As a homeowner, you may find yourself in need of more space for your laundry needs.  One solution to this problem is to turn your garage into a laundry/mudroom.  This can be a great way to utilize unused space and create a functional area for washing and drying clothes.

Now what is a mudroom?    A mudroom is a small space to remove dirty shoes, store backpacks, hats, sports equipment, coats etc. It’s usually located off a kitchen or back door.

Here are some tips on how to turn your garage into a laundry/mudroom.

Plan the Layout

Before you start any work, it’s important to plan the layout of your new laundry room.  Consider the placement of your washer and dryer, as well as any additional storage or shelving you may need.  You’ll also want to think about the location of your electrical and plumbing connections.

Install Plumbing and Electrical

If your garage doesn’t already have plumbing and electrical connections, you’ll need to have these installed.  This may require the help of a professional plumber and electrician.  Make sure to get any necessary permits before starting any work.  To make use of the room, I converted the water heater to a tankless water heater that I bought on amazon.

Insulate and Dry Wall

To make your new laundry room more comfortable, you’ll want to insulate and drywall the walls and ceiling.  This will help keep the space warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  I added air conditioning into my laundry/mudroom and had my handyman pull it from the interior of my home into the room.

Install Flooring

I started with elevating the floors to the level of the home out of timber and not concrete just incase if in the future, I decide to sell the house and/or decide I wanted to convert it back into a garage.  It is easier to break timber apart than concrete.  I didn’t want to spend a lot on the floors but knew I wanted porcelain as it is easier to clean and maintain.  I bought my floors at home depot and had my installer layer them in a herringbone pattern.

Add Storage

To maximize the space, I custom made cabinets for storage were built and installed.  Lots of draws and cabinets were built to store all of my linens, home decor, cleaning products and entertaining supplies.  I didn’t want this room to look like my kitchen cabinets so I went a little bold and decided to add white garden vinyl lattice the fronts of the cabinets to give it an outdoor look.  The rattan & gold hardware pulls carries the Hampton style in the room.   A small prep sink that can double as a hand-washing station was mounted with white quartz counter tops to fold your laundry and two pull out draws; one to hold the paper towel holder and the other a trash bin.

On the side of the cabinet, I added a pull down ironing board which I bought on amazon.  I hate ironing but having an ironing board that you do not have to carry and put away makes it much easier.

I love Christmas and wrapping gifts.  Even though I am not a mom and never had children of my own, I wanted a space to store wrapping paper, ribbons, bow and tags.  My attic is in my garage so if I did have children, it would have been so easy to wrap gifts in the mudroom without them knowing.  Lock the door leading into the garage and after you wrap the gifts store them in the attic.

Decorate

Once your laundry room is complete, add some decorative touches to make it feel like a part of your home.  Hang some artwork or add a rug to make the space feel cozy.  The scalloped rug I placed on the floors softens the room.  The floral wall paper was a big feature in the room.  Creating outdoors spaces indoors, I choose a wall paper with blues and greens which you can find on our website.  The mudroom is dominated by a washer and dryer which I did not change.  To make it convenient,  I added shelving to the wall over the washer and dryer and bought a 2 qt glass containers to hold detergent and to make it even simpler added a laundry detergent cup holder.  It gives it a more cleaner appearance instead of keeping the plastic containers they come in.  I bought the pre-labels and added them to each of the glass jars   All of my laundry room essential were useful in so many ways.

I added a cushion bench to plop down on for those times when you can’t tug off your shoes or boots while standing.

Turning your garage into a laundry/mudroom can be a great way to create more space in your home.  With a little planning and some hard work, you can have a functional and stylish laundry room in no time.