5 Must-Have Laundry Room Features, According to Real Estate Agents
If you’ve ever slung alaundry bag over your shoulder, trekked to the laundromat, and folded your delicates in front of strangers, then you know that simply having alaundry room in your house(or even building) counts as a luxury.
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But aside from “washer and dryer included,” what else should homebuyers keep in mind when it comes to this functional space? We asked real estate agents to share what takes a laundry room from “OK, this will do,” to “Wow, friends, have I shown you my laundry room?” Here’s what they have to say:
1. A convenient location
Leave it to real estate agents to bring up “location, location, location.” But this is a great reminder, since you probably aren’t doing imaginary chores while touring open houses.
“If all your bedrooms are on the second floor and your laundry room is on the first, that can become a serious pain,” points outCorey Crossman,broker and realtor with Coldwell Banker Advantage in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Ideally, the laundry room won’t be more than a few steps from the bedrooms, where most of your clothes are kept.”
2. Nice finishes
When building a new home, buyers often get carried away with the finishes in the kitchen and bathroom. That means there’s no room in the budget for the laundry room, Crossman says. The result? Cheap vinyl floors and minimal features.
Make sure to prioritize tile or another water-resistant flooring in the laundry room. In the event of spills, it makes clean-up that much easier.
3. A table for folding
A large, flat surface to fold clothes on is a must-have, says Chuck Vosburgh, a Realtor withNextHome Gulf to Bayin St. Petersburg, Florida.
“Folding clothes right out of the dryer will save lots of ironing,” he says.
A couple other hacks: Install a rod to hang clothes for drying (it’ll also reduce wrinkling) and opt for cabinets instead of shelves for storage (all that lint creates dust!), Vosburgh suggests.
4. Good ventilation and lighting
Running the washer and dryer can cause humidity in the home, so check to see if the room has a good ventilation system, like a fan or window, to keep the area cool and dry, suggests Los Angeles RealtorMelissa Okabe.
“Light and bright laundry rooms filled with natural light have been preferred with the buyers I’ve worked with,” she says.
5. An attractive utility sink
“We’ve all seen the big, ugly plastic sinks in basement laundry rooms,” says Jennifer Harder, founder & CEO ofJennifer Harder Mortgage Brokersin Victoria, British Columbia. But laundry room sinks can be stylish and functional, just like any other sink in your home, she says. Instead of a big ol’ plastic basin, upgrade to a stainless steel sink with a backsplash, get creative with finishing on faucets, or opt fora farmhouse sink.
Bonus: A dog wash station
Several real estate agents told us the latest “wow” factor for laundry rooms isa dog wash.
“If the laundry room connects to the outside, this will prevent your pooch from tracking in mud,” says Valerie Burmester, a real estate broker withMarketplace Sotheby’s International Realtyin Redmond, Washington. “Plus it will keep your own showers and tubs cleaner.”
So, while a laundry room isn’t necessarily the sexiest space in a home, they can go above and beyond to make life run a little smoother.