Do I NEED a utility room?

[MrsSharp]

We will be knocking through our existing kitchen, utility and dining room to create a new, more practical kitchen/dining/snug this year.

We have always intended to section off a small part of the room (where the boiler is already) to pop the washing machine and tumble drier in, and a couple of cupboards (no space for sink or much else). This really is the only place we could make into a utility room (due to doorways/steps/stone walls which we'd like to be a feature of the kitchen)- but even this isn't ideal. It will block light out of the room (our whole house is quite dark) - we will be putting a bank of bi-fold doors in to the new kitchen - but that won't be visible as you walk in from the hallway, all you will be met with is the partition wall on your left handside as it will have to run right next to the door.

Also - the utility will be next to the snug area. The main reason we think we need a utility room is so that the noise of the washing machine is annoying when you're watching TV etc. But surely - we're going to hear it all anyway????

So.....my question is - is it absolutly essential to have a utility room when you have an open plan kitchen/diner. I would love one, but am not sure we would gain anything, on balance. If you went to view a house - would it put you off if there wasn't a utility room?

HELP!!!

i am desperate for one so it would make a difference to me

i am sick of either having to use the tumble dryer all the time or have a living room full of wet washing,
given the choice i would have one

Sooooo useful - no noise from washing machine, you can put all the ugly stuff in there, ours has a second fridge which would just look bloody odd in the kitchen (or the snug if we had one ), no matter what size your kitchen is, you can never fit everything in and the utility room becomes your overflow area. Boilers can be bloody noisy and annoying as well so best keep those in the utility if you can.

If the house were very open plan, it would put me off if there wasn't a utility room - it just puts too much pressure on you to keep the rest of it tidy without one.

I can't quite visualise the layout you are proposing but if you think it will really interrupt the flow of the rooms, is there somewhere upstairs the washing machine and tumble dryer can go?

Yes

OOh this is eerily like my thread on this! (Please reassure me about my kitchen diner).

My thoughts are exactly the same as Lalas- that without one the pressure is too great to keep an open-plan space tidy. But the posters on my thread also felt it was a waste of space so (unhelpfully) I think at the end of the day is does come down to personal choice and priorities.

We put our w machine and drier in a normal cupboard - set off the back wall to so that it's completely concealed and behind doors, which dulls the sound. I also have a machine with a timer on so that it goes on overnight and doesn't disturb us when we're downstairs watching TV. Is this a possibility? Having said that, I'd love a utility rm and two friends who've recently refurbed really love the fact that they added them to the plans.

Can you add any light from the roof or side wall areas?

We knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room last year to make a big kitchen diner. The washing m/c is in the utility room and being able to close the door when the m/c is on is great, it really does dull the sound. However, I have also lived in a flat that had the washing machine and dryer in a cupboard and that worked well. As long as you have lots of cupboards then you don't have so worry about the mess.
I keep the microwave and toaster in the utlity room so the door is always open anyway.

We also have a cat and it is useful to be able to shut her in the utility room (that is where the cat flap is).

Sounds a good idea to have somewhere to close off with the washing/drying machines.

How big is your house - in a small 3 bed house I wouldn't expect a utility room. In a large 4/5 bedroom house I would. Do your neighbours have one? Maybe get an estate agent round to do a valuation and ask their opinion.

I would love one, but I am a bit weird about cooking smells near my clean washing. I have an open-plan kitchen/living room and subsequently dry everything in my bedroom bar tea towels.

Thank you so much for all your replies. You've all kind of confirmed that it is still better to have a utility room...that is what we'd thought originally, but I'd had a bit of a panic last night! No doubt there will be plenty of panicy-moments ahead!

Our house is a 4 bed detatched cottage, about 400 years old - lots of quirks, small windows, steps - all of which I love, but are adding to the challenge of making the space practical but sympathetic to the style of the property (fortnaely it's not listed).

Think we do really need a utility room and that future buyers would expect one - so we just need to make it work.

Thank you!

Would it be at all possible to fit the utility room upstairs? A friend of mine has an old house, and has used a sort of wide corridor leading to her bathroom as her utility room. This made the plumbing fairly straightforward, plus washing doesn't have to come downstairs to be laundered then upstairs again to be put away. The arrangement works really well.

Ummmm....not really. We have a lovely wide landing, that I suppose has space for a utility room - but I love the wide landing! And I'd always thought if we ever feel like we want to stay here but are outgrowing the house, we could fit another staircase and convert the loft. If I was ever going to build a house, an upsatirs utility/laundry room sounds like a dream - what a good idea!

I have had another think this afternoon, and got my tape measure out. I think we could fit the utility room in another corner of the room, which although would mean it is still right next to the snug, the dividing wall would be away from the door to the hallway - which would mean it would feel more open and light as soon as you walked in.

It owuld put me off, we knocked our kitchen/ utility through but added one in our new extension - its important for me to close the door on the mountain of laundry otherwise it wold sit all over my kitchen and smell of food.

I'm planning one in my extension. Don't have a tumble dryer atm and there is just no escape from laundry in this house. I hate it. So, even a cupbaord would be no use to me as I would have to use a dryer and would rather not.