Utility room conumdrum (with diagram!!)

[Badweekjustgotworse]

We're doing a renovation and extension and adding a small utility to the side of the house. It's small and I think the architect has underestimated the space we actually need, but we've already got planning permission and Can't afford to make it any bigger as we're already stretched beyond our comfort zone on the finances.

The room is 1.8 wide by 2.4.

We need to house a machining, tumble dryer, gas boiler, tall unit for keeping Hoover and brush etc, as many more cupboards as we can squeeze in for general storage as the house is short on storage overall. Ideally I'd love a tall unit for coats and shoes too so that I'm not tripping over them at the front door (which is what happens in our current house and I feckin HATE with a passion)

To complicate matters our architect has put in a beautiful floor to ceiling window on one of the short walls, faced by the glazed back door and one long wall has the door to the living room on it.

I've played about with changing the windows to maximise storage (diagrams 1, 2 and 3) but DH hates all my suggestions and wants to keep the (beautiful but akward) long window. Only way I can make that work is to loose the sink and ALL worksurface. Is it madness to have a utility with no sink? (diagram 4!)

how tall are you? And how high is the ceiling? Most people can't get at top cabinets without a stepladder. If you are tall you might be able to use a sink placed on top of an appliance such as a washer.

Futility room here is just over 1800x1800mm (it has to be just over or skirtings and plaster will prevent you getting three 600mm things in). It is about two inches too big each way, needing a small filler, but that's a lot better than two inches too small.

You can get corner sinks to put in a dead corner. They are not very comfortable to use but are available with drainers to both sides. You have to pull out an adjacent appliance to get at the plumbing. Tumble driers are very light and easy to pull out.

Option 4 is ridiculous 😂🙈

You can hang your ironing board on the inside of a tall unit door or on the back of a door, that's where ours lives. I'd stack the tumble drier/washing machine as it's so much easier to sort out washing when they are like that.

Ha you've clearly not lifted a Bosch heat pump dryer PigletJohn - our bathroom/utililty is upstairs and I thought the AO guys were going to cry. They took the washing machine up first then came down going "just the dryer now, it'll be nice and light"...not so much, apparently!

Mostly they're light though!!

Going with layout one, stack the two applicances beside the current tall unit, flip the sink so the draining board is in the corner and put a tall unit where the washing machine is. Slightly less work top space but an extra tall unit.

Option 3 I think, or actually any but 4!!! A nice lovely full length window is completely wasted in a utility room - who spends any more time than necessary in it, certainly not to need a nice view!!

I would say you need a window as well as a door for times when you may want to have some air circulating but don't want a door wide open.

2 gins in and optimistic theres more for manoeuvre

You could perhaps put a glass pyramid thingy on the roof to let in more light, they look quite good - I am assuming it has a flat roof. Then ditch the window.

I think you don't need a window at all if you have a glazed door. Clear glass in door means it's effectively the full length window your husband wants. If the door looks out onto a wall or something ugly could you move the door to where the full length window currently is on the plan? Then he would still have his full lengthdoor window but you'd have the other wall free.

I saw this yesterday and think the concept is useful to create extra worktop: www.magnet.co.uk/Complete-the-look/innovations-plus/worktop-plus-page/. Don't know if other places supply anything like it.

I'd need a sink.

greenbottles love that!

The other thing you might want to consider is a pocket door. We have one between kitchen and futility, its the same (1930s panelled) door that we have throughout downstairs - originally thought you could only have flimsy plasticky doors which isn't true - but it slides into the wall when its open.

Means you don't have to worry about blocking the door arc and its easier to get around the small room (I.e. having to open and close the door to get around it). You can also use the wall space in the utility much more effectively.

any option but 4. see if I were doing this I'd let dh have his say... but he does all the laundry. I don't touch it. I do kids,cooking and cleaning. so I would respect his choices.... does your dh do the laundry?....

I am an architect and have designed my fair share of utility rooms - I always tell clients they don't have to be big, it's amazing what you can cram in with a little thought but they do need to be practical.
Think of what you must must must have, what you would like but isn't an essential and what you really don't like.
I have three very different rooms on the go at the moment, each suits the house and the clients.
One is a quite large square room, has a sink, space for washer, dryer & tall cupboards, wall cupboards and base units, combi boiler, no window but half glazed rear door, light & bright decor choices.
Another is long and thin all units on one side, no natural light (can't add windows in conservation area) but clever lighting. No sink but adjacent wc, boiler & manifolds on low level cupboards, washer, dryer rack but no tumble, boot cupboard, coatracks and bench, full height cupboard, laundry basket storage and open shelf- beautiful joinery.
The last is a micro utility basically shuts away in a cupboard, clever joinery means that the work surface, washing machine, Hoover/ironing board etc pack away into the smallest usable space. It's absolutely tiny but does everything the family need it to.
I would never suggest a 'feature' window in a utility unless it already fulfilled the other essential criteria and only then if it actually had a feature such as looked over a gorgeous view or continued a view throughout a building. Not the circumstances you describe.
My own utility is lit by a half glazed back door and it's really quite bright and has a gorgeous view over the countryside.

From the amount of times this photo has been saved to people's ideabooks on Houzz - I'd say this idea, on one of our projects, is pretty popular too ...
www.houzz.co.uk/photos/52561562/client-photo-shoot-traditional-utility-room-dorset

Nb - there's a sink and worktop on the return too and a pulley maid clothes airer

www.houzz.co.uk/photos/52561749/client-photo-shoot-traditional-utility-room-dorset

www.houzz.co.uk/photos/52561848/client-photo-shoot-traditional-utility-room-dorset

We got rid of our sink in the utility room
In favour of a large work surface for laundry. Never regretted it.

I'd try to avoid corner cupboards. A straight run is more accessible with maybe hooks or shallow cupboards on the other wall.

This was the utility in our last house. there was some squeezing involved by trimming a bit off the ceiling airer and getting a very compact Ikea sink, but I'd rather that and have everything needed.
In your space I'd go for 3 low units (washer,dryer,sink), ceiling airer over, and one tall unit. All shelved out to make really good use of the space. Then on the facing wall have high level shelves and coat hooks/ narrow ikea shoe shelves etc.

If the back door is glazed you don't need another window IMO.

oops forgot photo. It's a bit untidy because, well, it was the room that let the rest of the house be tidy.

I just have a round sink with no draining board in my utility. That gives more work surface.

My number one need in a utility is ample space/shelves/ikea expedit unit for sorting clothes into different peoples piles. Preferably lots of piles of different types of clothes for each person.

I have had a small utility and could not have done without the worktop space. I had to sacrafice a cupboard that was tall enough to get the ironing board in and it has been a nightmare propped behind the door. If you use the room most (which unfortunately you probably do) then you should go with your gut instincts. Let him choose something somewhere else!

How are marital discussions going OP?

We don't have a large utility room. Space for washing machine and a tumble dryer plus a small cupboard with worktop over.
Cupboard houses the boiler and a window. Would be good to have another cupboard but I don't miss having a sink. It would just be another one to clean!

The most important thing in the utility room for me would be a big sink.

I like 3! With the more unusual window!