The Hardworking Laundry: How to Make Room for Ironing
Where to fit in an ironing board? These clever solutions meet a pressing need
I’ve never been good at pulling out that heavy, awkward ironing board, setting it up near an outlet and pressing my clothes. I could never seem to get that sucker folded back up, or find a good spot to stow it out of the way. So I tend to go out in unpressed clothing more often than not. (This is probably why I earned the nickname “Prune” from my college roommate.) Those old-fashioned ironing boards that were built into recesses in older homes always appealed to me, so I looked for the modern-day version. Here’s how designers are incorporating ironing stations into compact laundry rooms today.
2. Roll-out shelf. In this compact laundry room, a stackable washer and dryer left plenty of room for storage next to it. The extendable shelf can be pulled out as an ironing board base when needed. Designer Amy Storm says she designed the shelf so that her client could stash a small portable ironing board there and use the shelf as a base for the board. For quick touchups, she could also throw a towel on the shelf and iron on it.
3. Washer-dryer accessories. Appliance companies are getting on board with this idea. ASKO offers pullout shelves and ironing boards as accessories that go with their washers and dryers. This setup includes both. The convenience of these extras allowed interior designer Connie Young to set up the laundry workspace as a wall of cabinets along a hallway. Everything is concealed behind the cabinet doors when the laundry is done.
4. Swivel-out under-counter board. In this dressing room-laundry area, a clever ironing board design makes the most of the space. The board swings out from beneath the folding counter and tucks back neatly once everything is pressed. Curtains conceal the laundry station when it’s not in use.
5. A foldable board-in-a-drawer. I could not for the life of me figure out how this worked because I was sure that the board was longer than this counter’s depth. I shot interior designer Alana Osborne a message via Houzz’s “Ask a Question” feature and she answered me promptly.
“It is indeed an amazing idea that makes a lot of sense,” she wrote. “It folds in two and slides back in the cabinet horizontally — it doesn’t affect the cabinet below at all, which in this case is a pullout laundry basket.” The ironing board is completely concealed by a drawer panel.
“It is indeed an amazing idea that makes a lot of sense,” she wrote. “It folds in two and slides back in the cabinet horizontally — it doesn’t affect the cabinet below at all, which in this case is a pullout laundry basket.” The ironing board is completely concealed by a drawer panel.
This photo shows how these boards fold up for easy storage. Since learning about these models, I’ve noticed them in kitchens and closets as well, so if your laundry room is too small to accommodate an ironing station, think about another place where one could be handy.
Share: Where do you stash your ironing board and where do you do your ironing? Tell us in the Comments.
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Share: Where do you stash your ironing board and where do you do your ironing? Tell us in the Comments.
More
See an Amazing $400 Laundry Room Makeover for a Family of 8
Browse photos of laundry rooms on Houzz
Batchelor cut the back off a cabinet and recessed it into the wall, attached molding overhead to make it look built-in, and designed and fashioned the fold-down, swiveling ironing board system herself. The adjacent side has plenty of room for all of her ironing equipment.
Tip: If you set up something like this, make sure it’s close to an electrical outlet. You could get extra fancy and have one installed in the cabinet.