Visually the first photo gets my vote & I love all the space of the folding counter. However, the second photo gives much more storage space & is an overall more efficient use of space, though you do lose 1/2 your folding counter.

I think you have to ask these questions: How much laundry do you do? How many are in your family? How much do you store in your laundry room (i.e. just laundry items or do you use it to store other utility items like dog shampoo, car wash stuff, etc)? How do you see yourself using this space on a daily basis?

Thinking of the future...I would go with the side by side set up.
Side by side would be easier to service & maintain.
If you have to fix the washer you don't have to pull out the dryer also.

I'm always trying to make things easier so that's just my 2 cents.

I vote for stacked - perhaps because mine are stacked due to space limits. Servicing is a consideration but more storage would be great and it is easier to get clothes out of the dryer - unless you are very short.

I vote for side by side. Agree it makes servicing easier. Also agree with the counter space it creates for folding and what not.

Visually, I prefer the first photo too. DH prefers side by side (and yes he gets a vote as he helps with laundry) but he keeps waffling about whether or not we need a sink nearby. Stacking them is the only way I can get a sink in the laundry center. For me the sink is a bonus with the side by side, but not a necessity. I do like the idea of having the extra storage available with the stack.

It's just DH and I at home, but when DD comes home from college she brings her laundry with her.

I will only need to store laundry supplies here. It will be nice to have a home with dedicated storage for all the other stuff that has lived in my laundry room in the past.

This area will be set up in a corner of a room that will also be used for my sewing and crafting so I can use my cutting table for folding clothes. We have a door that goes right into our closet so that should help us get clothes put away easily (and promptly). I'll be in the room a lot, whether I'm doing laundry or not, so I want it to look good but I need it to be practical too.

Hmmm. I am still no closer to a decision.

I have mine stacked and enjoy the extra storage room it creates. I keep my ironing board, iron, vacuum cleaner, laundry basked for things that need to be ironed, etc. in the extra space created by stacking. I have a separate counter that has folding space and a sink, so folding space was not an issue for me.

Another consideration is how tall you are and whether you will have any issue reaching the controls on the dryer and reading the displays if the dryer is stacked. I am 5'6 and it's not a problem for me but it would be if I were shorter (not so much reaching but reading the displays).

I vote for side by side with a sink. That's how I had it at my old house, and I loved it. The sink was perfect great for soaking, which you can't do in most front-loaders.

In my current house I was forced into a side by side situation with no laundry sink. I miss the sink terribly. Also, I find myself dropping clean clothes on the floor much more with the machines side by side. Not a big deal, but annoying.

Side-by-side. Much more practical in-use. Stacked is a "space-saver" solution to be avoided unless there's no alternative.

My opinion based on experience with both. No question in my mind if there's room for it.

It depends on the design of your laundry room. I personally like the stacked. Putting a countertop at the height of your washer/dryer would not be a comfortable height conducive to folding clothes. LG has a nice stacked unit with the controls both in the middle.

I stacked mine. I find that the dryer is easier to access this way, no bending to empty.

I did need an extra long cord for the dryer since the plug was near the floor.