Utility room or bigger kitchen/dining area?

[Juliecloud]

We currently have a kitchen with a table in it that’s big enough for our family to fit round but a bit of a tight squeeze if we have any guests. We have a utility room at the back of the kitchen with the washing machine, tumble dryer, coats, wellies, etc in there.
I am considering knocking down the wall in between the kitchen and the utility room to make the kitchen and the dining area bigger. I could replace the washing machine and tumble dryer with an integrated washer dryer that’s in the kitchen.
But will this add value to the house? We are not planning on staying here forever, we are likely to move within 5-10 years. I don’t want to do anything that will devalue the house.

Tbh, I think that you'll undervalue the house if losing the utility room in favour of fitting the odd occasional guest more comfortably around the table.
I think many would value the utility room more. I would.
Fwiw, combined washed dryers are notoriously crap. I had one of the most expensive and honestly it was not working more than it was and when element malfunctions you cannot use either. Which with a family is a real pain!
Givne it's not your forever home, is this a real make or break issue now?

It really depends how big your kitchen is.

You family fits around the table - is that 4 of you or 8 of you?

Generally I would prefer a decent utility to a larger kitchen. I don't want to hear the machines and where does all the utility room crap go?

Keep the utility room.

Although I do need to stick up for washer dryers. I have a 15 year old zanussi that's amazing, now in a rental property. And also used to have a new Samsung washer dryer that worked very well although was a tad noisy.

Could you stack the washing machine and dryer and enclose them in a big cupboard? Combis are awful and you’ll have to have it on near constantly to get through a family’s weekly laundry.

Think about the things currently hidden in the utility room - can they be rehomed, or can you live with looking at them? Does the sound of the washing machine grate on your nerves? These are very individual things.

5-10 years is a lot of living time and I would prioritise that over resale value. It won’t cost much to put up a stud partition wall if you want to reinstate the utility when the time comes.

I would keep the utility. Can you remove anything else from kitchen to utility and have higher/more efficient storage in utility to enable this?

Is there anywhere else the laundry machines could go? Upstairs bathroom or hallway cupboard? I wouldn’t want my laundry machines in the kitchen if I could help it, they are so noisy.

I’d definitely keep a separate utility space, but as others have said could you make it smaller or re-site it (under the stairs or upstairs). Then you get the best of both worlds.

Could you make the utility smaller rather than remove it? Its so useful to have utility storage in any home, esp a family home. Can the washer/drier go elsewhere as suggested above? I have mine upstairs and its great, much easier.
Do you have an extendable table in the kitchen?

We had 2 estate agents round to estimate on this. Both said it would add about £20k, even with losing the utility room. One said put the WM and dryer in a discreet corner of the kitchen, and the other said just make a nice, clean utility corner in the back of the garage. But of course it depends on where you are, how limited your kitchen is now etc.

Basically it would add value but by the time you've paid out for the work and a new kitchen, I wouldn't bank on making a profit.

Can you do a rough floor plan? How big is the space?
I did away with the utility In our house but it was tiny, cramped and grim. You hit your bum on the wall doing anything so wasn't really fit for purpose!
We put the kitchen back in its original place (middle room in a terrace) then by opening up what was the kitchen and utility in a back extension we got another sitting room.
The space behind our back door was just over 60cm so we have an integrated washer and an extra fridge and freezer all hidden in there with a wooden worktop. It only takes up what is essentially dead space and gives me a big run for pictures and ornaments with the TV on top.
Personally I'd rather fold my washing on the sofa watching telly but I guess people's views will depend on whether we are taking a reasonably spacious area that functions well or awkward and cramped

having a utility room is a major priority if I were looking to buy so I'd definitely say keep the utility room.

can you get more seating space by having a built-in bench along one or two sides of the table? that can fit more people and take up a lot less space than chairs.

I wouldn't even view a family home that didn't have a dedicated utility room.
Do you have 2 reception rooms so you could have a more formal dining area, or not?

Utility rooms are far better than a larger table. I wouldn’t buy a house without one.

Definitely keep the utility room. With people at home more, they are looking for more practical space. Actual usable space. A utility room is so valuable in my eyes. It was a must have on my list. We ended up buying a house that doesn't have one but there is room to add this when we have saved up enough money, so that's exactly what we're going to do. Every time I hang the washing out it has to dry in the spare room and it's so annoying. Constantly wishing we could get the utility room installed now. So I'd definitely keep if I was you. Somewhere for washing, drying, putting dirty shoes and prams etc is very important I'd think. Don't want that mess on show in the house.

Plus the combi washer and dryers are awful. And very costly on your energy bill.

A small kitchen diner / no downstairs loo / minimal storage will devalue a house more than a utility room will add value. Remember utilities aren’t big and can be squeezed into a garage / cupboard.

Kitchens sell houses these days.

Do you have a garage? If so, could you convert part of that into a utility area?