How essential is a utility room

[NannyPhlegm]

We have bought a Victorian semi and are doing it up before moving in (it was completely derelict)

DH and I are currently arguing over designing the kitchen and we can't agree on just how essential a dedicated utility room is.

The kitchen is L-shaped. The rectangular bit is circa 5m x 2.5m and the L-shaped bit is 3m x 1.5m. The kitchen opens directly into a dining room/family area, very cosy with wood burner etc

DH would prefer the washing machine/tumble drier/dishwasher to be integrated into the kitchen design, but not have it enclosed with walls...his argument is that it will destroy the openness of the kitchen. I do want a utility room, but mostly because I've been to friends' houses and I like the idea of it. I do agree with him that we will be introducing corners and walls into a space that is actually very neat and with good proportions.

So, wise MN-ers, what would you do? And if you do have a utility room, do you love it or hate it?

Absolutely depends on the size of your family. I wouldn't be without mine but there are 5 of us (4 of whom play a lot of sport) and 2 dogs so the washing machine is on 2 or 3 times a day. In ours we have washing machine, dryer, large fridge freezer, dog food, vacuum cleaner, clothes airer, wine rack, stockpiled soft drinks etc. And it houses the boiler.

We have a big open plan area at the back of he house and have just put a utility in at the back of the garage. Will be so fab to be free of the noise of the machines and the laundry pile.

Also space for all the tools, lightbulbs, extension leads, batteries .........

I think having somewhere to hang and sort laundry is nice, but it doesn't necessarily need to be dedicated 'utility room'. For example:

Last house: we completely renovated and decided to sacrifice a separate utility room to avoid an awkwardly shaped kitchen. Great decision as we had plenty of space elsewhere for laundry (washing machine in kitchen, large downstairs shower room with space for hanging clothes and a full sized sink for soaking things in, carpeted area at back of detached-but-near-by garage with tumble drier and second washing machine)

This house: large utility room/boot room next door to ok-but-not-great-sized kitchen. We toyed with the idea of knocking through and just having a laundry 'area' within our (integrated) garage. In the end we decided to keep it, but mainly because it would mean losing a downstairs loo/having loo open into kitchen and losing a boot room.

First house: teeny tiny kitchen with washing machine, open plan to the sitting/dining room. No utility, but I did have a (teeny tiny) spare bedroom which I put shelves and a tumble drier in and used as laundry room. Washing machine noise was more of a problem here, as the kitchen was open to the sitting room, but I had a delay start option which was useful.

In summary, it really is useful to have some sort of dedicated area for drying and sorting laundry, but it doesn't have to be a utility room and it doesn't have to be the same room.

I have two dogs and soon to be three boys, when we were house hunting a utility was top of my wish list and I would never view a house unless it had one. :)

I have a utility room in this house for the first time and it's nice to be able to close the door on the noise of the washing machine. However if I was building a house or doing major renovations then I think I would rather have a laundry room upstairs. The utility room that I have at the moment is quite small and you can walk through it to get to outside, so that sink gets used for messy/garden-related things, which is a bad combination with laundry sitting around waiting to go into the dryer or be folded.

My Mum doesn't have a utility room, but she has two sinks in her kitchen. One is for food prep and the other is right beside the back door and gets used for messy stuff. She also has a back porch with a pantry, which is basically a large cupboard, for storing big things.

If you do decide on one, don't put the dishwasher in there. It is, as an earlier poster said, a massive pain to load and unload unless it's in the kitchen.

Also, will it have windows? Ours doesn't and although we have a drying rack in there, nothing ever dries properly, as it's too dark and cold.

The trend for kitchens included into the living space has made the utility more essential. In extending I chose a study instead of utility but only because my kitchen is not open plan. Of course money and space no object I would of had both.

I would LOVE one!

It's not so much the issue of having your washer & dryer in the kitchen. It's more that a utility gives you somewhere to store your laundry basket, ironing mountain basket, ironing board, airer for those things you can't tumble dry, peg bag etc. etc. To be able to close the door on all that and not have to accommodate it elsewhere in the house would be wonderful.

Definitely go for it if you can . I honestly think it would add value to your house too - or at the very least make it more attractive to potential buyers in the future.

I'd like one, but I wouldn't sacrifice a good kitchen layout to get one. We have nowhere to dry washing in the house, but our tumble dryer is in the garden shed and we line dry for at least half the year, clean laundry gets brought in for sorting etc upstairs in a bedroom. Our bathroom is downstairs, so we can do all the dirty handwashing etc in there. Wellies are stored in the car boot, all cleaning stuff which doesn't go under the sink is under the stairs. Rarely used kitchen stuff is in a sideboard in the dining room/study. WM noise is a bit of a problem, but we just avoid mealtimes and when guests are around, it's not hard.

Bitter - my DB & SIL have an upstairs laundry room & you hear the washing machine shaking the whole house when it's spinning! I would only put it upstairs with some extra underlay or sprung floor and soundproofing to muffle all the noise.

I'm logging in on my lunch hour, and have been reading every post. Thank you, much to think about.

We're a family of 4, with two girls, both sporty. No pets. DH and I run, so a fair bit of running kit always lying around to be washed. I have always lived in houses with dedicated kitchens, with the various appliances fitted in. But we entertain a lot, and I have always loathed being stuck in the kitchen, checking on the various courses, while DH continues chatting with the guests. Hence, knocking down the wall between kitchen and dining in our new house to create an open-plan entertaining space. I think we will definitely need a utility room, because now there will be nowhere to hide any bits and bobs of washing/ironing that is always lying around, no matter what I do!

SitsOnFence you make a good point that the various laundry stages do not have to be in the same space
Finn there won't be a window in the potential utility room. But, having read through, I am most definitely not putting the dishwasher in there. Thanks everyone for that suggestion.

Would hate to be without mine - for muddy boots, horse stuff and other related crap.

BUT - I am sure I read somewhere about somone having a dedicated laundry room UPSTAIRS which made total sense to me. We cart our washing down three storeys, wash it, then cart it back up three storeys if we can be arsed. Why not do it all upstairs???

Before this house I lived in an apartment all on one level, and I'm surprised at how much more effort it is to cart laundry up and down stairs all the time now. The apartment block was very solidly built though, we couldn't hear anything from the apartment above, I can see that a spin cycle on an unsoundproofed floor might be an issue.

I redid our kitchen about four years ago and I put the dishwasher between the sink and the crockery and cutlery storage. The storage is all in drawers, so when I empty the dishwasher I pull out the bottom drawer of the dishwasher and the bottom drawer of the cabinet and transfer over the plates. The same for the middle drawer of each (glasses and cups) and the top drawer (cutlery). It's incredibly quick to empty because there's virtually no movement involved transferring it across.

I do my bend and stretch exercises transferring the plates from the dishwasher to the plate rack.

I've never had a utility room because I've never had the money for a house big enough to house one. However, I would LOVE one. They seem very useful indeed. Not essential but bloody useful.

No I agree they aren't essential but they are indeed bloody useful!

What really makes it work for me is room for a sink, plenty of storage for cleaning products, ironing board, washing/ironing baskets etc and enough floorspace to accommodate an airer.

And glad to hear you're not going to put the dishwasher in there!

A utility was on my list of musts when we moved house. Especially after we encountered the washing that came with a family bout of gastroenteritis - separate sink, close the door on the machines.

How does the family room connect to the kitchen? Is it possible to take the 1.5m by 3m portion (or the taller part of the L shape ) so you have 2 rectangles?
I'd actually say that a utility room is nice but not essential.though to help you with your argument : surely a house of that age would originally have had one, so adding it back would be a good investment?

Never had one...it was on my dream list. We are getting one with the new house! It is the existing kitchen, so already has plumbing. There is a downstairs extension which will become a kitchen/dining/playroom and also a separate downstairs loo. :)

I love mine. It houses the washer, drier, a sink, an extra fridge, the downstairs loo, loads of storage space and room for the dog. I still wish it was bigger, but I feel lucky to have it.

The dishwasher is in the kitchen. I had one in the utility in a previous, rented house, and it was a complete pain taking everything from the kitchen in & out.

My neighbour has a dedicated laundry room upstairs, next door to the family bathroom. It's brilliant, no need for laundry to come downstairs at all. I so wish I'd thought of doing that when we built our house.

I've had one before (loved it) but don't have one now. I would always go for a fantastic kitchen over ok kitchen and utility. Of course if you can get fantastic kitchen plus utility the everyone's a winner!

We knocked through 3 rooms to make one large kitchen / diner / family room. At the time I was obsessed at making as bigger room as possible, but given the choice again I would have had a separate utility room. Now, with 3 dcs I currently have washing piles on the sofa and paints on the kitchen table. When the washing machine is on spin I can't hear myself on the phone (I work from home). First world problems and all that I would definitely have a separate utility.

We don't have one, despite a reasonably large house & I'm fine without it.

Critical factors that make it ok for us i think are:

• Kitchen does have a table in and sitting area BUT we also have separate dining, living room and study, therefore there's plenty of time to put the washing on without disturbing everyine in the house
• only one child who is not at all mucky and doesn't play football
• I take the washing straight from the tumbler or line upstairs so I don't really get the washing lying around thing.

I don't need one at all.

ilove our utility room, for wet muddy football stuff
keeps our kitchen tidy
we never hear the washing machine.
separate sink for very dirty stuff.