Laundry room

I can't believe how much time I spend in the new laundry room. And what a pleasure it is that the floor is level with the hall - for years I've been stepping down to put on a wash. It's the little things actually that make a difference. Also, putting the clothes dryer on top of the washing machine was a revelation. As it's a condenser I can now pull out the water compartment easily and tip out the contents. When the dryer was on the floor I'd just about do myself an injury trying to extract the water vessel. (NB if you're going to put your dryer on top of your washing machine, ensure they are fixed together otherwise the dryer will wobble off at some point).

We haven't made it to Ikea to sort out a wall-mounted drying rack - or shelves to store the cleaning equipment - yet. But I did find a shoe rack which means no piles of little shoes to climb over every night. With all the rain the laundry room being close to the front door has been brilliant - we're able to strip down and chuck everything into the wash or hang it to dry instead of dripping through the house.

Laundry room taking shape

This will post will feel as dull as dishwater, unless you're about to make a laundry room (aka utility room) too? If not, then I'd have to agree. Probably the least exciting room your home will ever have. If like me you're from New Zealand this will seem like a totally normal thing to have in your home. London flat dwellers don't usually have the space to put in a laundry room and the British are fond of sticking the washing machine in the kitchen (why not the bathroom?! Who gets undressed in the kitchen?)

These photos show the former end of the garage, well, middle really as the end was used to make our kitchen. The space was gutted, a wall put up and behold - insulated. Amazingly the wall between the garage and kitchen was never insulated, which goes a long way to explaining the glacial blast which came out of our cupboards in winter. On the upside, our cupboard items remained fresh for ages. At least with an insulated wall our gas bill should be less of a fright next winter.

The room now has it's own (eco) light bulb and a separate switch to run an extractor fan. This means we can shut the door and leave the dryer on and the humidity won't get too crazy in there. Guests will be pleased they no longer have to climb over an airing rack in order to sleep in the spare bedroom.

A trip to Ikea is on the cards so we can buy one of their wall-mounted drying racks. The selection of such items online is pretty bad, and the so-called specialist websites that deal with such things are overwhelmingly awful. Definitely a gap in the market for anyone who can be bothered. The flooring is en route and then we need to think about how to house the mountain of stuff that used to be in the garage into this little space.