Standard Laundry Room Dimensions

The laundry room is one of your home’s hardest-working spaces, keeping your clothes and linens clean and ready to use. In many cases, a laundry room is an afterthought without much deliberate design, crammed into whatever space is available. If you’re looking to expand or redesign your laundry room so it’s both functional and aesthetically appealing, knowing standard laundry room dimensions can help you better plan the space. We explore common laundry room dimensions and how to decide what size laundry room is right for you and your household. 

What Are Standard Laundry Room Dimensions?

Laundry rooms can range from a 5-by-3-foot laundry closet to a spacious 10-by-12-foot room. Laundry room dimensions depend on where the appliance hookups are located, how much room is available, and if the space is shared, like in a bathroom or utility room. Layouts vary greatly based on the size and setup of the appliances and additional fixtures or features like a sink, storage, or folding space.

Laundry Room Dimensions by Type

Because laundry rooms have such a broad size range, they can be broken down into a few different types by size. 

Laundry Closet

A laundry closet is often found in homes where space is at a premium and there isn’t a spare room to devote to laundry. Laundry closets are normally a minimum of five feet wide and three feet deep to accommodate a side-by-side washer and dryer. Stackable machines can fit in an even smaller closet, but you’ll lose any additional storage space above the machines.

Small Laundry Room

A small laundry room measuring between 4-by-6 feet and 6-by-6 feet can fit side-by-side appliances along with some additional storage space. A small laundry room may not have additional folding space but will give you a little more room to work than a laundry closet. 

Medium Laundry Room

In a medium laundry room measuring 9-by-6 feet to 9-by-9 feet, you can add folding and hanging space, more storage, and even a utility sink. At this size, your laundry room is likely to be fully self-contained instead of an auxiliary to a larger room and offers more efficiency due to the extra space.

Large Laundry Room

A large laundry room, from 9-by-10 feet to 10-by-12 feet, offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to layouts, fixtures, and features. Laundry rooms of this size are often found in larger homes or are added to homes with a laundry room addition if the space isn’t readily available. A large laundry room can offer extensive storage, double as a mudroom or even an extra bathroom, or have built-in hampers, hanging space, folding counters, and more.

How to Calculate Laundry Room Size

To determine the right size laundry room for your home, you’ll need to consider where your appliances are located, how much available space you have, and what features you want to include. Layout can also play a large part in laundry room size—you can maximize space by utilizing vertical placement rather than linear, which takes up more room.

Factors That Influence Laundry Room Size

A lot can affect laundry room size, including the type of appliances you have, the room’s layout, and any additional fixtures and features you have in the room.

Appliance Type

Full-size, side-by-side washers and dryers will need more space than stackable or compact machines. If space is limited, smaller machines can help reduce the amount of square footage needed without feeling too cramped.

Layout

How efficiently the space is used can also affect laundry room size. A linear layout where your appliances, storage, counter, and sink are all in a line takes up more room than a layout that utilizes vertical storage, a galley-like setup in a narrow space, or foldable fixtures that can be tucked away when not in use. If you’re redesigning your laundry room, budgeting for the cost of an interior designer can help you make the best use of your space.

Home Size

A smaller home is less likely to have a spacious room to spare for laundry than a larger one, so home size can make a big difference when it comes to laundry room size. The more square footage your home has, the more space you can devote to laundry.

Clearance

Even in small spaces, you’ll need to have adequate clearance for your appliances. Washers and dryers normally require at least 6 inches of clearance behind and one to two inches on either side for air flow, utility hookups, and more. Be sure to account for clearance requirements when designing your laundry room.

Fixtures and Features

A laundry room at its most basic must house a washer and dryer, but the possibilities for additional fixtures and features are nearly endless. Adding folding surfaces, hanging space, a utility sink, storage, complex ventilation, and more means you’ll need a larger space. A laundry room renovation can help you add desired features to your laundry room to make it work best for your household.

What to Do if You Have the Wrong Size Laundry Room

If you’re feeling limited by space when doing laundry, a local home remodeling pro can help you design and build a laundry room that meets your needs and gives you enough room to tackle this household task efficiently and comfortably. A laundry room remodel costs an average of $6,000 to $17,000, depending on how much you’re changing, the materials and appliances you select, and more.