Utility Vs Ensuite ...

[Elfblossom]

I've spent the last few months looking at a LOT of house listings! and I'm noticing a trend for new builds particularly, even the 2, 3 & 4 bedroom ones to expect a washing machine to go in the kitchen but still have a 'master bed' ensuite.

So I'm wondering, if you can only choose one, are you YANBU - give me a utility so I don't have to juggle food prep & dirty undies in the same kitchen space OR YUBU - Eeew I don't want to share a bathroom with family members.

YANBU - VOTE UTILITY ROOM
YABU - VOTE MASTER ENSUITE

En-suites. Toote suite.

I don't like ensuites so utility for me

I'd prefer a utility room over an en suite

Both

Utility room!!!! We added one a year or so ago and I bloody love it. Never been particularly interested in an en suite. We could have added one when doing our extension for not too much extra but I didn't fancy it.

Depends on the downstairs layout. I don't want the washing machine drowning out the tv, so if it's open plan I'll opt for a utility room.

That would depend how many family members and how many other bathrooms. I think if you are going to end up with 3 teens/young adults living at home then a second bathroom is a must, definitely more than one toilet.

I love my utility but I vote ensuite as it's of more practical use if a loo breaks, if someone is ill or if you have guests staying.

Depends on how many bathrooms there are. I wouldn't want only one toilet in a house. But if there was a family bathroom and a cloakroom, or two bathrooms, then definitely utility before en suite.

I would normally say Utility Room, as there's nothing i love more than a kitchen gadget and if you have a whole room to stash them in, then no one - NO ONE - can tell me we don't have room for a bread machine.

However this morning I found the loo in the family bathroom looking like something from Trainspotting, so if you have children old enough to clean a toilet themselves yet who seem to have developed an allergy to Toilet Duck and/or an addiction to the sort of deep conditioner that coats plugholes like liquid cement, FGS get an ensuite and save your sanity.

Neither. I would rather have a bigger bathroom and no utility because also want a bigger kitchen.

I have both but voted utility as we’ve so much extra space for all the random stuff we never knew we needed! It’s like a bigger version of the messy kitchen drawer.
However if we didn’t have another toilet already, I’d vote ensuite as multiple loos are also v v useful depending on how many live in the property..

I should have stated in my OP that there is always a downstairs loo in these houses so it's never a one Loo of doom situation.

I'm loving that so many of you are like minded and going for utility room.

I used to work in an early years setting and the threat of bum worms was enough to make me never, ever want a washing machine IN my kitchen again, ever.

Why are new build kitchens getting smaller (from what I've seen) when we're all cooking, baking and entertaining more at home?

When I hear eww doing washing in a kitchen I think of Kirsty Allsop or what ever her name is, stuck up and don’t live in the real world as most people don’t have luxury of having the option of a utility room. HOWEVER, saying that if I had to choose I’d definitely go utility over ensuite. We are currently living in a house with the washing machine in the kitchen, that’s fine except it’s a kitchen diner and the washing machine is bloody loud. We also have a shit ensuite, I burn my knees on the towel rail if I sit on the toilet facing forward, I’m 5’2” & we’ve not used the tiny cramped shower since moving in, it is literally used as a big laundry basket. If we owned the house I’d get rid of it straight away and build a utility on the back of the house.

@Elfblossom - it's true, they are! 70s houses were the best, space-wise:
www.which.co.uk/news/article/shrinking-homes-the-average-british-house-20-smaller-than-in-1970s-ac9jJ2N0HtVF

I'd much rather have a decent-sized kitchen I could fit a big table in, than an open-plan kitchen-living area that's the style now. And a separate utility room would be the dream!

We have what I think is the best of both worlds! A shower room with the washing machine and tumble dryer in it!

Utility every time.

I'd have an en-suite removed. Hate them

What’s wrong with a washing machine in the kitchen? Mine isn’t but wouldn’t care if it was

It depends how old you are. The elders like an ensuite as it's handier when they need to get up multiple times in the night. (The term "elder" doesn't extend to being familiar with the concept of a chamber pot, unfortunately.)

We've just reserved a new build and I'm absolutely buzzing to have both. There was a slightly bigger house-type we discounted because it didn't have a utility room so I guess that's my preference, but I don't have any issue with having the washing machine in the kitchen hygiene-wise. Dirty clothes go from the laundry basket into the machine, I don't put them on the counter or anything so don't see what difference it makes. Plus no kids so en-suite is a total unnecessary luxury.

If I only had the chance of one I'd pick a good sized utility, where I could have the downstairs loo with a shower and a second fridge freezer... ideally though, I'd like both! 🌹

I prefer a utility room but surely the two issues aren’t related as an en-suite would be on a different floor? As it is I don’t currently have either and it’s fine. I’d give my left arm for a playroom though.

YABU

I'd not buy a house without one, I would buy a house without a utility room

I voted YANBU, bit more than 1 toilet is essential to me. This could be a family bathroom and downstairs WC though. An en suite is nice but not necessary. A study is even more useful than both!

Utility definitely