Laundry Room Tour: HGTV Green Home 2009

Just inside the back entrance to HGTV Green Home 2009, the laundry room doubles as a mudroom, where kids can toss flip-flops and dust off the sand after a beach adventure or adults can kick off their shoes after a day of gardening or bocce ball games.

The compact yet hard-working space houses a Kenmore Elite HE5t Steam Front-Load Washer, which features 4.4 cubic feet of capacity, a stain-removing Steam Treat system, and water and energy savings that exceed Energy Star rating standards. The Kenmore Elite HE5t Steam Front-Load Dryer features 7.5 cubic feet of capacity, a SteamCare Touch Up wrinkle relaxing feature and EvenHeat technology that reduces over-drying and the length of cycles. A storage closet facing the washing unit camouflages the Hoover Hush Series central vac system as well as the Carrier Infinity Heating and Cooling System touchpad.

To personalize and soften the space, Woodrum added her on unique touches where they mattered most. A lone cardboard palm basks in the sun on the sill of one of two small laundry room windows, which are dressed in bamboo shades. Rattan baskets that rest atop the washer and dryer stand in as laundry baskets and hold freshly laundered snow-white towels. A larger rattan laundry basket rests atop the hamper and holds more towels and laundry supplies.

Due to the laundry room’s proximity to the back door, Woodrum chose to create a communication center, complete with chalkboard to jot down to-dos and a bulletin board to post funny photos and other family ephemera. “That was the best thing to do on that little wall,” observes Woodrum. “You can pass notes or the mother can write a shopping list. It’s really the one spot everyone is going to see when they come in and out.”