Rise and Store

Perhaps one of our favorite design solutions, this DIY platform not only raises the laundry units so you can load them up easier without bending over and straining your back, but two clever built-in drawers provide additional storage space for surplus supplies like dryer sheets, extra rags or even a spot to hide all that found change from your family's pockets. Head over to House of Turquoise for details.

Space Saver

Whether you have a nook or a closet for a laundry room, lose the cheap, contractor-grade doors, and save precious floor space (and hide the units while you're at it) with mounted barn doors that slide open and close with little-to-no-effort. No one will suspect such industrial workhorses are hiding behind such an architecturally interesting design.

Barn door hardware can easily be found online or at Home Depot. To determine if this installation will work for you, make sure there is ample wall space on one or both sides for the doorsso the barn doors can slide fully openwhether you have a set of doors that open in the middle or a single door, like the one pictured above from Geoff Chick.

Pattern Power

Who says a laundry room needs to be white and boring? Sometimes a laundry room makeover needs just a wow-factor like this pattern play. Treat your small space with some designer TLC with a bold, graphic wallpaper accented with a DIY-painted sink in an equally bold red. We love this one from Jungalow.

Maximize Unused Space

Just because laundry rooms are often awkward spaces that get overwhelmed by the (much-needed) appliances, doesn't mean you can't maximize the space. These shelves, hung perpendicularly to the machines, provide ample storage and take advantage of what would otherwise be a waste of space.

Adding knobs and hooks with a slim profile provides additional storage without eating into the space and making it feel more cramped. See more of this over at Hutchinson House.

Maximize Wall Space

Pegboards are fantastic organizing solutions for tools and desks, but they also make for great laundry room organization as well, like Sincerely Sara D shows above. You can use a single board or kit-out the entire wall in pegboard, which provides a wall of organizational and storage solutions that can change and grow to meet your needs.

Don't forget to paint the board the same color as your wallit'll help the board to blend into the space, making it feel more cohesive and intentional.

Folding Station

Once you experience a handy folding station in the laundry room, you'll never want to unload the dryer and carry your laundry somewhere else to fold and sort. If you don't have the space for a stand-alone table, take advantage of the space right above the laundry units by installing your very own DIY table. This version from Vintage Revivals went one step further with its design-driven waterfall edge by attaching a tabletop to the wall; being supported by two legs would work just as well.

Don't have space right above the washer and dryer for a folding station? You can install a table that latches to the wall and folds down when you need it, tucking away neatly when you don't.

Smart Shelf

That space behind the washer and dryer? It's just begging for a custom-shelf. This beauty provides ample storage for supplies you regularly use, freeing up space in the cabinets above for those items that you only need to access occasionally. And the best part? It only costs $12 to build.

If you measure the space and find that the measurements don't line up with off-the-shelf lumber, just pull the units out a few more inches to save yourself from making custom cuts. The Definery Co. shows you how it's done.

Ceiling Drying Rack

Drying racks typically take up a lot of floor space, but this design takes advantage of that unused space found all over your ceiling. This rack we spotted over at George & Willy can be raised and lowered with a pully system, keeping that air-dry only laundry up and out of the way. But the best part? Discovering there is an unexpected advantage to drying your clothes at such great heightsheat rises so your clothes will get the additional drying help thanks to the nature of science. How cool is that?

Hanging Rods

In the scope of doing laundry, not much is more annoying than washing and drying button-downs and blouses just to have them end up in a wrinkled mess. This hanging rod takes advantage of the space between two cabinets and is installed close to the laundry unit, which means that you'll have handy hangers for when those precious shirts come out of the dryer. You may even be able to say goodbye to the dry cleaner, saving you more time and money in the long run. See more over at House Beautiful.

Ready-to-Assemble Storage

One of the easiest, smartest, and cheapest solutions for an instantly better looking, functioning laundry room is an off-the-shelf cabinet procured from your favorite big box stores like IKEA or Home Depot. Simply measure the space and find the unit that fits within it. You can dress it up with moldings and the like to make it appear more built-in but it doesn't need to have those fancy details. Add a shelf above the laundry machines for easy access to laundry detergent and dryer sheets.