Please tell me about your (f)utility room, what's hot and what's not about it?

[dontknowwheretostart]

currently have a small-ish utility room on the ground floor. It has a sink, w machine, small freezer and half a dozen kitchen units.

We are going to convert this into a study/home office (much needed as I work from home 2 days a week and currently do so from my bed )

We're having damp-proofing done to our cellar and plan is to move w machine down there. It's a much larger space and they're going to sort the plumbing for washing machine as well as vent it so I can have a t dryer for "emergencies' (bliss)

Don't think the ceiling down there is high enough for a sheila maid wotsit but just wondering what's good about your laundry area that you'd like to share.

(sorry, didn't mean this to be so long)

We had our kitchen and utility room done about a year ago and the most useful things we did in the utility room were to put up extra cupboards (didn't have many) and to double the worktop space thus doubling the amount of places available for dumping things. Wish it was twice the size, but then I suspect it would just attract double the dumpage...

Yes what is it about utility rooms that make them dumping grounds? I can sometimes barely make it across the room

I don't have a house big enough for one but friend does. She intended to have it nice and warm to stand airer in it to dry clothes, this means though it is to warm to iron in, south facing. But it canbe cooled down a bit by opening all the windows and door, so is kindof working.

even just a shower-type rail for hanging things on hangers is v useful. Ikea have started doing a laundry / utility room range with some nifty stuff in the way of fold-out wall airers etc that use no floor space - here

NB I would be careful of trying to dry stuff in a cellar - even with proofing & venting they don't always have good air circulation.

Love the ceiling mounted drying rack at Ikea!

We are HOPING to move into a house in the next 6 weeks with a utility and I am wondering whether to fit a de-humidifier in there. I want but rarely use a tumble dryer but I use drying racks a lot.

Can I ask - what do think the minimum dimensions could be for a utility room? Am planning to get one eventually.

I liove the fact that ours is a decent size and can be used as a complete dumping ground (we no longer use the back door out of it as we can't get to it!)
I hate the fact it has no running water in there!

The worst thing about ours....

is that we dont have one

Mine isn't a dumping ground. I love it, it's all neat and organised. I used to have an AGA which I realy miss for clothes drying but I now have a fantastically useful sort of fold out thing with four legs (it's about waste height) that holds the washed clothes. It goes in the utility room or garage and avoids treks to washing line or using tumble dryer.

Right this weekend is CLEAN THE UTILITY ROOM weekend

said, any space is better than no space

I have a cupboard in the hall just big enough to stack the dryer on the washing machine. I keep the washing powder, iron, pegs etc on top of that and slip the ironing board down the side, along with a fold-flat crate to use as a laundry basket.
I use the rail of the downstairs shower for things on hangers and stand a tent-shaped clothes horse in the shower tray.

it is bliss compared to having to have it all in the kitchen

I love my utility room! We have one of those mah-hoosive IKEA double ceramic sinks in it and it's brill. During the winter the cat thinks it's her own personal room.

oh yes, I would love a big sink, even if it was only in the cloakroom

A stupid question from me: what do you call utility room? I am buying a house; the ad says it has utility room which is a half brick-half glass-plastic roof extension to the back of the house and the current owner keeps there a washing machine, tumble dryer and bicycles. I wonder if it should be called conservatory

room name is determined by use

if they use it as a utility room then that's what they call it

if you put a cane sofa and a coffee table in there you would call it a conservatory

see also study/bedroom 4; playroom/dining room etc

MrsBadger thanks understood!

Love my utility room, has tubs for different dirty washing so whites, blacks, darks colours, light colours etc

Space for pegs, ironing board, iron, ironing basket, massive washing powder boxes, shoe rack for wellies, dirty walking boots,

I have 2 wardrobe rails that I hang wet washing on to dry, mainly DH's shirts, t shirts etc

I can shut the door on it all so cannot compete noise wise with the extractor fan in the kitchen, also used as emergency dumping ground when I have people coming as it is the one room they never see into

I wish it had a sink in it where I could wash dirty wellies/dog poo off shoes etc but alas I have no room but I am grateful for what I have got.