It's not odd at all. Because a laundry is a workspace, and all kinds of dirt, chemicals (i.e., laundry products), and bundles of fabric get flung about, it's common to put cabinets with doors rather than open shelves. This also gives a neater appearance and saves you from knocking things off the shelves while you're digging through stacks of dirty clothes trying to find that thing that went thunk that you know will wreck the machine if you wash it in its fugitive pocket. Painting laundry room cupboards to match the walls, if those are a light color, makes the room look bigger.

My mother has a pantry in her laundry room - has for 35 years (it has been re-done 2x) and I always say that I wish I could do that. She also has a door to the backyard so it is really a multi-purpose room..
What she did was put an extra Fridge next to the washer and dryer (there are 4 ikea cab.s above it for laundry type items and household chemicals, etc) across the way there is a whole wall of double (ikea cabs) used for a variety of purposed (food, ironing stuff, plastic/paper goods). Additinally there is a pantry closet next to the dryer on the other side..

It is a very narrow room, probably about 4-5' across, but it works great, there is plenty of room to open fridge, and machines!!

I think it is a great idea! :)

I wouldn't put tall pantry cabinets in a laundy room unless I had plenty of counter space also that could act as a folding area to the laundry. Otherwise, I'd install standard bases(heavy duty drawers or pullouts) and uppers, using them for food storage while still keeping some counter space to be used for the laundry tasks. If you have at least 36" of counter space, then you can start adding in tall cabinets. Make sure you keep in mind your aisle width from one side to the other, and if there are any doors and any traffic coming through as opposed to just into the room, that you have at least a 48" aisle space to walk through. 60" if it's a high traffic zone (like main mudroom entrance)

Glad to see this post.

I took out my larger kitchen pantry, and made it into a coffee center, with a smaller pantry.

But we have a large panty type closet in the laundry room, with some cabintry just outside of it. I figured bulk items, cleaning supplies, etc would be perfect there, and it is right by the garage as you enter with groceries.

I think it is going to be great. It is like an extension of the kitchen, for items that you dont really want in the kitchen (junk drawer) but usually stick them there for lack of a better place. Now I will have a better place :-)

It actually started out as a half bath off the garage, which I didnt favor in the first place. As it turns, out the garage was lower than expected, so because of that, it wasn't going to work as a bath. :-) Needless to say, I was happy about that :-)

I figure it wouldn't matter if it was part of a larger kitchen and I had to walk a few extra feet to get to it, or if it were a few extra feet around the corner.

{{gwi:1566392}}

Geesh, I should proofread before I post :-)

We are doing the same thing. The "pantry" side of the laundry will be multipurpose. I want each member of the family to have their own "cubby" for backpacks, jackets, etc. I got this idea from the threads on Mudrooms  something IÂve never seen in So Cali. I want each cubby to have a place to plug in their individual phones, ipods, etc. I also want a "take back" cubby for those things we purchase and need to return. Right now, I get to CostCo and think "Darn! Forgot to bring back the xxx". Also a cubby for the kidÂs instruments.

My goal is to assign everything a home and try to keep it there. :-)

GillyLily  Any chance on posting a picture of your motherÂs pantry?

It's not weird at all, our laundry room is just across a hallway from our kitchen. A previous owner moved the laundry upstairs, so we converted the original laundry room into a full walk in pantry and utility area.

I think you can do whatever you want in a laundry room because it is a work space. I've seen multiple combinations and I think that whatever works for you and your family is totally acceptable. I've seen laundry/mud room, laundry/sewing room, laundry/gift wrap center, laundry/pantry.

Our laundry room also is where I store my sewing machine and sewing basket. We also have a compact refrigerator in there and our ironing board.

I think you'll be totally fine. As livewire said you should have an area to fold clothes also. I usually fold as I take each item out of the dryer and I place the folded items on the ironing board. We don't have a folding counter. It works for me.

Jeri love your idea having cubbies for each family member with their own cell phone/ipod outlet . . . and I super love your idea for a "take back cubby". I'd like to also have a "bring to goodwill cubby".

I think it's a fine idea. I was going to do this, but have since decided against it, just because in my case I eventually (planning ahead) want to combine the laundry room and the guest bath behind it into one totally accessible space.

And don't think that the better part of wisdom is the only way to do it either! Mine aren't painted because when I saw the plywood I decided it was too pretty to paint (how to make a cabinet maker happy? Love wood!). They are also floor to ceiling because I don't really have a laundry room. It's a laundry walk-in closet off the kitchen (that's the doorjam on the far left). No one's idea of a workspace. I take the towels to the LR sofa for folding and everything else straight upstairs.

You asked for pictures, and I forgot I had one. On the cabinet side of the previous version of the same room was about a foot of open space with a small, wall hung cabinet from Home Depot or something. The other side of that wall was a pretty useless walk-in pantry. I turned that inside out, so have Butler's pantry storage in the passage to the dining room, a big, double pantry in the kitchen, and these cupboards in the laundy. There's a cupboard over the dryer (to the right, outside of the picture) for actual laundry supplies. The washer goes right next to the sink.

no weird at all. the laundry room i had while raising the kids had w/d, ironing board, sewing machine and fabric etc storage and food/supply storage (I canned too).

My current home has a pantry in the laundry room. No space for a counter for folding--that's what the top of the washer is for. My kitchen is fairly small and the pantry is a god send. I had it enlarged when we had the house built 10 years ago. It is 8 ft long and 9.5 ft tall--floor to ceiling, wall to wall.