Is a playroom come utility a bonkers idea? (Diagram)

[MoralBeryl]

We have an unused room that desperately needs a purpose. A playroom is top of the list, but we also want to rehouse a water tank and ideally move the washing machine and dryer out of the kitchen. We think we could achieve both with this design.

-The room is 6 x 3.2m. 19’8’m x 10’6’’ in old money
-The window at the top is actually a double door to the garden
-The washing machine and dryer would be stacked on top of each other.
-The fridge would be a small drinks fridge under the counter (for snacks when our DC get older and this becomes a space for them to have friends over). On top of the fridge would be a counter for laundry folding/ washing basket storage and wall cupboards for detergent.
-The utility and storage bits would all be hidden behind some stylish floor to ceiling doors.
-The toy shelves will be cube style, floor to ceiling.
-The wooden floor area is designed to be a messy play space (children’s table and chairs would come in from the garden)/ buffer between carpet and garden/ somewhere I could put up a drying rack occasionally.
-All items are accurate in terms of scale.

Mad or sensible? Thanks!

as long as the utility stuff is hidden I don't see the issue. Whatever works for your family is what you should do, not what anyone else would do.

I looked at doing this once. Very good idea imo!

I love what they have done here :)

www.shootfactory.co.uk/uk-locations/kempe-london-sw16/

Oh, amazing Angryosaurus. Thank you!

That’s exactly the kind of utility space I had in mind. I had been thinking gloss doors, but that is so much more appropriate for a playroom!

Utility "cupboard" hidden away is a great idea and makes sense with playroom. Fridge fine if you need one for drinks but I wouldn't put one in for snacks or encourage children into utility white goods at all.

Rather than half and half floorig you could put hard flooring down and use a big rug in the lounge area, which you could change easily as the children grow up.

It's a great size room, I bet it'll be a fantastic room. I'd be tempted to hive off a bit for a separate utility so you can hang washing without having to share living space with it, but I like your idea too.

It's a huge room and could stand being sectioned so that noisy appliances didn't interfere with the kids' play and chill out time too much.

It could be quite noisy to have the dryer going when the DC are playing - could you section it off?

Otherwise it’s a great idea. I think same flooring and a very large rug would look good as PP said.

The fridge is really for teenage years and might be added later. It’s a bit of an awkward trek to the kitchen and my house was very popular as a teen because my parents had this kind of facility for me and my friends! The cupboards will have magnetic locks for the time being.

Splitting the room would reduce light levels and cut overall play space. It also means one half of the room would only be accessible by going outside, so I’m not keen!

I'm not sure how I'd feel about this tbh, a utility room is for 'dirty' items and jobs (well, ones you wouldn't want in the kitchen anyway).

I could live with a downstairs loo come utility, as they are both 'dirty' but sharing a utility space with a living space is a bit grim imo.

I might be on my own with this though...DH and I debated for hours about putting DD's bottle steriliser in the utility room (boak) but he thought I was being ridiculously prescious.

Noise might be the only niggle. I think I’ll test out some timings to see if I can get the washing done when they’re out/ in bed. It’s only on for one wash a day. The dryer is really a luxury just for towels. My washer/dryer takes hours and hours and I’m fed up with it!

That's a huge room. Lucky you!

My boys share a bedroom in order to have a playroom. This is a huge bonus for both them and us. They have consoles etc in there which they would not be allowed in bedrooms but we don't all have to argue over use of the living room telly.

Our playroom is 3m square and that's totally fine so you definitely have room to do other stuff up the other end.

Exactly what we have. The washing machine and dryer are in purpose built cupboards built on plinths. Wit the doors shut, they’re really quiet.

430 how dirty do your clothes get?!

I would not be in the slightest bothered about the steriliser and my washing has been done in the kitchen for the last 8 years!

I'm from a country where this is just not the done thing, it's considered really unsanitary.

Food hygiene regulations for home based food businesses prohibit dirty laundry in the food prep areas, surely that tells you something?

Airborne poo crumbs from skiddy pants (not mine I hasten to add!), who doesn't want that in their living space!?

Don't get me wrong, I see your logic and it's up to you, just bear in mind that you will limit your market if/when you sell..

We bought the house with the oven next to the washing machine. That’s where it is now. I have never given it a second thought! We just wanted to move it so that we can have a more streamlined kitchen.

We’re probably improving things in that regard, if anything.

Well, I did ask in case we were missing any pitfalls!

430 fair point but in the uk it is really normal and acceptable to have a washing machine in the kitchen. I don't think this will limit the market much here, unless it's a large house to start with. We don't have big plots or basements so the kitchen is often the only option.

OP you also might want to think about how close to a washing machine you want to fit a carpet. The occasional flood isn't unknown...

Not a small house, but not a mansion. I don’t think anyone would question us not having a dedicated utility space. It’s a normal 4 bed family home with large rooms that just happen to be difficult to carve up.

Hmm, yes, washing machine flood is the best reason yet to reconsider the carpet. I wasn’t keen on a rug as nice ones are generally made from wool and I refuse to have woollen flooring after the state of what was here when we moved in!

I personally would put a dividing wall in even if you had to walk through the playroom to get to the utility or create a corridor. The utility could be relatively narrow but if you're going to dry washing then I would prefer to have a dedicated space. You could still end up with a 4x3.2m playroom and a 2x1.8m utility (utility straight ahead, playroom to the right as you enter the space).

Thanks for all your input everyone. Having stood in the room a lot and done a lot of listening to our washing machine etc. we’re going with something not unlike Plan A.

This isn’t the DC’s only play space, so I think we can compromise a bit on potential noise. Quiet mark appliances and thick doors will be installed to minimise it as much as possible.

The carpet may or may not survive, depending on whether we can devise some kind of minor flood defence!

Apple, funnily enough, I drew something like that up yesterday but DH says the water tank placement is non negotiable structurally. This is also our smallest downstairs room, so we really do want to maximise floor space so it doesn’t feel out of place. I think garden for drying in summer and (heated) conservatory in winter might be a good way to keep the space free for play. Better than the drying rack roundabout I have in the kitchen now, anyway!

Now for the building work. Ugh.

I guess DCs are not toddlers - just be careful with laundry capsules etc within reach of v small children.

Backing, they are. Baby and toddler.

Laundry capsules will go in wall mounted cabinet way above toddler height. Doors to utility will have child locks. I suppose the wall mounted cabinet could have a second lock.

Could be pretty fortress like if we try hard enough. Should be alright, shouldn’t it?