Putting a washer and dryer in the master bath?

13 years ago

I'm under contract on a gorgeous 1920s craftsman-style bungalow. One of the big problems, however, is that the laundry is in the basement. As the mother of small children, it makes laundry a lot more difficult to have to trudge down the stairs and either carry a toddler on my hip or leave children upstairs unsupervised - so I'm dreaming of main floor laundry.

The master bathroom is very, very spacious and has both a tub and a shower stall. I'm thinking of ripping out the shower stall and installing a washer and dryer (once a hookup has been created and it's all been approved by the smart people who know plumbing, etc) there. They'd be stacked and be behind a fake cabinet door or something.

Sadly, this means I would need to rip out the original, charming little built-ins to create an L-shaped vanity (double sinks and counter space on one arm and room to fold laundry on the other).

Would I be making a huge mistake in terms of resale value? I don't plan to leave for the next 5-6 years at least so resale value isn't everything, but you never know what might happen.

Featured Answer

User

13 years ago

A couple of questions:
What are you doing to replace the shower? Would it be one of those pieces you attach to an old claw foot tub?
Can you salvage the builtins by doing a single sink and still have counter space?
My two cents:
I'd think for resale it would be better to have the laundry upstairs.
If its the master I would avoid one of those over the tub showers and remove the tub and put in a nice tiled shower.
I think I would at least try to salvage original built ins even if it means single sink (we have a single in our small master - I cared more about counter than 2 sinks).
Do you need to leave space for folding in the bathroom itself? Our laundry is in a closet upstairs and I fold on my bed.

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Comments (10)

User
13 years ago
Ultimately though (I am not a realtor) I doubt it would hurt resale to remove builtins from a bathroom as much as it would be great to salvage original details. I would think as between basement laundry/builtins and newly renovated bath with laundry/no builtins most would prefer the latter.
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Jordan
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
Sam - thanks for your thoughts. I considered a shower stall but the only other bathroom in the house has a shower stall only - and it's got a pretty steeply angled roof so I think a bath is out of the question in that particular room. I wonder if there's some other alternative altogether that I just haven't thought of yet. I realize a shower/tub combo is not the most glamorous option, but it may be my only one, sadly.

I'm glad you reassured me about upstairs laundry being a bonus, though. I think most families, especially in my position, are looking for that nowadays.
User
13 years ago
Have you looked into the wet room concept? I'll post a pic.
User
13 years ago
http://houzz.com/photos/899232
Jordan
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm officially intrigued! Thanks for the inspiration...this is something to think about. :) The place where the tub currently sits is rather large and could probably accommodate something like this.
Jordan
Original Author
13 years ago
And as an added bonus, it looks cool.
Marci
13 years ago
Have you considered a laundry chute? It cuts out one trip, at least. An old rental we used to live in had one cut through the closet floor. Perhaps a dumbwaiter? Although I could see that later on it may fuel some mischief by the kids.
User
13 years ago
You're welcome! I wish I could find it but someone on here who was having a dilemma with a small bathroom did the wet room and it came out great. I have this hope I can do it myself in my kids bathroom which has a tub only.
Marie VSD
13 years ago
We have a laundry chute and it works great. I will miss it in our new house. We will have laundry on the main floor. Mainly because I didn't want to have the whole house flooded in case the washer ever breaks.

Not sure about the wet room idea. You said you have small children. I have two small children and I would not find the time to clean a wet room. They do look very cool. A nicely set in tub with a beautiful tile surround and maybe a rain shower head would also work great. You can have half of your shower/tub combination covered with custom glass so nothing sprays all over the place. It is not as luxurious as a wet room, but more practical.