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Dirty Business

Yesterday it seemed the most trafficked rooms in the house were also the most neglected. No more. Utility rooms have become chic and central to an orderly life.

Photography by Nat Rea

Heaps of dirty clothes, legions of mittens minus partners, drippy umbrellas! It’s not pretty. In the spirit of a new year with organization once again topping our resolution lists, utilitarian spaces are gaining attention. Next to open kitchens and porches, in fact, such multi-purpose rooms are de rigueur in new house construction. “I’m hearing it all the time,” says Providence-based architect Clifford Renshaw. “These days it’s all about the mud and laundry room.” So, once and for all, goodbye mess and mayhem. With hopes of copycatting their ideas, we took a tour of some of the area’s top tidiest rooms. We know our chores won’t disappear, but certainly the load will feel a whole lot lighter.