Last week, I shared my plan for our laundry room and closet combo. If you missed it, here’s another look at what I shared in that post. I had to use the PAX planner from IKEA for the closet side of the room.
And then I had to use the IKEA kitchen planner for the laundry room side of the room.
As usual, I received a lot of positive feedback on that plan, some of which I have already incorporated into a revised plan. But I don’t remember anyone saying anything about the sink. But over the weekend, I started to wonder why I was putting a sink in this room.
I guess when I think “laundry room,” I automatically think of a sink in that room. I think Pinterest and Instagram have been programmed that way since all of these new laundry rooms seem to have sinks. So when I started designing the laundry room side of this room, I went into autopilot mode and put a sink in there.
But why? Last weekend, as I was reviewing the plans and making adjustments here and there based on your feedback, I started to wonder why on earth I thought I needed a sink in this room. If it really isn’t necessary, then that sink is taking up valuable storage space or valuable countertop space.
So I polled my Facebook page and asked if a sink was necessary in the laundry room. A lot of people said no, especially in a laundry/closet space like the one I’m planning. But many people said YES! When I asked what they use it for, these were the answers:
- pre-soak a piece of clothing,
- for washing hand-washable garments,
- wash brushes,
- bathe the dog,
- to clean up after gardening,
- to empty mop buckets,
- to clean pet dishes,
- to clean garden tools,
- to clean large items such as refrigerators,
- to clean shoes,
- to fill watering cans to water indoor plants,
- to clean brass or silver,
- wash vegetables from the garden,
- to clean/defrost seafood,
- dye fabrics,
- to apply hair color,
- cut and arrange flowers,
- for soaking large size pans after entertaining,
- defrost a turkey,
- to fill with ice and drinks when entertaining,
- to clean after repairing the car,
I’m sure I missed some, but you get the point. And aside from the first item on that list, the rest are things I would never do in a laundry room that shares space with my clothes and shoes. And even the first thing, pre-soaking an article of clothing, is not something I do. I don’t even remember the last time I soaked a garment before washing it. Maybe I’m washing clothes wrong.
The most I do is spray an item of clothing with a stain-removing spray, throw it in the washing machine, let it sit for a while while I do something else, and then come back later to start the wash cycle. That’s about as extensive as my pre-wash/soak routine can get. And I have too little time to buy clothes that need to be hand washed. If something can’t go through a wash cycle, it doesn’t make it into my closet. Even the rare item I buy without realizing the label says “hand wash only” gets into a delicate cycle, and I just hope for the best.
So, all of that to say that I do not need and will not place a sink on the laundry room side of our laundry room and closet combo. If I were creating a dedicated laundry room that was also a utility room, and especially one that had direct access from the backyard, I would definitely add a sink. But in our case, it seems just strange.
However, I’ve been thinking about where I can add a sink to my studio. That was a suggestion that many of you made. At first I ruled it out because my studio will be very close to the new kitchen. I considered adding a sink (or rather keeping a sink) in the area that will be the pantry connecting the back doors of the den to the kitchen (on the right side of the floor plan below).
That area is currently a bathroom, so it already has the necessary plumbing for a sink. But I hate taking up so much space for a sink when it can be used to store things I want to easily access in the kitchen.
So now what I’m thinking is that when the door from the current breakfast room to the study is closed, I’ll move my paint sample cabinet to that wall. (It fits perfectly, like it was made to go there.) I couldn’t find a recent photo of the entire area (and I won’t be taking any new full photos until the room is completely finished, which will probably be this weekend), but you can see in this old photo what I’m talking about. So instead of leaving it where it is below, I’ll simply move it towards the left wall, covering the area where the door is right now. It will be just to the right of my large framed landscape design.
And that will leave me some room for a sink. And again, since the area just on the other side of that wall is currently a bathroom, that means the plumbing is very easy to access, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to put a sink right there.
But I think you are all right. I definitely need a sink in the studio or very close to the studio. But I definitely don’t think you need a sink in the laundry room/closet combo. As long as I have a sink somewhere, I think that’s all I need, and the studio makes a lot more sense for that.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 upper that my husband Matt and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and can’t do physical labor, so I do most of the work in the house alone. You can learn more about me here.
