Washer & Dryer upstairs

[bridgetjones1]

Hello all,
We had had to reluctantly abandon plans for an extension to our kitchen due to financial reasons, however our kitchen is falling to pieces - literally!!

We have quite a bit kitchen but it's currently split into 2 - smallish kitchen and biggish utility. The Total size of the kitchen is 5.5m x 4.2m. I want top knock down the wall between kitchen & dining room so that we have room for a much bigger kitchen with an island and French doors opening onto the garden.

I don't particularly want the washing machine in the kitchen and would prefer a utility but we just can't fit it in with the design that we want. What we do have however is a large "airing" cupboard off the landing upstairs that was used by the previous owners as a shower room. There would be room in there to put the washing machine (no problems with water supply as the old shower is still there just not used for a very long time) & dryer on top, as well as storage for all cleaning stuff, inc hoover & mop etc.

Do you think this would work and would it seem very odd if we were ever to move to potential buyers.

Attached is a of the kitchen that I knocked up online, not the most professional but it gives you an idea of what I'm looking to create.

Sorry that should have said knock the wall down between kitchen & utility room not kitchen & dining room

I would absolutely donut. We spend so much time and effort moving washing around the house.

My house in the ME has an upstairs utility. It's bloody brilliant. It makes perfect sense - nearly all the laundry comes from upstairs. Why do we traipse it up and down the house?? Do it!

I'm a big fan of upstairs laundry rooms

Thanks guys, I figured that half of the time we bring washing back upstairs anyway to put on the clothes horse when its not fit to go out on the line x

I did the same in a previous house converted large airing cupboard into utility for washing machine to free up space in kitchen.
Also sister's house in the USA had an upstairs laundry room...brilliant idea!

No idea how I typed 'donut'. Do it!

Always moved it upstairs wherever I have lived. Makes far more sense!

We are going to create a laundry room upstairs when we move and I cannot bloody wait
No more struggling with big loads in baskets up and down the stairs every day!
Don't know why it's not more common!

I think it's a great idea.

Yep, makes much more sense if you do loads of washing, it does seem silly to take baskets of washing downstairs only to bring them back up for ironing/putting away.

In fact I may do what you're planning in my upstairs ironing room, as there's a hand basin in there.......

We’ve got a laundry room upstairs but we’re about to move it downstairs.... Upstairs is the right place for it as the dirty laundry is upstairs. However, if your house has wooden floors, the vibration are horrible despite additional matting we’ve got underneath. I don’t know if that would be an issue in your home.

I would suggest getting professional help with the layout l, though- your space is massive so it’s crazy not to be able to fit everything in.

We moved ours upstairs at the start of the year - it's actually build in to our bathroom- and it works really well, no trailing clothes up and down the stairs.

Noise hasn't been a problem for us really, you can hear it in the adjoining bedrooms but not badly and you can't hear it at all downstairs.

I get why you'd do it if you don't have space downstairs. But surely it's a lot more hassle to carry loads of wet laundry downstairs to hang on the line, as opposed to dry clothes down and up again. Not sure I see the attraction unless you tumble dry everything.

All my laundry is either tumble dried or hung on airers indoors. There's far more indoor drying days that line drying days in the uk.

My friend has an upstairs laundry room. It's genius, and I wish I'd thought of it when we built our house.

My dd has a small utility area upstairs with sink, WM and TD - there when they bought the house. Works fine, and it was brilliant having it all up there while kitchen extension was being done.

My utility room was upstairs in the US. Only thing i had to be mindful of was noise in the adjoining bedrooms (so no late-night laundry!). Other than that, it was fine.

I was thinking yesterday as I hauled the third load of washing upstairs how much easier it would be to have an upstairs utility. The clothes are all stored upstairs and the dirty clothes go in a basket upstairs and yet I carry it all to the kitchen to wash it.
DPs parents have the same set up - an upstairs airing cupboard that was once a shower room. They have their washing machine and dryer in there and it's great!

A lot of new builds now have an upstairs laundry room as it saves carting laundry up and downstairs (assuming you don't dry outside much). I don't think it will put people off one bit.

The only reason that washing machines ended up in kitchens historically (and migrated to adjacent utility rooms) is because that was where the main water supply and drainage was.

Do you put washing out to dry?

And where do you do ironing?

They would be my main considerations.

I have never considered and upstairs laundry room but I can see the advantages.
A laundry chute or dumb waiter would be really handy