We don’t live in our laundry, so keep it simple.
Let’s face it, the laundry is the definition of a purely functional room. We don’t hang out there with our guests, shooting the breeze over a basket of washing with the dryer humming in the background, and unlike a bathroom, the chances of guests needing to use our laundry are – with the exception of the occasional red wine incident – generally fairly slim.
If you’re looking to cut costs on a new build, the laundry is an excellent place to start. A washing machine, dryer, tub and storage space are the basic requirements for this part of the home; anything else is a touch of luxury that falls squarely in the ‘nice to have’ category. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Bespoke hardwood cabinetry
- Built-in ironing table
- A second sink
- Soft close hinges
- Stone, porcelain or wooden flooring
- Composite, stone or marble bench top
- High end tapware
- Laminate and MDF cabinetry is significantly less pricey than crafted timber joinery, so this, coupled with moderately-priced hinges, knobs and handles, should be your first port of call when looking to build a cheaper laundry room.
- A built-in ironing table is useful, but these days it certainly won’t be a dealbreaker when it comes to selling. For the majority of busy millennials in particular, ironing is strictly reserved for special occasion outfits. Gone are the days when nan ironed every item of fabric in the house, right down to the family’s hankies and undies!
- A second sink also comes under the ‘nice to have but definitely not necessary’ category. The only exception to this rule might be for a rural dwelling, where homeowners are more likely to need to soak soiled clothing.
- Soft-close hinges are great, but are they a must have? Not in our book they’re not. Save this sort of thing for your bathroom vanity.
- Laundry flooring should be hardwearing and practical, and there are few flooring materials as low maintenance and easy to clean as laminate. Wooden floors scratch easily, while stone and porcelain are both cold underfoot and have a tendency to chip, making them less than ideal for your hardworking laundry area. Modern laminates are so realistic, it can be impossible to tell if you’re walking on stone or wood unless you take your shoes off, and the best part? They’re super cheap, starting at an incredible $15 per Sqm.
- If you do nothing else, take our advice and save the fancy benchtop for your kitchen. Laminate benchtops are light years away from the ugly Formica monstrosities that we grew up with in the 70s and 80s. They’re hardwearing, easy to keep clean, difficult to chip or crack, and they’re priced at roughly $120 – $350 per Sqm. With modern day laminates doing a more than passable impression of stone and granite, you’d be a fool not to take advantage of this incredibly versatile product.
- Tapware can range from astonishingly-beautiful brushed nickel creations direct from Italy, right down to your basic chrome mixers from Mitre Ten, and everything in between. Our advice? Go for something mid-range that gives you the functionality required for your laundry without breaking the bank. You might even consider investing in a fancy pull-out tap with spray function, but do steer away from the super high-end brands; splurging on a tap that nobody will ever see is the very definition of throwing money at nothing.