My New Laundry - The Cupboard Design

Following on from my post yesterday where I finally revealed our new laundry... today I thought I would go into a bit of detail about the design of the cupboards.  I tend to totally over-analyse everything, and definitely put way too much thought into this laundry - but in this instance, it has resulted with heaps of storage space!

So, I mentioned previously that I used the Bunnings online planning tool to design my laundry.  Thus, we obviously used the Bunnings cupboards to make it.  We looked at the flat packs at Mitre 10 and Ikea too, but Bunnings worked out to be the cheapest, plus I loved their laundry range and I wouldn't have my pull-out clothes airer (that so many of you love too!) if went with another brand.  The brand is called Flatpax - you can check out their website here.  I think they have really nailed the functionality of their cupboards, as they have trough cupboards for under the sink, laundry hamper pull out cupboards, broom cupboards and more!  Even though I didn't use all of these, I loved having the option to pick and choose from such a great range.

Of course with DIY renovating, our wall measurements didn't perfectly align with the Bunnings cupboards.  Lucky for me that my husband is very handy and he was able to cut down the overhead middle cupboards on both sides of the room, to allow the entire length of the wall to be filled with cupboards.  He then also made doors and painted them to match!

One of the really clever things we realised when we went to buy the cupboards, after making the DIY plan, was that the laundry overhead cupboards were 600mm high and the kitchen cupboards (exactly the same product) were 720mm high.  We decided to go with the kitchen cupboards, as this gave us an extra 120mm of storage along the entire length of the walls!  I just love transforming a wasted space into a useful space :)

You will notice that because we used the 600mm laundry cupboard for the pull-out clothes airer, we got a bit creative and made a panel to fill the gap at the top of that cupboard.

I chose the Gloss White doors from the kitchen range, rather than the basic melamine doors from the laundry range.  Yes, it was an added expense, but it really makes it look much nicer!  I chose the Gloss White doors with the Modern Profile to keep it nice and bright and fresh, and also to make sure that cleaning is a breeze.  I find in the laundry that everything gets covered in fine layer of lint from the dryer over time, and I didn't want any details/grooves in the doors that I would need to scoop dust/lint out of in the future.  Mick was also really impressed with how the doors were Thermoformed, as the melamine wraps around the side of the doors, and will prevent lifting in the corners in the years to come.

I bought my door handles from Ikea - they are Lansa 245mm handles, which I love for a few reasons... Firstly, I have the same type of handle (only smaller) in my kitchen, so I love that it matches (I know, I have issues!!).  After much deliberation about whether to attach them vertically or horizontally, I decided to go with horizontal.  And I am so glad that I did, because I have since realised that they are perfect for hanging coathangers off!  This is so handy when the weather is not nice, as I can hang my shirts inside on hangers, and it is also handy when I do the ironing in there, as I can hang the ironed clothes on the handles as I go!  I just love that they double for storage space too.

But my favourite reason that I love these handles (I can't believe I have written so much about door handles ;) is that they are the same design as the Robinhood ironing centre handle!  I did not realise this until after we had mounted them all, and I seriously squealed with delight when I saw that the Robinhood handle was a horizontal handle that 'matched' everything else!  I think sometimes my husband deserves a medal for putting up with my matching-ness :)

On the bottom of the sewing side, we went with 2 sets of 4 x 600mm drawers.  I considered putting in wider drawers, to make the most of the under-bench space... But then I spoke to my mum about how much room is comfortable for sewing, and she wisely pointed out that if I get an overlocker one day (I can always live in hope!), then I will want room to slide along the bench between my two machines.  Great thinking Mum!  This sealed my deal with the smaller drawers.

We also snuck a 150mm infill to the right of the drawers closest to the door, in order to cover the gap in the tiles that was revealed when we ripped out the old cupboard (that had obviously been built with the house).  This is a tiny cupboard, but I have managed to find some good little things to store in there - I will show you inside the cupboards really soon - this post has gone for way too long!!  We decided not to put a handle on it, just so that it would blend in and not be noticed.  I just pull it open from the bottom and it works just fine.

I think that is all I can possibly say about designing the cupboards in here!  I have had lots of questions about my laundry, which I am hoping to answer through this and a series of follow-up posts.  Make sure you let me know if you would like to know about anything that I haven't mentioned!  And stay tuned for more laundry loving :)


Read more about My Laundry Make-Over here.