Utility Room Ideas and Designs

Modern luxury meets warm farmhouse in this Southampton home! Scandinavian inspired furnishings and light fixtures create a clean and tailored look, while the natural materials found in accent walls, casegoods, the staircase, and home decor hone in on a homey feel. An open-concept interior that proves less can be more is how we’d explain this interior. By accentuating the “negative space,” we’ve allowed the carefully chosen furnishings and artwork to steal the show, while the crisp whites and abundance of natural light create a rejuvenated and refreshed interior. This sprawling 5,000 square foot home includes a salon, ballet room, two media rooms, a conference room, multifunctional study, and, lastly, a guest house (which is a mini version of the main house). Project Location: Southamptons. Project designed by interior design firm, Betty Wasserman Art & Interiors. From their Chelsea base, they serve clients in Manhattan and throughout New York City, as well as across the tri-state area and in The Hamptons. For more about Betty Wasserman, click here: https://www.bettywasserman.com/ To learn more about this project, click here: https://www.bettywasserman.com/spaces/southampton-modern-farmhouse/

Transitional Kitchen and First Floor Flock Remodel - Naperville

Redstart Construction, Inc.

Picture Perfect House
Photo of a large traditional galley utility room in Chicago with a built-in sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, engineered stone countertops, grey walls, dark hardwood flooring, a side by side washer and dryer, brown floors and grey worktops.

Classic Lake House

Glas Associates

A neutral mudroom and laundry with gray, patterned wallpaper. Photo by Ashley Avila Photography
Photo of a large nautical l-shaped utility room in Grand Rapids with white cabinets, engineered stone countertops, white splashback, ceramic flooring, beige floors and white worktops.

Find the right local pro for your project

Find top design and renovation professionals on Houzz

Family-Friendly Colorful Remodel

Nathan Taylor for Obelisk Home

Photo of a small classic u-shaped utility room in Other with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, grey walls and medium hardwood flooring.

Ivy Cottage - New Oak framed single storey extension

N&K Interiors

Inspiration for a small rural single-wall separated utility room in London with wood worktops, white walls, light hardwood flooring, beige floors and beige worktops.

Property Brothers At Home: Drew's Honeymoon House

Breeze Giannasio Interiors

Meghan Bob Photography
This is an example of a large classic utility room in Los Angeles with a belfast sink, shaker cabinets, grey cabinets, engineered stone countertops, concrete flooring and multi-coloured floors.

4 Johnson Cove

Grove Park Construction

Beach style single-wall separated utility room in Nashville with a submerged sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white walls, a side by side washer and dryer, grey floors and black worktops.

Sophisticated Audubon

Cabinets by Design

This is an example of a medium sized traditional l-shaped separated utility room in New Orleans with a submerged sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets and a stacked washer and dryer.

Tetherow, Bend Oregon

Visionary Homes Inc.

Laundry room with dog was station. Industrial mop basin and pre-rinse faucet on a raised cabinet create the perfect dog wash station and multi-purpose sink.

Laundry/Mud Room

The Expert Touch Interiors

Taylor Anne Gimza Photography
Design ideas for a farmhouse utility room in Toronto.

Fall Parade of Homes, 2017

Highmark Builders

Landmark Photography
Design ideas for a farmhouse utility room in Minneapolis.

Cole

Blair Burke General Contractors, Inc.

This Cole Valley home is transformed through the integration of a skylight shaft that brings natural light to both stories and nearly all living space within the home. The ingenious design creates a dramatic shift in volume for this modern, two-story rear addition, completed in only four months. In appreciation of the home’s original Victorian bones, great care was taken to restore the architectural details of the front façade.

Functional Mudroom & Laundry Combo

Esslinger Design Company

Functional Mudroom & Laundry Combo
Photo of a medium sized traditional utility room in Chicago with a submerged sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, granite worktops, grey walls, ceramic flooring, a stacked washer and dryer and grey floors.

Contemporary Master Suite Addition in El Segundo, CA.

Custom Design & Construction

The homeowners had just purchased this home in El Segundo and they had remodeled the kitchen and one of the bathrooms on their own. However, they had more work to do. They felt that the rest of the project was too big and complex to tackle on their own and so they retained us to take over where they left off. The main focus of the project was to create a master suite and take advantage of the rather large backyard as an extension of their home. They were looking to create a more fluid indoor outdoor space. When adding the new master suite leaving the ceilings vaulted along with French doors give the space a feeling of openness. The window seat was originally designed as an architectural feature for the exterior but turned out to be a benefit to the interior! They wanted a spa feel for their master bathroom utilizing organic finishes. Since the plan is that this will be their forever home a curbless shower was an important feature to them. The glass barn door on the shower makes the space feel larger and allows for the travertine shower tile to show through. Floating shelves and vanity allow the space to feel larger while the natural tones of the porcelain tile floor are calming. The his and hers vessel sinks make the space functional for two people to use it at once. The walk-in closet is open while the master bathroom has a white pocket door for privacy. Since a new master suite was added to the home we converted the existing master bedroom into a family room. Adding French Doors to the family room opened up the floorplan to the outdoors while increasing the amount of natural light in this room. The closet that was previously in the bedroom was converted to built in cabinetry and floating shelves in the family room. The French doors in the master suite and family room now both open to the same deck space. The homes new open floor plan called for a kitchen island to bring the kitchen and dining / great room together. The island is a 3” countertop vs the standard inch and a half. This design feature gives the island a chunky look. It was important that the island look like it was always a part of the kitchen. Lastly, we added a skylight in the corner of the kitchen as it felt dark once we closed off the side door that was there previously. Repurposing rooms and opening the floor plan led to creating a laundry closet out of an old coat closet (and borrowing a small space from the new family room). The floors become an integral part of tying together an open floor plan like this. The home still had original oak floors and the homeowners wanted to maintain that character. We laced in new planks and refinished it all to bring the project together. To add curb appeal we removed the carport which was blocking a lot of natural light from the outside of the house. We also re-stuccoed the home and added exterior trim.

1920’s Rocky River Whole House

Dover Home Remodelers

Built in ironing board in laundry room
Photo of a traditional utility room in Cleveland.

Modern Rustic Wayne Laundry & Mudroom

Deconstructed Living Design

Design ideas for a large classic galley utility room in Philadelphia with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, wood worktops, beige walls, ceramic flooring and a side by side washer and dryer.

Ultimate Laundry Rooms

Electrolux US

This is an example of a contemporary utility room in New York.

Richwood Hills Ranch

Preferred Builders of Watertown, Ltd

Dave Andersen Photography
Photo of a medium sized classic single-wall separated utility room in Milwaukee with raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, laminate countertops, lino flooring, a side by side washer and dryer, a built-in sink and blue walls.

Industrial farmhouse style meets a Nichols Hills ranch

Design Directions

Large traditional galley utility room in Oklahoma City with a submerged sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, grey walls, ceramic flooring, a stacked washer and dryer, marble worktops, grey floors and grey worktops.

Utility Room Ideas and Designs

A well designed utility room can rise to become one of our favourite rooms in the house, boasting the accolade of existing solely to make our lives easier. Few of us are fans of chores such as washing, cleaning and ironing, but with a high-spec, well put together utility design they could be a breeze. For this reason, it makes sense to design an utility room to be as functional as possible, the very model of “everything in its place”, with carefully thought out utility room storage. That, however, doesn’t have to mean it can’t look nice – even super-utilitarian appliances like a washing machine, tumble dryer, laundry basket and recycling bin can be dressed up by their surroundings and made to look great as part of your utility design.

What do I need in my utility room?

Most utility rooms tend to be a small room just off the kitchen or hallway, so you are likely to be working with a compact space. Your main priority will involve planning utility room storage around your white goods. A utility room is usually intended primarily as a laundry room, so it makes sense to first install your plumbed items: the sink, washing machine and, if you have one, tumble dryer. If you run short of space and can’t afford to have a separate washer and dryer, then consider an integrated washer-dryer for your utility design. Built-in storage is a great idea in utility rooms to make best use of the available space, and you might want to also consider built in ironing boards, clothes airers and retractable washing lines. These items tend to be a bit cumbersome and are forever getting in the way, so designing special utility room storage for them or fixing them to a wall so they are easily folded away is an excellent space-saver and well worth the implementation. Free standing items such as laundry baskets and clothes hampers can be tucked neatly under specially designed worktops, and a selection of stacking plastic storage boxes, tins or wicker baskets can be used to help keep the room clutter free.

How do I decorate my utility room?

Decorating an utility room is the ultimate exercise in form meeting functionality. As it’s a room that, alas, invariably people spend a great deal of time in, you will want keep the utility room a calm and clean space. Utility room storage is essential for keeping this area tidy; attractively painted shelves and cupboards can be used to stow away all the bottles and boxes used for laundry and cleaning, as well as appliances such as vacuum cleaners and irons. An attractive country style utility design can be achieved by hanging bright or patterned curtains in front of wall mounted shelves – it will perk up the room and keep clutter hidden away. Floors should be hard-wearing and easy to clean (just think of those dirty boots traipsing in through the back door!) – to this end, stone, tile, laminate or vinyl flooring will be the most low-maintenance and durable. All in all, bear in mind that just because this is primarily a practical space doesn’t mean it needs to be dull – you can inject personality into your utility design in your choices of colour and decorative accessories. Consider quirky signage, blackboards for scribbling down shopping lists, and decorative bottles and boxes for stowing away household bits and bobs.

Do I need a sink in my utility room?

Utility room sinks are designed for those jobs that don’t quite belong in the kitchen – hand washing, dirty boots, watering indoor plants – and typically have a more industrial aesthetic than kitchen sinks. In fact, the iconic butler sink’s originally designated purpose was, as you might imagine, a sink for the butler, who was responsible for washing precious glassware and other items that required special attention and soaking. In case you’ve ever wondered, this is why butler sinks are so deep – for that matter, the only difference between butler sinks and Belfast sinks is the overflow built in to Belfast sinks which don’t feature in butler sinks. If the rustic charm of ceramic sinks appeal to you but your utility room would benefit a less substantial piece, French farmhouse sinks may be the perfect option; cast in French clay to produce a more refined finish, farmhouse sinks can be a thinner, more elegant alternative to their robust counterparts. As well as offering practicality, ceramic sinks make a beautiful statement centrepiece – utility rooms with a country or shabby chic feel will find the perfect complement to rustic wooden units with a butler or farmhouse sink. Smaller sinks are perfectly adequate if your utility room doesn’t demand as much from you, if you do the odd bit of rinsing instead of regularly being elbow-deep in heavy-duty washing. Stainless steel sinks are a practical choice that can withstand the bashing they will get in an utility room set up. Composite sinks are available in granite and quartz variations, both boasting superior durability and damage resistance; to boot, their smooth clean finish lends itself to an ultramodern style utility room. If you’re still unsure on your utility design, take a look through the hundreds of photos for some utility room ideas from professional designers and other homeowners. You might find a design theme or some utility room storage ideas that will inspire you for your utility room makeover.

Functional Laundry Room

The Guest House Studio, ASID

Functional and spaces laundry room/mud room. Cabinets are painted Vervain Blue by Benjamin Moore. Tile is a 6x12 in a herringbone pattern. Cat comes extra. Photo by Amanda Keough

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.