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Laundry rooms are moving from basements

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Mar 24, 2006 by Bernadette Starzee

The following article was originally published in the Long Island Business News, another Dolan Media Company publication.

LONG ISLAND, NY – Laundry rooms are moving up in the world – from the basement to the first and second floors.

Roughly 12 percent of washing machines and dryers are now on the first floor of private homes, and 7 percent are on the second, according to Audrey Reed-Granger, director of public relations for Whirlpool Brand, the appliance company. There’s a steady gain every year and every month, especially in new constructions, she said. Homeowners are demanding that laundry rooms be closer to their living space.

After all, that is where all the dirty clothes are. People don’t want to have to walk up and down stairs when they do laundry, said Christopher Barnett, director of marketing for Pinecrest Modular Homes, a home- building company in Farmingdale. About 75 percent of Pinecrest’s clients request a second-floor laundry room, Barnett said.

In a related trend, homeowners are beginning to integrate the design and decor of the rest of the home into the laundry room. For instance, the colors of the laundry room’s walls, cabinets and moldings may complement other rooms in the house. Whirlpool and other appliance-makers are marketing washers and dryers in striking color choices, such as silver, champagne and cobalt blue