Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

What’s new in the laundry room this year? Kenmore’s Elite Oasis HE washer and dryer have a high tech (yes, you can have tech in the laundry room, folks) stain cycle, which is designed to remove stains without pre-treatment. If it works as advertised, that sure would be handy. I don’t know about you, but I’m always forgetting to squirt on the stain remover until my clothes have already been washed (too late then!). Also, the Oasis dryer has two motors, which will cut down on drying time. Both appliances have windows so you can peer in and watch your laundry churn and spin (see what drab daytime TV has forced us to call entertainment?). The price for the washers range from $799 to $1,099, and the dryers run $699 to $999.

http://www.sears.com
(picture from the folks at the http://ths.gardenweb.com laundry forum)

The Maytag Cordless Iron is designed to make pressing clothes a little less cumbersome by eliminating the power cord. I know–true luxury is having someone else press your clothes for you, but if you’d rather handle it yourself, this iron can make things a little easier. It comes with a cradle, which is plugged into an outlet, that acts as a docking station to recharge it, allowing the iron itself to remain cord free. According to the company, the handle is designed so you can iron comfortably left- and right-handed, and a number of precise temperature settings give you the range needed to press different fabrics just right. The cordless iron is available for just under $100 at Amazon, where there’s only one review at the time of this posting, but it’s a five-star one: Maytag Cordless Iron

Washing machines have been top-loading for ages, but you usually have to hunch over and stuff your heavy, wet clothes in the dryer from the front. The Fisher & Paykel Top-Loading Dryer is an alternative that seems like it would be more ergonomically sound, since you just move the clothes from one machine to the other without bending low. The design may have other benefits too: according to the company the top-loading dryer has a drum that “tumbles foward and reverse, reducing creasing and tangling and improves even drying.” The recommended prices for the dryers are: $799 for the gas model DGGx1 and $779 for the elctric model DGEX1.

http://www.fisherpaykel.com/

We’ve mentioned the Whirlpool Drying Cabinet, which is basically air drying on steroids, but the Maytag Drying Center is a little different. It combines a normal dryer with a drying cabinet (for garmets that need to be hung to dry) that, according to the company, removes odors by using steam and optimum temperatures to grab odors while the air flow removes them. A dryer sheet can be used to add fragrance. The benefit of a drying cabinet is to quickly dry special-care items that would shrink in a regular dryer. Unlike with the Whirlpool model, you get two units in one here.

http://www.maytag.com

Ok, it’s hard to get excited about something as prosaic as a laundry hamper, but Pottery Barn’s Savannah Divided Hamper has one unique feature that makes it special. Or at least super practical. The woven sea grass hamper holds two poly/cotton canvas liners, so you can sort colors from whites as you toss them in. Grommets along the top allow you to remove the liners and dump them in the washing machine on laundry day. The price is $179.

http://www.potterybarn.com

The Jentle Jet Laundry Sink was featured on HGTV’s Kitchen Trends the other night (apparently laundry takes place close enough to the kitchen to warrant a mention on the show). Made by MTI Whirlpools, the folks who brought you the Jentle Ped Foot Massager, the sink is designed to be installed in laundry or mud rooms. It works sort of like a whirlpool to clean your delicates for you. The sink uses 3 micro-jets to gently wash your garments without the use of harsh agitators. A 3-speed air volume knob adjusts the whirlpool action from a soft swirl to a vigorous wash. The price starts at $650 and goes up depending on the finish you want.

http://mtiwhirlpools.com/
http://www.hgtv.com

If space is at a premium in your laundry room, you may appreciate LG Electronics’ front loading All-in-One Washer and Dryer. Great for small homes and condominiums, the combination appliance comes with a number of features such as a child safety lock, numerous wash and dry programs, “TilTub” for easy reach into the drum, and intelligent electronic controls that sense how wet clothes are and determine a drying program based on their weight. The price for the combination washing machine and dryer is about $1,700.

http://www.lge.com/

If you can afford to spend a little extra on laundry detergent, and you’re concerned about the environment, you can get environmentally-friendly detergent. Sold by the Good Home Company, the detergent uses only natural “earth-friendly” ingredients and is accredited by the BUAV (a British organization that fights animal experimentation) as being cruelty free. The laundry detergent is supposed to work as well as the regular stuff, and it’s appropriate for hand-washing as well. It comes in Lavender, Vanilla, Paris Rain, Pure Grass, and Beach Days scents.

Technology is everywhere in the house these days, and the laundry room is no exception. LG Electronics will soon be offering their Remote Laundry Monitoring System ($1349 for washer, $949 for dryer, $99 for the remote) which is designed to let homeowners monitor their laundry cycle from anywhere in the home using a remote device. You can check the cycle status of the washer and dryer and look at the remaining time. A buzzer on the remote lets you know when each cycle is finished. The system communicates using Power Line Communication (PLC) technology over standard electrical wiring.

http://www.lge.com

Clothes drying cabinets are new additions to the laundry room. As the name suggests, they let you air dry clothes those clothes that aren’t supposed to go in the dryer in significantly less time than with regular air drying. One example is the Whirlpool DryAire Drying Cabinet. It holds up to eight hanging garments, two sweaters, and a number of items like shoes, toys, or wet umbrellas. It has different cycles that range from “air only” to “heavy-duty.” The drying cabinet has sliding shelves, a reversible door, and plentiful door racks to accommodate different sized items. The MSRP for the Whirlpool DryAire is $699.

www.whirlpool.com