With careful spatial re-organisation, bulky laundry appliances and messier chores can be assigned the right space in the home.

Utility rooms require materials that are suitable for cleaning. Reclaimed stone, brick, hardwoods and ceramic tiles are all resilient and work well. Salvaged elements bring originality and much needed character to the noisy, smelly tasks of hard working utility spaces – In every job that must be done, bring an element of fun!

A small quantity of salvaged vitralite float glass creates a simple and distinctive tiled splashback
Panelled in cheeseboards, this utility room could be anywhere in the home. Often in constant use, family utility spaces deserve as much thought as any other space.

A set of salvaged hardwood doors are re-used in this Parisian apartment. Backed in simple curtains, household appliances are hidden from view when not in use.

A carefully considered floorplan eeked out enough space for a separate, compact utility room in this building. Reclaimed tiles are used as flooring and splashback.

One of our projects from 2012 re-used malting tiles as flooring alongside existing York Stone. These pierced and cast ceramic tiles were once used to pave drying floors to distribute heat evenly around malting kilns.

From brewing industry to home, they now offer good grip to this utility room floor and for hosing down our clients pooch after a long muddy walk.

Spatial re-configuration of the whole building freed up previously under used space. Here we moved washing machines out of the kitchen area and gave them their own distinct space.

Panels from a laundry rack drying system once used to dry one’s Manchesters have been mounted on new joinery. The original brass pull handles continuing to function as such.

We used a neutral palette of salvaged cut brick, hardwood iroko, and delicate glass pendants for this utility space. A well connected back of house corridor, it has sight lines to other more social rooms, which are richer in tone, texture and feature textiles.

The flooring is inherently rough offering grip when carrying a basket of laundry. Hardworking and well used it is not overly fussy and forgiving to stains and regular use.

All washing and laundering is achieved behind these small doors. If you don’t require air dried laundry a vast space is not needed and frees up other areas within the home for storage.

Half glazed doors bring a good relationship to rest of building and are light allowing in gloomier spaces. Salvaged doors in etched glass was a theme we continued throughout all five floors of this home.

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