Laundry Room Cabinets - Why You Shouldn't Shun the Laundry Room Cabinet

In most homes, the laundry room is something of a second bathroom. If you have a spacious and full-sized main bathroom, it can be easy to find enough room for the laundry room as well.

For many homeowners, however, the closet area is limited and/or occupied by one thing or another. These bedrooms may be big enough to fit a traditional bath, but they simply don't have enough closet space for the dresser or other storage system required to create a laundry room. This space is usually used as the bedroom's smallest area.

An option that is usually not mentioned is adding a vanity or dressing table to the existing closet. They are often located at the foot of the bed, so extra room can be created by moving the dresser off the bed and out of the way.

The sink in the closet is a less common addition, but a useful one. Many homeowners simply have a sink with a small single sink installed in the bathroom. This small sink is often in the way, especially if the bathroom is also the guest bathroom, and the conversion is not possible.

Most of the time, the larger dresser will also be situated in the master bedroom. Again, these rooms are typically large enough to house a vanity or dressing table as well. In some cases, however, the homeowner has some extra closet space that he or she doesn't use.

The conversion can be made to include shelves on the walls, but most of the time, these drawers are in need of re-barring. The owner of the small closet would rather choose to convert the small cabinet rather than modify the existing space. This is something that should be evaluated before conversion begins.

Often, itis necessary to buy a vanity unit that is too large for the existing space. Since laundry room cabinets will generally be more than twice the size of an average dresser, it is easy to see why a full-sized vanity may be too much.

Since the main purpose of the vanity unit is to hide the sink, it is often the case that it needs to be larger than needed. This is easily resolved, though, by purchasing the vanity unit at the same time as the wash area and then modifying the vanity at a later date.

After installing the vanity unit, it is usually necessary to modify the vanity area itself to accommodate the new sink. In some cases, the overall look of the vanity may be altered to match the new sink.

When the change is minimal, the changes are usually simple enough to incorporate into the vanity and wash area at the same time. However, if the change requires creating additional work for the homeowner, he or she will likely want to wait until the remodel is complete.

When the remodel includes a new sink and vanity as well as other changes, there may be some additional work involved in converting the laundry room cabinets. It is usually wise to consult with a contractor in advance of converting the cabinets to include the sink.

To change a vanity to include a sink is often a quick and easy change that is often inexpensive. With a little effort and creativity, many homeowners may find that they do not even need to replace the laundry room cabinets to create more space for their closets.