What color should you paint a laundry room? 7 shades to try to make this functional space beautiful

Laundry rooms typically evoke images of clear white spaces due to their main function which is to organize and clean. However, this doesn’t have to be the case, they can in fact be the complete opposite and be just as beautiful as they are functional.

Because they are often one of the smallest rooms in the home that doesn’t have particularly high footfall, you can be more creative with your choice of decorating in here without having to take too many risks.

Is there a paint color you’ve always wanted to use but you’ve been a bit scared too? Or, perhaps there’s a patterned wallpaper that you love? The laundry room is the ideal space for this and can definitely act as a blank canvas.

We spoke to the experts who told us some of the best colors to incorporate into a laundry room that are both practical and effortlessly stylish.

1. Bold burgundy

White doesn’t have to be the dominant color in your laundry room. As long as you have the right form of task lighting, the walls don’t have to be light and bright. And in fact, going for darker, more dramatic colors can actually make this space feel less clinical and more like somewhere you'd actually want to spend time.

Burgundy is a sumptuous shade that feels cozy and dramatic all year round. 'People often use their laundry rooms to be experimental with colors and tiles as it is a smaller space and often a little out of the way, so full walls of tiles or boarding can be painted in bold colors, like burgundy, to create a new room in a home that will probably become the most used room because it has so many uses’, explains Helen Parker, creative director of deVOL Kitchens.

2. Blue toned grays

A color choice that never goes out of style for a fresh-feeling laundry room is a classic blue-gray. This cooler shade gives the versatility of a timeless gray but with the blue undertone, it inevitably feels bright and clean.

‘Blue-gray paint colors such as Solitude AF-545 by Benjamin Moore are incredibly versatile and add depth to narrow laundry rooms. Use the same white paint color on trim, ceiling, and cabinets to balance out the blue-gray wall’, says Helen Shaw, director of marketing (international) at Benjamin Moore.

Warm up a cooler laundry room scheme with wooden floors and solid oak worktops to avoid things feeling too sterile. And add in some extra texture with wicker storage baskets, and throw down a jute rug too.

3. Be playful with pink

Pink is one of those irresistible colors that comes in lots of different shades and tones that can suit a number of unique spaces in the home. Pink is a very on-trend shade to paint your laundry room and is the perfect spot to experiment with this bolder hue.

‘Due to the lack of natural light, laundry rooms can feel a little cool so will benefit from strong hues or neutrals with a yellow or red undertone for a hint of warmth’, explains Helen. Pink is the ideal color for spaces that struggle when it comes to lighting, and it can be paired with lots of different accent colors to create a well-thought-out scheme.

4. Keep it classic with crisp white

If you would prefer to go for something classic and timeless, then a pure white is a solid choice for a functional laundry room.

This project was designed by Mary Patton who explains, ‘We wanted to keep this room very neutral and soothing with a few black punchy accents in the hardware and window treatment trim. We used a soothing gray marble for the counter, gray and white tile floor, and tied it together with white cabinets and a subway tile.'

5. Add accents of vibrant coral

There are lots of fun and innovative ways to inject color into your laundry room, it doesn’t have to be as simple as painting the walls. Be inspired by this set up by Farrow & Ball and paint your window frame a bright, contrasting color like vibrant coral.

‘Incorporating a bold paint color is a fool-proof way to inject personality into small and often scarcely appreciated, laundry rooms. As a standalone space, it gives you the opportunity to use your most imaginative ideas to add character’, says Helen.

6. Muted green for a serene feel

Green is a wonderful color that can be used successfully in lots of different settings. There are so many shades and tones of green that will suit a particular environment. A more muted green is a fabulous choice for a laundry room as it feels naturally calm and relaxing, the ideal effect that you’d want this kind of hardworking space to have.

Pair muted green cabinetry with warm-toned beige walls and a practical quartz worktop to bounce even more light around the room.

7. Up the contrast with stripes

Decorating with stripes in a laundry room, whether vertical or horizontal, is a fun way of adding pattern to the room without it feeling too chaotic. A classic stripe, especially in a white and blue colourway will never go out of fashion and will certainly stand the test of time.

If an entirely striped room feels a bit too daunting, paint stripes onto a feature wall and keep the rest of the room plain.

When it comes to deciding how to decorate your laundry room try and avoid playing by the ‘rules’. This is one of the most compact rooms in the home and you can afford to be fun and playful with its design.

Choose a bold dark shade, like burgundy, if you want your laundry room to pack a punch. Or, if you want to avoid your utility space feeling too cold and sterile, choose a color that has a warm undertone to it.