Mondays used to be laundry day. These days it is more like every day is laundry day.

You might think that this is an odd postulation, but it might be that we spend more time devoted to this task than ever before. The very convenience of having a washing machine inside the house, for instance, makes it easy to toss in a load any time of day or night.

Presto! It's done. Pop open the dryer and hurl in the clothes to dry. You can watch a movie or cook dinner in between loads.

Three thousand years ago women gathered at the head of a stream to take advantage of the strongest flow of water to get dirty clothing clean. Once soap was devised, women had a little more success. And when the idea of adding boiling water to the process evolved, much better sanitation was achieved.

Yes, it is true we no longer have to devote Mondays entirely to doing the wash, but conversely it seems like there is always a pile of dirty clothes waiting to be cleaned. Perhaps this new relationship with laundry has played a role in renewed interest of making more of the typical laundry room.

If one room merits more focus in home improvement and kitchen and bath shows, it does seem to be the little laundry room. Just as we want more from every room in the house, Americans want to get this hardworking room to provide a little more function.

In some floor plans, the laundry room and the kitchen become blurred together. This is primarily possible due to the invention of the under-the-counter washing machine. First seen in Europe, American manufacturers have recently joined the parade of companies producing washing machines and clothes dryers that can scoot underneath a counter top.

Shown here is the Maytag Compact Front Load Washer, measuring just 23 1/2 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 33 1/4 inches tall. Even while this model is compact in size, the washer still offers a generous 2.4 cubic feet that easily handles daily loads. The companion Front Load Electric Dryer is the same size as the washer and features adjustable leveling legs. It comes with a reversible door in order to flexibly accommodate a variety of installation situations.

There is also a QuietSeries 300 sound package for reduced noise, which can be critical when the appliance is situated right in the middle of a kitchen! Much like people seek out the quietest dishwashers available when a floor plan is open, paying attention to how noisy the washer and dryer will be is a part of the ultimate success for an open laundry room.

In the pictures installation the featured appliances are hidden when not in use behind sliding wood doors that blend in with the rest of the cabinetry. Surely this type of installation is the key to getting the laundry to serve multiple purposes.

If these appliances were in a little separate room and could be hidden, that room could then double as linen storage or a butler's pantry. Large serving platters, little used items such as an ice-cream maker or a wok could be stored along side the units.

The appliances might even fit in a bathroom if the room were large enough.

Stacking units, long popular in apartments and condominiums because how little a footprint they make, offer another way to hide the critical components of a laundry room in plain sight. A closet can easily be converted into an indoor laundry when stacking units are used.

Another way to achieve a laundry where none has previously been is to use one unit that offers the combined function of washing machine and clothes dryer. These machines have less capacity often and do take more time to ultimately do all of the laundry. Nevertheless, the space-saving element is undeniable.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Big Ideas for Small Spaces." Send questions and comments to her by e-mail at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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