Laundry rooms are often overlooked spaces that – when designed correctly – can speed up the never-ending chore and perhaps even make it, dare we say, enjoyable. A fully optimized laundry room, built for efficiency and tailored to your family’s unique needs, can truly change the laundry game. While there are numerous ways to customize this essential space, we’re sharing four washer and dryer layouts we’ve used (and loved!) in our custom home builds. Each layout comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, so read on to discover which format best aligns with your lifestyle.

1. Side-By-Side Washer & Dryer

Side-By-Side Pros

• Convenience: With this design a custom countertop can be easily installed on top of the washer and dryer, creating a convenient folding station. We also included cabinets above for easy-to-reach storage!
• Maintenance: It’s fairly easy to service a side-by-side washer and dryer. A laundry technician can pull out the appliances to reach the backside.
• Accessibility: If someone in your household has physical limitations or uses a wheelchair, this layout is often a more accessible option than raised or stacked units.
• Top Load Friendly: If you prefer a top load washer and dryer, this layout can work for you.

Side-By-Side Cons

• Physical Challenges: A side-by-side layout requires more bending and twisting than the other layouts we’re sharing below.
• Requires More Floor Space: As compared to a stacked washer and dryer, this design takes up more floor space. This might be challenging if you have a small laundry room.

2. Side-By-Side Washer & Dryer on Pedestals

Pedestal Pros

• Comfort: Pedestals raise the appliances making loading and unloading laundry a breeze. This design also reduces strain on backs and knees.
• Storage: Pedestals often come with built-in drawers, providing a convenient place to store laundry room essentials like laundry detergent, wool dryer balls, and more.
• Maintenance: Like the side-by-side layout, it’s relatively easy for technicians to service washers and dryers on pedestals.

Pedestal Cons

• Folding Station: Our clients who choose this layout often opt to build in a separate folding station, since one can’t be installed over the appliances.
• Cost: Pedestals typically don’t come with the washer and dryer and must be purchased separately, creating an added expense.
• Style Limitations: If you prefer a top load washer and dryer over front load, this design won’t work for you.

3. Raised Washer & Dryer

Raised Pros

• Storage: This design allows for open storage underneath, which is customizable and perfect for bins or baskets. We place a laundry basket under ours, to capture clean laundry straight out of the dryer.
• Physical Benefits: The raised nature of this layout means less bending.
• Aesthetic: This is more of an opinion, but we think this layout is the most aesthetically pleasing! We also love that you can customize the cabinet color and style as well as the countertop that’s placed underneath the washer and dryer. Note: the quartz countertop was installed to prevent vibration issues!

Raised Cons

• Maintenance: Removing the washer and dryer for servicing is more difficult with this design. You also risk scratching the risers when sliding the appliances out.
• Folding Station: As with washers and dryers on pedestals, this design doesn’t allow a folding station to be installed over the washer and dryer. We added one next by the sink in #thelakeloft laundry room design shown above.
• Style Limitations: This layout is not top load washer and dryer friendly.
• Cost: The raisers and cabinets in #thelakeloft laundry room were custom made, creating an added expense.

4. Stacked Washer & Dryer

Stacked Pros

• Space-Saving: Stacked units are ideal for tiny laundry rooms, as they take up less floor space. They can even be tucked away into closets or cabinets.
• Energy-Efficient: Again, because these units are smaller than traditional models, they typically use less energy per load. However, if you end up doing more loads due to the small size, energy savings may be offset.

Stacked Cons

• Aesthetic: We don’t personally love the aesthetic of stacked units, however, we love that they can be hidden away, if needed.
• Tough to Reach: Consider your height when determining your washer and dryer layout. Some folks find it challenging to reach into the top dryer unit to fish out a sock, for instance, which makes using a footstool a necessity.

Whether your washer and dryer are installed in spacious quarters or a petite closet, use one of these layouts to maximize your space and renew your “stain master” abilities. Remember, a well-designed laundry room can save you time and headaches, making optimizing this area a must!

Looking for more laundry room-related tips and tricks? We’re sharing a few laundry items we love here, and our favorite laundry room paint colors here.

We’d also love hearing from you! Let us know which of these layouts you’d try in the comments below, and be sure to hop on our email list where we share the latest and greatest updates from our team here at Alma Homes.

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