5 Laundry Room Cabinet Ideas That Increase Your Storage Space In Style

The laundry room is such a hardworking, heavily used room: It's the place that keeps your household running, by providing endless loops of clean clothes. That said, even the mildest hiccup in the laundry process will really decrease the efficiency of moving through those laundry piles (how do they just keep reappearing?), so if you're in the process of building or redesigning a laundry room, it's crucial to make thoughtful decisions about cabinetry design.  Especially when planning functionality and storage for a small laundry room, every square inch of space really matters. 

As an interior designer, I'm here to share my favorite tricks for sneaking in every bit of practical cabinetry as humanly possible into your laundry room, while still having it look like a calming, well-designed, and upscale space. With smart planning, there are a myriad of ways to pack storage and efficiency into one room of cabinets. So let's make your laundry room the most streamlined, pleasant, and aesthetically-pleasing version of itself that it can be, and hopefully ensure your laundry cycle moves more efficiently than ever. 

When creating an area for the washer and dryer, depending on the dimensions of the room, your laundry unit surroundings may be a snug fit, or there may be an awkward recess between machines, or the units and wall. While it may seem like there isn't much to be done with this deep, narrow space, it's the perfect place to maximize every square inch of the room for storage. Even the skinniest space between laundry machines or alongside the units can create the perfect spot for storing laundry essentials like detergent, stain removers, dryer balls, and more.

Depending on how much width you have to work with, you could create a super narrow pull-out rack (similar to a spice rack for the kitchen), a hamper tilt- or roll-out unit, a bank of drawers, or a standard storage cabinet. I personally like to opt for a custom solution to truly take advantage of the dimensions of the entire space and optimize functionality. If you are on a budget, though, look for a narrow rolling cart or cube storage unit with baskets as a more affordable premade alternative.

In order to pack as much storage into a small laundry room as possible, put all that vertical space to good use. By running cabinets up to the ceiling wherever possible, you maximize every inch of that vertical storage (which can be particularly valuable when space is at a premium!). This means incorporating full-height floor to ceiling cabinets, even if they are narrow in width, as they will still add so much extra storage.

In addition, I always prefer to install upper cabinets above hanging rods, or stackable laundry units, to capture the last foot or two of storage at the ceiling. Though you may not want to store everyday items in these high cabinets, the extra storage is perfect for seasonal items or overflow household storage. Plus, any open and unclaimed space near the ceiling is a void for collecting dust, so utilizing this space as storage with closed doors is a cleaning win on top of being efficient and beautiful to look at.

There is nothing more frustrating than laundry baskets cluttering the floor of an already small laundry room, so plan ahead and incorporate open areas within your cabinetry to accommodate hamper storage. Laundry baskets are often overlooked as an item that needs storing within a laundry room, even if you do not stash dirty clothes in that space between washes. By integrating hamper functionality into your cabinetry, the efficiency of the space will skyrocket, leaving floor space open for easy and unencumbered maneuvering on wash day.

For smaller handheld laundry baskets, consider open shelving for housing one or more baskets. Alternatively, raise your laundry machines or other cabinetry onto a platform with an open cubby below for hamper storage (more on this later). For rolling hampers, create a permanent parking spot under a folding counter for seamless use. For truly seamless integration, install a tilt- or roll-out hamper cabinet with a removable insert to blend in with the rest of the space. Whatever type of hamper works best for your family, design your laundry room cabinetry with this essential in mind to make your space work harder and smarter.

When it comes to small laundry rooms, not everyone needs or can sacrifice the space for a full folding counter above their side-by-side washer and dryer. If you're short like me, odds are only the first foot or two is actually easily reachable or usable (laundry machines are deep – about 32-34 inches plus a void behind for hookups). So rather than leave the entire depth open, underutilized, and collecting clutter, extend your upper cabinets down to sit on the last foot of the countertop.

Taking your cabinetry all the way from ceiling to counter gains approximately another 18 to 24 inches of vertical storage along the entire span of the washer and dryer (about 56 to 60 inches wide on average) versus leaving it open. That's a ton of valuable storage space added without any functionality lost. If your upper cabinets are only 12 inches deep, there will still be roughly two feet of usable folding counter available to use in front of them, meaning you get the best of both worlds.

As I previously hinted at, an amazing spot to gain additional square footage for storage in the laundry room is actually underneath the laundry machines. 

With a fairly generously-sized footprint each, the washer and dryer take up a lot of space when placed directly on the floor. Instead, maximize that precious space by raising the units up on top of a platform or pedestal to create a ton of storage underneath. In addition, the new raised height of the washer and dryer is more ergonomic and comfortable to access versus bending to reach into machines placed on the floor. The new wide, deep drawers pack in a ton of extra storage while saving your back from excess strain thanks to the more convenient height of the laundry machines.

Purchase ready-made pedestal drawers that correspond with your brand of washer and dryer for a simple solution to more storage. There are also pre-made universal options available with additional features such as a pull-out laundry basket shelf. Alternatively, build a custom laundry pedestal with drawers, to maximize the storage space below the laundry machines with an integrated solution that blends in beautifully with the rest of your cabinetry.