Renovation Detail: The Kitchen Laundry Room

appytrails It's refreshing to know that I'm not the only one who feels it's so much better in limited space to have a handy laundry set-up in the kitchen rather than in the basement. I initially chose convenience over "the proper way of doing things" and every day with every laundry load, I am soooo glad I made this choice.

diannemom25 I wish more people house hunting could read this! My brother is having a difficult time selling his wonderfully decorated home because the washer is in the kitchen. I had a kitchen laundry when I was first married and it was very convenient and I never had to worry about pipes freezing!

flashflair I don't find it to be the greatest idea as everyone makes it out to be. Since if you cook all the laundry gets to smell like the food once it's out of the dryer. The washing machine might be ok coz that washes the stuff, but the dryer might get food smell inside as well after a while. Yes location wise it's practical, but smellwise, not so much.

mugsy1703 We once rented a house that had the washer/dryer in the kitchen and it convinced me never to go that route. The house was open concept ... great room ... and the noise from the washer and dryer drove me crazy. Also, they create a lot of dust ... something I don't need any more of in my kitchen / family room. I love my laundry in the basement, especially since I have many things I hang up to dry rather than put in the dryer. It's quieter ... and going up and down the stairs is good exercise (ever the optimist). My sister-in-law has a main floor laundry with a small floor space ... and she makes her laundry piles on her 2nd floor. So much for not having to do stairs. A laundry room on the 2nd floor however ... now there's a good idea!

Jilson Modern Home Staging If you go this route, do not, I repeat DO NOT buy one of those all in one Washer/Dryer units! As in one machine. They do not work and are a waist of money, but more importantly your time.

appytrails I'm a bit confused over the comment about clothes smelling from food once it's out of the dryer. When the clothes come out, I fold/hang and put in closets. Why would they smell any more than when you're wearing them in the kitchen? I guess if you really wnated them to smell from food, you could leave them for days piled in the kitchen when you're cooking garlic and fish....

Jean Corey Our laundry room next to the kitchen used to open on the hallway. We closed that opening off and made another pantry closet. Then we opened the side of the laundry into the kitchen, and reoriented the washer and dryer, tucking them back behind the kitchen wall. We ran the kitchen counter straight down into this nook and up the side, also adding a large utility sink under the window. This has worked so much better than the old setup, easier to get at and easier for people to move past each other than in the old room which wasn't much wider than a closet. There is more light from the rest of the kitchen and the convenience of being able to pop in there while doing other tasks in the kitchen is great. Also this adds more counter space and another sink for big kitchen projects or parties. I really love my kitchen laundry nook!

mmsalg Sometimes the two just have to be together (and it's OK :-) )

marcie
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kimberley9 Add me to the reader who is confused by the comment about clothes smelling like food. My washer and dryer are in a small room immediately off of the kitchen, and the laundry room has a door. There is no issue with the dryer smelling like garlic or fish or anything else. It is very convenient -- I love it. I do occasionally use the kitchen table for folding clothes, and the clothes are immediately put away. Who leaves clothes on their kitchen table for days on end?

tihui We've moved into a house with a "laundry room"
(which is really just a closet next to the pantry for a stackable unit) in the kitchen and I hate it! I enjoy folding clothes while watching tv and not at the kitchen table. It just makes no sense. In my dream world, the laundry room would be in the family room or in the master bedroom's walk-in closet. But that's just me.

candogoods I agree with the person who thinks the noise would be awful. We have a laundry/mudroom and while I don't like combining with the mudroom due to all the dirt I have to contend with coming into the house and trying to keep the clean laundry clean, I'd much rather have it that way than in the kitchen. I always close the door to the mudroom to avoid extra noise.

The only positive I can see is if you do laundry after bedtime so you don't have to listen to it or if you do so much laundry you must tend to it several times a day. For a space saving measure I'd rather have that than no laundry so it depends on your circumstances. For new construction I think a separate laundry is a must if you can afford it. I love mine on the first floor. I think a second floor laundry would not fit our family. It would get tended to only at night and I wouldn't want to listen to it while trying to sleep.

Mushfaque Chowdhury This is pretty normal in UK (and Europe). Infact it's very almost unheard of, except in very large (ie rare) homes, not to have the washing machine and dryer in your kitchen.

christinehas6 I was about to say that - it is VERY European to have your laundry in the kitchen. It's also common to "take" your kitchen with you when you move as they make the cupboards etc. in a modular fashion and many people even take the flooring! That said, in N. America where we tend to have more spacious housing, I prefer to have the laundry room located near the bedrooms. Currently mine is in the large upstairs bathroom, which is great for kids removing clothes after soccer games to take a shower, but rather messy to look at. In my perfect world, I would have it in a separate room, next to the bathroom.

mv2rn This is sort of funny, since I just moved my first floor laundry just off the kitchen to the basement. I'm in the process of turning the old laundry room into a large pantry/prep area. We don't do laundry every day anymore, since our nest is almost empty, but when we have them over for dinner, it's quite a production. I really appreciated the laundry off the kitchen when our children were still at home, but times and needs change, and I'm looking forward to this one.

eftwendy I am remodeling right now. A short hall from the kitchen has a door to the left for the laundry room and to the right, a "back" door for the master suite. The washer/dryer back up to the kitchen wall. Across from the washer/dryer is the folding counter. It will be extra deep with the walk-in closet on the "other side" of it. I like that it will be close to kitchen to make it convenient to remember to switch loads. Take clothes out of the dryer and fold on counter. When I go into walk-in closet, take them from the counter and put them away!

Rita Wilcox I Love the idea...I once lived in an apartment that had my washer and dryer right in the kitchen...It had a seperate little cove. It was so convenient

Samantha Hayward Whilst the UK has it's laundry in the kitchen almost always... Europeans tend to put them in their bathrooms. Many homes just don't have any other space for housing the machines - so there isn't much choice.
It depends on how you do your laundry too, many people in the UK still like to hang their washing outside to dry, so the kitchen is the perfect spot to unload the machine and take the clothes to the garden and hang on the line, in Central Europe, washing is hung on balconies either glassed in or not - they even hang washing outside in the freezing winters and it still dries, so long as there is no fabric softener used.

E M L I am a "load sorter" and mom to three children, a husband, and multiple pets. I can honestly say that I don't like the idea of any kind of laundry being in my main living area. I've tried them all! This is my second home with a large basement laundry room and I love it. I have had laundry rooms off of the kitchen and a combo mudroom/laundry. My first home had a combo mud/pantry/laundry. Competing with the dirt from the dogs and kids in the mudroom is enough work for me. I don't want to wash the laundry in a dirty mudroom! I currently consider myself to be fortunate to have a large finished basement laundry where I can sort, pile, fold, hang, pre-treat, and air dry and it doesn't have to be anyone's business (or mess!) but my own. I have countertop space for folding and baskets for sorting. There are hanging bars for clothes to air dry or to hang directly from the dryer. It is so conveniet that it actually makes laundry easy! I plan to add cabinetry and pleasing fun colors to make it an "enjoyable space" but for now, I am so pleased with the functionality of the room that I pay little attention to the lackluster decor. I am fortunate enough to have a laundry chute that runs from the sleeping floor (2nd) down to the mudroom off of the kitchen, and finally down to the basement laundry room. The only items I carry down with me are empty hangers that I remove from the closets in the morning before I head down to the basement. I've developed a routine to care for my family and home. Part of that routine is that I go down Monday through Friday (every morning) and empty that basket at the bottom of the chute. I sort and wash 2-3 loads a day! If I don't have time, or I forget, I don't have the added visual stress of it always staring me in the face. Kitchen laundry room? No thanks! This busy mom of three children will leave the stinky school sports/gym gear, dog blankets, and unmentionables, where they belong - out of sight until I get to them.

sheepdogplanet I am struggling with this issue myself, so I really appreciate everyone's comments. I am remodeling my kitchen and expanding by knocking down a wall separating the kitchen from the adjoining laundry room. With one large kitchen, the question is what do I do with the washer/dryer? One option is to put it down in the basement, but the stairs are narrow and steep - I'm rather worried about a fall as I negotiate the stairs while hauling a basket of laundry down there. My other option is to keep the washer/dryer in the now-expaned kitchen, but put them behind matching cabinets so you don't see them and it blends in completely with the kitchen. I think that may be preferable given the two scenarios. Everyone says it is very European, but...well...I live in California in a 1940's California Ranch style home. Can I pull it off?

E M L sheepdog planet:
You certainly can pull it off. There are several examples here on houzz. Best of luck to you.

Sandy_Ferguson Berrett I don't like the idea of having the washer/dryer right in the middle of my cooking area but having it stacked in a closet (with a louvered door that makes it look like a pantry) near one of the entrances to the kitchen is fine. Also, having a stacking washer/dryer in a closet located in the main hallway bathroom is a good way to handle the problem of where to put it in smaller homes. Many empty-nest buyers these days are seeking single level homes so they will NOT have to go down stairs to a basement to do laundry or go upstairs to reach the master bedroom. When older folks fall on stairs or anywhere, they never fully recover. Why not plan ahead for enjoyment of your retirement years and make your home more appealing to buyers if and when you sell? I also agree that the all in one washer/dryer is not a good idea because it takes 4 hours to do a load. The drying cycle is what is so inefficient. I had it in a luxury suite in which I resided temporarily while house hunting a few years ago. I had to hang my clothes on the backs of my dining room chairs to dry.

jkristamagee Being from Mississippi, I often find myself looking at/listening to the people that surround me and thinking to myself -"Geez, you people REALLY need to explore the world a bit- get out of The always in the box state of mind" BUT now I realize maybe I too new to get out more because until this idea book I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA that washers and dryers were anywhere other than a laundry room/ basement /maybe a bathroom/ and in the hall but NEVER HAVE I EVER witnessed laundry in the kitchen. I'm amazed lol. I will say that I personally LOVE/adore/and cherish my 12x20 laundry suite as I like to call it lol and I wouldn't have it any other way BUT I still find this very neat. It just really makes a lot sense for certain people and maybe I had never thought about that. I mean if I were 90 with an empty nest why have a whole room dedicated to laundry- I would probably only be in the room 1 a month - or if I didn't have the space I would think off to the side if the kitchen would be a great spot because then cabinets could be built around the units for camo- I'm sorry to sound so excited but this really just blew my mind! I asked my best friend just now if she has heard of laundry in the kitchen and she too says she ha always just figured everyone had a laundry room. Just neat! Anyway as you can see, I enjoyed learning this lol so thank you for this post

angelene1963 Living in Ireland and if house hunting, most people look for what we call a utility room close to the kitchen. I am in the process of planning a revamp of my kitchen and I'm delighted to have read this article. I currently have my laundry room in the garage whereby I have to walk seven metres outside to get to- no problem except it rains a lot here.

zoemcd This is v funny, I am a Londoner and here in the uk it is so standard to have laundry in the kitchen unless you absurdly wealthy and have space for another room,that I never realised others didn't think that way.

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Jennifer Paschal Hi all - thought provoking post. I too am considering moving my laundry room adjacent to a tiny kitchen to make room to expand the kitchen. We have a large, finished walk out basement, and would be able to create a more pleasant and functional space for laundry. This is a largish, traditional house, and I feel we have to expand the kitchen, but I don't think have the laundry IN the kitchen would work for us (we have two toddlers and the kitchen is always a madhouse). The stairs to the basement are wide and I think would be Ok to negotiate. Given that there is no where for us to put the laundry upstairs with the bedrooms, which I know a lot of people like, would it be that big of a minus to have it in the basement versus the first floor, especially with a nicer space? Appreciate your thoughts!