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Design Dilemma: Hiding a Washer and/or Dryer

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It’s a common problem for those of us who have no room dedicated especially to doing the laundry. How can we make a rather ugly appliance coexist peacefully in what would otherwise be a beautiful kitchen or bathroom?

Here are a few ideas:

1) Cover up. Use decorative panels or screens to wall off appliances when not in use. Below, IKEA decorative panels keep a bathroom looking polished, despite the laundry paraphernalia.

2) Build cabinets. Cabinetry is the classic way of keeping things neat and orderly. A small washer/dryer combo can be designed to fit into the cabinetry in a kitchen (looking not too much different from a dishwasher), and cabinetry in a bathroom can be especially designed to house laundry appliances. Or, if you already have built-in cabinets, shop around for machines that can tuck away inside.

3) Don’t hide, emphasize. Sometimes it’s just too complicated to build special cabinets. So go the simple route and provide a countertop under which a washer and dryer can neatly fit in either the kitchen or bathroom.

4)Go high-tech. We’re not sure if this contraption is really on the market, but it was too cool not to mention. “The Washup,” designed by Sevin Coskun solves two problems at once. It uses the washing machine’s waste water to flush the integrated toilet at the bottom, and also puts the washing machine up above the toilet itself, saving space in small apartments.

Images: Ikea, Pointclickhome, Andre Rothblatt,  Innerspec, Core77