Laundry rooms to die for

Right up there with my favorite spaces - such as the ensuite, closet and dressing room - a fashionista loves her laundry room and all of today's chicest homes have fabulous laundry spaces.

I love my clothes and, believe it or not, I actually enjoy doing the laundry if I get to do this daily chore in a sexy space. All the new homes that I design and build include outstanding laundry spaces. A great laundry room that is designed and decorated well - even when combined with a back mudroom, craft space or closet - will undoubtedly become one of your favorite rooms in the house. Sexy spaces are areas that look amazing and also work as nicely as they look.

Before you embark on a project to renovate, or, if you are building a new home, before you finalize your plans, you need to pay special attention to this space so that when the project is completed there is nothing 'washed up' about your new laundry space.

Today's washers and dryers not only conserve energy and time, they are also loaded with features such as ones that eliminate the need to pre-treat laundry as well as ones that adjust cycle lengths to compensate for dampness... yummy! (Can a new machine be described as yummy?) Other than a new washer and dryer (and don't you just love the front loads with the steam features, cause if you don't, your clothes will), what other laundry room tools would you like in this space? An ironing board, a steamer, a sewing machine, a folding table, a drip rod... and the list could go on... Well, the good news is that even in the tiniest space you can have it all, it just requires a little thoughtful and creative planning. You also need to ponder the time you spend in this room. For example, if you are actually going to do some mending in this space, or if you have a large family and therefore loads of laundry, then you may want to have a television or built-in docking station for your iPod (yes, you can get a wall-mounted docking station).

In addition to all the activities you would regularly perform in the laundry room, you also need to accommodate for all that you wish to store. I usually eliminate hallway linen closets, as this dated idea is not very practical, and instead design storage for extra towels in each bathroom and, for additional linen storage, in the laundry room.

You may also want to store cleaning supplies and appliances.

Now don't go and get all 'sudsy' on me, but don't you just love a great space?!