Laundry/utility room hints & tips please x

[mylovelymonster]

We are finally buying/upsizing. We will have a room about 12" x7'11" which we want to kit out purely as a laundry/utility (I know, we are very lucky, but this is result of 20 years scrimping and saving).
So, am thinking double Belfast sink with curvy taps, tiled worktop, Victorian-style clothes airer on pully system on ceiling.
We need a large linen cupboard for storing stuff - one with shelves and one with hanging rail would be good - we are currently looking at the John Lewis of Hungerford option, but this would be top budget and we would negotiate - are there any good alternatives? They do slatted shelves with zig-zag shelf height thingy - very functional. very pretty.
They do fabulous large linen baskets too, but at £400 each, surely there are alternatives?? Have Googled til my fingers are raw.

We also need a large cupboard for storing ironing board, maybe hoover, that sort of thing.

So, any experience? Tips for what else would be really useful, or suppliers of good quality cupboards/baskets?

Forgot to say, TIA x

Can I just say !

I am dreaming planning something like this for when we finally do our extension. My current plan is based on using basic kitchen units and a local kitchen fitter/carpenter for the bespoke stuff. This would be much cheaper than JL of Hungerford!

Current idea, left to right:

1. Tall cupboard for ironing board, brooms, cleaning things.
2. Tall linen cupboard with shelves one side, open hanging rails the other. Little radiator in the back of the cupboard.
3. Washing machine on the floor, with vented tumble drier mounted on the wall above it. Both behind cupboard doors. Can keep washing baskets on top of the washer nice and tidy behind the doors.
4. Single large sink - I would prefer one larger sink than two small ones.
5. Benchtop with three dirty washing 'baskets' in a row underneath: Light, Dark, Special wash. I want these to have either a tilt front kind of like this or a push front that swings so you can just shove washing in with one hand.
6. A Sheila Maid on a pulley above everything.
7. Thinking about a wall radiator on the opposite wall that's a bit like a towel ladder, but more set up for washing. Don't yet know if this exists.

Some might think it's weird to obsess so much over a utility room, but when sketching up extension plans I quickly came to the conclusion that it's the thing I am most excited about. I fantasise that it will transform our home from a Chinese laundry into a superb uber stylish dream home!

WOW that sounds obsessive perfect! When you do laundry nearly every day and are surrounded by piles of laundry, ironing and piles of towels for lack of a decent airing cupboard/space, then I understand how you feel.
Seems like we are of same thinking
Luckily, the room is an annex kitchen which has some cream wood units we could re-use - yay!! and DH is a bit handy so could keep costs manageable - maybe a Howdens tall cupboard to match in and one large uber cool JLofH Linen cupboard might do it - and look fab.
Am off to check out your link............

coveted cream linen cupboard, bottom right

this would be my dream - a large utility room, sadly I have a rather small room but I am drooling over your JL image.

A tall cupboard with slatted doors and a hanging rail to put wet shirts hanging up in AND. .......a little heater at the bottom so you have a drying cupboard

Ah - room has underfloor heating ......
Will prob dry on fold out clothes airers if I can't stick outside - hmm where will I store those then.........

If I'd won the euro-milions, you would all be living your utility dreams

My utility room has built in cupboards along one wall with spaces for ironing board, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, dryer (much nicer/quieter) if you can put them behind doors) and linen. What really makes it work is that there are floor to ceiling cupboards at either end and a big countertop in the centre for folding laundry on. Plus there are plug sockets in all the cupboards. There's no sink but there is a bathroom next door and I do handwashing in there.

Am thinking tall cupboards (incl. dream linen cupboard) along one long wall, the base units along short wall, under window and sink(s), then bit of counter top over washer/dryer, then....bit of a gap... maybe for adding useful fridge/freezer at later stage, maybe boot-rack, maybe just space for clothes airers, but maybe some sort of cupboard to tidy these bits away.... fourth wall is open to corridor and way out to garden.
Built in wall of cupboards to hide all functional stuff away sounds great, but not sure we have width of room available without meeting window...
Sockets in cupboard? Is that so they're hidden? Or for a warm heater? Do you open cupboard frontage up to do ironing?

Building up to exchanging on house at moment! Not quite in so haven't got exact measurements....

Popping in to JLofH tomorrow for a recky. I will be strong.

Think my third wall needs some clarity............

Are we really so rock n roll that we have 'dream linen cupboards'? (Don't answer that.)

The double cupboard with washer dryer on top is a great idea.

Fanny - bet Ozzy & Jagger have walk-in linen closets full of white fluffy towels & matching comfy slippers. Nothing to be ashamed of

The sockets in the cupboards are for tidiness but also so that you can plug in washing machine/dryer. AND there is a space for a huge chest freezer in the middle (the counter area has a lift up lid). I use the one in the linen cupboard if I'm too lazy in too much of a hurry to get the ironing board out

The slatted shelves thing is not difficult my DH (a pallet manufacturer) made me four layers of lovely slatted shelves using £20 worth of brackets from B&Q and £15 of pallet wood in my airing cupboard which keeps my linens lovely.

I want this system when I grow up can afford to redo our utility.

It doesn't look great in the picture, but have seen it in store and am very impressed.

Lots of useful stuff here, thankyou x
Lizcat- that is very interesting...I will look into that option. Maybe I can get an old cupboard/wardrobe and revamp - with fine mesh grill to doors and pretty material behind - a bit French country....hmmmm. Likely to save a lot that way....

We've just done one recently. Not as plush as yours I don't think but here are a few tips from me:

I've got open shelving, a bit like the Elfa range (on aplaceforeverything.com). Actually the one we have is different, with fixed shelving but I can't remember where it's from and this gives you the idea. It means things aren't all hidden away, but since no one goes in the utility except me I'm not fussed about that and it means I can put damp things on the shelves and they'll still air.

As well as the open shelving we have two units proper floor cupboards with wall cupboards above. We bought the cheapest units that B&Q do, but then paid for a nice solid wood worktop. Looks fabulous and cost next to nothing.

It may be because I'm lazy, but I wouldn't bother with having a cupboard for the ironing board - too much of a hassle to put it in and out. In an ideal world I'd leave it up all the time, but not enough room in my utility, so it lives by the side of the washing machine and takes all of 2 seconds to put away.

We have a pulleymaid airer and I LOVE it. Bought it from pulleymaid.com - they were rubbish and sent us the wrong one, but I have forgiven them, as I adore it.

We have a heated towel rail which is on the central heating but also has its own electric element so when the heating is off in the summer we can still turn it on to speed up drying etc. I don't currently have a tumble dryer so this is important for me and it keeps the utility toasty all year round. It's a normal bathroom towel rail, and I hang a radiator airer over it as well so I can fit tonnes of stuff on it, but mostly small things, like undies, socks, baby stuff. The big stuff goes on the airer.

Have fun!

if you will be hanging up wet washing in there, get an extractor fan to suck the water vapour away before it can diffuse through the house.

Water vapour is lighter than air, so have it up by the ceiling, furthest from the door.

I am also planning my dream utility, laundry, bootroom as part of our extension. I have already rejected one set of plans as the utility area was too small. The architect, builder and DH (all men) don't seem to realise the importance of this room.

Our big problem is shoe and coat storage so I plan to have an area devoted to this. I am considering a double row of pidgeon hole type boxes, similar to what you see in a bowling alley. The top of this will form a bench. Then above that will be a row of large double coat hooks. These can also be used for school bags, gym kit etc. Higher up at eye level will be another row of open front boxes to house baskets containing gloves, hats etc.

We are going to have a small wc leading off of the utility. I want to add a shower/tap to this area for washing muddy rugby players, dogs etc.

Small hijack re jacaqueen's shoe storage...don't expect DCs to put shoes in pigeonholes. I provided endless storage like this and have now given up. I can just about get DS2 to fling shoes in a big basket. DS1 still leaves them just inside the front door where he steps out of them. Big basket is...ooh...a metre away from this point....

We're really lucky to have a massive utility room. Can I suggest that deep cupboards are a magnet for stuff to get lost in at the back. If you have to have them to house washer/dryer etc, think about shallower cupboards elsewhere/above.