The Laundry Room

Neightbor's Clothesline

Laundry rooms were a lot simpler when  I was a girl on the farm.

My mom used a wringer washer on the back porch for washing and a clothesline for drying.  In the winter she dried the wet clothes on chairs near the floor registers.  When my dad installed a propane gas dryer in the farmhouse "back room", clothes drying in inclement weather became less intrusive. Everyone was happy about that.


Today's laundry rooms are about as different from my mom's back room as lye soap is from HE detergent.  





I looked at several views of this room before I spotted the actual washer and dryer.



Aha!  There they are.

On the other end of the spectrum, consider the laundry area in our previous home.



Full-size units were stacked in a small corner of the mudroom to save space.  Honestly, I don't think my clothes would have gotten any cleaner in a laundry room ten times this size.  Although having room to roller skate while watching the clothes tumble may have made laundry day more exciting.




This is the laundry room in our rental apartment.  Uninspiring, but it beats going to the laundromat.




In our new cottage plan the laundry is adjacent and open to the bathroom.



Here's a sketch looking head on.  There's a window on the wall to the right of the dryer.





This is my inspiration photo.  The laundry area is compact and pretty, with a countertop for folding, storage above and a charming window.  

We're partying in the Laundry Room at Every Room In The House the month of August.  Come and be inspired by the laundry rooms linked there. And, please, share your laundry room, too.  We'd love to see it!



Sharing here, too:
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Share Your Cup Thursday at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage



40 comments

  1. I love that last photo!! So gorgeous! and I agree - what's with the ginormous laundry rooms? What on earth are people doing in there??? oh never mind, i don't wanna know... LOL!

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    1. Anne, I was going to show another ginormous laundry room with its own "Romeo & Juliet" balcony, but decided not to make a big thing of it. LOL

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  2. I grew up like that too. Washer on the back porch and the dryer in the yard, clothes line that is.

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    1. Betty, in my adult life I lived for 8 years in a house that had a clothesline in the back yard. I used it all summer long, and loved it.

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  3. We've just bought our new house - downsizing - and will lose the big, main-floor combined laundry and bathroom. The 1927 cottage has laundry in the basement. I'm thinking that it may be worth it to lose a little lower cupboard space in the kitchen in order to bring the laundry upstairs. I like your last photo - that would work!

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    1. I think making room for the laundry on the first floor is a good thing to do. For me it's a matter of safety. I've had basement laundry rooms in the past and actually have tripped once or twice going up the stairs with laundered clothes. Fortunately, I was never injured. Congratulations on your new home!

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  4. We aren't in a 1920's cottage but our current laundry is in the basement. I think about main floor laundry area but then I tell myself that walking the steps might be good for me! If I were to make a change though I would create somethingcozy with a place to fold. Much like the area you pictured.

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    1. Please be careful going up and down the stairs with laundry, Lynne. See my comment above. Hugs ~ Nancy

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  5. I would love, LOVE, L O V E to have a KITCHEN that looks like the first pictured laundry room, but I am most grateful to be one of those girlies who is lucky to have a first floor laundry room, and would not trade it for the world! Thank you for sharing once again! Peaceful Blessings! Nanny

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    1. I agree. I think that large laundry room would make a great kitchen. Thanks for visiting. :)

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  6. Wow, your laundry room will be so charming! I can't even imagine a larger area than that...and I am not sure I would want to. My laundry gets done in the basement. It is a clean, partially finished area. It is not a space I would want to spend anymore time in, no matter how pretty it was. If I actually had room in my house for that kind of washroom, I would make it into a music room or a library or an office space or craft room! I don't have space for any of those extras right now...but we can walk to the beach! That's my trade off! Of course, all that being said, pretty laundry areas are lovely to look at, so thanks for sharing!!

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    1. I'd say your priorities are straight, Kim. I'd much rather have a beach close by than a large house any day. Besides, your home is perfectly charming, and you have a pool! I'd take your lifestyle any day. Hugs, Nancy

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  7. What a beautiful photo of the clothesline! I can remember only having a washer when my kids were little and hanging clothes on the line. Most of the time it was nice....winter it was frigid! One of the things we loved about our condo here in NC is the fact that it has a laundry room. It's nice to have a separate room and hubby put up shelves, so we have some storage, too. Doesn't really look pretty enough to photograph though! lol Sweet hugs!

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    1. A laundry room with storage sounds great, Diane. We put shelving in our apartment laundry room with the landlord's blessings. I'm sure the next tenant will appreciate it.

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  8. I so want a clothesline! Hoping to add one up on the hill next to the future garden shed. Some laundry rooms are absolutely fabulous now days. That first one is just a little too fancy if you ask me. lol! I like space, but would rather put some of that beauty elsewhere. I think your new laundry room will be just the right size!
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. A clothesline, an apple tree and a lilac bush would feel just like my childhood home, Jann. I hope you get our clothesline. xxx

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  9. I LOVE your inspiration photo! It's going to be beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, Rebecca. My version may be a little scaled down. LOL. But yes, I would love to have something like this. Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. My, I'm happy I don't have a huge laundry room or I would have to learn how to roller skate!

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    1. LOL See, this is what I love about having you as my blogging buddy, Magali. . .you never miss a thing I write. <3

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  11. WHAT a fun post! :) I always put my bedding on my laundry line / can't beat the scent of going to sleep on fresh air dried sheets and quilt! :)

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    1. Agreed. Line dried bedding is the best. Glad you enjoyed the post, Deb. xxx

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  12. Our washer and dryer are in the front of the garage. I have limited space to do anything and barely have room for the soap and softener. I can dream though!

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    1. I'd take your cottage in a heartbeat, Carol. The washer and dryer in the garage wouldn't be a problem. xxx

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  13. I would love for my laundry room to be a huge clothesline out in my yard! But I don't live in the South so that wouldn't work most of the time! You really don't want to see my "laundry room". It is just a washer and dryer plugged into the wall of the dusty, musty basement. Folding and sorting go on in my living room!

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    1. AnnMarie, I do my folding on our bed most of the time. :)

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  14. Great ideas. I would love to redo my laundry room, maybe once the kitchen is finished! Love the idea of a folding area in the laundry room, would sure be better than lugging that basket into the den and dumping it on the sofa to fold. Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY...
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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    1. Thanks, Cindy. By the looks of the comment, most of us lug our laundry to another room for folding. :-)

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  15. Beautiful! I want a laundry room off my bathroom and walk-in closet - that's where my dream laundry room would be!

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  16. I love your ideas for your cottage. I agree that it doesn't have to be big to be charming and functional.

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  17. That huge laundry room is beautiful, but for me it is wasted space. Unless it serves multiple purposes then that would make more sense.

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    1. I agree, Susan. I've seen laundry rooms that double as craft rooms or sewing rooms, and that seems like a good use of space. Thanks for visiting. :)

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  18. I like your inspiration photo best. Your cottage is going to be so charming! My daughter just moved into her new apartment with a washing machine and clothesline out back. I told her the sheets will feel and smell wonderful after drying in the sun.

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    1. Thank you, Laurel. I do like getting into a bed with linens that have been hung on the clothesline. You're right, they always feel and smell wonderful.

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  19. In our home the laundry must have been done outside - where it is now is a former breakfast room off the kitchen - tiny!!! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  20. Wonderful inspiration. Can't wait to see it all!

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    1. Well, we'll see how it all comes together, Sherry. It may be changing again.

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