Our kitchen is now clear to enjoy entertaining
Katy Wilson, 37, is an account manager for a software company and lives in Derbyshire, with her partner Paul, 39, a project manager, their daughter Lila, four, and Paul’s son, Theo, 13.
In our previous home, we didn’t have a utility room, and I’d got fed up with looking at piles of washing amid the pots and pans in the kitchen.
So, when we bought this house in 2015, and put in for planning permission to build a two-storey extension, we included a laundry room, for which I already had a clear idea of the striking colours, textures and materials I wanted.
Katy Wilson, 37, (pictured) is an account manager for a software company and lives in Derbyshire, didn’t have a utility room in her previous house and got ‘fed up with looking at piles of washing amid the pots’
I threw myself into designing a glamorous space that would flow beautifully from the kitchen.
The two rooms cost £35,000, of which around £6,000 went on the laundry, including bespoke cabinets finished in a deep, inky blue with gold fittings, which is striking against the light oak parquet floor.
The laundry is essentially a hiding space for all the things we don’t want on display in the kitchen, where we love to entertain.
Ironing in such luxury is my guilty pleasure
Anna Jennings, 37, is a HR consultant who lives in Warwickshire with her husband, George, 43, director of a property consultancy, and their two children, aged six and three.
Whisper it, but ironing is my guilty pleasure, especially now I have a beautiful laundry room to do it in.
Anna Jennings, 37, is a HR consultant who lives in Warwickshire with her husband and says that ironing is her ‘guilty pleasure’
When we moved to our five-bedroom home in 2014, I seized the opportunity to incorporate a laundry room during the renovations.
I wanted it to be as beautiful as it was practical and to reflect the timeless elegance that I love when it comes to interiors.
I sketched out a scaled design for the room, which included appliances hidden behind beautiful cabinetry for a sleek and stylish look more befitting of a high-end kitchen.
We asked a cabinet maker to make bespoke units, costing around £8,000. They include a bank of floor-to-ceiling cupboards and a sink unit, as well as cupboards on the opposite side of the room, which hold my washing machine and dryer.
The cupboards hold the iron, ironing board and mops, and are hand painted in the Farrow & Ball shade ‘Purbeck Stone’.
Including quartz worktops, fixtures, limestone floor and ceramic butler’s sink and taps, the room cost around £10,000.
With two children, I’m constantly ironing, but it’s an indulgence to shut myself away in such a lovely room while I get on with it.
Being in here is no longer a chore
Wendy Simpson, 41, is an interiors blogger who lives in East Yorkshire with husband Dean, 42, a fish merchant, and their three daughters.
As a family of five, the washing machine is on constantly. So when we bought our six-bedroom Georgian farmhouse seven years ago, I insisted on having a laundry room.
Wendy Simpson, 41, is an interiors blogger who lives in East Yorkshire and insisted on having a laundry room when they bought their six-bedroom Georgian farmhouse
We used a local firm to design bespoke cabinets and raised the washing machine and tumble drier off the floor to save my back.
Two large drawers underneath the machines store laundry during the various stages in the cycle.
Meanwhile, I can stow away the ironing board and any clothes that are waiting to be pressed in tall cupboards.
Overall, the room cost £8,000 and it’s my domain.
My wish list room is ultra glamorous
Rebecca Sterling, 28, is a digital content creator and lives in Hertfordshire with her husband Ben, 37, a property developer, and their one-year-old daughter Freya.
When we bought our three-bedroom, Grade II-listed Georgian semi in 2016, we were planning a family. I knew our home would soon be full of endless washing.
Having a laundry room was high on our wish list, and we carved out space when knocking walls down.
Rebecca Sterling, 28, is a digital content creator and lives in Hertfordshire and said that having a laundry room was high on their wish list
It’s long and narrow with a boot room at one end, and is ultra glamorous.
My husband built all the cabinets himself, so we kept costs low — the whole room came in at under £5,000, including appliances.
The drier is stacked on top of the washer behind a tall cupboard, and there’s an electric drying rack for delicate garments.
We have a steamer for anything that’s very creased, but I don’t even own an iron.
I watched my mum and gran slaving over their ironing boards when I was young, and that’s not for me.
I escape to watch box sets on my own
Annie Morrison, 61, lives in East Sussex with her husband. They have three adult children.
My laundry room reflects my need for everything to be practical, ergonomic and well set out.
No one wants to put their back out bending over baskets of wet washing, so I had the washer and dryer installed at a comfortable height. Each has a pull-out shelf beneath it so that
Annie Morrison, 61, lives in East Sussex with her husband. She said: ‘My laundry room reflects my need for everything to be practical, ergonomic and well set out’
I can stand a laundry basket on top, and a deep drawer below for storing washing tablets.
To the left are four deep fitted cubby holes, each with a basket for dirty clothes — although my children no longer live with us they return often.
When we bought our Victorian house four years ago, I designed the laundry room to ensure it had plenty of storage and light.
It cost around £7,000, not including appliances. I escape there to do the ironing in front of my iPad, watching TV series no one else wants to see.