1930s terrace extensions: where do you keep laundry and utility items?

[firsthomebuyerfirstreno]

Anyone with a 1930s terrace extension... where does all the washing actually go?!
We're in the early stages of planning a rear extension on our 1930s terrace and I'd love to see some real life examples from people who have actually lived with theirs for a few years.

I've spent ages looking at beautiful kitchen extension photos, but I've realised most of them seem to be taken on a very tidy day and don't show the reality of everyday family life!

Our extension will be 4.5m deep, and we don't have side access, so every bit of space has to work hard. The thing I'm getting stuck on isn't the kitchen itself. It's all the practical stuff like am I going to have a clothes airer out all winter?
Did you create a utility room or just utility cupboards? Where do the vacuum, mop, ironing board and laundry baskets live? Do you regret not making more room for utility/storage space?

I quite like the look of those hidden laundry cupboards with stacked machines, but I'm wondering if that's enough when you still have clothes to dry, baskets of washing, cleaning supplies etc. I attach a plan of what the rear extension will potentially look like, no architect has been commissioned yet, that will be in November.

I'd especially love to see photos from families who don't put everything in the tumble dryer

The glossy photos always show gorgeous islands and dining tables, but I'd honestly be more interested in seeing what your kitchen looks like on a rainy Tuesday in January when you've got three loads of washing to deal with 😄
Any photos, ideas, regrets or things you'd do differently would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

I would take a section off between the kitchen and living room and put a utility in there.

We didn't actually go through with it as ended up moving instead but had a very similar plan in mind to you and an architect friend suggested having the downstairs loo extend to the back of the house and designing it as a lootility. Then everything is out of the way/out of sight. She had some clever knowledge about air circulation to create a sort of 'dry space' which honestly went over my head and I haven't committed it to memory but worth looking into! Also had a large second kitchen style sink which now that I have one I can also attest is very useful!

New house has a small utility (with the boot room sink!) and I just love that everything goes in there and I close the door. Have a small dehumidifier in there so stuff dries super quick. I'd absolutely install one if you can, it's much better imo than having an airer in the kitchen/living space all the time. Though sometimes out of sight out of mind does mean we forget about it more often than when it was in full view 😅

The layout of my previous house was similar to this and was delightful to live in but what I recommend is putting the table parallel to the sliding doors as then you get to sit looking out at the garden. Then I would build a walk in utility closet next to the downstairs loo.

in your design above do you onto have the kitchen running along the right hand side? What about building a counter partway across the division between kitchen and dining area?

Hi - architect here! I have just had an initial look at your drawings and have a question - how do you access the shower? It looks like the toilet will be blocking it?
Regarding the every day use of a utility space, these are common questions that come up when an architect is appointed and they will be best to talk you through the project and design what is best for you.
That said, you can have all your utility items along the left hand wall (washing machine, storage, dryer etc.) so that there is closer access to the garden for hanging up clothes and when these items are not required can all be hidden away.

Think this is a great idea.

That's currently a bizarre plan eg toilet off the kitchen, shower behind the toilet, no storage, no worktop space, no kitchen door.

I'd just go and look on Rightmove at what other local houses have done but usually either try to squeeze in a utility (personally I'm not sure you have space). Or have full height kitchen cabinets along the length of one wall. In the current layout I'd put them against the living room wall and not have the doors through. Without a utility it does unfortunately mean driers somewhere in the house. Adding an overhead laundry maid dies help get it out the way a bit.

I must admit, I thought there had to be 2 doors separation between kitchen and downstairs toilet. Worth checking current building regs.

You could actually do a separate toilet / utility room to solve your problem. That wouldn’t be unusual

with that floorplan, I'd split the kitchen from the front room and put a bigger loo + utility in the middle of the house, allowing plenty of storage space. then you can have the kitchen as part of the room at the back, and avoid the horrible loo-opening-to-kitchen effect.

Only if there isn't a basin for washing hands in the toilet/lootility.

To answer your question about where we dry things - I've had an overstairs laundry maid in every terrace I've lived in & it means you're not living surrounded by clothes draped everywhere downstairs. 100% recommend that.

In your proposed layout, I'd be inclined to change 3 things as you discuss options with your project planners:

1. I absolutely wouldn't want open plan all the way through to living room. Furniture will stink of cooking, and you lose an enormous amount of useable space in the kitchen for units & countertop. I think you would benefit enormously from keeping front room closed off to be snug & gain furniture space on both sides of the wall.
2. If you run the utility/cupboard space all the way down the left wall, yes the extension will be a little less impressive in terms of full width, but you gain so much more storage for things out the way, for me that would be a no-brainer. Especially as you would presumably need some kind of service run along that side wall for plumbing to the loo as it's currently shown anyway? I'd be inclined to push the loo all the way back to the back wall with garden, so there's a window immediately above it, then have a middle door, with the shower on the left. Beside that a cupboard with washer/drier stack & laundry items. Then the rest of that space back to the stairs as a continuous run of floor to ceiling cupboards to keep decorations/games/craft stuff for kids/general family clutter all tucked away. Then where loo/shower is currently shown, you can have a full height pantry cupboard, which would hoover up food storage. And there would be a bit of space left to make the understairs cupboard for coats, shoes etc wider, so you stand a fighting chance of the entire family's outdoor gear actually being out the way the whole time.
3. The third thing I'd think about would be adding a peninsula breakfast bar sticking out between kitchen & extension. Especially if you keep open plan to the living room as you're incredibly short of counter space as it's currently shown. If you make the living room a snug, you gain lots for making an L shaped kitchen instead of the single run shown. But I'd still think about having a small island as well (like 1m drawers with an overhang at the back for 2 stools). Even with a sofa & table in the extension, it can be really useful to have that big workspace area in the middle of the kitchen, and somewhere people can sit & chat with you IN the kitchen rather than sat lower down in the extension space. Always put power sockets on the back of the unit under the overhang if you do this, then someone could sit & work at a laptop, or you have somewhere to plug in a food processor/whisk whatever when you're using the island for food prep.

Appreciate my suggestions at least triple the cost of fitting out with the amount of extra cupboards & workspace compared to the basic run currently shown! But maybe you save some of that by not needing to pay for an RSJ for open plan into living room? And you could have some wide french doors with glass side panels rather than a full set of bifolds at the back (which is presumably what's shown in current design?) to claw a few thousand back there as well? It might not look quite as dramatic, but in terms of family living as a bunch of humans that actually own STUFF, it would be a world more liveable ;)

ETA make sure you have plenty of lighting underneath wall cupboards & maybe even under the kickboards as well in the kitchen, as it will be a bit cave-like in there. If you close off living room, I'd think about having a wide mirror on that wall to move light around & stay connected to the garden/conversation in the extension while cooking. It would somewhat replace the role of a window in the kitchen & you could still do a run of wall cupboards slightly around the corner, just not all the way along that inside wall...

Your floorplan looks odd to me: the extension walls will need to be thicker than the existing house walls, so will step into the extension floorspace rather than out from it.

I'd go with the central utility room and loo option, possibly with a pantry access from the kitchen side. I can't stand a loo opening into the kitchen, so keep that in the hall and I'd want the full width at the back of the house.

Putting a utility in the middle of house will mean no window though so a lack of air. You'll need good extraction and probably a dehumidifier, but it would keep laundry out of the rest of the house.

Where do the vacuum, mop, ironing board and laundry baskets live?

Your plan shows an under-stairs cupboard. That's where mine live.

Agree with PP that you dont have sufficient kitchen cupboards for a family yet a big empty space...

Definitely need to either add an L and possibly an island. Or extend cupboards along the wall into the extension where sofa is (incl housing the washing machine and, if you're having one, a drier).