Messy piles are gone—Elisa, known as Elluyellow, renovated her laundry room to be practical (and yellow, of course!)

Elisa loves the cabinets’ rounded design reminiscent of the 50s. Despite their retro look, the functionality is modern: for example, the drawers have an easy-open mechanism. The large drawers are made even more practical by the “secret drawers” hidden inside.

We’d regret making our laundry room white or beige, Elisa Luomaranta, known on Instagram as @elluyellow, and her partner thought when planning the renovation.

“Two years ago, we renovated our kitchen and nearly went with off-white cabinets. But after choosing yellow instead—and never regretting it—we’ve felt more and more encouraged to use yellow throughout our home,” Elisa says.

So, yellow cabinets were a natural starting point for planning the laundry room renovation. The question of who would build them had also been clear ever since the kitchen project: they’d order from the same carpenter who made the family’s kitchen, Tapio Tiainen.

The rest of the laundry room renovation needed more planning, and the family got help from designer Merja Riihimäki.

Laundry chores becoming easier has made everyday life feel lighter. The washing machine is now at an ergonomic height, and there’s plenty of space for folding clothes. The hot water heater is tucked away in the tall cabinet.

The ceiling features thermally modified Nova paneling by Koivui.

The laundry room also serves as the family’s everyday entryway, where the kids, who ride horses, come in from the stables in their muddy clothes. Previously, the washer was right by the door—and that same corner was where muddy outerwear was left to dry.

“Clean and dirty everyday tasks got mixed together. Muddy clothes were often left to dry in the bathroom. It was no fun taking a shower among a muddy mess,” Elisa says.

In the new plans, they imagined an invisible boundary about one meter from the door: all muddy activities would stay within that area, while washing and hanging clean laundry would happen deeper in the room.

“We spent a lot of time with the designer figuring out how to keep mud in the mud zone and everything else in the clean zone,” Elisa says.

The curved corner cabinets bring character and a sense of spaciousness. “And you no longer have to bump your knee or hip on a sharp corner,” Elisa adds.

Right next to the external door, where the sink used to be, they built a tall cabinet for drying clothes, with a dedicated drain. Now everyone can hang their wet, muddy clothes there.

Next to the drying cabinet is a cabinet for the daughters’ riding gear, and to the other side of the door, each family member has a dedicated spot for other clothing.

Laundry chores were made easier by raising the washer off the floor to an ergonomic height.

Elisa had planned to keep drying laundry on a freestanding rack and on lines in the bathroom. The designer and the carpenter disagreed.

“Fortunately, the designer insisted we would not have our laundry dried in the newly renovated bathroom. Instead, the carpenter designed wall-mounted racks made of elm for us. For large laundry items like sheets, we can still hang them upstairs, if needed,” Elisa says.

“I never imagined an empty drying rack could look so beautiful, almost like artwork,” Elisa says. Carpenter Tapio Tiainen came up with the design and built the drying rack from oil-finished elm.

Ever since the renovation, Elisa has noticed a change in the everyday life of their family: the piles that used to plague the laundry room have disappeared. With dedicated places for clothes, linens, towels, and hobby gear designed around the family’s needs, chaos no longer creeps up even during busy daily life.

Waste management was designed so that when plastic and cardboard bins in the kitchen fill up, you can swap in an empty container from the laundry room. The recycling is only taken out once all bins are close to full.

In the laundry room, each family member has their own drawer, hook, and shelf. This has made it simpler to keep everything organized in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

“I used to resign myself to thinking piles were part of daily life, but now I realize the entryway and laundry room don’t have to be the chaos center of the home. And let’s face it: everything is a bit more fun in a yellow environment—even the laundry routine of a family with kids!” Elisa says.

The hot water heater is hidden in a tall cabinet next to the washer. Elisa first considered hiding the washer too, but that would have required deeper cabinets, making the walkway cramped. Laundry baskets were built into the cabinet above the washer.

The bathroom was renovated at the same time, and they chose a gold-colored shower. “I asked the designer if it would be crazy to have a gold sink and faucet, too. She loved the idea and took it even further. Now every little detail—from the clothes rods in the cabinet to the recessed LED lights—is gold,” Elisa says. The sink and faucet are from Grohe.

Read also: Over-the-top yellow from floor to ceiling! Elisa Luomaranta—known on Instagram as Elluyellow—collects retro pieces and decorates with her favorite color