Laundry Room Design + Organization Tips

Today, I am so excited to share my best tricks for designing and organizing a laundry room! I’m a true believer that your laundry room does not have to be an afterthought, it can be a truly special room. That said, function definitely comes before fashion in this space.

This post is sponsored by GE Appliances—makers of the nicest washer and dryer I have ever owned. This washer has SmartDispense technology, which basically means you can pour an entire bottle of detergent in at one time and the washer will automatically dispense how much is needed for each load. Nice! And it will tell you when you’re running low.

Both the washer and dryer have connected technology so you can control them with your phone. Just use the Laundry app to keep the dryer tumbling if you aren’t home to get the clothes out.

Tip 1: Use the same color scheme from the next room to create visual continuity.

Yes, I want my laundry room to be super cute—but it doesn’t need a whole new color story. I remember in my first home I basically picked a different (bold!) paint color for every room. It was … a lot.

Keep things cohesive by pairing your laundry room color scheme with whatever other room you can see from the laundry room. Bonus points if you can continue the same flooring as well.

Tip 2: Focus on storage.

This is kind of obvious, but if you have a chance to add any storage, DO IT. In this room, we built this giant shelf on one side (with room to grow … we don’t even need all this space yet, which is a very good problem to have) and above the washer we added a double shelf, so everything you need to do laundry can be kept within reach!

Tip 3: Avoid plastic containers.

This is a new one for me! Recently, I have been making an effort to reduce the amount of plastic I buy because plastic isn’t friendly for the environment, tends to wear more easily and then get tossed sooner. I also read some scary stuff about plastic toys in this book and decided to just avoid it when possible. I am basically never a purist with this stuff, but I think that taking small steps is important and a good practice all throughout life.

Anyway, as I began to look for plastic alternatives for storage, I realized it’s EASY to find them. It’s even quite a bit cuter, in my opinion. For storage in this room, I grabbed some hyacinth baskets, some wire locker baskets and some ceramic berry baskets.

Tip 4: Use large glass jars to hold supplies.

I love having glass jars filled with things like dryer balls, clothespins, and reusable cloths. Rows of jars make my eyes so happy!

Tip 5: Be consistent with brands you buy or rebottle.

OK, I’ll give you two scenarios—one is Martha-Stewart-level and the other one is, well, easy.

If you want your laundry room to look like a magazine, the best thing to do is to make your own cleaning supplies or rebottle. When you look at a laundry room in a magazine, they will usually have done this—it makes everything prettier because branding and labels can detract your eye from the design. I love these amber spray bottles from Amazon or these pretty glass bottles from Grove.

The way easier option is to buy all your cleaning products from just one brand. Even if it’s not the world’s cutest packaging, it just looks way nicer to have the consistency in the packaging all from one source instead of a million random brands (to be fair, maybe that is why closed shelving was invented … lol … but I don’t have any of that in this room).

Tip 6: Everything must match!

(don’t laugh)

One of the biggest keys to organizing a space that can easily look cluttered is to keep the colors matching. So when it’s time to buy a new broom, vacuum, laundry basket or whatever else … keep it neutral or matching.

I know this may seem a little strange to some, but organization is more than just cleaning and sorting—it’s making things look nice visually, and it’s very difficult to do that when the color scheme is all over the map. Buying things that match is kind of like cheating because it makes it 100x easier to create a visually pleasing space!

This is where it all ties back together because a bright white washer and dryer were the perfect fit for this space.

I hope this post was encouraging! This laundry room renovation was not high budget. It was even more affordable than the one in my own home and my husband loves this one more (of course—LOL). Don’t feel like you need an enormous budget to create a super nice laundry room! Just follow my simple tips for designing and organizing and you’ll be amazed how easily it all comes together.

Thanks so much for reading! xx – Elsie

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Amber Ulmer.