Laundry Room Floor Plan
A good laundry room floor plan keeps the whole job in one place: wash, dry, fold and put away. This page gives typical sizes from a laundry closet to a utility room, layouts for two machines, the space to leave in front of them and where the room fits in the house. The example is a 2.0 × 2.7 m (7 × 9 ft) room with a washer and a dryer on one wall, a utility sink on the end wall and a folding counter opposite.
A laundry room with folding counter
Drawn to scale. The links open this room with the same furniture, ready for you to add doors and windows and resize anything.
Typical laundry room sizes
| Metric (typical) | Imperial (typical) | Fits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laundry closet | 0.9 m deep, 1.8 m wide | 3 ft deep, 6 ft wide | Two machines side by side, or stacked, behind doors |
| Laundry room | 1.8 × 2.4 m to 2.0 × 2.7 m | 6 × 8 ft to 7 × 9 ft | Two machines, sink, folding counter, shelves |
| Utility or mudroom | 2.4 × 3.0 m and up | 8 × 10 ft and up | Laundry plus coats, boots and cleaning storage |
What sets the size of a laundry room
Two side-by-side machines take roughly 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) of wall, depending on the models, and, including the gap behind them for hoses and the dryer vent, about 75 cm (30 in) of depth for European 60 cm machines and up to about 1 m (40 in) for US full-size front loaders. Stacking them halves the wall length. Add a sink, a counter to fold on and somewhere to put baskets, and you have the room.
Check the size of your own machines: depths and door types vary more than widths.
Laundry layouts
One wall
Machines and sink in a row with shelves above. The narrowest option, for a corridor or closet.
L-shape
Machines on one wall and a folding counter on the next, so you can fold right beside the dryer.
Galley
Machines on one wall, folding counter opposite, with an aisle between. The example plan uses this layout, with the sink on the end wall.
Stacked pair
A dryer on top of the washer halves the floor space needed; the library has a Stacked washer-dryer for it.
Doors, windows and the machines
Put the machines on the wall with the water supply and drain, and the dryer on an outside wall if it needs a vent. A window helps with damp and smells; keep it clear of tall shelving.
The door should not swing into the space in front of the machines. In a laundry closet, sliding or bi-fold doors avoid that; in a room, a door at the end of the aisle rather than facing the machines usually works best.
Space to load and fold
Front-loading machines need clear floor in front of them to open the door and put a basket down: about 90 cm (36 in) is a common minimum, and up to about 120 cm (48 in) lets the door swing fully open with you beside it. Leave a little space behind and between the machines for hoses, the dryer vent and vibration.
In the example, there is about 1.35 m (4′ 5″) between the front of the machines and the folding counter. If the room is also the way into the house from the garage or garden, keep a walkway clear of the machines.
Laundry items in the library
The library has a washer, a dryer and a stacked washer-dryer at common sizes.
Washer
60 × 60 cm (2′ × 2′). A standard European front loader size; US full-size machines are deeper.
Dryer
60 × 60 cm (2′ × 2′). Beside the washer, on an outside wall if it needs a vent.
Stacked washer-dryer
60 × 60 cm (2′ × 2′). One footprint for both machines, for a closet.
Sink
70 × 45 cm (2′ 4″ × 1′ 6″). Use it as a utility sink.
Counter
180 × 60 cm (5′ 11″ × 2′). A folding counter; resize it to fit the wall.
Bookshelf
90 × 35 cm (2′ 11″ × 1′ 2″). Shelving for detergent, baskets and linen.
Storage and where the laundry goes
Shelves or cabinets above the machines hold detergent and cleaning things; a tall cupboard can take an ironing board, vacuum and mop. A rail or rod over the counter lets shirts dry on hangers.
A laundry near the bedrooms saves carrying clothes up and down stairs; one by the back door or garage doubles as a mudroom. Next to the kitchen or a bathroom, it can share their plumbing.
Common laundry room mistakes
No folding space
Without a counter, clean laundry ends up on the machines or the floor.
Doors that clash
A room door, a washer door and a dryer door opening into the same small space make loading awkward.
Machines pushed against the wall
Hoses and vents need a gap; the machines end up further out than their depth suggests.
Forgetting the walkway
A laundry that is also a route to the garage needs a clear path past someone loading a machine.
Plan your laundry room in the editor
Open the example
Or draw the space with R; for a laundry closet, draw only the recess.
Place the machines
Drag the washer and the dryer onto the plan; they snap flush to the wall.
Add the counter and storage
Resize the counter to the wall and add shelving wherever it keeps clear of the space in front of the machines.
Check the door
Make sure the room door clears the machines when they are open.
Related templates, guides and tools
- 3-bedroom house plansA family layout to find a place for the laundry in.
- Floor plan design tipsGrouping wet rooms and planning storage across the whole home.
- Draw the laundry room to scalePlan the one room with its machines, sink and storage in the room planner.
- Room size calculatorArea and perimeter from the width and length you measured.
- Furniture layout plannerCheck that chosen pieces fit with a walkway gap before you draw.
Frequently asked questions
How much space does a washer and dryer need?
Side by side, a pair of standard machines takes roughly 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) of wall, about 75 cm (30 in) deep for European machines and up to about 1 m (40 in) for US full-size ones, plus about 90–120 cm (36–48 in) in front to load them.
What is the minimum size for a laundry room?
Two machines, a small counter and room to stand fit in about 1.8 × 2.4 m (6 × 8 ft). A laundry closet with machines behind doors can be about 0.9 m (3 ft) deep.
Should the washer and dryer be stacked?
Stacking saves about 60–70 cm (2 ft) of wall and suits closets, but leaves no counter on top of the machines. Side by side lets you fold on a counter above front-loaders.
Is there a dryer in the library?
Yes. The Kitchen section has a Dryer (60 × 60 cm, 24 × 24 in) and a Stacked washer-dryer; select either to type your own size.
Can I plan a laundry area in a kitchen or bathroom?
Yes. Place the washer in any room; it has the same size wherever it goes.