A utility sink can be very useful for messy clean ups. Are you sure you want to remove itself?

Yes! A laundry sink is critical need! I like mer03 idea of shower curtain. All that mechanical needs to be kept very accessible. A shower curtain is the easiest & to add & move. With all the patterns available it can be any color / pattern & look like a wallpapered wall. If shower curtain too short, get 2 & seam together to make longer.

A agree a utility sink is very practical, if you don't like the one installed you can get a sink with cabinet with a deep drawer for products. To hide all the equipment at the back, install a rod with a curtain with grommets.

I need a to scale floor plan showing all the things that have to stay in the space DO the plan on graph paper show the doorway where the water hook up is and if want tha utility sink then we work around that doe sit need to be the size you have. Post all that here in jpeg for the drawing and in comments for all.

Ceiling looks high so I’d do a custom length curtain in a crisp/fresh pattern - I would probably want to remove all the the shelving opposite the machines - its looks tight

I would get a ceiling hung curtain like this:

Or even better:

ikea makes these sliding panel curtains that are up to 120" long and the hardware to hang them that can be hung from a ceiling rod.

I am soo sorry HGTV and their ilk gave women the idea a laundry/utility room had to be more than it is. Had to have the same beauty as the most public of your homes' spaces. It does not. Keep the sink. Do your laundry. Let your furnace be open and easy to access. It's all just fine.

We spend a good amount of time in our laundry areas. There’s nothing wrong with making it pretty and a pleasant space to spend that time.

Mechanicals' area: what everyone said--hang very long curtains/panels to hide all that but still have access.

laundry area: it depends whether you're getting front or top loaders. Front loaders: install a shelf over the top and hooks across the way for hanging things:

Top loader. Note the curtain to the right.

Top and front:

Keep the utility sink for sure--so useful, you'll discover. You could build a cabinet around it or do something like this:

Nashville Farmhouse · More Info

Do a search for "door panels" "door curtains" "beaded curtains." Lots pop up, including decorative ones at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. This is from Walmart:

I guess I’m the odd man out. I’ve never seen the need for a laundry room sink. And I raised two outdoor-loving, baseball-playing boys. We owned one home with a laundry sink and I quickly decided to install a long countertop over it for sorting clean clothes.

No one will take your Good Housekeeping certification away if you don’t have one.

Not the odd man out but maybe your kitchen sink set up served more than kitchen purposes. Usefullness of a laundry sink varies. For me, it’s my little dog’s bathtub. I’ve soaked things with stains in it. It’s also where I can wash my hands without traipsing through my house after working in my yard. My DH fills a 5 gal bucket for car wash sometimes & also has washed other garage things. The space for my laundry sink is well worth it. YMMV!

Yes for curtain if not a wall.

Good looking:

I’m torn on laundry sink. I’ve always had one and so have cleaned stuff in it but not enough so sing its praises. Really dirty stuff I do outside with the hose anyway. I would go the curtain route

You probably don't have room for a wall for the HVAC stuff. That leaves a door. Your options are trying to find a pull-down or accordion door of the right size, as you'll need access. The accordion door has to have adequate clearance from your hot water heater when stacked. If it's electric, there's less clearance needed.

You other option is a curtain. The issue with a curtain is you have can't have it sway, that means a fabric that has to be anchored at the bottom corners. You can do this with hooks clipping to something in the wall.

Pay attention to the clearances from anything flammable from your equipment.

K Moore I've done something similar (in another home) where I used a Utility Tarp with built in grommets. I used cups holder screws in the ceiling to hang it, but you could use something like THIS system.

Wow! Fantastic advice from all and I greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

The curtain should work nicely.

”Yes! A laundry sink is critical need!”

Could not agree more!!!

@Sigrid Thank you! Great advice re: clearances for safety and ventilation

You’ve all convinced me to replace the old bulky laundry sink with a more compact streamlined one. Thanks!

Reminds me of my grandmothers small house...she used a foral exuberantly printed barkcloth curtain to conceal utility shelving.
Floor to ceiling,and she tucked old c batteries into the hem to keep it hanging straight.

Sorry,meant floral.

I don't think the utility sink looks so bad. I probably would have a top made for it (maybe cut a piece of ikea butcher block or similar- tho that might be too heavy) to set on top for extra folding space. Looks like you have room next to the washer to store it when youi want to use the sink. If you do use butcher block, install handles on it so it's easy to handle.

Just to defend the lowly utility sink, which I wish I still had, I now have to clean or rinse the following outside with a hose or indoors in the kitchen sink: paintbrushes, muddy sneakers and boots, disgusting rags and old towels I've used for cleanups.

Keep the utility sink! Hang a fabric curtain/drape, not a PVC shower curtain, so you get more air circulation. Definitely not a wall.

So glad you've decided to keep the utility sink. They're handy for soaking bulky items that need to be hand-washed, and for large pots and pans with burned-on food. But they're especially great for those messy and/or nasty situations we all eventually have to deal with -- the dog/cat vomit on the rug, the spilled container of motor oil, blood on bedding, cleaning painting supplies, etc.

But the one situation that immediately comes to mind (because it's happened to me three times) is when the dog gets skunked in the backyard late at night. First the dog goes in the sink with the deskunking formula, then the towels go in the sink to soak (but ultimately get thrown away). I hope you never need your sink for this purpose. If you, too, have skunks in your area, I recommend taking your dog out on a leash after dark, which I now do religiously. =\

Ugh! Sorry about the skunk! Yes, I’m convinced to keep the sink but am going to replace the current one with something more streamlined and compact. My dog is 110 lbs. I couldn’t wash her in the sink. lol! 😂

@rosiembog Love that story! Your grandmother sounds like she was a resourceful woman. Smart idea!!

@Sigrid Thank you! Smart advice about the ventilation and keeping items that could be flammable away.

Look at dog-washing tubs. There may be something that fits your space. 31 photos at

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/31-pups-in-their-tricked-out-pet-washing-stations-stsetivw-vs~166362140

Laundry Room with Grooming Station · More Info

I don’t know apple pie order - that pup doesn’t look too thrilled with his great bathing space there! 🤣

We wash our golden in the master shower when it’s cold out and wth the good old Jose when we can

Hose! Not Jose

I have never had a laundry sink and have never missed not having one. If you want to remove it, I say go for it! No one has to love your space but you!

I'd consider a cabinet with a sink, then a Wash tower, then hanging rods on top and shelves underneath (like Closet maid). Then you can use the space close to the utilities, but have access to the water heater when you remove the shelves,

My daughter did that in the same situation and has laundry baskets on the bottom and hanging clothes on top.

She would have loved room for a sink!

Clearance to a curtain for flammability is not the only issue, if at all (there is no open flame). What is critical here is the water heater is gas fired and has an atmospheric vent (the furnace has been upgraded to high efficiency with power vent). The room needs to remain open for combustion, ventilation, and dilution air (code required life safety purposes exactly what the words define). The water heater gets that air from being open to the greater room, although probably still inadequate, but closing this area off would be harmful. One could argue about a curtain being only a textile, and that is a choice. To enclose the gas appliance into a room, you would provide a duct(s) to the attic, crawl space, or direct to outside.