How much time do you spend thinking about your laundry room? If you are like most people you probably only whisk into the laundry, do the required task and zip out again with barely a glance around.

The laundry has some big factors going for it though, that clean, warm smell, quite at the rear of the house, access to the yard, and probably no one will think to look for you there if you wanted to steal away for some solitude and a cup of coffee. Imagine how great it would be if spending time in the laundry actually made you feel good. If you could love doing the ironing and folding clothes, wouldn't your week go by that much more smoothly?

So how do you make your laundry room your happy place?

Bring your laundry room up to the priority list

‍Renovations mean design and budget work, and often the laundry room is ranked down the bottom as ‘functional'. If you think about it though, a walk-in wardrobe is on the same level, it's ‘functional' but gets extra special attention because it's remarkable. If you were to consider the amount of time you spend in each you probably find that you spend more time in the laundry, and its role in the home is more important. Maybe then the laundry room has earned a little extra planning and a larger slice of the budget than first intended.

Lots of light

The laundry is a room that needs to be sunny and warm so that you can hang your delicates or give your dryer a break from time to time, even if the weather isn't fine enough for outdoor drying.

Natural light also helps brighten your mood, see stains and marks on clothes more easily, provide a view other than a blank wall and open up for a feeling of more space.

Glassdoor panels and large ornamental style windows can do wonders here, think outside the box and see what you can find that will give your laundry a lift or unique edge.

Even with natural light you also want to make sure that the fixed lighting in this room is bright and clean.

Open windows

Windows that seal well and open wide are a factor you want to consider to help get fresh air when you are working with chemicals and agents that can get a bit stifling.

Hide space

Ample storage space is a massive plus in the laundry and will create value in your home. That doesn't mean it needs to be on a show though, the best storage solutions are those that are hidden away so you get a seamless look with all the advantages of a minimalist appearance. Laundry cupboards are a great way to do this and simply close the doors on those days when things get out of hand or people drop by. One thing parents love is having a deep waist-high bench in a cupboard so they can fold and sort clothes, that way if the job gets interrupted it can be left as is to be returned to at some other point in the day (or week).

Save space

If you are looking at new appliances, front loaders are much more space-saving than top-loading machines. This way you can run a bench along the top of the machines, giving you loads of space you wouldn't be able to access if you use top loaders, I've also seen families elevate the front loaders on solid benchtops and use the storage space below them as cupboards

Colour for fun

This is a room no one is going to see but you, especially since it's typically a room you can close the door on. That gives you a lot of flexibility to get a bit crazy with the colour palette. Pick a theme that is fun and vibrant although hopefully one that also ties back into the theme of your home so you have some consistency and flow.