When we first moved into our home, I hated the fact that our laundry room was in our hall bathroom.
But after hearing my neighbors complain about traipsing up and down the stairs to their first floor laundry room, I started to like my arrangement a little bit more.
Now that we’ve lived in our home for a while, I can say that maximizing our storage space in the combo laundry/bathroom and making it look aesthetically pleasing has taken most of the pain points away.
Journey back with me to our bathroom circa when we moved in:
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Ahh, isn’t it just glorious?!! There was so much wrong in the tiny little space I didn’t know where to start!
The vanity was falling apart, the washer and dryer space was such a huge eye sore, the paint color was totally wrong and we had absolutely no storage.
Our laundry room and bathroom combo solutions for small space
This is the laundry side of the bathroom (obviously, ha!) I really wanted the washer and dryer side-by-side so that I could put a pretty counter on top to fold clothes on.
We also wanted a clothes hamper, storage for towels, cleaning supplies and a place to hang clothes to dry.
Storing the machines next to each other didn’t allow for any of these other wants, so ultimately we ended up stacking the washer and dryer vertically.
This allows space for a pull out drawer (that is made to look just like the doors above it for cohesion) that we use to store dirty laundry.
The other cabinet stores toilet paper, cleaning supplies and more laundry baskets I use for clean laundry.
Above this, We have two large doors that open to a hanging closet rod for the purposes of having space to hang clothes that aren’t dryer-friendly.
The right side of the bathroom received a full facelift, too, complete with a new vanity, mirrors, lights, new tub and tile and a shiplap surround.
We also did a tongue and groove ceiling to hide the lovely 80s popcorn ceiling.
Because the space in our hall bath was already limited, a door opening in to the space cut down on the passage way and made loading and unloading clothes into our machines overly tight. The solution was to install a sliding door.
Now, of course you could have installed a pocket door, and that would have been my preference, but those are very time intensive to do, and with a new baby on the way, it was a project for another day!
There is so much more space and storage in this tiny hall bathroom, and I’m honestly amazed at its functionality.
If you’re in the same predicament as us and find yourself trying to design a laundry room within a bathroom, besides our transformation, I’ve also rounded up 9 other ideas you can pull inspiration from, too.
Hide your washer and dryer behind cabinetry in a primary bath
I really love the idea of hiding the w/d behind cabinet doors and thought long and hard about doing this on our hall bath, but ultimately, we just didn’t have enough space.
If you are considering putting a washer and dryer in a primary bath, this is the way to go!
Side-by-side washer and dryer in a bathroom
Based on the inspiration photos I rounded up while we were planning our renovation, it does look like the vast majority of people opt for a stackable washer and dryer, but if that’s not the route you want to go, here’s a layout you might want to follow.
Stacked washer and dryer in a guest bath
Fun fact: In my childhood home our washer and dryer was also in our guest bath.
The previous owners had a custom curtain made to hide the w/d and my mom would always close that when guests were over, which looked great and would work in a small space like this where you don’t have room for custom doors.
Side-by-side washer and dryer separated with a partition
The partition works great in the bathroom above to separate the two spaces, making it appear like two totally different rooms. Again, if you can’t do a custom curtain or doors to hide the w/d, this is another great option.
Side-by-side machines in a guest bath
This washer/dryer space in a bathroom looks fantastic, and that’s because the space is so beautifully designed. I love the bead board and think it’s perfect to dress up this room and distract the eye from the w/d combo.
Stacked washer and dryer with towel storage
Now, this is a cool project. The laundry and half bath were once in one room. Karyn didn’t like that and instead created two smaller rooms, separated by a sliding door. Genius!
Side-by-side washer and dryer with butcher block top
I love the look of a w/d unit with a thick piece of stained butcher block on top. This was my original idea when we first started planning the reno.
Stacked washer and dryer behind a frosted glass door
Here’s another stacked w/d behind a door in a bathroom. I would have probably opted for a door without frosted glass, but rather a solid panel. Nonetheless, the cabinetry is so beautiful that you almost forget there’s a laundry room in a bathroom here.
Here is our post on our hall bath renovation with our w/d if you’d like to see more photos of the room.
I hope you found a solution that works for your space with this post. Thanks for reading!
