Would you prefer a bigger utility room or a small utility room and a walk-in pantry?

[MusicMum80s]

We have a couple of layout option for our utility room. It can either by 12 feet by 6ft or we can shorten it to 7ft by 6ft and have a 5ft by 5ft walk in pantry accessed from our kitchen instead. I'm a bit torn so curious what others would choose.

This is what I've just had done. One wall of shelving is effectively pantry for multiple cans, duplicates of things in use in kitchen eg oil, kitchen rolls, foils etc. Extra fridge and the freezer are in there along with washing machine, tumble dryer, a dog shower (best thing ever! I have 4 dogs and live next to fields) and all the dog related odds and ends.

If I just add shelves into the utility room then yes. However, its would be closer to the main kitchen cupboards than the end of the island is to those cupboards will be so in reality the distance is immaterial. It will only be a few steps away.

Exactly 👍 a good size multi use room!

We just did ours and chose bigger utility. Even with the washing machine and dryer stacked in a cupboard, once we put a utility sink in and wall hung clothes airers, we're struggling for space for various mops, brooms, vacuum, random cleaning stuff. Plus laundry baskets etc.

We went for the larder cupboards in the kitchen with pull out drawers, and have larder cupboards that sit directly on the counter to house toaster and microwave etc. Sounds like you have an island also. We did a double width one and the cupboards on the back side hold all the kitchen equipment. We've found we don't need a pantry and have heaps of kitchen storage

Thanks-- we'll also have space for a large larder cupboard (1.2m) and small counter top cabinet as well for toaster, coffee machine, microwave etc. The kitchen will be fairly big and we also need to fit in a hot water cylinder somewhere so I think bigger utility room it is.

What is the layout? Is it possible to connect the utility room directly to the kitchen and use it as a joint pantry/utility? Perhaps with a pocket door?

all one room, but Lots of bulk buy and occasional/seasonal appliance/pan/dish storage in utility.
, double sink, washing machine and drier, plus space for laundry. Specific space for hoover, mop, etc. extractor, and pulleymaid air dryer,

Presuming utility will be off the kitchen?

I vote bigger utility room - space for boots, coats, bags, and drying laundry, are the banes of my life. If you have a big utility you can have a lovely big airer - maybe a pulley maid, as well as an ironing board set up at all times. I'm very jealous!

I’d go bigger utility. We have a small one which is very helpful but doesn’t have sufficient space for clothes drying. We have maximised space with shelving but still it’s very full with racks of wellies/dirty shoes and another of football boots. Basic DIY equipment as we have no garage and pet food etc. I wish it was larger and there was a clear clean laundry area to it!

Depends on your lifestyle and whether you keep a lot of food you would use a pantry for

Separate rooms, especially if there is no access from the kitchen. I have both - love it!

hard to give definitive answer. However, ideal food storage is very different to what you normally get in a laundry room. Laundry, trying to keep warm and get rid of moisture. Pantry trying to keep cool. I have both. Pantry has exterior ventilation and at this time of year acts like a bit like a fridge.

I have a Pantility 😋
Access from the kitchen through double pantry style glazed doors. To anyone looking through it looks like a pantry. In there is big pantry cupboard for my food mixer, air fryer, toaster and other general crap I want to hide. There is also a long run of drawers with shelves above. The washer and dryer are out of sight in another big cupboard. Even the ironing board has a cupboard. A butchers sink at the far end is the only utility feature in the room.

As long as you have space for a washing machine and tumble thats all you need. A pantry is really useful i dodnt have one until i moved my mt current place ans i love it. Çan stash all sorts of crap

A big utility room. I've spent far too long daydreaming of a large utility room, complete with a sink and large window, wicker baskets on shelves for each person's ironing, enough space to leave the ironing board up and a space to put the steam generated iron and one of those hoik the wet washing up to the ceiling racks and underfloor heating, and a telly in eyeshot of the ironing board. An industrial extractor fan to deal with the humidity. Ooh and a comfy chair because I could while away many an hour reading in this oasis to orderly laundry calm.

In that case, utility and pantry (if the pantry will be directly accessible from the kitchen). Unless the extra door for the pantry would lose essential counter space - so it depends on the exact layout and dimensions. Diagram needed.

With the measurements you've given, I'd have both. 12x6 seems like a waste of space just to use as a utility.

If we were talking about ending up with an actually small utility room, then I'd just have the utility.

Unless you use the pantry as a larder (meat locker, marble shelf for dairy etc), I would go for a bigger utility and put more storage in. Unless you need sound / fire proofing, I would do a pocket door to the kitchen too.

I would always opt for a pantry. It's so much easier to keep track of stock.

@MusicMum80s yes we had to house our boiler also, which took some space. Measured ours last night and it's 9ft x 6 ft. We would like a bigger one ideally - we don't have the space for wellies and coats for example. Or an ironing board being up.

I think it's personal choice though. I stayed in an amazing holiday home with a walk in pantry. Thought I'd love it but actually having to walk in to grab ingredients was really annoying. I much prefer grabbing stuff from the kitchen.

What I would love though is somewhere to leave the Ninja Foodie out that's hidden from the kitchen. I hate the countertop clutter so put it away each time, and that's a faff

I would have 1 large room, it's more useful if you need to move stuff around or anything.

My utility is about 10ft x 7ft and I would like it bigger.

Utility and pantry for me too. But it depends if you cook/.would actually need that space. If not, get an open door pantry instead.

No space in my home for either so am exceedingly jealous of this post!

The kitchen is big enough for an appliance countertop cupboard for the toaster and other appliances to be shut away when not in use. We also will have a large larder. And we live less than 5 min walk from two supermarkets.

I think based on all of this, a bigger utility room will be much handier as the kitchen is already a good size

Utility with cupboards suitable for pantry items. It will give you more opportunity to use the space as you need to. You could even do it with the pantry cupboards as you go in with pocket doors that you can close off the utility area at the back of the room to minimise doorways taking up space.

Big utility. It is the best thing I did in the extension (apart from gaining a giant kitchen) as everything gets washed, dried, hung up (built in hanging poles in a space where the dehumidifier lives), ironed, folded and put into baskets (which live on shelves built for them) in there and no one needs to see it. I have a big industrial pot wash sink in there with a spray head so that anything that needs washing off like trainers, sports stuff or pot plants is done in there.
The builders made a custom shelving/cupboard solution so there is a space for everything and its all neat and tidy. There is a bit of worktop so if I wanted to put a slow cooker on out of the way it could go in there.