Where to put the laundry room?

[CurrerBell]

We are just about to go through building regs for our extension, and I'm having last minute doubts about the layout...

I always envisaged a lovely futility room (have never had one before) when we started the plans. However, we've ended up with basically a cupboard off the hallway, which just fits the washing machine and tumble dryer side by side. Not much space in front, so to access it I'd have to stand in the doorway, blocking the corridor. It might be fine... but it's a compromise as we also want to fit in a decent sized playroom-cum-study downstairs. The only alternative really is having the white goods in the new kitchen diner.

After seeing it mentioned on a few threads, I am wondering about having an upstairs laundry room... It would mean sacrificing our small fifth bedroom (currently our study), but we would have the space for washing machine, tumble dryer, ironing board, clothes airers, extra wardrobe space... and it would save all the trips up and downstairs with dirty washing. Has anyone done this and got it to work for them?

We have no plumbing on this side of the house though, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to sort that out? Please, help me make a decision before the plans are set in stone!

Everybody, I like the first link too.

I have never heard of pinterest before. I may have a new obsession!

It's great for ideas but i'm not signed up as i don't have facebook

(dh is getting a bit irritated by my outlandish plans for the new play room!)

Fwiw, here is my opinion. I have a large laundry room. It means the ironing board can stay up, clothes rails are in there, chest freezer etc. it keeps all those piles out of the rest of the house. I don't think a laundry cupboard would be worth having. With all the wireless, laptop etc, you no longer need a study. A large cupboard fitted with filing drawers, and a place to charge your laptop is all you need. I do think its good to have a separate room where kids can watch tv. Best wishes and good luck

My dream house will have a laundry room upstairs. TV/radio absolutely essential and good amount of space for drying clothes and sorting into piles.

Study downstairs with view of the garden (although current view of the drive is useful for deliveries).

I also think that a downstairs playroom/tv room/den is more useful than a downstairs utility.
It is also easier to contain the mountains of washing/drying if its all upstairs close to bedrooms and bathrooms (we dont have the climate to dry clothes outside that much really so dont see this as a major factor).

And yes why not have a cupboard in the playroom for your work things, whcih can be closed off out of sight.

pinterest.com/pin/118852877636913675/

Absolutely agree with Panacotta - laundry room upstairs and playroom with study in a. storage cupboard (ie desk in a cupboard rather than washing machine in a cupboard).

In my old 5 bed house we had a laundry room which was the 5th bedroom - washing hung up there, ironing board up permanently - loved, loved it. (Washing machine was painfully downstairs but hey). I could hand up washing/iron/fold/put away all whilst children either getting up or going to bed. My DD would think it was the height of luxury to "stay up late" for 10 minutes chatting to me whilst I did some ironing.

Meanwhile we had a study we never used....

From what I also found out the price difference between a 4 and 5 bedroom house is negligible. People pay a jump from 3 to 4. But not really from 4 to 5. Worth checking with a local estate agent. But I would think a laundry room and playroom would outweigh a "study" which in essence is a box room.

V jealous.

And the plumbing....cannot be impossible. Flats have washing machines.

Loving the Pinterest links!

Yes we hardly use our study really - the laptop is usually on the dining table. We don't need five bedrooms... we could actually put a desk in (what will be) the guest bedroom and still fit in a double bed... so that might be a better option.

Inspired by Yorky, I've managed to set up a Facebook account for our house! I have put links to our plans (drawn on Floorplanner) - I wasn't sure how to link to the architect's official plans. Hope it works.

Any comments on the layout would be brilliant. I love looking at other people's floorplans, but I have been looking at ours for so long I don't know what works any more...

OK. Study in a brilliant spot for laundry. Turn the now not going to be laundry cupboard into a big storage/coat/shoe cupboard

Just to warn you I am pissed. But I am thinking your playroom will not get used. It is totally separate from the rest of the house. It will become a dumping ground. The children will feel too far away from you . They will not use it until they are older and want a chill out TV room to escape from you. If they have a ruck in there and you are setting the table/in the sitting room you have a major trek to sort it out. I would be more inclined to use playroom as dining room - but open a door from oh....dining bit of kitchen - rather than off the hall....mmmm do you need 2 dining areas?

What I would do.
Lounge as it.

Dining room turn into a "playroom/family" room. Open into/make a door through to kitchen - but the bit that is currently the kitchen turn into a bigger area without the dining area and instead have some kind of island/breakfast bar seating -ie move more of the kitchen to the angled bit with the doors.

Current playroom turn into a dining area - or ideally incorporate into a dining area of the kitchen - ie only one table./chairs.

Too much wine. Off to bed.

I agree with FIshfingers, both re the hall cupboard to be a coat/shoe cupboard (essential in a family house) but also more importantly re the layout.

Playroom needs to open off the kitchen not the hall and I woudl change access between the reception rooms as Fishfingers suggests, if this is possible.
I agree that the suggested dining room could be the new playroom, perhaps with sliding doors to the kitchen so it can be closed off, with dining in the room marked as playroom, either open plan or with sliding/.folding doors.

The proposed dining room is impractical as its quite inacessible from the kitchen as per your layout (ie via the hall).
The piano could be housed in the playroom.

OK, first thoughts, having only just looked at the first link:

Looking at the first floor in your link, actually I would turn the study into the bathroom, which can bee accessed from the landing, but also add a door into bedroom 2, thus making bedroom 2 ensuite for when you have guests. We have Jack & Jill bathrooms in our house, and they work really well.

I would then turn what you had planned to be your bathroom into your laundry room.

Think your layout downstairs could be improved - will consider it further and repost.

Imagine yourself living there. In a fluffy world. You are in from a lovely Sunday walk. Roast just about ready to serve. You/DH opening some wine. Putting the yorkshire puddings in. One DC doing piano practice (I know, unheard of without nagging - but this is a fluffy world) Other DC playing,

Where do you want this to happen. Totally separate rooms? All together? What will actually be the least hassle.

We have opened up our house (yet to move in). We are currently in a very open plan (cos is so tiny) static. Is wonderful. DD doing piano (keyboard - we do not have full sized piano in the static) DS drawing. I am cooking. I can comment/help - hell know I need to comment/help as I am with them.
I was worried I would hate open plan. I love it.

The dining area can be totally separate- as you all sit down together. But as one is playing with lego and made an amazing tower and the other has just done a perfect Twinkle Twinkle you need these to be in areas you are open to. Not through 2 doors and a hall.

And following my wine this evening my DH has just pointed out it is late and I am going to be v grumpy in the morning

Shall remove self from open-plan soapbox
Night

In fact, subject to the orientation of the house, I would put your kitchen where your lounge is due to be - opening into the dining area / snug, although I would have this more as one room, rather than having doors opening on to the dining area.

Your main living room could then be where the kitchen was due to be, with doors opening (or closing, as applicable) onto the playroom / study / piano room.

Not sure if I have missed how the stairs are going up to the loft?

Oh - and is your architect a single chap without children?

Haha, don't get me started on our architect... It's been a long and rocky road just to get this far!

This is all brilliant advice - wish I'd asked on here earlier rather than two years months of angst...

You are all confirming my doubts about the layout, as the 'flow' of the house doesn't feel quite right...

YY to a coat/shoe cupboard - our hallway has no practical storage space whatsoever!

DH has always said he would love a kitchen island type of arrangement, but we couldn't see how to create one...

I've also had a couple of glasses of wine so will read all the posts again properly in the morning :-)

Looking at the ground floor again, if you use what was going to be the kitchen as your living room, you could have the door into it further to the left. This would free up hall space to add to the playroom / downstairs cloakroom / loo.

I would combine the laundry room / toilet, and move the door.

Sorry, I know you only asked about the laundry, not a wholescale redesign.

You have changed it to almost exactly what I was thinking about on my dog walk this morning. - You need a door into the kitchen from the hall. And move the units in the kitchen so you have a door into the dining room.

By shifting the futility around a bit and removing the door between the dining/hall you get far more use of the space.

And you get to keep your study.

That's all given me loads to think about (I think I was dreaming about redesigns all night!).

One of the things I've been struggling with is getting our lounge to work. We currently have a door off the hall, as well as the archway from the dining room. We find we use the hall door less and it also gets in the way of the sofa/chair arrangement, so we were planning to close it off. The lounge works better this way, but I'm not sure if it's a bit weird not to have the main lounge directly accessible from the hallway? It also makes the current dining room a walk-through room, which compromises it a bit in terms of furniture.

Turning the current lounge into the kitchen has got me thinking... But we have had a woodburner fitted into the fireplace, and we've also uncovered a beautiful parquet floor running through the hall, lounge and dining room. We are planning to have it restored. It's the one 'original feature' I really love and want to keep (although it may well be cheaper to get a new floor......).

Unfortunately I can't seem to get in to edit my Floorplanner layouts now, so am having to redraw them. Will be back later!

So proud to have inspired another FB home renovation page!

For anyone else who wants to 'like' our page here is a shameless plug
We're hoping to have plans ready for submission to building control by the end of the week, then it shouldn't be too long before we can put some more interesting pictures up

Hi Yorky, have liked your page! (Was it you who also friended me in your RL name?) Will look out for your new plans / pictures.

I am trying to upload more to my house page but am having annoying IT issues today, on top of everything else... Very stressed...

What started as a question about the laundry room has now made me rethink the whole layout... DH will despair, as we were just about to go to building control with the latest plans! I was never 100% sure it worked though... It's a lot of money to spend if we get it wrong.

We're also due to get the house rewired next week, can you believe it... We are trying to renovate some of the existing rooms before getting started on the extension. I'm going to have to make some decisions so we can be sure to get everything wired up to the right places...

Waah Currer I love floorplans but I can't get onto yours (not on FB)

I would suggest that you carve out a small laundry cupboard (i.e. just enough for washing machine and dryer side by side or stacked on top of each other) somewhere upstairs - maybe take a chunk out of the current study?

Then have a bedroom/study room nearby which for estate agent purposes is the 5th bedroom but we all know will be the laundry drying and ironing room in real life. That way you haven't lost your 5th bedroom but you have all the space you need for ironing etc.

I wouldn't use up valuable ground floor space with a large utility room, unless you have a very large ground floor.

Currer

We extended and renovated a sixties house in 2011 so I loved your link.

I blogged the whole thing from start to finish at

sixtiespalace.blogspot.com if you want to compare notes!

Thanks Currer :)
minipie - thats so frustrating, I love a good nosey round someone else's floorplans too, I wonder why the link didn't work for you, hope you get it to work

Interesting that you say Jack/Jill bathrooms work for you Beryl, before I'd only heard of people saying they were neither en-suite nor general family bathroom

We have downstairs coat/shoe cupboards and an upstairs laundry room. It is fabulous. I was quite shocked initially (as were the removal men) but it works really well. Also, instead of an en suite, we have a toilet, a room with a shower and basin, and a room with a bath and double basins. (there is another loo downstairs). This works really well - especially when we have visitors.

I would love to find some original parquet flooring under the laminate flooring in our new house. I know we'll just find quite crappy floorboards though. Alas.

You could still keep the parquet flooring if you converted the lounge to the kitchen. It would look lovely.