As someone who is 6'4" who is prone to a bad back every now and again, there are some things in my home I wish I thought longer and harder about when designing it. While I might be able to reach the highest of shelves in the house, it's those cabinets that sit at floor level that present a little bit more of a challenge.
Loading and unloading the washer dryer falls into that camp, but since I've spent more and more time looking at the world's best laundry room ideas for Livingetc, there's one big trend I've noticed - washer dryers on raised platforms.
If your space allows, it has the potential to be a real game changer for your laundry room, so to get the lowdown on whether it's worth it, and how to make my laundry pedestal dreams a reality, I asked some of my favorite design experts for their advice.
Hugh is Livingetc.com's deputy editor and an experienced homes and property journalist. Lamenting his low-level washer at home, he's asked design experts whether raising appliances in a laundry room is really worth the hassle.
Is it worth raising your washer dryer from the floor?
The main reason for raised washer dryers is to make your laundry room more ergonomical. 'It's a personal preference, as some of my clients are taller in height,' says interior designer Whittney Parkinson. 'The plinth allows for the appliances to be at a more appropriate height, so you’re not uncomfortably bending down for a front-loading washer and dryer. It's where form meets function!'
However, designing in a pedestal also comes with a few other benefits, not least extra laundry room storage. 'Raising your units is an amazing way to add functionality and convenience to your laundry room,' advises interior designer Becky Shea. 'In the design you see here, we not only utilized the space to add drawers for easy access to your supplies such as detergent pods and dryer sheets, but the oak detail directly above slides out to give you a surface on which you can fold while pulling items out if you don't feel like going to your folding station.'
Laundry isn't the most exciting chore to undertake, but small additions to your laundry room like this can definitely make it more palatable, especially if you're dealing with several washing loads a day.
How do I raise a washer dryer?
These beautiful examples of laundry rooms with raised washers and dryers are the ideal, but as you'd probably expect, they're all bespoke millwork made custom for the space. However, that doesn't mean you can't benefit from raising your appliances, even if you're dealing with a not-so-glamorous laundry room.
'While custom cabinetry is the only way to achieve this style, you can find out of the box solutions that fit your units' footprint and provide similar functionality,' Becky suggests. You can buy laundry pedestals at Home Depot for a few hundred dollars, for example, and the likes of this Maytag pedestal from BestBuy offers you extra storage for cleaning supplies, too.
Sadly, they're not as pretty as bespoke ones, but if you're working on a budget, they're a relatively simple idea to take on as a DIY, and could even be done as a weekend project. Just make sure to make your structure strong enough to support the weight of your washer and dryer, wide enough, while also considering how it's fixed to the floor, especially for a dryer with a spin cycle.
Should I stack my washer dryer instead?
Stacking a washer and dryer is a great way to save space when you have two appliances in a small laundry room, but it doesn't necessarily solve the height issue. Usually the dryer is stacked on top, meaning the washer is still likely to be at a low level. It doesn't really offer any benefits over placing the appliances side by side in a laundry room, especially when the latter option is on a raised pedestal.
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