll have a beautiful new laundry room to enjoy for as long as you live in your home. Who knows, you might even find yourself making excuses to throw in another load!