Larger Kitchen or Utility Room

[TulipsfromAmsterdam]

Looking at a house with a separate kitchen and dining room. Have always wanted a utility, mainly to hide washing, but unsure which would be best option. We could section of an area for utility behind kitchen or leave kitchen where it is and use both rooms as kitchen diner with space for sofa. Both would involve knocking down the dividing wall but to have utility would mean rebuilding in different space.

Have you got a floorplan? Everyone loves a floorplan

I would want a separate utility and a kitchen diner. I don’t want a sofa in a kitchen diner unless there is a full on lounging area with sofa and TV. But I’m not sure it’s worth rebuilding to create all this.

On reflection what I really want is a laundry room (washer and drier next to it, hanging rack for additional drying, shelves for clean washing and space for a laundry sorter. AND a pantry - a walk-in cupboard with shelving all around including a marble shelf for slightly cooler things. I would store large electricals and store cupboard supplies, tins, jars, packets!

We are building a utility so we’ll have kitchen diner and utility with its own back door. So we can shut the door on the washing machine and tumble dryer. And muddy pets. I can also use it for garden messiness too. Keeps the kitchen just for cooking and eating.

Kitchen area floor plan from similar house.

Last year we decided to build some walls and be less open plan. We now have a smaller kitchen but have created a boot room for muddy shoes, the dogs’ bowls, etc, a utility room with the washing machine and tumble drier, and a pantry. We love it. I know the big open plan kitchens are very popular, but we just find it so much more practical to be able to shut mess and noise away.

Definitely have a utility room. Washing machines are noisy and don't mix well with clothes.

Definitely have a utility room

Utility. Though I've managed to enlarge an upstairs hall cupboard to house a stacked washer and dryer (no room for an actual utility room). So much better than downstairs, and certainly better than the kitchen.

Australian houses are all built with laundries. So useful. If you can fit one in, do it.