Laundry Room Remodel Ideas That Actually Make Doing Laundry Better

The laundry room is the most used utility space in most homes and the most neglected when it comes to renovation. A well-designed laundry room doesn't just look better — it actually reduces the time and friction of doing laundry, which matters in a space you use multiple times a week for the rest of the time you own the home. These are the improvements that make a real functional difference.

Start With the Layout

Most laundry rooms have one of three configurations:

• Side-by-side washer and dryer: The standard layout — machines next to each other with a countertop above if the ceiling height allows. Works well in rooms 6 feet or wider.
• Stacked washer and dryer: Stackable units save floor space in narrow laundry closets and hallway-style rooms. The tradeoff is that you can't use the top of the dryer as folding space.
• Laundry room + mudroom combination: Common in homes where the laundry room connects to a garage entry — combining a drop zone, coat storage, and laundry in one space.

The most impactful thing most laundry rooms are missing isn't better machines — it's a folding counter. A 25"–30" deep countertop above or beside the machines transforms a task that currently happens on a bed in another room into something that can be completed in the laundry room start to finish.

Cabinetry: The Storage Problem Solver

Most laundry rooms have open shelving above the machines, if anything. Upper cabinets with doors change the space from a utilitarian closet to something that can actually be organized and kept tidy. A few specific cabinet features worth including in a laundry room remodel:

• Base cabinets with doors: Store cleaning supplies, extra detergent, and bulky items out of sight. Pull-out shelves inside base cabinets are particularly useful here.
• Upper cabinets: Reach the ceiling if ceilings are 8–9 feet — laundry rooms can absorb taller cabinets without looking overwhelming. Store seasonal items, linens, and rarely used items up high.
• Hamper pullout: A pullout hamper built into base cabinetry keeps dirty laundry off the floor and integrates into the overall design. Useful in homes without separate bedrooms for hampers.
• Rod or hanging bar: A rod inside a tall cabinet or mounted below an upper cabinet provides a place to hang items that need to air dry or be steamed — often the most useful single addition in a laundry room.

The Sink: Worth It in a Full Laundry Room

A utility sink in the laundry room is one of those features that seems unnecessary until you have it, and then becomes essential. Pre-treating stains, hand-washing delicates, rinsing pet items, cleaning brushes — tasks that currently happen at a kitchen sink belong in the laundry room. A deep utility sink (typically 12"–15" depth) is more useful than a standard farmhouse depth for this purpose.

Plumbing a sink adds $800–$1,800 to the laundry room project cost depending on how far the rough-in is from the washer supply lines. If the laundry room is already being remodeled and the walls are open, this is the time to add it — the marginal cost is much lower than doing it separately.

Flooring: Function Over Form

Laundry room flooring needs to handle occasional water exposure (washer overflow, splash from the sink) and heavy foot traffic. The right choices:

• Porcelain tile: Best for durability and water resistance. Handles a washer leak without damage. Can be cold underfoot, but laundry rooms aren't typically barefoot spaces.
• LVP: Waterproof core LVP works well in laundry rooms outside of heavy-use zones. Comfortable underfoot, easy to install, and affordable. Select a product with a waterproof core (not just water-resistant surface), and skip standard LVP if the laundry sits in a hot, unconditioned garage.
• Avoid: Standard hardwood (moisture damage), laminate without waterproof core (swells), and carpet of any kind.

Lighting: A Neglected Upgrade

Most laundry rooms have a single overhead fixture — often an old flush-mount that provides inadequate light for reading care labels, treating stains, or sorting darks from colors. Upgrading to recessed lighting or a bright LED flush-mount makes the space noticeably more functional. If the laundry room doubles as a mudroom, adding a motion-sensing light switch means the light is always on when you need it and off when you don't.

The Mudroom Connection

In many homes the laundry room sits next to the garage entry — the natural place for a combined laundry/mudroom. If the spaces are being remodeled together, the combination is high-value per square foot: a bench with shoe storage, coat hooks, cubbies for each family member, and direct laundry access in one continuous space. The design requires a bit more planning (bench height, hook placement, traffic flow) but the resulting space handles the daily entry routine better than either function does separately.

Avondale Notes: Hard Water, Heat, and Rebates

Hard water. Avondale's water is very hard — city well water averaged about 21 grains per gallon in the city's 2022 water quality report — and the laundry room is where it shows: scale on the utility-sink faucet, spots on a dark countertop, and mineral buildup in washer hoses and valves. Choose a brushed or satin faucet, a light or mid-tone counter, and braided stainless supply hoses. If you're considering a whole-house water softener, decide now whether it will share the laundry or garage wall so the plumbing can be planned for it.

Heat. If your laundry is in or next to an unconditioned garage, remember that the area averages about 111 days a year at 100°F or hotter (National Weather Service 1991–2020 normals). Porcelain tile is the safer floor there, and a short, straight dryer vent run to the exterior keeps the dryer working efficiently and lint from building up.

Rebates. The City of Avondale's water conservation program has offered a $100 rebate on a high-efficiency clothes washer for city water customers. Programs change, so check the city's current rebate rules before you buy.

Typical Laundry Room Remodel Costs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a permit to remodel my laundry room in Avondale?

Under the City of Avondale's building code, cosmetic work (cabinets, countertops, flooring, tile, paint) needs no permit. If you're adding or moving plumbing (adding a utility sink, moving the washer hookup location), adding electrical circuits, or running gas to a dryer, permits are required for those specific trades through the city's Building Services Division. If the laundry room is in the garage, additional considerations may apply for the conversion of garage space.

Can I convert a hall closet into a laundry room?

Yes — stackable washer/dryer units are designed specifically for closet installations. Requirements: access to a 240V electrical circuit for the dryer (or a gas line for a gas dryer), hot and cold water supply lines and drain access, and ventilation for the dryer exhaust (must vent to the exterior, not into the closet or wall cavity). Minimum closet depth is typically 30"–32" for front-loading stackable units.

What's the single most impactful laundry room upgrade?

A folding counter — by a significant margin. It changes the laundry process from something that spills into other rooms (folding on the bed, sorting on the floor) into a self-contained routine. If there's only one improvement to make, this is the one. It requires upper cabinets or wall-mounted support, but the functional payoff is immediate and daily.