Utility Room
Are you dreaming of a tidy utility room or boot room? As long as you have the space, it’s not hard to achieve if you put a little thought into your storage. A combination of worktops, open shelves and cupboards will do the trick. Direct access to the garden is another great thing about this room, as it makes hanging the laundry a breeze.
Get the look
Buy now: bespoke shelving, Jali
Buy now: Karlby worktop, £110, Ikea
How organised is this boot room? Thanks to a bespoke built-in storage system, this entrance hall is not likely to become overwhelmed by clutter any day soon. Coat pegs, a bench, easy-access shoe boxes, plus overhead ‘lockers’ ensure there’s a storage method to suit everyone’s requirements. Neat idea!
Get the look
Buy now: similar coat hooks, John Lewis
Nudge the family into tidier habits with the help of practical boot room furniture. Re-home footwear in a painted shoe locker with plenty of cubbyholes and a seat to perch on. And make use of the space above your head too by hanging coats and accessories on a peg rail for grab-and-dash ease.
Shoe bench
The Dormy House
Cushions
Bronte by Moon
Create the ultimate pet corner with leads, toys and feeding essentials in one compact space. Think about flooring in a boot room, especially if you have a wet or mucky pup running around – easy cleaning is vital. Here, wooden floors match the grey-painted tongue-and-groove panelling for a relaxed, rustic finish.
Shoe locker and slate
Garden Trading
Dog beds and bone toy
Mutts & Hounds
Love every domestic space equally. Don’t neglect utility rooms and pantries – make them a joy with painted peg rails and storage units. For true country style, use handmade trugs and weathered baskets to store orchard fruits, linens or firewood.
Potboard bench
Neptune
Peg shelf
Scumble Goosie
Mix fitted shelving with freestanding pieces for the best storage in a utility or boot room. Here an antique Swedish commode forms the focal point in the enviable storage space that was once the laundry room.
Rug
Birdie Fortescue
Similar commode
Hilary Batstone
Introduce pattern without a big decorating overhaul by using mismatched tableware. Spots and stripes in classic navy, red, black, white and blue colours make for a contemporary take on traditional patterns and look charming without being matchy-matchy.
Apron
Tori Murphy
Hang your coat in style with a fabulous cloakroom. A patterned wallpaper creates the illusion of a more dynamic space while figurative coat hooks add an element of fun to the functionality of the room.
Wallpaper
Cole & Son
Similar coat hooks
The French Bedroom Company
For a fresh take on tongue-and-groove panelling, painted wood strips of varying widths can be attached to the wall using battens, while mismatched fabrics from the same colour palette are a pretty way to hide under-sink storage.
Fabric
Sorbus in Saffron at Nile & York
Three Linens in Yellow at Virginia White
Paint
Mint Street at Mylands
Opt for a pared-back country vibe in your utility room. Featuring beautifully crafted and woven pieces with cleaner lines than their rustic cousins, this season’s take on country style shows perennial favourite in an elegant new light.
Stool
Sebastian Cox
Wood basket
John Lewis
Natural basket
Old With New at Not On The High Street
Co-ordinate your utility room with painted wood and striped textiles. This country utility room has a charming French farmhouse feel thanks to cream coloured tongue-and-groove and a matching chunking wood unit with butler sink. Hide practical products away in the cupboards and use the pine surface to display prettier accessories in enamel trugs and containers. Plenty of striped fabrics complete the homespun charm.
FabricIan Mankin
Unit with butler sinkRustic Warehouse
Walls painted in grey-blue carry through from the wine cellar to the corridor, which was created from a redundant passage. When choosing storage, pick a modular system so you can position sections where you need them most. In the corridor, an armchair has been flanked by twin wall lamps for ample light while reading.
Wall paint
Down Pipe from Farrow & Ball
Make the most of a spring breeze and dry washing outside if possible, or free up floor space indoors with a drying rack suspended from the ceiling. Hang up ribbon-tied bundles of dried lavender to sweetly scent linens and the utility room.
Clothes dryer
Garden Trading
Ribbon
Jane Means
Pegs
Plain Useful
Basket
Mia Fleur
Make doing the laundry a pleasure with a utility room that has everything in its rightful place. Storage is the key to success and why not make it as beautiful as it is practical? Cool lettering and wicker baskets will keep the space perfectly on trend, while a white backdrop will ensure everything looks fresh and clean.
Laundry basket and hamper
Grace & Glory
Tea towel
Etoile Home
Laundry powder tin
Sleepyheads at Not on the High Street
Turn a disused corner into the ultimate ironing station, covering a wooden ironing board with a patterned cover to pretty up your pressing. Fill a portable caddy with linen water and other essentials. Hang freshly ironed garments on luxurious padded hangers to protect them from creasing.
Ironing board
The Holding Company
Ironing board cover
Ochre & Ocre
Sleek worktops in this modern utility room match the practical laminate
flooring. Fresh white units break up the grey while above a picture
shelf full of personal mementos will put a smile on the housekeepers
face while tending to chores. Hot pink towels add a fun touch while a
gun metal grey washing machine keeps the scheme consistent.
Fresh green walls, cream cupboards and real wood worktops turn this utility room into an uplifting county space that makes housework a breeze. Practical key elements like the deep butler sink and traditional kitchen maid make light work of laundry with vintage charm. Ditsy floral fabric bunting and matching tea towels are pretty accessories that finish the cottage appeal perfectly.
Transform a plain wall into a useful utility room. A cream country-style storage bench and matching wall shelf create plenty of space for handy bits and bobs. Outdoor shoes are organised into wicker baskets, while enamel seed tins are both pretty and practical. The eye is drawn to the rustic wicker heart hanging on the peg rail, which is complemented by real dried pine cones dotted in the alcoves above.
Similar wreath
The Contemporary Home
Similar Bench
Dunelm
Get the storage right in a utility room, ensuring it will be large enough to engulf the clutter that comes its way. Opting for a cupboard with doors can be a neater solution than open shelving. And once practical choices have been taken into consideration, add some fun ornaments that have no real right to be there but create a wonderful sense of fun.
Coat rack
and cupboards
Middleton Bespoke
Go for a modern take on the traditional nature table by artfully arranging seasonal finds and day-to-day cornucopia in stylish cubby-hole storage. Choose a squirrel and sunflower paper as your backdrop. Lift a neutral scheme with splashes of bold colour. Here, a daffodil yellow really enlivens the space.
Wallpaper
St Jude’s
Sideboard
Home Barn
Stool
Dee Puddy
Unit
Garden Trading
