Luxe Laundry Rooms Are Putting a New Spin on an Old Chore

Polly Reiter, owner of Reiter Interiors in Severna Park, says many of her clients are building laundry rooms that also serve as a mudroom, which means that they frequently are the primary entrance into the home -- even for friends and other company. "These are spaces that should be just as beautiful as the rest of the house," she says. "People don't want them to be blah." Installing cabinetry has become an increasingly popular option to hide away mounds of clothes, cleaning products and even the machines themselves.

Reiter says she's also adding bold colors and washday-themed wallpaper to dress up her clients' laundry rooms.

Appliance makers are betting that consumers will stock their swanky new laundry spaces in much the same way they've outfitted their gourmet kitchens. Earlier this year, Sears introduced its Kenmore Elite HE4t series in three designer colors -- Champagne, Sedona and Pacific Blue -- with washers selling for $1,499 and dryers for $999. Miele rolled out its Professional series of appliances for the home, including a $2,199 rotary iron. And Rowenta and Brabantia launched ergonomically correct ironing boards retailing for more than $100 that can stand the heat from professional steam irons.

The trend has trickled down to the cleaning products themselves. After all, how is a 300-ounce orange jug of detergent going to look next to that sleek, stainless front-loader?

Method, which sells an environmentally friendly line of cleansers, has developed liquid detergent that is three-times concentrated and packaged in small bottles meant to be seen. The containers were created by Karim Rashid, a product designer whose packaging credits include Prada and Issey Miyake, while the stacked-shirt logo on the labels were fashioned by none other than Andy Spade, director of creative services and co-founder of designer products company Kate Spade. A 32-ounce bottle, which costs about $7, can handle as many loads as 100 ounces of Tide, says Jennifer Drubner, a Method spokeswoman.

Can designer fragrances be far behind?

Caldrea, sold at specialty stores such as Sur la Table and Anthropologie, was an early player, adding laundry products in 2001 to its line of aroma-therapeutic household cleansers. Its White Clover, White Tea and Sweet Pea detergents infused with essential oils sell for $16 for a 68-ounce bottle.

Williams-Sonoma, Restoration Hardware and other trend-conscious retailers have jumped in, launching lines of laundry-care products that rely on refined looks and fabulous fragrances: From Restoration Hardware, Meyer Lemon Ironing Spray (16 ounces for $12) or Ginger Grapefruit dryer sheets (40 for $15). See http://www.restorationhardware.com/ .

Though she has nothing against fresh scents, Mendelson says your clothes will come out just as clean no matter what products you use. "Detergent is detergent is detergent, no matter who sells it to you," she says.

"Ninety-nine percent of these are the same and have the same effect on the waste disposal system." (And dryer sheets and fabric softeners, she argues, are largely superfluous. She uses them only to prevent static build-up in synthetic fabrics.)

Mendelson says the most important things to have -- no matter where you put them or how you accessorize them -- are a good washer and dryer. Adequate shelves, a drying rack and a sink are nice extras, but anything beyond that becomes excessive. "If all of this is fun or suits your tastes, then go for it," Mendelson says. "Otherwise, it's not really necessary for doing the laundry."