I'm getting a new laundry/utility room. What are your must haves?

[Keenoonvino]

We are doing work on our house and part of it is extending our tiny utility room to make it bigger and incorporate a boot room. I need to think of designs/layouts for this and wonder what your must haves are?

For example - would a stacking washer/dryer be a better use of space than next to each other with surface room on top and then cupboards above that?

We've got enough space for hanging area for coats, a small bench for putting on shoes, a sink area and a floor to ceiling cupboard. But this is across both the utility and boot area.

What would be best going where? Is there anything you wish you had or couldn't live without?

Maybe have a look on pinterest for ideas?
I have loads of boards for things I will probably never even have

These over a radiator are great.

Fixed fold out ironing board is handy. Shelving.

I'd divide it into sides.
Clean; washing machine, dryer, airer, ironing board, place for ironed clothes.

Dirty; sink, coat hooks, welly rack, cupboard for mop, bucket & hoover.

As many cupboards as you can fit so you can find a place for shoe polish, vases, kitchen equipment overflow & general detritus.

As above I divided mine into 'zones'. Defiantly loads of storage.
I also had a big double shower and loo put in for when out in the garden and caught short or really dirty (perfect for children) so don't take it through the house.

I really, really miss it as we've moved onto a new project and have to do it all again!!

What is really necessary is a large, flat area on which to sort and fold laundry. I have three cupboards' width and that's about right - my washer and dryer are next to each other to give me that. Anything less would be insufficient for folding sheets and having space to fold and make four separate piles of clothes (me, DH, two DSs).

Also a tall (i.e. double height) cupboard with space to put ironing board, mop, broom, etc inside. I have the tall cupboard, plus sink and draining board on one side and the washer, dryer (+ cupboards), and folding area on the other.

A laundry chute from upstairs. I'd love that.

A drying rack which can be raised high on a pulley utilising otherwise dead space

A big square sink with swooshy tap for scrubbing football boots etc and big enough to soak oven shelves and grill pan etc. if you don't have an efficient airing cupboard ( all our heating pumps and hot water tanks in garage ) a 'hot cupboard' - cupboard with a towel radiator which runs off the heating in the winter and electric if I want it in the summer. Invaluable. Hooks to hang washing on hangers while waiting to be ironed.

Another vote for a ceiling pulley. Ours dries a load of washing overnight. Sheila maid do one so do Lakeland.

Just know where your joists are overhead to fix it into.

Houzz app has loads of images of utility rooms.

Loads of hooks for coats and all the kids different sports bags, all these get re packed straight after washing.

Yes to pulley maid, love ours.

Also that IKEA octopus hanging thing; it's tiny and great for hanging small things without taking too much space.

Nothing to add except

We're in the process of creating one. In addition to the above we're also having a rail (between two bookend cabinets) so I can hang clothes straight from the tumble dryer and post-ironing.

I have a tiny utility cupboard room. We've stacked the washer and dryer and have a tall narrow cupboard next to it. We also didn't box the washer and dryer in housing but used a Bosch stacking kit which has a pull out shelf which sits between the two machines which is helpful. This also meant I could use the space down beside the machines and the wall to store mops and brooms. I think the stacking kit was only about £40 so worth it.

Also, we didn't put a sink in there as our big Belfast sink in the kitchen is so close. We decided to use the space for a worktop instead. It has my breadmaker on it and any clothes that need to be soaked go in a basin on the worktop when they need to be. I'm really happy with that decision.

Good luck! Would also recommend pinterest.

We have a heated towel rail on a wall which is very handy rather than a radiator. An extractor fan as well to help dry out clothes is useful. We have washer and dryer opposite each other but not a lot of surface space, it's quite compact!

Thanks for all your responses, some brilliant ideas. I couldn't decide between stacking the wAsher/ dryer or putting them side by side with a flat surface to fold things on. I think that's the answe as at the moment I fold on the kitchen table!

I'd seen pics of a rail where you can hang clothes - don't think we have space for that and a Sheila maid thing. Just trying to decide which one!

Reading with interest.
We had a builder round yesterday to quote for a utility room.
I like the idea of a towel radiator.

If you want boot room inspiration from houzz or Pinterest try "mud room" which is what it's called in North America.

I'm also considering plumbing in a dehumidifier when we do ours - when we run ours at the moment (on top of my new 1400 spin washing machine) the clothes on the airer dry overnight. It's wonderful!

I find mud rooms are more for boots and coats. Utility and laundry rooms brings up loads of pinterest results for me.

I'd second really thinking if you need a sink or would find the worktop space useful. We had no draining board in our last one, which worked well too.

I'd have my laundry room upstairs!! So no traipsing up and down with clothes!!

WipsGlitter my aunt (mother of four boys) did that when she renovated her house a few years ago. She got a huge washing machine and had a box bedroom (which they no longer needed as they converted the loft) into a laundry room. Brilliant brilliant idea and works really well.

Im having my new utility built over the summer, my wish list includes; sink, tall cupboard for broom and mop etc, dog bed built in under units, a wall of coat hooks (we never have enough!) a settle bench with hidden storage for wellies, washer and dryer under units, we have stacked and I don't like it and last of all a pulley maid.

If you're having a condenser dryer, you can have it plumbed in such that the water drains out of the back of the machine - no more annoying slooshing drawers to empty. Most condenser dryers have a small hose at the back of the machine, that you can fit into a drain.

We stacked our washer and dryer. Bosch do a shelf to stack them which includes a pull out shelf to put baskets etc on. Didn't want a fixed ironing board as DH irons in front of the telly. We do have a wall mount for the iron and board through.

I wouldn't stack them, would put them side by side so you have a long side for an assortment of different needs, it wouldn't just be folding.