Laundry room update? Don’t mind if I do. To bring you up to speed: we already replaced the washer and dryer, removed window shutters and cluttered shelves, frosted the side door, repaired some ceiling cracks, and painted the room Benjamin Moore’s Sesame—the same color as the kitchen. With that foundation in place, the next step was to add built-in vertical storage to make the most of a very narrow space.
The laundry room is only 3.5′ wide, so appliance placement and door clearance are tight—there wasn’t room to put the washer and dryer on the opposite wall without blocking doors. That constraint made it obvious we needed to build up instead of out, turning a 14.5″ gap next to the stacked washer and dryer into useful shelving.
Because the upper cabinets above the dryer sit high and are hard to reach, more accessible storage at shoulder and eye level was a priority. We searched for a ready-made narrow bookshelf but none were deep enough to maximize the space, so we decided to build a custom solution that would match the appliances’ depth where needed while avoiding the window.
The design is effectively two-tiered: the bottom section aligns with the depth of the washer and dryer, while the upper section sits back to match the window depth so it won’t obscure light. After sketching dimensions and planning cuts, we had Home Depot make most of the cuts and brought home a pile of whitewood and poplar trim to assemble the built-in.
The middle shelf sits flush with the window sill, so I attached 1×2 trim to create a notch that lines up perfectly with the sill. The bottom divider was screwed down into the plywood subfloor (we have plywood under the appliances for stability) and secured to the middle shelf using a Kreg jig. A bit of added trim on the floor cleaned up a slight overhang from my measurements.
Because the divider doesn’t extend fully to the back wall—keeping access to the washer and dryer duct—we added wood cleats on the back and side walls to support the middle shelf. We also upgraded the original foil dryer duct to a rigid all-aluminum duct for safety, swapping the old hose for a metal one using metal clamps and a new wall transition.
For shelf flexibility, we installed adjustable metal shelf tracks and clips so the shelves can be repositioned or removed for access behind the appliances. I trimmed the tracks to fit and added extra 1x2s where the gap between the divider and wall was slightly wider than the shelf boards—an adjustment that also gave the tracks a stronger backing than drywall alone.
Painting in place would have been difficult, so we removed the pieces and painted them in the sunroom. We used two coats of Kilz no-VOC primer on the framing and two coats of Olympic Premium no-VOC semi-gloss white on everything to ensure a bright, durable finish. The side wall adjacent to the built-in was painted white so the shelving reads as part of the wall; the back of the cabinet was left a contrasting color to add visual depth through the shelves.
Once reinstalled, the shelves were clipped in and tested. I added a small rear lip on the lower shelves to prevent small items from slipping behind where the shelves don’t meet the wall. Because the shelves are removable, anything that does slide back can still be retrieved easily.
Here’s the finished built-in. We left a deliberate 2″ gap between the appliances and the shelving to prevent items from bumping when the washer cycles—practical spacing that keeps everything quiet and secure.
When empty the adjustable arrangement isn’t the most polished look—fixed, uniform shelves would be sleeker—but the adjustability is far more useful. We can store both small and tall items without wasting space, and the deeper bottom shelves allow us to take full advantage of the appliances’ depth.
Sherry styled the shelves with baskets, magazine files, a scalloped bowl, and a jar of clothespins. We’re also considering using the area as a drop zone for mail, coupons, and miscellaneous items by adding labeled baskets or trays to keep the space tidy.
Cost-wise this custom build was more than an off-the-shelf narrow cabinet, but it was worth it to have a seamless, made-to-fit solution that uses the full width and depth of the nook and offers adjustable storage. Budget breakdown:
- Wood (Home Depot & Lowe’s): $59
- Metal shelf tracks & clips (Home Depot): $15
- Primer & paint: already owned
- Baskets and accessories: already owned
- TOTAL: $74
The rigid aluminum dryer transition duct cost an additional $10.
Our laundry room to-do list still has a few items: replace hinges and knobs on the upper cabinets, add a new light fixture (we’re considering a small DIY chandelier), add a window treatment, create more functional storage near the door for shoes and the dog’s leash, and hang art to hide the fuse box. We’ve completed painting, trim repair, dryer hose replacement, and the built-in shelving, so the room has already come a long way.
We’re still figuring out where to store the ironing board—there’s a plan in the works, and we’ll share details once we’ve tested it—but in the meantime we’d love to hear what storage solutions you’re using in your laundry room. Built-in cabinets, clever drop zones, collapsible drying racks, or integrated ironing boards—what’s working for you?