utility area in the kitchen or bathroom??

5 years ago

For those that have been following my never ending design dilemma questions re our new extension and splitting a room up into a bathroom & Utility area... I have yet another question.

Just occurred to me this morning that although we decided on a utility cupboard in the kitchen (rather than a walk in one) to make a larger bathroom downstairs for the 2 bedrooms, I wondered if we should allow space for a washer/dryer in the bathroom rather than having it in the kitchen?? We won't gain the extra space in the kitchen as we will probably pinch a section to set the washer/dryer into from the cupboard (we are splitting the room with just a partition wall so have flexibility on size) BUT, it will mean I'm not carting washing to/from the kitchen considering the bedrooms will be nearer the bathroom anyway.

Just not sure how they would fit in with the small bathroom space we have allocated and if it would look messy.

The whole room size itself it 10' long x 7'4 wide - so with the utility cupboard taken out, it would leave around 7' x 7'4 for a bathroom. Hope to have a shower and bath in there but could live with a shower over a bath if I had to to give space for the washer/dryer.

What do you guys think?

Featured Answer

E D

5 years ago

I would argue that the place you are mostly, is the place where you don't want the washing machine.

We have a washing machine in our kitchen. It works, but I've never liked it. I feel washing and cooking don't really mix.

Washing and washing do! :)

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Comments (25)

Jonathan
5 years ago
Since your kitchen is open to your living room I say put the noisy washing machine in your bathroom
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks, jonathan!
I think that would work best as well. It’s our spare bathroom technically as we will have our own en suite upstairs and only us two.

Do you think this layout will work?? My sketch makes it look way bigger than it is, ha ha. Not sure the WC will be in the way though but that’s the outside wall so it has to go somewhere near that side.

I put the bath to the right side because we can then vent the tumble dryer out the side of the house without having to have a thicker partition wall to accommodate the tubing
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Remove loo and put washing machine here - remove bath and put dryer here-add a worktop over both and under the basin . Add an airer over the basin . That’s probably enough .
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It seems having an external door in the bathroom is not a popular idea although I thought it was a good and practical idea?! I see the point with the clutter though...(sigh) ok, we will steer away from having an external door in this room! @OnePlan (Concept planners) sorry that's me - I didn't copy the whole floorplan! We will be keeping the bedroom on the left as this is the master bedroom with ensuite. This bedroom is also used to dry our cloths in the winter and it's constantly a mess with the amount of dry/wet clothes and clothes horse laying about! We will be moving the kids up to the loft and the small bedroom in front will turn into a multi function room office/playroom/guest room/place to dry the clothes. @sunshineband34 hadn't considered bringing the wall infront of the bathroom forward. It'd be good idea if we weren't planning the loft conversion but as the staircase is being installed in the hallway, it may be better to leave the front bathroom wall as is as otherwise it may feel closed in and dark? @minnie101 I had no idea such a thing existed! And that drying cupboard is amazing! Do you think it would fit in well outside the bathroom along the left wall/in the boiler cupboard space? Or do they have to be fitted near a window for ventilation?
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Here in Australia we use the term 'European Laundry' for a compact laundry space hidden behind cupboard doors. Cupboards can be either 2 sets of bifolds that open towards the walls to reveal the full space, or a space behind sliders (2 or 3 sliders that can be moved along the entire track - just like wardrobes). On laundry days you would get the benefit of the walkway as space to move around in. You could draw out a layout where you can maximise your available storage, maybe stack a washer & dryer, and hide it all behind doors rather that the expense of putting in a wall to to create a very small space. Search compact laundry here on houzz for some brlliant examples. Your area looks like this arrangement would work well.
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Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Something like this - couldn’t put the utility cupboard in and limited to what furniture I could add in this app but gives an idea of the room ..
Jonathan
5 years ago
I think I would rather have this layout, a full sized bath and a condensing dryer (so no need to vent out)
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Trouble is the wc will be on an internal wall so harder to get the soil pipe out in the current partition wall size, so would end up boxing it in. Plus it will be facing the door as you open it.

Want a tumble dryer as well so planned on stacking them on top of each other in a cupboard as I don’t want to see the washing machine or clothes at all. As we have tall ceilings, we could fit a wash basket as well in the cupboard.
I can still have a 1600 size bath but just put a 1500 as I personally prefer a smaller one as standard size is way too long for me so I never use it ha ha
Daisy England
5 years ago
Personal preference for me is in the kitchen. Convenient and if you’re planning to hang outside to dry anyway a step through the outside door.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
@Riverside - when you say it’s more convenient in the kitchen- do you mean only for taking outside?
Only the bedrooms are opposite the bathroom and also, our front door is next to it as well so I can access the garden side door to hang the washing out if need be as well rather than going through the kitchen?
Daisy England
5 years ago
Where are you mostly eg in the bathroom or kitchen? For me it’s the kitchen so that’s where I always plan them.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Ha ha, yes indeed @ ED
A B
5 years ago
Wasn’t Kirstie Alsopp criticised for suggesting the washing machine should ideally NOT bf in the kitchen? I would agree with her 100% ha don’t it in the bathroom if no utility
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Our last one was in the garage and that was brilliant.
Especially as ours is all open plan - I don’t want to hear any noise or have smelly washing baskets in the kitchen either (male sports wear!!)

But I will actually be in the bathroom a lot as I work from home and use the sink in there for work.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
kirstie said it should be in the bathroom over the kitchen if you don’t have a separate utility. I did read that today as well, ha ha
Daisy England
5 years ago
It would be interesting to know how many people have them in the bathroom or in the kitchen.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
I’m not sure many do have them in their bathrooms in the Uk. It’s common in the rest of Europe and usa if you don’t have a separate utility room of course.

I guess a lot of clothes get taken off in the bathroom so having the laundry basket there - and therefore the washing machine, seems logical?
Mine would be hidden away in a cupboard of course as they aren’t exactly what I’d want to see in a bathroom
Angie
5 years ago
Not sure it would be permitted in a UK bathroom. cloakroom yes, but not in an actual bathroom. We always had laundry bins in each room when we had children at home, so no cluttering the bathroom. I sorted on the landing then took it down to wash. We had a utility room. Pretty much the same now it's just the two of us.
But there is something to be said for having washing machine near where the dirty laundry is and if I had room I'd put one upstairs, but not in the bathroom. That said, I like to line dry so downstairs has advantages!
Emily
5 years ago
I think in the U.K. we expect electricity to be kept as far away from water as possible and that’s part of the reason not many laundry set ups are in bathrooms?? But to me if there’s the option of putting it in bathroom rather than kitchen then I’d pick it. So where would you do your ironing etc? Will one of the bedrooms downstairs be a guest room? If so maybe ironing board could go in a wardrobe and the ironing done there? And I like it when people don’t follow convention, just b because we don’t often do laundry in the bathroom doesn’t mean it can’t be the better arrangement in some properties.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi Emily,

Yes the guest bedroom will be opposite the bathroom. But we don’t iron Well we have one, but it rarely makes an appearance these days since the OH changed his job and no longer works in an office ha ha.

We will have a big wardrobe in there so it can go in there.

I also like dry most clothes and never had a dryer but it would be handy now we won’t have an actual utility room - especially if we do air bnb as I will need to get the sheets dry quickly

For the bathroom - as it’s all new, I would have it wired in to safe sockets. The back would be a utility so I can even have the mains socket switches through there if need be. Will have to discuss with the builder etc as it was just an idea
cornwallsharon
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Given the choice I'd have the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. That's where we all get undressed (we all bath or shower every evening) so that's where our laundry baskets are. So they could go straight into the washer and still be upstairs ready to put away. If you're having a utility cupboard I'd suggest making it 20cm or so wider than you need so that you can stash your iron and ironing board there too. The previous comment re: electrics - they're fine to have in the bathroom as long as you comply with certain regs - you cant have any in what's classed as 'zone 0' for example,
J A
5 years ago
We have it in the bathroom -we renovated the house in the last 12 months, and we got full sign off for washer / dryer in a cupboard within bathroom. We don't hang things outside so there is no reason in our scenario to put the washing machine etc in the kitchen. Dirty clothes are taken off in bedrooms / bathrooms - it massively cuts down the mess in the living areas.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Do you have a picture?@JA is did you put it in a cupboard?
I worry about it making my bathroom seem smaller than anything else as it will be a big cupbaoard in a small room (7x 7’4)
J A
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I am at work so no photos at the moment [will take some later] but we had it boxed in by builder next to the bathtub [we have a shower over bathtub]. It is 90cm x 85cm. We have a washer dryer and then 3 shelves from ikea algot range for stacking laundry baskets, loo roll and the like - our ceilings are high - 2.6m. We also keep ironing board and iron in there. Our electrician signed off everything and I think our bathroom is a bit bigger than yours - 2.2m x 2.6m.

The utility cupboard is on the long wall see attached plan. It looks a bit like the photo below but instead of hanging space we have shelves

We painted the doors same colour as walls and we have a roof light plus higher ceilings so it doesn't feel small at all. All our tatt is in the cupboard or sink vanity unit so the bathroom is much tidier than an average bathroom. We also have a glass shower screen so everything feels light and bright.

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Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
Fabulous! Mine is the reverse (door to the right) so I will look at that design for ours as well. As long as they are on the left where the outside wall is then it should be ok. Although I do have the stupid gas meter boxed into the future bathroom from the hallway Might get in the way unless we raise the washer up off the floor. Would need ladders to reach the dryer then
J A
5 years ago
Sorry one detail changed from original plan, the bathroom door opens in opposite direction and I think the bathroom is actually 2.8m long as our bathtub is 1.7m. This bathroom is an extension.
Tani H-S
Original Author
5 years ago
We wouldn’t fit it down the same side - even with a tiny tub actually, so it would have to go across the back of the room width ways if we did it (like my drawing) shame.

utility area in the kitchen or bathroom??

E D

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