Utility room

[Bedsheets4knickers]

I need some ideas for when mine is built . Does anyone fancy showing theirs ? Also tell me your do's and don't . I'm thinking of going half pantry half utility.

Make sure it has a heat source, e.g radiator in it and an airer of the Sheila Maid type hanging from the ceiling. All your clothes drying issues will be history and you'll never have washing festooned round the house or garden ever again.

sheilamaid.com

A bit hard to photograph but it’s honestly my favourite room in the house. Given space constraints we did the follow (which I’d do again):

• underfloor heating (this time of year, before hearing comes on, we use a dehumidifier)
• stack tumble dryer and washing machine
• wall mounted drying racks and bonus rail for things on hangers
• decent, deep sink for muddy boots etc
• space for a ‘main’ laundry basket (even better if it has whites/darks sections)
• space for multiple laundry baskets (at least two - one full of dry stuff just off the racks, another filled with wet waiting to be hung)

A Sheila maid would have been great - sadly our ceilings are too low. Also would have been nice to have a folding area (we had to choose between counter space or a sink) so clothes come get folded as they come off racks and go straight into the basket ready to be packed away.

(Photos are from various stages of installation).

Watching as interested too.

That looks like a handy bit of kit .

Love the colour , I worry about the stacking of appliances incase our tumble dryer is to heavy .

You can get stacking kits and the washing machine goes on the bottom as it is the heaviest. It is weighted to balance out the spinning. Tumble dryers are much lighter so go on top. Dh and I had to lift and move ours at least 3 times when we were having a kitchen extension. Or exactly how London has it where they are enclosed in a cupboard and the appliances aren't stacked but on a shelf. Beautiful by the way London, very beautiful.

Oh gorgeous @LondonNQT! We are hopefully buying a house with a (very very small) utility room and I'd planned to just leave it as is but now I'm tempted to make it something beautiful!

Definitely get a pulley/drying rack/Sheila maid. It’s fantastic to be able to have things drying out of the way

Otherwise, max out storage (pref closed cupboards- as many as possible. You will use them!)

I find the utility room is the best place for a ‘dumping ground’ (eg things bought & waiting to be assembled, parcels to return etc) as it’s not a room you ‘live’ in - so keep a bit of floor space clear for that

My washer & dryer have a worktop over so that’s a folding area for me, and as there wasn’t room for kitchen style top cupboards (too deep/block the light) I put bathroom cabinets up instead - they are much shallower

We have stacked washer dryer but custom built unit. Much nicer to look at. The space saved has a wine fridge in it!!!

Agree with list above. Deep sink. We also have a plumbed in draining board. Useful for hand wash items that are wet! We have a tall broom cupboard that takes vacuum cleaner, ironing board and cleaning materials etc. We have drying rails snd folding space work top. Big basked for welly boots and paper recycling.

Do not store food in ours as kitchen is big and I like everything handy for cooking.

Mine is an under the stairs cupboard that houses the gas boiler. I have the e washing machine and storage both free standing and shelving that holds everything from batteries to not water bottles in baskets. I use hooks with the octopus hangy things , 3 on the go at all times which take trousers, shirts,underwear and hand towels etc, usually all dry overnight when the heating is on. I also use a small free standing dryer for larger things and leave the door open overnight to keep the washing out of the way.
I’m out of the house now but will take a picture later.
I contemplated changing it to a downstairs loo but would be lost without the space.

@LondonNQT that's lovely
Have screen shorted for inspiration !

Following

Lots of cupboards for heavy stuff like paint tins (lower) and lighter DIY bits and pieces (wall). We used the kitchen units and work surfaces we were chucking out of the kitchen.
We put in double sockets with USB charger slots above the work surface. They take up the same space as a normal double socket, but if you have them above the work surface and /or put a shelf next to them, you can use them for charging batteries/phones/whatever, rather then cluttering up other rooms.
We keep our chest freezer in our utility.
Another vote for a drying rack. If you close the door and pop a dehumidifier in there, that will dry clothes a lot faster and cheaper than a tumble drier.

Consider a pocket door if its a small space, means you can maximise the use. My favourite bit is one tall shelving rack with a large opening at the bottom, and smaller ones above it. Its next to the dryer. The family washing basket lives in the bottom, and then there are 6 quite big / deep baskets on the shelves about - 1 for each member of the family and a general one. Everything that comes out of the dryer or off the line is folded immediately and put into the owners basket. Means I never have piles of washing anywhere.

Also, I have my microwave wall mounted in there, I don't use it that often and hate thngs sitting on the counter in the kitchen, so its in there. Much prefer it being out of the way.

Fit the best (but quietest) extractor you can as you'll often have moisture in there. Ours comes on with the light.

I love a pocket door, and we have one to get from our utility to the downstairs loo which is accessed that way.

I wouldn't have one between the utility and the rest of the house though. To my mind half the point of a utility room is being able to shut the door on the washing machine, and pocket doors are pretty useless for sound insulation.

Second the proper door between utility and the rest of the house, and I speak from Australia, home of the pocket door: never rented/bought a house without them. They are excellent space savers, and need to be heavy duty to separate rooms for sound, but can be done.

@CasperGutman our pocket door is a solid oak 30s panelled door (same as rest of downstairs) and blocks out the noise when shut.

I'm not having a door at all 😳 . Just a cove between rooms . I want it to flow .

Following

furniturenation.co.uk/pine-traditional-style-solid-pine-over-mantle-kitchen-unit-8199-p.asp

I'm loving this company , I'd love to paint my own units .

Is it just a kitchen with utility or is it a kitchen / diner / living space? If it's just a kitchen then no problem but if it's any sort of living space, I think you'll regret not having a door so you can shut off the noise and potentially the mess when you have visitors

You’ll regret that. The noise of a spin cycle is not a noise you want to be taking over if you’re trying to have a coffee and a chat

No we are bricking up the double doors to the lounge so it's separate.
Probably call it a snug to some . The kitchen diner will prob be the main part of the house for hosting .. anything in the Utility will only be run through the night as it's cheaper .

Mine is almost done so I'll share it when it's ready but we have a deep Belfast sink and on either side is our washer dryer, plus lots of tall cupboards for storage and my favourite thing - a wet room/shower and we added a side door entrance directly into the utility room. I have 2 boys and they get very dirty so this way they come in straight to the utility room, put dirty clothes in the machine and take a shower!

I would caution against mixing laundry and pantry. A pantry needs to be cool and dry. A laundry area is warm and humid.