Home Improvements

MUNDANE GETS A MAKEOVER

By Iyna Bort Caruso

First bathrooms became sumptuous spas. Then closets turned into wardrobe showplaces. Now, laundry rooms, among the last frontiers of domestic utility, are getting their due. They are moving out of the realm of the purely pragmatic and into the high tone company of granite, crystal and travertine.

According to Miele, the premium appliance manufacturer, the average person spends at least six hours a week in the laundry room, so it’s not surprising why a homeowner would be reluctant to spend those hours cocooned in a dingy corner of the house.

Andrea Cueny, of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, says at the luxury price point, “which we consider anything over a million,” laundry rooms are designed to impress. The finer the home, the more luxurious the appointments. “People are spending more time at home and they have more help in the home–au pairs, in-laws, nannies. They want to make these rooms nicer with more high end finishes,” Cueny says. Many homes in her territory have two laundry areas, one centrally located on the main level and one by the bedrooms.

The fact is, in a luxury estate, no area is overlooked, no room gets short shrift. “Every room of the house is gorgeous, and laundry rooms are simply the next logical extension,” says Sandra Espinet, an interior designer and HGTV personality. Espinet works with an international clientele from her offices in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, and Los Angeles. She says there’s no question that laundry rooms are getting bigger and posher. “Many are basically extensions of the kitchen, and they use the same beautiful cabinetry, the same luxury granite and the same high end appliances.”

In a way, these rooms are more like laundry hubs or centers. Think of them as the emerging superstars of multifunctional spaces. Beyond top tier washers and dryers, homeowners are installing specialty appliances like warming drawers for delicate clothing and rotary presses for crisp, professional finishes. They’re also making room for sewing stations and storage units. Along with the predictable is the unpredictable. Designer/builder John Zito, of Coastline Building in Delton, Mich., completed a laundry room in an estate that incorporates a wine cellar and tasting room. The project was both an engineering challenge as well as a design feat.

The laundry room earmarked for the new home of Lori Cunningham, a blogger who writes about home technology for thewellconnectedhome.com, is smartly conceived and exquisitely designed. “Doing laundry is a chore. I was tired of having a small laundry room and being barely able to move in it,” she says. In fact, her new home, a 6,900-square-foot Tuscan-style residence in Chino Hills, Calif., has two laundry rooms. The larger one boasts an abundance of counter space, a second washer, a built-in ironing board and a sewing desk. She broke open one wall, creating a pass-through with shutters to maintain her connection with the rest of the house. “I like knowing what’s going on and not being closed into a room,” says the mother of two. The finishes are striking: the countertops are granite, the floors are Versailles-pattern travertine and the wood cabinetry is custom.

Cunningham says she went back and forth on her design choices. “Should I make it so luxurious? Did I really need that for a laundry? But I decided I wanted it looking like rest of the house, I wanted it to blend in. It brings a little bit of excitement to a room that’s normally dull and dreary.”

Marion Crandall of Waterfield Sotheby’s International Realty in Winchester, Mass., says house hunters respond to laundry rooms that are sunny and inviting. In a recent sale, she cited the home’s lavish laundry room as a factor in the purchase decision. “The buyer loved the room,” Crandall recalls. “It was light and airy with beautiful wallpaper creating a garden feel. And it had a special window with plant grow lights so when you walked in there you had a room with blooming plants in the middle of winter.” A beautiful laundry room will always generate a positive response from potential buyers, adds Crandall. “It’s an unexpected surprise and buyers love it.”

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