A domesticated post and advice wanted.

[debih]

I have finally got Mick to make a start on my laundry room (which is just off the bathroom). It isn't a very big room and is a sort of L shape - if I stood in the middle of the bottom leg of the L and stretched my arms out I could almost touch both walls. The turn of the L is more of a cupboard that houses the boiler.

At the moment I have the washer and dryer along one wall with an old chest of drawers opposite it. The drawers will be going when the room is done (it currently has bedding in it and these will go in one of the cupboards in the bathroom, but first I have to empty the cupboard of the ironing board and stuff which will go in the laundry room and then put shelves in the cupboard - rather a viscious circle as I can't do one without doing the other first). I have shelves above the washer and dryer and will have a work top over them too. There are some small shelves above the chest of drawers which are currently full of junk.

There is a large window in there which sadly doesn't open and I want Mick to put an electric radiator below the window so that when it is too wet to dry my washing outside but not cold enough to have the central heating on I can turn the electric wall heater on and close the door. When the room has a door that is. We went and bought one of those bifolding doors yesterday and that is waiting to be put on. I am hoping for next weekend (please don't let it be another marble worktop scenario - I have asked for the marble worktop for Christmas by the way).

The room needs to be finished boarding out and then either needs plastering or just painting - depending on how it looks after it is boarded out. We have some plastic panels left that we put on the walls around the bath so we might use them in there as they are easy to wipe down and keep clean.

I am going to put a clothes dryer on the ceiling but I need to buy a new clothes horse. My old one is on its last legs. It is one of those ones that stand upright and folds into three. It keeps falling over as it has lost the clips that keep it together.

So what do I go for? I want one with maximum hanging space on it. My mum has one that plugs in and heats up and seems pretty good but I don't think I will need that if I am to have an electric heater in the room. What is best - a stand up one or one of those concertina ones?

I will put a photo of the room on so you can give me your suggestions as to what to do with it (when I get home).

[debih]

This is the room (ignore the junk - it has become a dumping ground).





As you can see it is partly boarded (it used to be part of the bathroom that we partitioned off) with some shelves. The wall below the window needs sorting out and it needs a new window. It has flooring but we just need to continue it into the boiler cupboard area.

I'm not having a door on the boiler cupboard bit. I will keep the Hoover, iron, board, mop, etc there - after I've cleared out what's already there.

Cupboards rather than shelves about the washer and drier and work top over them. Get rid of the chest of drawers and get rid of all the stuff on the shelves. Definitely a ceiling hanging drier on the ceiling.

Bi-folding door - it comes off the little hallway that goes to the bathroom and there are already two proper doors off that.

It should be a nice useable space when it's finished.

[meriad]

Debih, I've got two clothes horses, both this shape: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Axentia-251555- ... thes+horse

one of mine is probably the same size as the one in the link but with the other the 'wings' overlap when closed, ie it's a bit longer and I can probably get close onto two loads of washing on there (although I prefer to not squish things too much). Bigger things like sheets and duvet covers I hang over the doors to dry. The smaller one will easily take a load and a bit

They fold nice and flat so easy to store away

[debih]

Thanks Ria.

That looks much better than the one I already have.

[Kaz]

The only clothes horses I have ever owned have been those tri-fold ones like your broken one. The one on Ria's link looks good. My utility is tiny, no room for a clothes horse - I have a washer and tumble drier out there, a rechargeable Dyson on the wall and the ironing board folded up against the wall, but there is no room for anything else

[Ally]

That clothes horse is exactly what I have - when it rains (it does sometimes, honestly ) I put this up on one of our covered terraces and the washing gets dried great.

They hold a great deal too.

[debih]

I bought a new clothes horse today from Sainsburys. On offer at £11 instead of £22. It looks good. It's one that pulls up from the floor bet you can also extend it to make it wider. I bought some plastic boxes with lids too (£6 for 5) which will look fab on the shelves.

I showed Mick my laundry room Pinterest board (how sad am I?) and we both like one thing. Work too over washer and dryer then high shelf above it with hanging rail and coat hangers below the shelf. Perfect for drying t-shirts and shirts.

[debih]

If the link works this a the airer.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/ho ... 4294901095

[Kaz]

[Weka]

I've got one similar to that from Argos, yes, it's still going strong, 10 years later, and was so good, it followed us home. I get a lot of people asking me where I got it from, as there is nothing like it on the market here, (actually, I think this year there maybe)
The other one I've got that I really like is more like Kaz's, but without the wings. It has flexible line, so I can collapse it quickly if I have it outside with the washing on if it rains and bring it inside through the door.