To get read of utility room/ area off kitchen and make it into a larder?

[08557lemon555]

Have been craving a larder for years. We never use our utility sink. Would it impact house price if we ripped it out?

utility room is an essential. Larder is a nice to have.

I use my under stairs cupboard, accessed at the tall end from my kitchen, as a larder and to store tall cleaning items like the hoover and mop, and my heated airer etc. Narrow shelves run all along one side to house my pantry stores - cans and jars, boxes of teabags etc etc - because I buy bulk when things are on offer to save money. Then next door to the cupboard is my utility room, which also has a loo in it. This is fitted out on one wall with kitchen units up and down, with a kitchen style sink and the washer-dryer. Cupboards are used to store all cleaning and laundry supplies, shoe cleaning kit, candles, empty jam jars for making chutney, stuff for caring for houseplants, pet food, vases, silver polish etc, and extra supplies of loo roll for downstairs. On the opposite wall is a row of pegs for dog walking coats, gardening clothes, hats etc. We use the sink all the time, for watering plants, cleaning walking boots, washing hands after gardening, soaking or hand washing laundry which needs it, cleaning paintbrushes, washing pet bowls etc. The laundry basket lives on the adjacent worktop, over the washing machine. I wouldn’t be without it, but that’s because it’s set up to work for us. If you don’t need space for those things or are happy to do them in your kitchen, then go for it.

I have wide, tall but quite shallow larder cupboard with lots of shelves in a passageway just outside kitchen. Works really well; I keep tins/jars/packets/bottles there. Is away from heat and steam of cooking, too.

Your Nan's larder would probably have been cold - in older houses, there was often an airbrick or metal-gauze-covered window. A larder in a room with a boiler or radiator (unless turned off) would probably not be a good idea. Depends what kinds of food you want to store, of course.

Agree with previous posters that utility rooms are tremendously useful. Doors to the outside are helpful if you live in a muddy or rainy area (somewhere to put boots and dripping waterproofs) /do a lot of gardening/ have a dog/ need a catflap etc etc etc.

Love my utility with a sink. Also got my microwave steamer and slow cooker in there. My laundry basket lives in the conservatory though when not used. Did get a collapsible one years ago but did not last long.

Ive had that before, and one in build in with the cookers and plate warmer’, but I still prefer it out of the way in the utility.

Outside.

Our microwave is in the utility and the Kitchenaid is stuffed under a wall cupboard in there with a plastic cover on it, it gets dragged out every so often if I want bake, this is quite a rare occurrence though

I have no utility and it irks on a daily basis. Our washing machine is in the downstairs loo which works well but I would love a sink for dog bowls, muddy jobs, flowers, hand washing clothes etc Somewhere for dog paraphernalia, dog bet if they are muddy or need separating, wet coat pegs, drying rack , bird food etc etc.We have a back door lobby shoe mountain where the boiler is and pegs for coats which is better than nothing but it is too small . Larders can be nice if on a cold wall but I wouldn't sacrifice your utility .

What’s a utility sink?

How can it be any more clear? 😂

I have a walk-in larder. All the store cupboard food is there, all the unopened packets, and a tall deepfreeze. Also all the noisy equipment - microwave, breadmaker etc. And finally at one end the cleaning materials, broom and steam mop.

Washing machine and dryer are in the cellar.

If you’re not using the sink, I don’t see why you couldn’t replace it by a floor to ceiling set of shelves. You wouldn’t have the advantage of a cold larder, though, if you kept the washing machine in there.

Not all utility rooms have a sink

If you kept the connection pipes in place, it would be easy for a buyer to reinstate the utility room, or even for you to do so.

Utility rooms are crucial in any house imo.

They're really not - millions of people exist quite happily without one. You could too, trust me. Ditto en suites.

I remember when Kirsty Allsop first found fame. She exclaims how disgusting she found it that people had washing machines in their kitchens. As if people rubbed their skidmarked undies over the worktops.

My utility room is dual purpose, but not a larder as well. Instead it is also a downstairs shower room. The washing machine and tumble dryer are stacked in a tall cupboard, which has an additional shelf on top where we keep the washing baskets (and the sick bowl). So all the big laundry bits are kept in the one tall cupboard. All the rest of the space is the shower room and since all the laundry bits are behind one door you wouldn't even know it is the utility room as well. I have a large basin in there so I can do a small amount of hand washing too if I need to.

I really do think a dual purpose room is the way to go.

What a pompous snide comment.
Believe it or not not everyone has a utlilty room. I hadn’t heard this phrase before especially as I’ve never had a utility room never mind an extra sink ! !
Wow b…..

And spice racks.... I really covet one of those beautiful larder cupboards with the spice racks built in to the doors but that didn't work in our space. Instead we bought some kids book racks from IKEA and have fastened them to the inside of our cupboard doors and we use them for our spices (also for cleaning products on the inside of the doors under the kitchen sink and bathroom basins).

Most people, including me, have a microwave that is fitted into a kitchen cupboard, rather than on one of the surfaces

Most people? Seriously doubt that tbh...

@superlambaanana "....Sorry to be cynical but the trend for seeking happiness through interiors is a big part of the reason we have a mental health crisis. Think carefully about your motivations here!"

@08557lemon555 "Um definitely not after a larder because it’s cool and not seeking for happiness through interiors.... I absolutely do use all my spices."

Ok, then I revert to my earlier comment that you should go for it and look for other nooks and crannies to house washing machine and other utility type storage and equipment. I love having my washing machine near my bedrooms, leaving kitchen hygienically for food and cooking only. I still have a utility/ bootroom for washing paint brushes and dogs, but it's no where near the kitchen.

Not really wanting to enter into the affray on the emerging microwave wars, but... I have a fan oven and then another oven which can bake, grill or microwave. Siemens. It's very good. Just have to be careful not to have any metal dishes in when microwaving obv. Both are built into a wall of units so no counter top clutter. Highly recommend!

I have a v small utility which i love... No sink but tall freezer and pantry cupboard which has hook on side for rarely used iron/ironing board then a standard height couple of cupboards which contains cleaning/,dog stuff and has food processor/bread machine on top ..
Clothes airer on wheels as once its out cant get in room easily (its a small room)

... we have washing machine in there and the dehumidifier
Its fab.. dont use/miss a sink at all

And the rest of the comments on the thread didn’t make it clear?

come on.

I see a utility room as an essential and would be put off a house that didn't have one.

Personally, I have no use for a sink in the utility room. I think that's a waste of space.

My utility has a washing machine, tumble dryer, sink and half a dozen cupboards. I use one cupboard for shoe polish etc etc, and the rest for certain kinds of spare food. Tins, jars, spare flour etc. Perhaps you could rejig your utility slightly to add cupboard space? If you want to store food, I think it pays to have a proper think about what it is which is worth storing, as plenty of stuff isn't.

I'm a bit grossed out by the idea of storing food in the same room as where you do your clothes washing. Even when it's non perishable/ tinned etc. My utility room does have a sink (a utility sink I think it's sometimes called 😜) and I do use that sink for washing the dog and stuff so maybe if you all have pristine utilities it's reasonable to have food in there too. But I dunno.

Our concept of kitchens is still a bit stuck in the past I think. Kitchens used to be multi purpose spaces which may have hosted everything from cooking to bathing for our grandparents. My farming ancestors would have had animals in their kitchen in winter. We don't need to have all that going in the kitchen nowadays, yet we still link it to washing clothes and cleaning materials. Who do some people keep toilet duck under the sink in their kitchen for example (btw I think that's sometimes called a kitchen sink 🤪).

Time we rethought kitchens to be what we need in the modern world, and cast off expectations passed down from previous generations.

I'm a bit grossed out by the idea of storing food in the same room as where you do your clothes washing. Even when it's non perishable/ tinned etc. My utility room does have a sink (a utility sink I think it's sometimes called 😜) and I do use that sink for washing the dog and stuff so maybe if you all have pristine utilities it's reasonable to have food in there too. But I dunno.

Why is it a problem, presumably you don't put dirty pants in the fridge, or prepare food inside the washing machine?