# Forum Home Renovation Laundry  Laundry Ideas - Main entry

## duke149

The layout of my house means that the laundry is the main entry to the house. 
The image below is a layout of what it currently is.   
Next to the sink/trough is a window and a front loading washing machine sitting on the ground. There is no bench. Things just get put on top of the washer. This was done because my first machine was a top loader. 
Over the other side I built a small frame to hold a dryer above the two cat litter trays. 
I would wall mount the dryer but the walls are currently Asbestos. Before any renovation I would get the Asbestos removed to allow for more flexibility. 
The kitchen door has a cat door in it, so the cats can get in and out without having the laundry door open all the time. 
My thoughts are 
- Replace the walls
- Mount the dryer above the washing machine, or if there is room put it next to the washing machine. This would mean having a very small sink though.
- Put a bench in, with a drop in sink rather than a trough.
- Replace the cupboards at the end with new ones that span the entire length of the wall
- Put cat litter inside cupboard with a flap allowing hiding it. Put a low power extractor vent in to draw air out one way.
- if there is room add cupboards above the washing machine ( although this may block some of the window ) 
The biggest change would be the hiding of the cat litter with the fan. This would help the scattered litter and smell. 
But I feel that it would still be a bit laundry. 
I also thought about putting the washing machine and such behind sliding doors, but this would block the window. I think the laundry needs the light. 
There is then also the big bare wall with basically unusable space because of the outside door. 
Does anyone have any thoughts on my ideas, and any suggestions of how I can make this area 
- cleaner
- more useable
- less smelly
- more inviting

----------


## davegol

first question is can you close of either of those two inside doors (kitchen or hallway) without affecting the flow of the house? 
That would make a big difference.
If not, next question to ask: is it really important to you for this to look like a house entrance, or do you not mind that it looks like a laundry ?
If you want it to look like a home entry, I'd do a European style laundry with bifolds (or similar) right across the top wall, and enclose everything behind that (including the kitchen door.. might be kinda weird though when you access it from the kitchen).. Where your cupboards are now, I'd put in a feature like an entry storage (eg: coat rack type thing). 
But that only works if you don't need the kitchen entry to be a thoroughfare. If you do, then you don't really have too many other options other than what you have suggested.

----------


## Craigoss

Maybe post up a floor plan for the entire house. Surely there must be a better configuration to come up with so that guests are not moving through the laundry as the main entrance of the house.

----------


## duke149

I could possibly close off the hallway door. I wouldn't close off the kitchen one though. 
Behind the wall with the cat food label is the toilet. This lines up with the hallway door. Then behind the cupboards is the main hallway leading to the bedrooms.
To the right of the kitchen is the lounge. 
We tend to walk the long way around from the kitchen, through the lounge, into the main hallway. Rather than a shortcut through the laundry. I don't know why. Maybe its the opening and closing of two doors? 
People are always going to know its a laundry, but I would just like to hide it more and make it look nicer. 
That could be a really cool idea though, move all the laundry type things to the far end where the cupboard is at the moment. Then enclose it all.
I could then put the cat litter in a purpose built cupboard where the sink is at the moment with vents outside. 
I never thought about moving the machine and such as the water is on the other wall. Moving the inlets would be fine. The drainage would be the issue as it would need to go through the suspended cement slab. Thats unless drainage can go into the wall cavity before going down through the floor?
The whole house is on stumps, but only the wet areas have cement floors.    

> Maybe post up a floor plan for the entire house. Surely there must be a better configuration to come up with so that guests are not moving through the laundry as the main entrance of the house.

  I thought I had one on my laptop but I don't seem to. I will try and find it and upload a copy. 
The issue with my house is that the land was sub-divided. The front of my house got turned into a "back yard".
Then I have the driveway coming off the side street which is where everyone drives to and then comes into the house.

----------


## Cecile

Thinking outside the box:  rather than re-doing inside is there something you can do to your landscaping/access so that people can access the front easily?

----------


## SilentButDeadly

Create a full height and width built-in cupboard on the end wall.  Move the washing machine and dryer into it (side by side) with a bench over the top.  Fit a full length cupboard on the sink wall with new inset sink in benchtop.   
Can't practically help with the kitty litter as my simplest/cheapest solution would require absence of cat.  Though you could try installing an outside cat park that provides a covered outside toilet/sleeping area for them along with flap access to the house as required or permitted...for example DIY KITS | Product Categories | catnip combined with a small garden shed.

----------


## Moondog55

A good covered cat run outside would fix some of our small problems here and I think it would be the best solution for you as well.
Then as above; Euro laundry cupboard with everything hidden behind a roller door

----------

