Tips for designing a Utility Room

When I was a child, I don’t think I knew anyone who had a utility room in their house. Or if I did, it was more likely referred to as ‘the cupboard with the washing machine’. A whole room reserved for washing and the hub of household chores just wasn’t a thing, but in recent years it has rapidly risen up the ranks of importance in the eyes of home owners and potential buyers.

It is now most definitely a thing, and rightly so.

The utility room is the modern day scullery, a room traditionally used as an overflow to the kitchen where washing dishes, preparing food and doing laundry would take place. While the purpose of the room has shifted a little, taking the emphasis off the kitchen and food prep side of things, the essence of the room remains the same in that it is a dedicated space for the practical household chores, separate to the rest of the house where a little order and calm can be restored without a pile of washing in sight.

The utility room doesn’t have to be big, it can still be ‘the cupboard with the washing machine’, but the key is how you use the space. If you’re lucky enough to have one in your home, or if you’re planning a renovation and have the opportunity to incorporate a utility room, then do it, even if it means sacrificing some space in another part of the house. It will be worth the trade off both for yourself and for potential future buyers, who are becoming more likely to have a utility room up there as one of their must-haves.

It’s a worthwhile addition to a house if you have the option. *Credit: Gunter & Co Interiors.*

According to the dictionary, ‘utility’ literally means “useful, especially through being able to perform several functions” which very much makes sense in the context of a utility room. However the second meaning is described as “functional rather than attractive” and let me tell you, this doesn’t have to be the case for utility rooms!

Here are my top tips to designing a utility space that will work for you and your home:

Focus on ‘utility’, not on ‘room’

Notice how I just called it a utility ‘space’ rather than ‘room’? That’s because the reality is that the majority of us in the UK don’t have a utility room or have the opportunity to have one built. It’s a bit of a luxury I think, I personally feel very lucky to have one (we sacrificed some of our garage space and had it built as part of a bigger remodel). But take the essence of a utility room and apply it to whatever space you do have.

It’s really all about organisation and storage - making the household chores easier by giving yourself easy access to what you need, trying to have all the day-to-day household items in one place and being clever with the solutions you use in the space you have, whether it’s a cupboard under the stairs or a single unit in the kitchen.

Make use of baskets, rails, hooks, jars, labels, and use the entire space… more on that later.

Neat, functional and out of sight when not in use, even when it’s in the middle of the house!
*Credit: Domino*

Use the full space available to make everything you need as accessible as possible.
*Credit: Carolyn Barker*

Remove a few shelves from your tall cupboards to create space for those awkward tall items.
*Credit: Davonport*

Start with your wishlist

If you are planning on creating a utility room, start by making a list - in priority order - of the day-to-day household jobs or items that you would love to separate from the main living areas of the house. This is your wishlist.

Keeping in mind the space you actually have available, start with your first priority (let’s say it’s laundry, which is usually the case) consider everything that comes with that job from the appliances and detergents, to the clothes maiden and ironing board, and don’t forget the simple space needed to set down a washing basket or fully open a washing machine door. You want to make sure everything related to this job has been considered, has a place and ultimately makes this part of your day easier and frees up space elsewhere in the house.

Next think about the space you have left (if any) and move through your wishlist, considering the space and storage requirements for that job until you’ve built up a realistic plan in your mind of how the utility room will function. You might have to skip some of your ideas if you don’t have the space and move on to one that you can accommodate - maybe a sink for rinsing muddy clothes isn’t feasible, but further down the list is ‘a place to store muddy wellies’, and dedicating a deep shelf at the bottom of a cupboard is totally achievable.

Everything you need for laundry within easy reach.
*Credit: Lydia Out Loud*

Utilise ALL of the space

While we might design other rooms to enhance feelings of space, giving special features room to shine and putting the decor at the forefront to achieve a certain look or feeling, ultimately a utility room is about function first and foremost, so prioritise using every bit of space to get the best use out of the room and don’t worry so much about how it might look at this point (that comes later).

Be clever with how you arrange the space and utilise the surfaces you have. When you’re out of floor space, look up! Think stacking washing machines and tumble dryers (safely of course, the manufacturers or installers would be able to advise on this) which is not only a good floor space-saver but having a washing machine higher off the ground is great for the back when doing endless rounds of washing.

Stacked appliances for ease of use and making the most of the space. *Credit: Pinterest*

Full height cupboards with some shelves removed to create the space you need for the hoover and mop - and don’t just throw them in, use wall mounted organisers on the inside of the cupboards to keep everything in order, freeing up more space within the cupboard and giving you stress-free access to everything in there.

Use the full height of open walls with shelving, using the lower shelves for the most-used items and the higher shelves for items you might need every so often. Even the ceiling isn’t safe in a utility room, which can be used to host racks for drying clothes (or even for drying out herbs and flowers!) as long as it doesn’t get in the way of opening doors or light fittings, it can be a brilliant use of the ‘fifth wall’. Or if clothes drying is an issue and the ceiling isn’t your thing, there are many clever ways of creating temporary drying spaces without a bulky clothes maiden in sight.

A traditional ceiling mounted clothes rack.
*Credit: Grit and Polish*

A simple clothes rail for hanging shirts could being ceiling or wall mounted.
*Credit: Kate Marker Interior*

Wall mounted drying racks can be pushed against the wall to free up space when it’s not needed.
*Credit: Decor Pad*

Mix up the open and closed storage

The first step to delivering form as well as function (i.e. making it look pretty) is to consider storage. Let’s be honest, your wishlist is made up of jobs and items that don’t look visually appealing, either on their own or when they’re stored alongside each other. So you really want the majority of storage in your utility room to be behind closed doors - still well organised, this is all about taking the stress away and making life easier remember, but no amount of neat rows and baskets can make a bottle of Vanish look good, so keep those beauties behind closed doors.

There are however some items that you will want to have to hand, or that can be made to look chic without too much effort. Decanting laundry detergent into matching glass bottles and having them on show has really taken off recently and I totally get it, not only does it make the washing process a teeny bit quicker but, if you choose to, you can get them refilled at your local health shop, cutting down on plastic. So work out which items will be handy to have out on open shelving and how you can contain them to look neat.

Make it feel like home

If you’re anything like me, it’s likely that you’ll spend a huge amount of time in the utility room, or at least going in and out throughout the course of your day. It makes no sense to take pride in the decor of your home, understanding the benefits of well designed interiors, but then the room you spend the most time in is a bare, unloved space that leaves you feeling cold. It’s the hardest working space in the house, it deserves some love and attention! So make it feel like part of the home.

My own utility room, with full height cupboards on the opposite wall. Currently my favourite room in the house

The hard working nature of a utility room lends itself well to certain design aesthetics, particularly the industrial or rustic styles. Recently there has been a real trend in more country, English house styling, including T&G wall panelling, peg rails and earthy colours which have a rustic feel but are softened and made to feel more traditional and ‘proper’ with the country house vibe. But as with all interior design, there is no right or wrong, it’s about reflecting your personal style and creating a room which brings you a sense of joy and calm.

Just like any other room, you want the utility room to have some flow with the rest of the house, so incorporate some of your style in here and consider your design choices just like you would if you were doing your kitchen. If the utility room is directly off any other room in the house make sure the colours and style between the two rooms gel - if your house has a very soft style with light shades and pretty florals, there’s no need to suddenly hit the industrial button in your utility room with black pipes and scaffold shelves! Keep with the light and airy shades if that’s what you like and don’t be afraid to bring your personality with accessories such as artwork (if you have space), beautiful lighting and well designed open storage.

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