The bathroom will certainly become a comfortable and functional room if all the necessary interior items are placed in it correctly and rationally. This is a washbasin, a laundry basket, a bathtub or shower, a toilet, a cabinet, a cabinet, a mirror and, of course, a washing machine. If you decide to place it in the bathroom, the following tips will help you.
Tips for designing a bathroom with a washing machine
The dimensions of bathrooms, like apartments, vary. Whether you have a small room or are the proud owner of a large apartment, ideas for placing a washing machine will help you avoid mistakes at the renovation or design stage.
Features of accommodation
Usually the machine is placed in the kitchen area. In apartments with a kitchenette, this is a problem, and the owner decides to install it in the toilet. Most often this is a necessary measure.
In order for the washing machine to work for a long time and be convenient to use, consider some nuances:
- It is undesirable to place the machine in an inconvenient place where it is impossible to carry out maintenance and diagnostics;
- it is important to take care in advance about the reliability of the support for equipment if it is mounted at a height;
- choose compact furnishing elements and lighting;
- effectively zone the space.
There are many options that help save useful space in the toilet room and make the washing machine convenient to use.
Tips for choosing a model
If you are planning a design for a washing machine, choose a model that can serve you for a long time and faithfully, otherwise over time the equipment will have to be changed - and it will not be so easy to fit it into a ready-made interior. Start with the parameters : do you need a large-sized or a smaller model? For small bathrooms, a narrow washing machine is suitable.
The next feature that needs to be taken into account is the way things are loaded . In traditional modern models, dirty clothes are loaded in the front area.
But when you open the doors, there will be even less space in the bathroom, and in the most cramped interiors you will not be able to turn around at all. In this case, it is better to choose a vertical type model, which involves loading from above.
The design of the washing machine is another important point. Traditional shades of this technique are white and beige. At their core, they are universal, and the bathroom design will not look contradictory, even if all other interior elements have completely different tones.
Tip: to decorate your bathroom in the same style, you can choose a decorative film (with a pattern or plain color) for your washing machine.
However, you can spend more time searching and choose colored washing machine models: gray, black, red, blue and many others.
It is better to place equipment of this type in such a way that there is free space on all sides. During operation, the washing machine may shake - and if there are shelves hanging nearby, it is possible that they will not stand.
It will be better if you initially test the model for all kinds of reactions during operation.
In a closet or other furniture
The integration of equipment allows you to achieve compact equipment for sanitary facilities. For example, it can be closed with a sliding door, creating a non-standard design. The following ideas for combining furniture and appliances will help to carry out a rational arrangement:
- combination with a chest of drawers. The door covering the equipment is matched to the color of the chest of drawers. Both products are located side by side, creating a discreet tandem.
- combination with a hanging cabinet. The equipment will become a continuation of the hanging cabinet. The assembly of the structure is carried out by mounting common side walls made of plasterboard. The top door opens the cabinet, the bottom door gives access to the equipment.
- combination with a chest of drawers, washbasin. A wooden rectangular structure is assembled, which will serve as the base for the washbasin. Inside there is equipment and a pair of hanging drawers. The free space under the drawers will be occupied by a basket with household chemicals and a basket for dirty laundry.
General features of modern style
There are many ways to emphasize modern design in a bathroom with a washing machine. Bathroom decoration in modern, high-tech and minimalist styles is predominantly glossy: this approach allows you to visually make the room more spacious.
Choose ceramic tiles or moisture-resistant panels in light or pastel shades.
In a modern bathroom, you can create stylish accents using finishing materials.
Find out everything about fashionable bathroom design here
For example, lay out a horizontal border with red, blue or other bright tiles that would coincide with the level of all plumbing fixtures and furniture in the interior, or decorate the entire wall on which the mirror hangs in a more saturated color.
A popular trend has become the creation of mirrored walls and ceilings in the bathroom. Like gloss, a mirror allows you to create successful visual effects: such a room will always be light and free, but only if the mirrors do not reflect dark surfaces.
Advice. You can emphasize modern style by combining several materials. A combination of chromed steel, glass and plastic will be successful in any interior.
In a minimalist style, you should not combine materials of contrasting shades: pronounced transitions should be replaced with smoother ones. In high-tech style, give preference to light and cool tones. In modernism, several accents that are rich in tone are allowed.
To highlight the luxury of your bathroom interior, lay small mosaic tiles on one or more walls. This design allows for mixing different tones and creating contrasting chess compositions.
Relief is also valued in a modern interior, but do not forget that large quantities of relief tiles will make the room even more cramped.
Advice. Use tiles with relief waves or other geometric designs to decorate individual sections of the walls: lay out a rectangle or a wide line along the entire perimeter.
The modern direction of the design can be emphasized with the help of the latest models of sanitary ware, shelves and bedside tables with smooth curved corners, countertops stylized as stone, wood or marble, showers with glass walls, as well as bright furniture elements.
Complete the created environment with contrasting accessories that will emphasize home comfort.
Choosing a location for installing a washing machine according to safety rules
When planning the location of the washing machine in the bathroom, you should take into account the mandatory conditions necessary for installation:
- The place where the washing machine will be installed must be perfectly level. If there are irregularities, they must be eliminated using special adjustable supports.
- When measuring the space for installing a washing machine, it is necessary to take into account not only the dimensions of the equipment, but also the necessary indentations. According to safety rules, it is not advisable for the machine to come into contact with the wall, so it is better to leave a distance of at least 2 cm from the sides of the machine and 5 cm from the rear surface of the machine to the wall.
Check out small bathroom designs here. - The outlet should be separate and it is better to organize it closer to the machine, since the use of extension cords reduces the protective functions of the equipment.
- The machine's power cord must be grounded.
- Due to high humidity, the washing machine must be installed on a rubber mat and the housing must be grounded.
- If you install equipment under the sink, it is advisable to prevent the washbasin from overhanging the machine, since when tilted to load laundry, injuries may occur, and in general, this arrangement is not very convenient.
Walls and floors in a small bathroom with a washing machine
Proper finishing of walls and floors allows you to visually expand the space of a small bathroom with a washing machine. For the floor it is better to use finishing material in dark shades or black. Most often, tiles with a diagonal laying method are used here.
The floor area should not be cluttered. It is better to free the base of the bathroom as much as possible from unnecessary parts, giving up free space from a laundry basket or cabinet under the washbasin.
Tiles are most often used to decorate walls, so you only have to choose a color. For small rooms, light colors or even crystal white are preferred. A bright contrast would be appropriate to differentiate the bathroom into zones. At the same time, a white washing machine is placed near a light wall.
Design techniques for arranging a bathroom
The main task when arranging a bathroom with a washing machine is to maximize space optimization. Designers solve this issue using the following techniques:
- Using hanging plumbing
- Minimum decor
- The combination of light beige, milky and dark chocolate shades helps to create a spacious interior with bright accents.
- Crystal White is used with caution. To eliminate the hospital visual perception, designers combine white with contrasting black or red.
- The use of glass expands the space of a small bathroom and gives it illusory freedom.
- Mirror surfaces will give a small bathroom additional visual space and an original look.
- Artificially creating depth by alternating light and dark finishes on the walls.
- A glossy, light-colored stretch ceiling increases the height of the room.
- Vertical stripes on the walls expand the width of the bathroom, and vertical stripes “raise” the ceiling.
Next to the washbasin
Installing appliances next to the sink usually results in debris accumulating between them. Installing it under the countertop, above which the washbasin will be located, will help to avoid such problems and ensure compact placement of equipment. This installation method has the following advantages:
- under the shelf next to the equipment you can place a small cabinet (if the bowl drain allows), a laundry basket;
- Due to the presence of the shelf, water drips will not remain on the side surface of the equipment located close to the washbasin;
- The shelf will protect the upper part of the equipment from damage and dirt; owners can store towels and cosmetics on it.
When attaching a shelf, do not place it close to the top of the equipment. It is better to leave a margin of 5-10 cm. This will eliminate problems with installing a new model with a higher height.
Lighting system
Regardless of whether there are cabinets above the washing machine, one of the fundamentals of good design is the choice of lighting system. A modern solution cannot consist of one lamp.
Lighting should be spot-on and allow you to focus attention on individual design elements, furniture and equipment.
Proper selection and placement of lighting elements helps make the toilet more functional, comfortable and visually more spacious. It is strongly recommended not to ignore such a component of modern design as lighting.
Flaws
Everything has both advantages and disadvantages. And the washing machine in the kitchen is no exception. But basically, the disadvantages are not related to the machine itself, but to its “extras”.
Storing dirty laundry
Dirty laundry has an odor, and if you store it in the kitchen, it will also absorb kitchen odors. And this means that it will have to be carried to the kitchen either from the bathroom or from another room. Some people find this very inconvenient - although in fact, there is nothing critical about it.
Storing powder in the kitchen
With powder the situation is more complicated:
- it can be scattered, which is undesirable in the room where food is prepared;
- it gives off a smell that is harmful to breathe.
There are several ways out of this situation:
- store washing powder in another room;
- switch to liquid laundry detergents;
- Store the powder in a container with a good tight lid.
ADVICE. It is most convenient to store the powder in the kitchen either next to the machine or under the sink.
Open door
After washing, the machine door should be opened and the drum ventilated to prevent mold from growing in the appliance. This can interfere with passage, especially if the machine is built-in - after all, you need to open not only the machine door, but also the cabinet door.
Difficulty of change
Once the machine is already installed, it is difficult to move it somewhere else, since pipes and electrical wires are laid. But this applies not only to the kitchen, but also to other rooms.
Spoils the appearance
This does not apply to all washing machines, but only those not hidden behind the facade. Dirty laundry stored inside looks especially unsightly.
ADVICE. To make the machine look neater, you should match it to the kitchen facades, or decorate it with vinyl stickers of the same color.
If both options are not suitable, then the machine is hidden behind a beautiful matching curtain. This is especially true for kitchens in the style of Provence, Country and others.
Finish options and colors
The choice of materials for cladding is wide. For floors, this is usually tiles, porcelain stoneware or water-repellent linoleum. They are easy to install and do not require much effort.
The following ceiling materials can be used:
- drywall (gypsum plasterboard);
- stretch film;
- panels.
Some people use foam ceiling tiles as coverings, but this is not the best solution. The film is more reliable, it is not afraid of moisture and fungi. GKL allows you to adjust the height of the wall and mount spotlights.
For walls, plastic panels and decorative stone or veneer are used. The traditional material is still ceramic tiles, the shape and color of which are chosen based on the style options and preferences of customers.
Wallpaper is not a good finishing solution. Even if they are washable, the material quickly moves away from the walls due to constant humidity and steam.
Color solutions depend on the chosen style and size of the room. Subtleties in choosing shades:
- White. Gives a feeling of cleanliness, suitable for minimalism, loft.
- Beige. Creates a cozy atmosphere, used in classic and natural styles.
- Black. Visually hides extra meters, suitable only for large areas. Suitable for classics, loft and minimalism.
- Blue. Best used with white. Suitable for classics and minimalism.
- Green. Suitable for natural style, classic and minimalism.
