Laundry room cabinets shoulder the bulk of the storage demands in the laundry room. Cabinets for laundry rooms range from quick and inexpensive solutions like mobile cabinets to full-scale permanent systems with wall and base cabinets.
Wall Cabinets
With so much activity in laundry rooms occurring at counter-level or lower, the upper section of walls is ideal real estate for storage. Economy-grade wall cabinets use MDF as the building material for the box, while higher-grade cabinets use 1/2-inch A-grade plywood with wood veneer. Wall cabinets are the default type of cabinet for many laundry rooms since they use no floor space, plus they take advantage of the wasted wall space above the washer and dryer.
Durability and Longevity
Since wall cabinets are up and out of the way, they tend to be more durable and last longer than lower cabinets that bear the brunt of activity. Water spills will not affect wall cabinets. Wall cabinets faced with thermofoil, melamine, or wood veneer that are located above the washing machine can bear the brunt of that unit’s heat and evaporation. Heat and moisture, after enough time, will cause the veneer to peel away.
Appearance
Stock and semi-custom laundry room wall cabinets are essentially kitchen wall cabinets—which means you have a wide range of style options, from utilitarian to fancy. You can save money with lower cost surfaces like thermoplastic or melamine. Higher cost hardwood veneers give your laundry room a finished, premium touch.
Pricing
Expect to pay between $250 to $400 for a pre-assembled 36-inch wide, two-door wall cabinet in hardwood veneer.
Open Shelf Cabinets
Sleek and easy to build on a do-it-yourself basis, open shelf laundry room cabinets provide a fast and inexpensive way to store laundry room essentials.
Durability and Longevity
Untroubled by foot traffic and daily bumps and bangs, upper open shelves often can stay in good condition for decades. Most wall shelf systems have weight limitations, so stay within that range to avoid collapse.
Appearance
An open shelf visually promotes the items stored on them rather than the shelf itself. So, whether you have gorgeous hardwood open shelves or ordinary white melamine, detergents and other laundry items will cover up the shelves.
Pricing
You will spend around $80 to $100 for a basic four-level self-assembled unit with white laminated shelves. Custom-built cabinet/shelf units can cost several hundred dollars.
Base Cabinets
Base cabinets rest on the floor and are a permanent addition to your laundry room. The countertop rests on top of the base cabinets. In some cases, you can bridge the washer and dryer with the countertop for even more working room.
Durability and Longevity
Solidly attached to the back wall, base cabinets are solid additions to your laundry room. Base cabinets, though, can become damaged in the event of flooding or even minor water spills that aren’t cleaned up quickly enough.
Appearance
Laundry room base cabinets are the same as kitchen base cabinets. In terms of appearance, this is a good thing since kitchens have a wide variety of available base cabinets, including hardwood veneers like birch, maple, oak, and walnut.
Pricing
Expect to pay around $300 to $500 for a pre-assembled 30-inch base cabinet with two doors in hardwood veneer.
Mobile Storage/Organizer Cabinets
Mobile laundry room organizers run the gamut, from small wheeled cabinets to tall pantry-sized cabinets. For renters or anyone wishing to remain flexible, mobile cabinets are a good option.
Durability and Longevity
Some mobile organizers are poorly constructed, so be sure to shop carefully for higher quality materials and construction that will last longer. In general, mobile cabinets are meant as a short term storage solution for your laundry room.
Appearance
Many mobile cabinets tend to be more about function than beauty, with most constructed out of plastic, chromed metal, and laminated MDF.
Pricing
Expect to spend very little for laundry room mobile units. Smaller wire racks cost as little as $20 and range up to around $75 to $100 for between-unit mobile caddies.
The Verdict
If you had to choose just one type of cabinet for a laundry room, wall cabinets would be a good choice. In a room starved for floor space, wall cabinets raise the storage up off the ground and even above bulky washers and dryers. Ultimately, the best laundry room cabinet is not one cabinet but a mixture of two or more different cabinets that adapt to the room’s needs. At a minimum, wall cabinets over the washer and dryer (unless a stackable unit) will help to hide most items. Keep the least-used items in cabinets located over the washer and dryer: extra detergent, stain remover, or spare appliance parts. Adding a second cabinet—perhaps a mobile cabinet or a base cabinet—will augment the wall cabinets and help make the laundry room layout easy to use and flexible for all users.
