Our Small Laundry Remodel -

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Our laundry room was not only small but very badly organised and the space was not utilised to its full potential. I spent a lot of time thinking through what I required from this space and how best to achieve it. The final design has made such a difference to how I use the room. Have a look at how it looked prior to the remodel. I had no bench space and very minimal awkward storage. A freestanding cupboard was added to give me some extra space and it also housed my sewing machine.

What we needed from our small laundry remodel

There were certain things that I needed this room to provide:-

Benchspace
Great usable storage
Sewing space
A place to hang clothes I didn’t want to dry outside or in the dryer.

The redesign of our small laundry

The process of redesigning our small laundry space was complicated by the fact that this room was also the entry to the house from our garage as well as to the side access area. This meant that we had to allow clear walkways in the tiny space and deal with three doors!

After a few changes I came up with a design that I could not be happier with especially given the space that I had to deal with. I was able to incorporate everything on my wishlist.

Demolition of our small laundry

As always we had a plumber come and disconnect the plumbing before we started demolition.

We removed everything including the tiles so we could start again in this room.

Rebuilding our small laundry

Once demolition was complete we had the plumber come back to move the taps and install everything required for our new under bench washer and dryer. We had to repair all the plaster work and repaint. The next step was to have the tiler lay the floor tiles. We chose these floor tiles which would also be used in the two bathrooms, toilet and hallways once we started those renovations.

I decided to go for a small sink to give me more bench space. This would only suit if you were like me and didn’t soak things in the sink. I have not found this to be an issue at all.

I would have loved to have marble tiles for the back splash but having the whole thing done was too expensive for us at the time considering we had the two bathrooms to do. We wanted everything to be consistent, so we decided to do a feature of marble tiles and I was really happy with how it turned out.

One of the best things we did was change to a front loader washing machine. I was reluctant to do this as I had only ever used top loaders. The research I did led me towards Miele and I could not be happier with the machines. We were lucky that the Gold Coast has a Miele Centre so we were able to go and see the machines working. It also meant that we could speak to experts to find out which models would suit us.

Washer and dryer for our small laundry remodel

The models we chose have now been discontinued but they were basically this washing machine and this dryer. I absolutely love the washing machine. It cleans everything brilliantly. I tend to use the 1hr and 20 min cycles the most. Using the longer ones for sheets, towels and items that a really dirty. The twin dos system is really good and I use the Miele detergents. I love not having to put detergent in anymore. Miele also have fabric softener capsules but I found they didn’t work at all as the fabric softener was too thick and didn’t empty from the capsule. I believe they have changed the formula now but I didn’t bother to go back. They do have specialised capsules for wool, silk and other things and I really like these, especially the wool ones.

The dryer really is just a dryer. I chose this one because I wanted the machines to match and be the same size etc. There was also an option for drying shirts that was supposed to reduce wrinkles. My opinion is that it doesn’t really work that great so I don’t use it. If you’re looking for a dryer on its own I would choose a cheaper one, its not really worth the extra money. Having said that I am happy with the choice, the installation was done by MIele and was easy and with that installation I was given a good rundown on how to use the machines.

The finished laundry remodel

Now that the room is finished I am blown away by how well this room now functions. I find it hard to believe it’s the same size as the old one. Doing the laundry is so much easier now having a bench and hanging space. I really love the simplicity of the hooks I found at Ikea. They fold up out of the way and when I need them I can fold them down