These Pretty Laundry Room Cabinet Ideas Make Me WANT to Do Chores
The laundry room is notoriously uninspiring. It’s the catch-all for sweaty gym clothes, mud-encrusted pants, and grease-stained shirts—not to mention an eyesore for cleaning products bearing tacky, neon-hued labels. Today, many designers are rethinking the laundry room, viewing it as a showpiece space that one would enjoy spending time in, no matter how cumbersome it might be to throw in three loads of laundry. And there’s no better way to spruce up your laundry room—big or small—than with a set of statement cabinets.
“Cabinets are a must for hiding the clutter of disinfectants and the necessary but unsightly day-to-day odds and ends that fill our shelves,” muses Texas-based designer Elizabeth Young, who, when tackling the laundry room, adopts the same fearless attitude as if decorating a powder room: Anything goes. “Be bold,” she holds. “Make it fun, and don’t be a rule follower.”
Of course, there are a few rules of thumb that can help when giving your laundry room a cabinet upgrade. Young recommends making the cabinets the focal point by selecting two or even three great color combinations for the trim and panels. “Maybe peach and terra-cotta, light gray and aubergine. Or if color is not your thing, two different shades of gray.”
To top it off, hardware is the finishing piece that transforms a room. Whether you’re a fan of classic gold accents, something more vintage with brass, or a timeless stainless steel vibe—the right hardware can give the room that lived-in feel that is often lacking in such a functional space. As Young says, “The laundry room deserves the good stuff too.”
Ready to get started? We’ve scoured our archives for 15 statement laundry room cabinets that will change everything you know about the basic laundry room. There’s one room doused in a jubilant high-gloss, moss-green lacquer; another in an inventive scallop-lined warm wood; and another in mint green-paneled cabinetry that has us doing a double take (is this a spa reception desk or a laundry room?). No more airing your dirty laundry!
Moss Green Cabinets
What if chores were a joy? Virginia-based design firm Anne Pulliam Interiors sought to make that possible for the owner of this laundry room. Working alongside Mortar & Thatch Architects and builder Gardner Construction Corp., the team gave this laundry room a daring color moment. The cabinets are awash in Farrow & Ball’s Bancha, an olive green color, that pairs perfectly with the mushroom wallpaper from Brier and Byrd. It’s such a chic look, nobody’s questioning why it’s pulling double weight. “This laundry room is off of a kitchen and the sliding cabinets act as the pantry for the client as well as overflow storage,” Anne Pulliam explains.
Warm Wood Cabinets
GIA Renovations’s Olivia Cirocco bucked tradition with these warm wood cabinets. They might have felt basic, had they not been complemented by surrounding patterns and textures. “We love the scalloped splashback,” Cirocco tells ELLE DECOR. “The shapes soften the checkered floor tiles and add more dimension to the space.” We especially love the raised washing machine and dryer, which allows for added cabinetry beneath. We’d be ready to press out those wrinkles in no time!
Beautiful Beige Cabinets
We’re totally crushing on this neutral daydream of a laundry room, which is sure to disquiet all your stained-clothes quandaries. Here, Canadian interior designer Ashley Montgomery and builder Bolt Developments pulled out all the stops when it came to these shaker-style doors, which were complemented by beautiful brass hardware and finished with a five-inch crown moulding. From the box shelf across the top for display to the hanging rod for drying delicates over the sink, “there is so much detail that went into designing this space,” says One Kindesign’s Lori Smith. On the left of the image, a finished interior display cabinet has woven baskets, adding texture to the space. Proof that nirvana can be found in the most unlikely of places.
Pale Mint Green Cabinets
If you’re a sucker for restrained colors—like these light and airy bluish-green cabinets—a pop of pattern on the walls or flooring can act as a fitting counterpoint. In this joyful laundry room, Studio Ru Interior Design’s Carley Gardener opted for a floral backdrop that creates a calming and refreshing ambience. “The soothing minty hue beautifully complements the vibrant midscale floral wallpaper, while also harmonizing with the earthy weathered encaustic floor tile,” Gardener explains. “Together, these elements enhance the serene vibe of the space, making it a tranquil retreat.” In other words, we wouldn’t judge you if you routinely retreated to this space for some me-time away from the kids.
Double-Stacked Cabinets
Another angle of this laundry room—because we simply can’t get enough!—reveals a floor-to-ceiling cabinet moment that has us drooling over the storage potential. “The light and airy bluish-green cabinetry infuses this laundry room with a calming and refreshing ambience,” explains Studio Ru Interior Design’s Carley Gardener, who topped the cabinets off with chic, stark black hardware. How many loads of laundry can one do in one day without seeming unhinged?
Bright White Cabinets
Our very own former style director, Parker Bowie Larson, recently remodeled the laundry room of her 1950s-era brick ranch house, which is a masterclass in pattern play. Geometric statement wallpaper is given pride of place against these stark white cabinets. “I’ve always felt that the laundry room should feel as decorated as the rest of the house, meaning that even utilitarian sundries need to somehow look good when not in use,” Parker writes. “I now have a laundry room I actually want to be in—and even escape to when home life gets hectic.”
DIY Built-In Cabinetry
We love a DIY hack, and Jenna Sue Design’s Jenna Sue is all about bringing design to the people. In her latest laundry room reveal, we could be fooled by the efforts required to create this custom laundry room cabinetry. “It has a high-end designer look, but it’s actually a relatively simple and low-cost DIY project,” she explains. She used 3/4-inch medium density fiberboard and cut the planks with a table saw. “Because everything was built from scratch, we were able to customize it to fit our needs within the small footprint,” Sue adds.
Elegant Baby Blue Cabinets
Looking for a touch of elegance in your day-to-day routine? Throwing a basket of your fragrant gym clothes into the washer will seem far less undignified against this ethereal palette of soft blue cabinetry. “This home delicately blends traditional silhouettes with soft natural textures reminiscent of the surrounding seascape,” says Jenny Martin Design’s Mikayla Hodgson. “With unlacquered brass faucets, candelabra fixtures, and handcrafted tile, we introduced finishes with an aged vintage quality, hand selected to gracefully age in place.”
Green Cabinetry
Stuck inside doing laundry? Douse your cabinets in nature’s neutral and you won’t feel so confined. In this Tennessee home, Lori Paranjape gave this room a douse of whimsical deep sage green against gold hardware. Bonus: Can you spot the friendly feline in its cabinetry hidey-hole?
Classically Trimmed Cabinetry
Designer Jenna Chused has an eye for the country home look, apparent in the laundry room of this ultracolorful country home, which nearly took a step back in time with no-show laundry units. Observe: The walls and cupboards are painted in Slipper Satin with a trim of Black Blue, by Farrow & Ball. It’s a chic complement to the moody black door and patterned laundry skirt.
Pistachio Cabinets
City living can pose opportunities for smart space solutions, as is evidenced in this Serbian bathroom-slash-laundry room. With chic, minty green cabinetry, nobody is the wiser.
Rich Blue Cabinets
Cabinetry can take many forms, an ethos Keith Quiggins of Rococo and Taupe enjoys playing around with. In this moody washroom, a custom marble sink (carved from a single 500-pound block in Italy) is stacked atop two cabinet doors for a look that would make laundry-washing seem like a joyful art. The rich blue Sherwin-Williams cabinetry, complements of HJP Painting, creates a sultry backdrop.
“Laundry rooms are often overlooked and typically feature minimal storage,” Quiggins says, adding that these cabinets he chose “offer thoughtful storage for bulk items and cleaning supplies.”
Minimal Timber Cabinets
In this space-saving bathroom, floor-to-ceiling wood cabinets conceal a compact washer/dryer tower. When closed, the cabinet doors blend perfectly with the rest of the wall panels, allowing this compact room to serve two functions. Apartment-dwellers take note!
Neutral Cabinets
Under-cabinet lighting is the star of the show in this chic laundry room moment. Paneled wood cabinetry adds texture to an otherwise monotone room. Design tip: When the cabinetry takes the limelight, the hardware look can be fairly quiet.
Hidden Laundry Room
Washer and dryer units can be an eyesore as ghastly as a big-screen TV in the living room. Though necessary, a clever use of cabinetry can hide such machines. In this hideaway laundry alcove, the home’s organic wood aesthetic is continued in the cabinetry for a seamless look.
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