We’ve been using our “new” laundry room for over a year and Melissa is still just as crazy about the updates we made, specifically the shelf above the washer and the pull out cabinet/drawer in between the washer.
So, it’s probably time to write the how-to post for all those updates. Especially because we’ve gotten a few requests recently to see how we made it.
I’ve written out the plan I followed, but remember that if you want it to fit perfectly in your laundry room, you’ll need to adapt these plans to fit your appliances and room size.
Our laundry room is very small but Melissa wanted the washer and dryer to be built in as much as possible. We originally were going to buy a little cart that would roll out, but the ones she found were not exactly the right size for our space, and I knew I could do what she wanted myself.
We came up with a plan that would give us a little (tiny) counter as well as some skinny storage that would open like a drawer but without the extra work of building drawers, and without the extra bulk (building drawers takes up a lot of the overall space so the drawer itself would have only been around 2 inches wide–not worth it.) The pull out cart is small, but it’s the perfect size for spare detergent boxes and other other odds and ends.
I’m very efficiency-minded and so it was my goal to use the space we had well–which meant no drawers. Her goal was to add storage and block off the dead space behind the washer and dryer where stuff was always falling and getting lost.
No more lost socks. Or diapers. Or whatever else she dropped back there. See the difference?
It’s essentially a rolling cart with a frame. Remember, the plans can be adapted to any size so you can make it to fit perfectly in your space too. You’ll want the frame part (with the counter on top) to fit very snuggly between your washer and dryer (or the wall, depending on where you are putting this) so that when you pull out the “drawer” part, the frame doesn’t move with it.
Ours is not attached in any way to the washer, dryer, or the back wall, so that it can be easily removed for us to access the hookups and to clean the dryer vent. However, we do also have the shelf on top of ours, which helps hold it in place, (you have to tip up the front for the back to slide out from underneath that shelf. But the goal is that your cabinet should just barely fit between the washer and dryer so be sure to get those measurements exact if you’re adapting our plan to fit your room perfectly.
The first step is to make the frame.
Here is the basic design:
We used 1″ x 2″ pine boards from Home Depot and my Kreg Jig to do this. (If you don’t have a Kreg Jig to make pocket holes, you might want to add it to your “tool wishlist” as it is one of my favorite tools to make woodworking projects so much faster and a lot more professional in quality.)
Here are some other measurements for you. We made the top from a small leftover sheet of MDF and 1″ x 2″ boards. You could use plywood, but we happened to have the MDF on hand and since it was going to be painted, that worked fine for us.
These were pocket hole screwed and glued together, but you could use dowels and glue. We matched the top edge of the washer and dryer with the top of the cart to keep that line even all the way across. I also routed the edges of the 1″ x 2″ board to match the look of the washer and dryer to add to the built-in seamless look.
For the actual pull out cart (below), it’s more MDF and scrap 1/2″ plywood we had sitting around, plus wooden dowels (green) to help keep the items from tipping over and falling out of the shelves. I made the back slightly taller than the front so that it would catch on the 1″ x 2″ board above and help keep us from pulling it all of the way out of the frame.
We used straight (not swiveling) casters for the bottom. We left a 1″ gap on the bottom of the cart, which allows the casters to roll without the cart scraping the ground. Any sized gap works, but our washer and dryer sit about 1″ off of the ground, so we matched that look.
And of course, we painted it white, which was actually a little harder than you might think.
Appliances are which a blue-ish white that the first couple of white paint options we had on hand ended up looking super warm and tan-colored. So just keep that in mind when you’re matching your appliances. They are all a little bit different.
But, then we had a perfectly-sized custom laundry room cabinet, all ready for the custom shelf to go on top, which I’ll share in a post soon. (Sooner than in 18 more months, I promise.)
It’s not a perfect match with the color and shape, but it works really well and looks custom to our room, which is what Melissa wanted.
I will say that Melissa bought the cheapest plastic handle that Ikea sold and then spray painted it gold, but it didn’t last with all the “traffic” this cart gets, so we’re going to upgrade to an actual metal drawer pull soon.
It’s totally removable if we need to access behind the washer and dryer. That’s a must for safety and clean-out purposes, so if you built this, make sure you keep that in mind. But, it looks perfectly built in. Melissa would say it’s the best of both worlds. I just say I managed to make her dream come to life.
Let us know if you build this laundry cart, we’d love to see what you do with it and I know Melissa will be excited for more people who won’t be missing any more lost socks behind the washer!
