Finish the job in the same room
The oak table gives clean clothes a destination beyond the machine. With most of its top left clear, there is room to pair socks, fold a shirt and make a pile that can leave the room.
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ROOM 86 · Other
The utility room gets a folding table
Published
A former garage beside a detached family house
The washing is done. The laundry is not. A seated folding table, two distinct baskets and proper closed storage give this plum utility room a plan for the clothes that usually end up on the kitchen table.
See the product sourcesTHE DESIGN
A utility room can have excellent appliances and still leave half the work to another room. Clean washing comes out, goes into a basket and waits. This former-garage concept reserves a separate surface for the part that happens afterwards: sorting, folding and putting things away.
The small oak table sits below counter height, with a padded folding chair pulled up to it. It is a seated station, not a standing workbench. Across the back, a higher counter serves the machines, and plum cupboards take supplies behind doors. The route between the table and the baskets is kept open, so the furniture does not become another obstacle to carrying a load through.
The baskets look different because their jobs are different. An open rattan form can take incoming washing; the smaller lidded one keeps clean folded items together for the return journey. Above the table, boxed storage sits on a reclaimed timber shelf. Keep damp items off both timber surfaces, follow the furniture care instructions and check appliance clearances and ventilation when adapting the layout. The aim is an easier routine, with fewer unfinished piles.
WHY THE ROOM WORKS
Give the last stage of the laundry its own surface, seat and outgoing basket.
Colour palette
- Plum
- Chalk
- Natural oak
- Concrete grey
- Apricot
Choose the height for the task
At 75cm, the Coxmoor is a dining-height table. Here it is paired with a folding chair for seated work; the higher fitted counter remains available for standing tasks. A table should suit how you will use it, not simply fit the gap.
Make the baskets different on purpose
The tall open Rammi and smaller lidded Rohia are easy to tell apart. Assign one to incoming washing and the other to clean items ready to return, rather than letting identical baskets conceal which job comes next.
Spend the colour on storage
Plum covers the appliance-side cupboards and the tall doors. The most practical part of the room becomes its strongest visual feature, while chalk walls and a pale floor keep the working surfaces readable.
Keep rough timber away from the clothes
The Ibo shelf adds a less polished surface above the table. Its reclaimed timber carries closed boxes and a tin; the smooth oak below takes the folding. That distinction matters more than making every piece match.
WHAT TO BORROW
Plan where clean laundry goes next. Even a modest table and one clearly assigned outgoing basket can do more for the routine than another cupboard full of unsorted clothes.
THE PIECES BEHIND THE DESIGN
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The design began with these pieces from our Shop. Open each product for its exact size, finish and retailer details.
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Coxmoor Rectangular Dining Table - Oak
Living With Luxury
£270.99
Cebu Grey Wash Wood Folding Chair with Fabric Seat
Living With Luxury
£194.95
Rohia Laundry Basket
Storage · Natural & Cream
Nkuku
£135.00
Rammi Rattan Tall Laundry Basket
Storage · Natural
Nkuku
£175.00
Ibo Reclaimed Wood & Iron Shelf: Large, Natural
Large · Natural
Nkuku
£175.00