If you have a utility room, what's its best feature?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

We have a utility room but it's in the same condition it was when we bought the house (poor and unloved) so this year is the year it gets its face-lift.

What is the best thing about your utility?

Ours currently houses:-
The fridge freezer
The washing machine
The tumble dryer
The boiler
The cat litter trays
A bin
A small amount of storage for loo rolls etc.

It's also the room which we access the outside space (can't really call it a garden!!) and the bathroom. So it's used as a walk through room a lot.

I want to get this right as I don't want to have to begrudge missing something.

Is there any way you can rejig your layout so it isn’t a walk through space? As this does restrict use of the floor space and also means you see the mess all the time.

I have always emptied the water from the condenser dryer into the washing machine as it's closer than the sink.

Ikea sell an extendable clothes rail which screws to the wall .We have one in our utility above the radiator and I can hang loads of clothes on it.It's up high so doesn't get in the way.Every time I use it I think its the best thing about the room.

Mind blown!

How big is it? Ours is small but has the washing machine, tumble drier and recycling bins.
It depends how you want to use it. I know some people iron in theirs, but I'd rather do that in front of the tv.
Good storage boxing in the heating controls, hooks, shoe racks and an extendable airer are on our list to finish our utility off.

This is so funny. 😂

My son calls it that!

Deep drawers that fit washing powder and other laundry stuff.
Wall mounted drying rack that means I can often get away with not using one on the floor.
A bracket on the wall to hold the ironing board, and a holder for the iron (neither of which get used much)
Charging unit for the vacuum cleaner mounted on the wall
Lots of storage, including high shelves that are just at the right height for me to get the cat carriers up and down, while being out of the way

Total white elephant: shoe storage cabinet, which contains shoes no one ever wears

Sink would be more useful if people remembered it existed. DH cleaned the litter tray in the kitchen sink the other day 🤢

Oh, and we have a shelf up high in the garage for storage. Tempted to put one in the utility for those things you need but do t use often. Like random kitchen gadgets and hot water bottles!

I like having all my cleaning products stored neatly away. I also have two handmade shelves from Estsy with our spices on which look lovely.

*Etsy

@QuackMooOink you'd hate mine! Can't swing a cat in it but I had our carpenter build shallower units to take up less space.
It houses a sink, stacked washing machine and tumble drier (never used since owning dehumidifier), lots of cupboards for toilet rolls, cleaning products.
No insulation as we also use it like a larder so keep drinks chilled. Right now I have food prepped for a gathering tomorrow and its saved using up fridge space.
I have serious boot and utility room envy from some off the pp descriptions.

This.

Space to leave a Lakeland heated airer opened up.

Ours is small and basically a little room between the kitchen and back door. In it we have a counter where we store dirty washing split into types, washing machine, tumble dryer, sink, and a load of wall cupboards. Under the sink we keep “garden shoes” plus things like cushions for the outside chairs. The cupboards have things like bird food, clothes pegs, the iron, and a spare kettle.

The most useful thing about it is being able to contain the cat to check she has nothing in her mouth (mouse/bird) before she comes into the main house!

I have a laundry section in my utility. I have the washer and dryer on one side under a counter top (for folding) with a shelf on the wall for detergent etc. then on the opposite wall i have 3 big shelves that each hold 2 laundry baskets (I measured before they built the shelves) and enough height to put items into the baskets while they are in situ. Each person in the house has a basket (name on the side) so clothes come out of the dryer get folded and straight into the persons basket. Then I have one extra for non personal stuff like tea towels. The top shelf then has spare loo roll and under the bottom shelf is a tall space for dirty laundry baskets on wheels. Its a really efficient set up.

Erm… @unsync i presume you mean you’d like this set up from a pic by Neptune..

www.neptune.com/kitchen/laundry/cabinets/

@minipie i love that space saving solution.

Yup, it's on my list for my renovation. It works really well. Had it before in a not as "finished" way, it's a very efficient use of space.

Ours is a combination of downstairs loo, utility room and boot room as we only had the one space.
So we have a loo and then a kitchen type unit with big ceramic sink over it for washing hands. Cupboard underneath is great for storing all the random stuff that doesn't fit in my kitchen. Then a washing machine and dryer stacked on top of each other (room for a basket on top). Then a big tall open shelving unit for shoes, wellies, hats and gloves, dog stuff, keys etc.
It's tiny but well planned and works so well for us.

I must be a bit odd but I find the idea of having a toilet in the same room as laundry stuff, ironing boards, shoes etc pretty grim.
Perhaps that’s because my DH uses our downstairs loo as his personal number 2 loo!
I’m very glad that our downstairs shower and loo is separate from our utility room.

I mean, it's kept clean so can't see it being any grimmer than having your bath towels in the same room as a toilet. I never actually have my laundry out in the room anyway, just from machine to basket and upstairs or outside to hang up.
Would love a separate space but we just don't have that.

We knocked through 2 small rooms and it has a sink for dirty stuff eg rinsing out buckets from mopping the floor. There are 3 double kitchen cupboards which hold all the cleaning materials, loads of old towels, the DH's bourbon hoard, all the kitchen stuff like blenders, iron, veg, plus there's shoe racks, washer, dryer, recycling, vacuum, mops, it's brilliant and huge. It's meant we didn't have to have wall mounted cupboards in the kitchen which is lovely. It's a triple aspect kitchen so would have been tricky to put cupboards on the wall.

We have a couple of these, mounted one above the other

Leifheit Telegant 81 Protect Plus Wall-Mounted Clothes Airer, Foldaway Towel Rack for Indoor & Outdoor, Clothes Drying Rack for Indoor or Outdoor, 8.1 m Drying Space, White amzn.eu/d/hm3x15b

We also have a rail suspended from the ceiling where we dry clothes on hangers

As many cupboards as we can fit in

A big sink - I really like it, it’s good for dirty jobs, greasy pans, stain removing, boot cleaning, changing the fish tank water

A bob for martial arts. That one may be a bit niche

Oh, and a little wine fridge 😃 it just holds eight bottles so stands on the counter