As far as utilitarian rooms go, kitchens and baths traditionally get all the love when it comes to design. But in recent years, the laundry room has come a long way. In fact, many homeowners are learning to love their laundry rooms. They’re treating it like any other room in the house—a room worthy of thoughtful design and statement-making elements.
And it just makes sense. Americans spend an average of 8 hours a week washing a collective 35 BILLION loads of laundry per year! Thanks to changing demographics and busier lifestyles, today’s laundry rooms call for more organization and function. Designers, architects, cabinetmakers, and manufacturers are focusing on the details and including plenty of “extras”. As a result, the style level of the laundry room has been turned up a notch.
It can be argued that the most important “extra” in today’s laundry room is the countertop. It offers a reliable work surface for stain treating, sorting, folding, and more. And just like in the kitchen and the bath, a laundry room countertop has a tough job. It has to stand up to the dampness, dirt, detergent, dust, and grime that accumulate when doing loads and loads of laundry.
For laundry rooms with side-by-side washer/dryers, a 24-inch deep countertop should completely cover them and create an ultra convenient workspace. You’ll want to make sure that any laundry room countertops you design for your clients offer water-resistance, durability, and longevity. So, which materials work best? Here are the top 5 laundry room countertop materials as ranked by today’s top designers.
Quartz
The laundry room is the perfect location for Quartz and other engineered surfaces. It’s non-porous and won’t stain, and most importantly, it won’t harbor bacteria or viruses—a real positive in space that tends to be warm and damp. Plus, unlike natural stone, quartz doesn’t need to be sealed. Quartz is ultra-durable and scratch resistant. If your clients love the look of marble or granite but want something that requires little to no maintenance, quartz is a great choice since many of today’s manufacturers offer quartz slabs that look just like the real thing. Or, if they’re looking for something a little more “out there,” quartz is great since it comes in almost any color of the rainbow.
PaperStone
PaperStone is a mixture of recycled paper and a non-petroleum resin. It’s both durable and easy to install, making it a great choice in the laundry room. Manufactured in Washington State with 100 percent made-in-the-U.S. raw materials, most PaperStone products are certified recycled by the Rainforst Alliance to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). They’re also certified food safe, though that’s not so important in the laundry room. PaperStone is rock-hard and less brittle than stone. It’s non-porous and resistant to stains and heat. Plus, it comes in a variety of rich colors. It’s also a really unique material in that it takes on a warm lustrous patina as it ages. PaperStone is easy to fabricate and install. It’s pricing is comparable to granite and solid surface, however since it’s easy to fabricate, this usually makes it very cost-competitive. It also comes in large sizes, making it possible to have fewer or no seams in some applications. And because it can be used in both horizontal and vertical applications, it can also be used for backsplashes and walls too. Finally, PaperStone is great where heat and fire resistance is required. It has a UL Class A rating for both flame spread and smoke and it won’t melt, liquefy or explode.
Wood
Though they may not be the first option to spring to mind, wood countertops can work well in the laundry room. In a room that’s full of hard, cold materials, wood can add a sense of warmth to the space. You can show your clients the variety of colors and species of wood available for them to choose from and help them select the style that works best for them. A marine finish will help to add extra durability and longevity.
Ceramic Tile
While ceramic tile isn’t necessarily the leader of the pack today for kitchen countertops, it works exceptionally well in the laundry room. Tile has a beautiful look and thanks to the wide array of options available, it’s completely customizable. Ceramic tile is water and chemical resistant, and tiles with a more “natural” finish are more resistant to scratching than those with a highly polished finish. Tile also offers some cost savings compared to natural stone or quartz slabs. But there are a couple of issues to consider with ceramic tile. First, it does have a tendency to crack. You can replace the broken tile, so be sure keep some extra tiles on hand after installation to ensure a color match. Another problem that some homeowners have is the grout joints between the tiles. These can be hard to keep clean, so you’ll want to ensure that they’re sealed annually. Any detergent spills should be wiped up immediately so that it doesn’t stain the grout. One way to combat this is to choose larger format tiles in order to reduce the number of grout seams.
Natural Stone
One of the most popular countertop surfaces for the home, natural stone adds elegance. As long as it is properly sealed, natural stone is a durable choice for the laundry room. Just as in the kitchen and bath, natural stone that is well maintained will stand up to whatever your dirty laundry can dish out. Plus it adds an element of style to the space and proves that the laundry room is more than just an afterthought. Just remember harsh cleaners can harm the stone, so always take the necessary precautions. Protect these surfaces with a good sealer.
Remember that there are plenty of other “extras” that make up today’s ultimate laundry rooms. Beautiful backsplashes, rolling islands and built-in drying racks take today’s laundry room to a whole new level.