Organise Your Utility

By Katherine Sorrell

The most hard-working room in the house plays a vital role, from storing cleaning kit to doing the laundry. Combine beauty with utility to make it a functional and enjoyable space to use.

Why not add some art and plants to bring personality to your utility room? Light Mineral eggshell, £15 for 1l; Harbor large sideboard, £449; acacia wood concertina airer, £40; Pebble wool rug, from £49; Coastal set of three framed prints, £28; all Dunelm. Keep everything to hand, including a rolling clothes rack and a laundry basket, to make washing and ironing easier. Rack, ironing board, basket and iron, all Wayfair.

Colourful and hard-wearing, this organic jute basket is practical for all kinds of uses. Pastel Fairisle utility basket, from £24, The Braided Rug Company. A large, 76l box with three smaller inserts makes separating and storing recycling easy, while the sturdy wooden lid enables the box to be used as a seat, too. Orthex SmartStore Collect recycling and storage box, £85, Not a Boring Box.

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Folding flat to conserve space, this beech and galvanised steel wall dryer conveniently utilises space on the wall. Chalford wall dryer, £110, Garden Trading.

It may only be a utility room, but finishing touches such as knobs, switches and hooks are still important. Cotswold Collection of luxury solid brass hardware in burnished brass finish, from £13.69 for a bun cabinet knob, Armac Martin. With five hooks and a handy shelf this wood-and-metal unit has plenty of room for keeping clutter neat and tidy. Giro industrial wall shelf with hooks, £79, Cuckooland.

Keep bits and pieces organised in a convenient container with a handle. Tin housekeeping caddy, £6, B&M.

Planning the perfect utility room

• Get the basics right with practical flooring and lighting. An easily cleanable floorcovering such as vinyl or ceramic tiles is best for a utility room – though you could add a rug for some softness underfoot (while you’re ironing, for example). Bright lighting is essential, too. Adjustable ceiling spotlights are a good option, as are strip lights mounted below wall units or shelves. Ensure that any wall lights don’t protrude into working areas, and that pendants don’t hang too low. • A bespoke utility room will have storage built to suit the room and accommodate your every need, from fitted cupboards to open shelves.

However, it is not too difficult to set up a very useful space using wall-mounted shelving, hooks and rails, free-standing shelves and racks, and a range of useful baskets and boxes, carefully chosen to suit the items you need to store. • Save space by thinking vertically. A tumble dryer can be mounted above a washing machine, while pulleys can be used for a laundry drying rack. Tall, slim shelving is ideal, and all sorts of items can be hung from high hooks or tucked inside stacked boxes. • In a small room, pale, neutral colours feel calm and help give an impression of light and space. A plain space may appeal if all you want to do is get in and out as quickly as possible. On the other hand, since you have to do household chores, you might as well make the room you’re spending time in as welcoming as possible. It’s easy to add personality with a few small elements, such as framed prints or photographs on the walls and a selection of potted plants (real or artificial). Tuck a reed diffuser in a corner, too, and ensure the space always smells gorgeous.

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B&M: 0330 838 9000; bmstores.co.uk Cuckooland: 01305 231 231; cuckooland.com Garden Trading: 01993 845 559; gardentrading.co.uk Veo: veo.world Armac Martin: 0121 359 2111; armacmartin.co.uk The Braided Rug Company: 01654 767 248; braided-rug.co.uk Dunelm: 0845 165 6565; dunelm.com Not a Boring Box: notaboringbox.com Wayfair: 0800 756 4191; wayfair.co.uk