The laundry sink is a no-brainer with the kitchen sink 5’ away. I know lots of people like a laundry sink, but I’ve never felt the desire. (I had one once and had it removed so I could have a countertop for folding space.)

No brainer to have or not to have? :) (We are thinking not to have one since the kitchen sink is close by and is a 30" single bowl, so plenty of space--there are occasional "mud room" type uses we've wanted a utility sink for, but most of them are garden/dirt related so not a great match for a laundry sink anyway, and I'd almost rather just put in an outdoor sink at some point for that.)

I have laundry in my kitchen with the sink 5' away. No need at all for a laundry sink. Mine are stacked and recessed into a space just large enough to hold them, so I end up folding on my island. I hate this aspect and I plan to reconfigure the area when I redo my kitchen so that they can be side by side with a counter for folding on top. Mine is vented to the outside and in its own corner of the kitchen, away from all of the cooking and food storage. If it were integrated into the cooking part of the kitchen I would probably dislike it more than I do now! 😉

I am a big proponent of a sink in the laundry room, but since your kitchen sink is just steps away, I would say to forego it. But I would opt for side by side because it is so much more convenient folding items right out of the dryer. I had stacked units for 16 years without a counter in the LR and I really got tired of folding things in the kitchen or family room.

My 2 cents. I’m a no laundry sink person. I’ve had one over 8 years and literally never used it. I’d much rather have hanging space for air-dryable items. However, our first home had side by side w/d in kitchen behind folding doors. Not ideal but way better than garage. Also - the top of the machines, and closing the doors, made a great place to raise dough (covered of course.)

No-brainer NOT to have. You have a kitchen sink 5’ away.

Thanks, all! I am leaning toward side by side with a counter on top, and skipping the laundry sink. It occurred to me last night that it would be incredibly cheap and easy to install a utility sink in the garage where the washer currently is since it's already plumbed, and I think that would be plenty sufficient the rare occasions when we really need a work sink away from food. This is our kitchen layout with a few small tweaks (for some reason I can't find the final version!)--the laundry will go along the lower left wall, which currently has a table that we rarely use (since the kitchen opens to the dining room, where we eat most meals). The California cooler is essentially a floor-to-ceiling pantry so it would create a physical and visual split between the laundry and cooking sides, which I like aesthetically.

Here is a point to consider about whether or not to have a laundry sink when adding laundry hookups to a not-so new kitchen: how difficult and expensive will it be to meet current code requirements for connecting a drain line for the washer to the existing plumbing? No worries if you have a straight and easy path to run a code-required 2" diameter drain line directly to a larger diameter drain-waste line (and as long you can provide the code required venting for the waste lines.) But, maybe your house is slab on grade construction or you otherwise need to tie the washer drain into to existing kitchen plumbing? For that situation, it may be much less onerous and less expensive to plumb in a small laundry sink and drain the washer to it. The laundry sink provides a buffer that holds water and allows it to drain at the rate the existing plumbing can accommodate, and is code compliant in most jurisdictions. Also, consider that you will want to drain your ventless dryer, as well, should you get one.

BTW, the reason for the 2" diameter requirement (and additional venting requirements) for washer drains is that some top-loading washing machines pump out their large volumes of water faster than can be handled by not-so-new 1½" drain pipes. For Code purposes, it does not matter than you are planning on installing a compact front-loading washer that is actually designed to work with even 1¼" drain pipes. A later resident of your house may hate front-loaders of all kinds and even insist on one of the top-loaders with the strong drain pump that overflows narrower drain pipes. Hence, the code requirement on pipe diameter.

Now, on the completely different subject of your question about who loves or hates their ventless dryers, have your had any luck searching for past and existing threads? If not, you could try search strings with the terms "condenser dryers" and "heat pump dryers." I'm recalling some discussion of the Miele heat pump models in the very long and long running thread here, "Miele W1 washer and T1 dreyr [sic]" and I think roccogurl has some threads from a year or two ago discussing the current crop of Bosch condenser dryers.

Additionally, if you are not already familiar with AutomaticWasher.org, you might find that also a good place to search. (If you didn't know, AW is a forum for laundro-philes, machine enthusiasts and washaholics and can often get deep into detailed discussions of particular models and brands.)

Thank you--I didn't know the AutomaticWasher site so will check that out. Yes, have searched lots of past threads here, but this also seems to be technology that is rapidly advancing so updated info is always welcome. We're leaning towards Bosch only because that's what we currently have and we've been happy with them, but ours are also 13 years old so it's a totally different ball game now. (There is an existing dryer vent that we closed when we renovated the kitchen 11 years ago, but could easily reopen it if we end up with a vented dryer.)

And yes, the upside of having a small house is easy access to all of the plumbing, and we are also adding a bathroom as part of this project so shouldn't be an issue to tie the drain in wherever makes the most sense based on the layout. There is also a capped plumbing stack that we believe served a washer in this location in the 1950s that can potentially be used--still need to investigate its current condition and size. (Apparently past residents of our 107-year-old house have also struggled with where to put the laundry, since there are signs it's been in at least four locations over the generations, including in our basement where there is still a gorgeous, but sadly cracked and no longer plumbed, vintage concrete laundry sink! But also 6' standing height and no access from the house, so...)

I haven’t installed my Whirlpool washer / ventless dryer yet so I can’t comment there. But I do regret not doing more research because I would have gotten the Bosch set instead since there are more delicate cycle.

I lived in a tiny condo with a stacked washer dryer in my kitchen and I loved it. I would washed/disinfected the kitchen sink and counters before doing laundry. I’d hand washed all my cashmere sweaters and silk blouses and tossed them into the washer for a spin cycle. And I could fold laundry on the counters. It was great.

I don’t hand wash anything since moving into a house with a deep utility/laundry sink next to the washer dryer and laundry once a month chore. The sink is so deep/low it hurts my back to stand there an hour. I’d rather pay $250 a month on dry cleaning. Yes that’s $3K a year!

Do it. You can hide the washer/dryer away in a pantry cabinet.

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That first photo is funny because that's practically a photo of our space! If we stacked the machines we could in theory still have a bench with a table next to it, as in the photo (but not clear that is wise since I feel like they'd just be covered in laundry...)

My bathroom with the shower always had something drying on the dryer rack in the shower… that was my closet.

We made an effort to empty the dryer and carry the clean clothes to the bedroom before we started cooking. And we’d wash laundry after dinner. I didn’t want my clothes to smell like food.

My first home of my own was a fixer upper townhouse I bought many decades ago with kitchen laundry in a closet. I bought the full size Maytag washer and dryer all in one unit with electronic controls which was too deep to keep the doors on the closet, so there that thing sat in the kitchen. Me of course being a washer buff even then was not bothered, but my Dad who had helped me re-model the house was pretty upset. I even remember people coming over and commenting on it in a mystified sort of way. The moral is as long as it is behind doors, it will work great for you. And even if it would not be, it is your home to enjoy as it pleases you.

Thanks! I'm a bit hesitant to put them behind doors since the manufacturers of the two we're looking at don't recommend it, but also curious from a more functional perspective--we have a 13-year-old front loader and routinely leave the door open between loads so that it can dry and not get mildewy. I assumed we would need to do the same with a new model and had mapped out space accordingly (i.e., enough room for door to swing and stay open without blocking access to anything important or being in the way). Is that not as necessary for newer models? I'm imagining we'd close the door if guests were over but not worry about it otherwise. (We are getting a compact w/d set so they will be counter-depth, more or less--thinking it shouldn't be much more intrusive visually than the dishwasher? I've been worrying more about all the things that come along with laundry--leaky detergent jugs, empty hampers!)

You will still need to keep the washer door cracked open to prevent mold from forming, so yes, do allow some space for that. I've had w/d stacked behind bi-fold doors. I was still able to keep the door cracked while they were shut. But I did keep the doors open when company was not over to allow for more air flow. If you use the sanitize cycle (170F) about every week or two on Bosch front loader (series 500 or 800 has it) it will go a long way to prevent mold from developing.

Good luck with your remodel! I'm sure it will be nice to not have to track out into the elements to do laundry. Europe has many washers in the kitchen, so they've figured it out. Many without a dryer, so they must of thought about where to hang wet laundry too. I have a friend who lives in England and her washer has been in the kitchen in every place she has lived. She thinks this is completely normal. In fact, we are spoiled Americans in her opinion upon discovering many homes here have an actual laundry *room*. She has never had a dryer and hangs laundry outside to dry, in drizzly England.

Could you do retractable doors and leave the open all the time?

I use small 1 L (32 oz) detergent and bleach bottles and refill them as I need to. I stored them with my kitchen cleaning products. Also I have a couple sets of wool dryer balls. The Miele washer has a compartment for detergent if you can't find a home for it.

Do you leave your laundry and empty hampers in the garage overnight or for extended periods of time?

BTW, I would do stacked. I like pulling laundry out and fold on the counter next to the dryer. I have a set that's on pedestals. I still need to stoop a bit to pull out clothes and it's too high to fold clothes. I wouldn't do that again.

We put our laundry area in an open utility/mud room next to kitchen and dining. One thing to watch out for is that modern water-saving washers make all sorts of weird noises: sensors, solenoids and other assorted clicks. The actual washing is not loud at all, but those extra noises make it so we don't wash clothes when we want peace and quiet.

We have the Miele het pump washer and matching ventless dryer and love it. Clothes are very clean, it is quiet (who wants to hear a washer running all the time?). The heat pup dryer works and it is as fast as the water - no long dry times as with condenser. It looks good enough to allow it to be part of the "decor" if there is no door

Also - it only requires two 110v to run. Doesnt need a 220v dryer hookup. Chemicals are built in so you don't need a nearby storage space for a 2 gallon jug of drippy something to access every time.

Ooh, that storage compartment is pretty snazzy! We are looking at counter height models regardless of whether we stack or don't, so from that perspective not sure it makes much difference for folding--could have a counter for that either way. The one appeal to stacking is that we could conceivably use the remaining space to keep the table and seating, but I just have a feeling that will end up a bad move in the end. Right now I'm leaning towards doing them side by side with a 15" cabinet on either end, which fits perfectly in the space and is a slightly simpler project (just requires shortening a window, vs. stacking which requires narrowing the window too). We do currently run laundry at night so often leave the empty baskets and laundry in our garage overnight (but one appeal to moving it into the house is to be able to finish the loads without having to go out late at night). I'm assuming they will probably live on the countertop over the machines but we may also explore some other solutions. One of the cabinets will definitely be a pull-out hamper for the kitchen laundry. Still need to figure out if there's also a way to integrate a drying rack (since we use a freestanding one in the middle of the kitchen right now--less than ideal!)

In my condo (2 residences ago) I had a Bosch Axxis set under the counter (behind cabinet doors). It was heaven. I would do laundry European style...1 load every other day or so. Finish dinner, load dishwasher, run washer, throw stuff in dryer before bed. Or, turn on washer before work and run the dryer while eating dinner.

I'd wipe down the gasket, keep the doors slighly propped open for 24 hours, then close.

No need for laundry sink though, I agree :) BUT make sure you have a water line shutoff within easy access to prevent major flooding (closet installs with shutoffs behind the appliance is lazy plumbing, IMHO)

Just make sure you don't discount the landing spaces needed in front of the W/D....that they don't interfere with cabinets or other appliances. I was in a galley kitchen and it got a little contortion-y at times (until I figured out a movement pattern).