In an 18th-century workers' cottage in Greenwich, interior and production designer Anna Rhodes has created a charming family house, which she shares with her partner, BAFTA award-winning documentary maker Fred Scott and their son. Downstairs, in the cellar that was “filled with stuff” when Anna and Fred arrived, they have created a bright, airy space. Curtains are a great way to jazz this kind of space up – the fabric is from The Cloth Shop.
While utility rooms may have the reputation as the most unglamorous in a house, they are nevertheless vital to a smoothly-operating home. Historically, they were the domain of domestic staff, sealed off from the rest of the house by green baize doors and accessible only by narrow staircases. Today, however, utility rooms receive more traffic and are just as likely to be closely positioned (and aesthetically aligned) to the main living spaces of a home - and we've plenty of beautiful examples to share.
What is a utility room?
A utility room is a functional room often next to the kitchen or boot room, used to house larger household appliances like washing machines, dryers and even sometimes chest freezers. A great utility room should help you perform daily tasks and chores efficiently, as well as keep more unseemly appliances out of view. Usually, utility rooms are designed with functionality as a first priority, aesthetics secondary – but with our assistance, you can design your utility room to be high-functioning and elegant.
What should be included in a utility room?
A utility room has the pitfall of becoming a catch-all room in which laundry is done and objects are stashed. However, a great utility room should affixed as much attention as any other room in your home. The use of a utility room, too, is wholly dependent on the household - do you have several loads of laundry each week? Is there an overspill of food and drink that needs storage? Where do you usually take your first sip of coffee in the mornings? In her utility room, designer Rita Konig maximised its use: it is there where she keeps her ironing board, steamer equipment and Miele iron press, a freezer and coffee machine, which is “especially useful if [the utility room] is near the bedrooms - it is nice to be able to make coffee upstairs in the morning before venturing downstairs”.
Where should a utility room be in a home?
A utility room is optimally positioned next to the kitchen. However, we've also seen houses in which utility rooms whose primary function is for doing laundry are housed upstairs closer to the linen closets and bedrooms. “In family houses,” says Rita, “I recommend putting them close to the bedrooms so that the laundry can be done near to where it all comes from and has to go back to.” Konig also notes that “it is not necessarily the most practical thing to have [utility rooms] in the basem*nt or near the kitchen”.
How can I make my utility room look nice?
The most attractive fitting rooms should be bright, clean and ordered. Rita Konig's own laundry room is laid with Popham Design tiles ("quite the extravagance", says Rita), as the pretty patterns help to spruce up the small space and make the chore of doing laundry less of a bother. Tongue and groove wall panelling, also, for example, adds character and helps to hide ventilation or drainage systems. Investing in stylish basics, such as brass rails for hanging laundry or stain-resistant marble countertops (as seen in the utility room of Beata Heuman's Sussex cottage) helps to elevate your utility room without sacrificing its primary function.
What is the difference between a utility room and a laundry room?
While a utility room can certainly be used for doing laundry (the room, after all, often houses the washing machine and dryer in a house), it can also be used for other additional functions, such as storing chest freezers and bicycles, or housing a dog shower and other clunky items. A laundry room, on the other hand, is exclusively utilised for the purpose of doing laundry. In a well-equipped laundry room, Rita highly recommends “two washing machines in family houses with more than three people. This is not as unecological as it sounds - you just do things in half the time. It is maddening waiting for a load of whites to end in order to put in a load of colours or delicates.”
Already have a washing machine installed? May we suggest reading up on proper cleaning techniques with our handy guide on this essential household task.
