Going Deep in the Laundry Room

As we labored to unload a rented U-Haul on a snowy day four years ago, Darlene Miller delivered a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies and introduced herself as our neighbor.  Little did I know that she would also become a friend, a client, the person who would two years later sell her house to us and my dental hygienist. I know this all sounds off-topic but I am getting to the Laundry Room.

   When Darlene came to me for design help to plan cabinetry for the new home she and her husband Dave were building, she had but one request concerning the laundry space...a drawer with the depth and width to hold her jumbo, economy-sized box of laundry soap. She had planned such a drawer for the last two homes they had built, and loved the convenience so much that it was a top priority for their third house.

   As I mentioned, we bought the house they were vacating and let me tell you, we are happy little clams at the Millers' former address...and I have lived in harmony with Darlene's custom-depth drawer for nearly two years now. Unlike Darlene I am a big fan of liquid laundry soap, and I can testify that my own collection of laundry-time supplies fits her drawer hand-in-glove. In fact this arrangement provides a second deep drawer below the first, a handy spot for pet supplies. In our case: the cat and dog food bins, grooming tools and even the catnip mouse.

   A few specifics to discuss with your cabinet supplier:

• A minimum 36" countertop height will probably be required to achieve optimal drawer depth.  
• 
  
  This is one area in which melamine drawer boxes are preferable over wood, for ease of cleaning.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Request full-extension drawer guides, for full use of the drawer from front to back.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I like side-mounted drawer guides with adequate load-bearing capacity, for stability.
  
  
  

 This concept has become a trending laundry room option...so much so that matching modular units or "storage towers" are sold as a complement to the Whirlpool and Maytag line-up of front loading washer/dryer combos.