The laundry is often the last room Melbourne homeowners think about renovating — yet it is one of the hardest-working spaces in any house. Across suburbs like Eltham, Greensborough, and Doncaster, more families are discovering that a well-designed laundry renovation can dramatically improve daily routines, add storage, and increase property value.
Whether you are dealing with a cramped cupboard laundry or a dedicated room that has seen better days, here is what you need to know about transforming this essential space.
1. Why Renovate Your Laundry?
Laundries endure heavy use — constant moisture, detergent spills, heat from dryers, and the general wear of daily washing cycles. An outdated laundry with deteriorating cabinetry, poor waterproofing, or inadequate plumbing is not just an eyesore; it can be a source of water damage and mould growth behind walls.
A renovated laundry also adds measurable value to your home. Real estate agents consistently report that a modern, functional laundry is a genuine selling point for Melbourne buyers, particularly in family-oriented suburbs like Templestowe and Rosanna where storage and organisation are priorities.
2. Layout Options for Every Space
Melbourne homes come in all shapes, and laundry configurations need to work within the available footprint. The most common layouts include:
Dedicated laundry room: The ideal scenario, allowing separate zones for washing, drying, folding, and storage. Standard in most freestanding homes across Montmorency and Bundoora
Combined bathroom-laundry: Increasingly popular in apartments, townhouses, and smaller homes. Requires careful planning to ensure both functions work without compromise
European or cupboard laundry: A stacked washer and dryer concealed behind doors, common in apartments. Smart cabinetry can maximise even the tightest spaces
Garage or external laundry: Often found in older Melbourne homes. Renovating these spaces to bring them up to modern standards can reclaim valuable utility space
The key to any layout is ensuring adequate plumbing access, proper waterproofing, and ventilation — your renovator should assess these fundamentals before finalising any design.
3. Waterproofing Requirements
Under the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standard AS 3740, laundries have specific waterproofing requirements. Any area within the room that contains a washing machine, trough, or floor waste must have waterproofing applied to the floor and up the walls to a minimum of 150mm.
If your laundry is on a timber subfloor — common in older homes across Ivanhoe and Eltham — the waterproofing membrane must extend across the entire floor area. This is not optional, and cutting corners here can lead to devastating structural damage from undetected leaks.
A reputable renovator will always provide a waterproofing certificate from a licensed applicator. This certificate is essential for insurance purposes and any future sale of your property.
4. Cabinetry and Storage Solutions
Effective storage is what separates a functional laundry from a frustrating one. Custom cabinetry designed around your specific appliances and habits makes an enormous difference:
Overhead cupboards for detergents, cleaning supplies, and infrequently used items
A benchtop above front-loading machines for folding — ideally at 900mm height for comfort
Pull-out hamper drawers for sorting whites, darks, and delicates
A hanging rail or retractable clothesline for drip-dry items
Broom cupboard or tall storage for vacuum cleaners and mops
Laminate and polyurethane cabinetry are both excellent choices for laundries. They are moisture-resistant, easy to clean, and available in finishes that match or complement your kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. Many homeowners in Doncaster and Templestowe opt for a consistent look throughout their wet areas.
5. Trough or No Trough?
The humble laundry trough divides opinion. Some homeowners see it as essential — ideal for soaking stained school uniforms, hand-washing delicates, or cleaning muddy boots after weekend sport. Others view it as wasted benchtop space, preferring to maximise their folding area instead.
If you do include a trough, modern options are far more attractive than the freestanding stainless steel sinks of the past. Undermount or inset troughs integrated into your benchtop create a clean, seamless look. A smaller 30-litre trough often provides sufficient capacity while leaving more usable bench space than a traditional 45-litre model.
6. Ventilation and Drying
Adequate ventilation is critical in a laundry to manage moisture from washing machines and dryers. Without it, condensation builds up on walls and ceilings, leading to mould and paint deterioration. Australian building standards require mechanical ventilation in internal laundries without openable windows.
A quality exhaust fan rated for your room size, ducted to the exterior, is the minimum requirement. If your dryer is not a condenser model, it must also be vented externally to prevent hot, moist air from accumulating. Heat pump dryers are an increasingly popular choice across Melbourne — they are more energy-efficient and produce significantly less heat and moisture than conventional vented dryers.
7. Flooring That Stands Up to the Job
Laundry floors need to handle water splashes, detergent spills, and heavy foot traffic. Porcelain tiles are the go-to choice for Melbourne laundry renovations — they are waterproof, durable, and available in a huge range of finishes including stone, timber, and concrete looks.
As with bathrooms, slip resistance matters. A tile with a minimum R10 rating provides adequate grip for a laundry floor. Large format tiles (600mm x 600mm or larger) minimise grout lines, which makes cleaning easier and gives the room a more spacious feel. Many homeowners choose to extend the same tile from their bathroom into an adjacent laundry for a cohesive look.
Ready to Transform Your Laundry?
A well-planned laundry renovation turns a neglected space into one of the most practical rooms in your home. At Aqua Force Bathrooms, we bring the same attention to detail and quality craftsmanship to laundry renovations as we do to every bathroom we build across Melbourne. Get in touch to discuss how we can redesign your laundry to work harder and look better.
