Laundry design that works
The laundry is small, used constantly, and almost always designed last. A little planning around the workflow turns it from a cramped afterthought into one of the most useful rooms in the house.
- Design around the workflow: sort, wash, dry, fold, store
- Fit a bench you can fold on and a tall cupboard for the broom and vacuum
- Decide top versus front loader early, it changes the whole layout
- Plan the floor waste, taps, and dryer venting before the walls are lined
Plan around the workflow
Follow the load from dirty to away
A good laundry lets you move a load through five steps without backtracking. Lay the room out in that order where you can, with a landing spot for baskets, the machines together, and bench space beside them to fold. The less you carry a wet load across the room, the better it works.
Pick a layout that suits the space
Machines, sink, and cupboards along one run. The simplest and most common.
Two facing runs for a busy household, with bench on one side and appliances on the other.
A stacked washer and dryer tucked behind doors, ideal for apartments and small homes.
Fixtures, storage, and services
The things that make it usable
Include a bench to fold on, a deep sink for soaking and handwashing, a tall cupboard for the broom, mop, and vacuum, and a rail or drying space for line-dry items. Decide between a top and front loader early: a front loader lets you run a bench and cupboards over the top, a top loader does not, so it changes the whole layout.
Get the services right before lining
The laundry has more plumbing and ventilation than its size suggests. Confirm the 'floor waste', the hot and cold taps, the drainage for the machine, and how the dryer is vented, a condenser or heat-pump dryer avoids ducting, otherwise you need an external vent. Waterproofing rules apply here as they do in a bathroom, so confirm what your build requires.
Top loader versus front loader
Decide the machine format before the layout is drawn, because it sets what the joinery can do.
Vented versus condenser dryers
The dryer type decides whether you need ducting through a wall, which matters most in apartments and internal laundries.
Dimensions cheat sheet
Put these figures in the joinery brief rather than accepting defaults; a cavity 20 mm too narrow is discovered on installation day.
Services rough-in
Everything below is set before the walls are lined; mark it on the plan and walk it with the plumber and electrician at rough-in.
Where the washing dries
Plan a drying strategy for wet weeks, not just sunny ones; every option below needs its space or its power point decided before fit-off.
Laundry in an apartment
Strata / OC / CTSAn internal or cupboard laundry is a wet area, so waterproofing requirements apply just as they do in a bathroom, and moving one usually counts as a renovation the scheme must approve. A heat-pump dryer sidesteps the hardest problem, since there is no duct to route through a facade you do not own.
Check the by-laws for floor waste, acoustic, and flooring conditions before the layout is drawn, and keep the approvals with your renovation records for handover.
Remember
Brief your builder
Itemise the laundry rather than leaving it as an allowance. Four lines cover most of it:
Common mistakes
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