What Do You Need in a Custom Laundry Room?

A custom laundry room is a space built around how you actually do laundry instead of whatever square footage was left over. At its core, a well-designed custom laundry room gives you five things: dedicated washer and dryer placement with room to open doors, durable countertops for folding, smart storage for supplies and hampers, a utility sink and proper plumbing, and ventilation to manage heat and moisture. Get those right and everything else — the layout, the finishes, the multipurpose add-ons — falls into place.

At McDaniels Kitchen and Bath, we design custom laundry rooms the same way we approach a kitchen or bath: as a working room that has to look good and perform every single day. Whether you are planning a brand-new laundry room or remodeling one that no longer fits your household, this guide walks through what to include, where to put it, and how to make it a room you actually enjoy using. When you are ready to see options in person, our design team can walk you through cabinetry, countertops, and custom storage at our Lansing, MI showroom.

What Makes a Laundry Room “Custom”

A standard laundry closet holds a washer and dryer and little else. A custom laundry room is planned around your household’s real routine — how many loads you run, whether you air-dry delicates, whether the room doubles as a mudroom or pantry, and how you like to sort, treat, and fold. Because you control the design, it caters to your individual requirements and eliminates the usual headaches, such as noise carrying into living spaces or never having enough storage.

Buyers have also come to expect a functional, well-finished laundry room as part of a home’s design, so a thoughtful build pays you back in daily convenience now and in resale appeal later. Much like smart kitchen storage solutions, the value comes from customizing the space to your life rather than settling for a builder-basic layout.

What to Consider Before You Start

If you are already planning a kitchen or bathroom remodel, that is the ideal time to add or upgrade a laundry room. Building one is a lot like adding a small kitchen in terms of materials and trades involved. The room needs hot and cold water, a strong electrical supply, and countertops and storage that complement the rest of your home.

Walk through these practical considerations before any cabinetry or finishes are chosen:

• Ask your plumber about a floor drain or an automatic shutoff valve to protect against leaks.
• Confirm the circuit can handle large appliances, and plan exactly where your outlets and power points need to go.
• Size the room correctly. As a rule, take the footprint of a front-loading washer and add roughly two feet to open the door, plus a few inches of clearance behind it. Measure your current washer and dryer and leave room for larger future models.
• Consider raising a front-loading washer on a pedestal, or adding a step in front of a top-loader, so you can reach in comfortably.
• Include at least one exterior wall for ventilation, and try to add a window for natural light.
• Decide whether you need space to iron and hang clothes, including a bar for delicates and room for an ironing board.
• Plan for double duty. If the room will also serve as a pantry, utility space, or mudroom, account for an extra fridge, a large utility sink, or storage before the layout is locked in.

Once you know what you have and what you need, it becomes far easier to customize the space around your routine.

Where Should You Put a Laundry Room

The best location is driven by how you live, not by tradition. Laundry rooms once lived in the basement, but today they can go wherever they fit best. A few placements to weigh:

Near the Kitchen

Placing the laundry room close to the kitchen makes it easier and less expensive to connect the necessary utilities, since plumbing and electrical are already nearby. Folding a laundry upgrade into a wider kitchen project also lets the two rooms share materials and style. This is often the smoothest path when you are already planning a remodel.

Near Bedrooms or a Bathroom

Locating laundry near bedrooms cuts down on hauling baskets up and down stairs. If you go this route, choose appliances with low decibel ratings, add rugs to absorb sound, and install a solid-core door to keep noise contained. A spot near or inside a large bathroom can also share plumbing efficiently.

In a Utility or Mudroom Zone

A section of the garage, or a combined utility and mudroom near an entry, keeps the mess of wet coats and muddy boots out of the main living areas while putting the washer and dryer close to where dirty clothes come in.

What to Include in a Custom Laundry Room

When planning the layout, design around tasks for maximum efficiency. Think through the steps — sort, wash, dry, fold, put away — and arrange surfaces and appliances so the work flows without backtracking.

Appliances and Work Zones

Keep the washer beside the dryer and add a countertop for folding. An adjacent rod for hanging, overhead shelves for detergents, and a nearby sink for treating stains or washing delicates means fewer steps and a cleaner workflow. Group your plumbed items — washer and sink — together to keep the design streamlined and the plumbing budget in check. Allocate a spot to sort laundry into baskets or tilt-out bins.

Drying Solutions

For air-drying delicates, built-in racks or a hanging rod make a real difference. A double-tier rack on casters rolls out of the way, a wall-mounted valet folds flat when not in use, and a ceiling-hung pulley rack is ideal when wall space is tight. Underfloor heating can speed drying and cut moisture, and stacking the dryer on the washer frees up floor space in a smaller room.

How to Design a Multipurpose Laundry Room

A custom build lets you combine laundry with another function you actually need. Pair it with a pantry and you get a large walk-in room that holds laundry appliances, food storage, and even a prep area — just create clear zones so cleaning tasks stay separate from food storage. Add a sink, dishwasher, extra fridge-freezer, and generous pantry storage to round it out.

Alternatively, fold in a mudroom. Build custom storage for shoes, boots, and outerwear, add hooks and a spot to dry wet coats, and include seating for pulling boots on and off. A pet shower for rinsing muddy dogs is a smart addition to a pet-friendly laundry and utility room.

The Best Storage for a Laundry Room

If the laundry room connects to or sits near your kitchen, carrying the same cabinetry style through both rooms creates a sense of continuity and openness. Match your countertops to the work you’ll do: for mostly folding and staging, a premium stone surface may be more than you need, while a dedicated prep area justifies a more durable countertop. Reviewing countertop styles and durability early keeps the budget realistic. Smooth surfaces also prevent snags when folding delicate fabrics, and task lighting over counters and under shelves helps you spot stains and check that machines are empty.

The interior layout of your cabinets matters as much as the exterior. Customize your storage to hold vacuums, brooms, and ironing boards along with everyday laundry and cleaning supplies. Stagger shelf heights for accessibility, combine open and closed storage, and keep hazardous products up high and out of reach of children and pets. Handleless cabinet doors deliver a clean, streamlined look. Our custom closet systems are well suited to laundry and utility rooms, and our design team can build a storage plan around your specific needs.

Choosing Your Laundry Room Layout

A smart layout changes how the room looks and performs. The right one depends on the size and shape of your space, but a few configurations cover most homes:

Single-Wall or Galley

Placing the washer, dryer, sink, and cabinets along one wall keeps movement easy and confines plumbing to a single run, which is less expensive and less complicated. Store baskets on overhead shelving, or build pull-out sorting bins into the cabinetry, to keep the floor clear. This approach echoes the same efficiency principles behind proven kitchen layouts.

L-Shaped

An L-shaped run lets you tuck the sink around a corner while the washer and dryer sit along the main wall. It adds counter space and storage and works especially well when the room doubles for washing boots or pets.

Island

If you have the square footage, a central island creates a dedicated folding and staging surface plus extra storage that lives outside the perimeter cabinets.

How to Style Your Laundry Room

A laundry room does not have to feel purely utilitarian. Because it is often adjacent to other rooms, it can carry your interior style right through. Windows bring in light and can be dressed with curtains or blinds that match your aesthetic, while rugs absorb sound and prevent slips on wet floors. The right rug can also tie together the colors and textures already in your design.

Keep a little open shelving for curated pieces like art, plants, or vases, and decant laundry supplies into attractive, safely stored containers. Because it is a smaller room, the laundry space is a low-risk place to experiment — bold wallpaper, distinctive cabinet hardware, or a fresh paint color are all easy to change later. Whether your look is coastal, classic, or industrial, the laundry room can be finished to match.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you need in a custom laundry room?

A functional custom laundry room needs washer and dryer placement with clearance to open doors, durable countertops for folding, plenty of storage for supplies and hampers, a utility sink with proper hot and cold plumbing, adequate electrical for large appliances, and ventilation to handle heat and moisture. Adding drying racks, a hanging rod, and task lighting rounds out a space that works for your routine.

How much space do you need for a laundry room?

A workable minimum is the footprint of your washer and dryer plus about two feet in front to open a front-loader’s door, with a few inches of clearance behind the machines. Measure your current appliances and leave room for larger future models. If you want counters, a sink, or multipurpose storage, plan for additional depth and wall length.

Where is the best place to put a laundry room?

The best location depends on your household. Placing it near the kitchen makes utility connections easier and less costly, while a spot near bedrooms cuts down on carrying baskets between floors. Wherever you choose, aim for an exterior wall for ventilation, and use quiet appliances and a solid door if the room sits near living or sleeping areas.

Can a laundry room be combined with another room?

Yes. Custom laundry rooms are often combined with a pantry, a mudroom, or a general utility space. The key is to create clear zones so laundry and cleaning tasks stay separated from food storage or entry-area functions, and to plan storage — extra fridge, boot cubbies, a pet shower — around each use before the layout is finalized.

What is the best layout for a small laundry room?

For a compact space, a single-wall or galley layout usually works best: washer, dryer, sink, and cabinets along one wall keeps movement easy and plumbing on one run. Stacking the dryer on the washer frees up floor space, and overhead shelving or pull-out sorting bins keep the room clear.

Ready to Design Your Custom Laundry Room?

Our designers plan the cabinetry, counters and storage around how you do laundry, and stay involved from the first measurements through installation. See closet and storage displays in our Lansing showroom, read how we approach laundry rooms, or start a design consultation.