Would you rather.......more laundry room questions

[ksr5377]

Would you rather have a small laundry room off your kitchen through a large 48" walkway, with no way of closing it off, that is also the walkway to your only first floor bathroom OR a large laundry room in the finished basement, with room for counters and a place to hang laundry up etc.   

 

Currently our laundry room is set up as the first option.  It's an odd area off the side entry that has enough room for one cabinet and the washer and dryer.  There is absolutely no way to close it off to the rest of the house and still have access to the only first floor bathroom.  We're considering moving the laundry to the basement and making the current area a small office space for DH so that he wouldn't have to share my space in the school room.  I don't mind so much that you can see the washer and dryer, but I don't like the lack of space.  And to be honest, even if there were more space there, I wouldn't want to have delicates on a drying rack for all visitors to see, you know?  My other issue with it there is the noise.  It opens into the kitchen as well as walkway into the den/TV room.  

 

The downside to a basement laundry room is that we have a 2 story house, so it's an additional flight of stairs to drag things down and up.  However, we're about to finish the basement, so it's not like we'll be doing laundry in a dungeon.  I would have room for quit a few feet of counters, all the supplies I would need, ironing boards and an iron.....DH said we can even put a TV in there if I would prefer to fold everything in there.  

 

I have also thought about somehow keeping the current hookup on the first floor but hiding it somehow, so that as we age or if we experience an injury we could easily move it back to the first floor.  

 

 

ETA there are 6 of us, with the possibility of more to come.  We have a lot of laundry.

Edited November 21, 2016 by ksr5377

[Calm37]

Yes, keep the current hookups. That will help to sell the house, too, if you need to.

 

I actually like having the laundry downstairs. The thing I remember about having it on my first floor was the dust/lint. And that was a room with a door! I also have room for a large sorting countertop with enough space for all 6 family members to have their own laundry pile and room for towels, too.

 

 

[maize]

I would totally go for the large laundry room downstairs. 

 

If I didn't have a large family it wouldn't be a big deal either way, but laundry is a massive undertaking around here and tends to spill over whatever area is being used.

[Rachel]

Big laundry downstairs.

[Chris in VA]

Downstairs. Can you put in a laundry chute?

[Ausmumof3]

I line dry so easy access to outside is important. But I'd probably still go for basement. I think one of the dumbest trends in house designs is the trend toward tiny walk through laundries. Not practical for more than two people.

[Lori D.]

Downstairs. Can you put in a laundry chute?

 

Ooo! Ooo! I vote downstairs with a laundry chute -- or better yet, a small dumbwaiter, so no lugging down OR up the stairs!  :D (Here's how to DIY for a dumbwaiter.)

 

Also, that frees up the part of the current laundry area where the appliances sit to be filled with closed door cupboards -- extra pantry, school supply storage, etc. -- OR, put in a small desk, filing cabinet, bookshelf/cupboard, internet hook-up, and turn it into a mini office or work space!

Edited November 21, 2016 by Lori D.

[hellen]

I have a laundry room on the first floor and in the basement. (It's a weird local thing) I had to drag laundry into the basement from the second floor a few times and I hated it. As much as I would love a bigger closet on the first floor, taking laundry up and down two flights of stairs multiple times per week isn't worth it.

[Storygirl]

I had a house with an open laundry room right across the hall from the only first floor bathroom. I hated having guests be able to see into my laundry room. The home previous to that had the washer and dryer in the unfinished side of a basement, and as much as I disliked that, it was much preferable.

 

So I vote for moving the laundry downstairs. But do keep the hookups on the first floor. You can cover them over, but someone down the line might want to use them.

[Hobbes]

Definitely basement. I have that setup, though it is not fancy or pretty and has limited counter space, so I don't fold down there. But I do one big laundry day per week and don't mind hauling our baskets down ther in exchange for not having the laundry visible in our living space. If I don't get to it right away, it's hidden. Plus, I have enough room for line drying.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I'd move the laundry downstairs, keeping in mind as the kids get older they can pack their own stuff up and down the stairs.  I'd also keep the hook ups and hide them behind/in a thin cabinet where you could keep office supplies for you Dh's new office.

[Selkie]

I'd go for the big basement laundry room.  That's what we have, with a laundry chute that I absolutely love.  We keep most of our clothes down there, so the only things that need carrying up are towels and bedding.

[matrips]

Laundry to me is not something I need a hangout space for. I just need quick and easy access to keep it moving along. I have a decent size one now, but had a tiny one off our kitchen before, and still loved the convenience of it.

[Janeway]

I would keep it on the first floor. I wouldn't want to carry laundry up all those stairs to the bedrooms upstairs.

[BlsdMama]

I think it would depend on how old the kids were and how old you are.  I  definitely would not get rid of the hook-ups.  My grandparents laundry was in their finished basement and as they got older, it was very hard on them.  Personally, I'd rather have the laundry room where I think about it all the time and switch it often.

[SparklyUnicorn]

First floor.  Less lugging stuff up and down stairs.

 

 

[FriedClams]

We're planning on building, and I want my laundry room, closet, and master bath all adjacent. I hate moving clothes around. I want to shower, dress, and then wash the dirty clothes without walking all over the place. I'd vote for anything not in the basement.

[ktgrok]

Basement!

 

In fact, I suggest you turn the whole area into a family closet.  We started that a few years ago, and I love it.  All the kids' clothes are stored right there in our laundry room.  It makes doing the whole chore SO much easier, because putting the clothes away is just a few steps from the dryer.  Also, the kids just tend to change in the bathroom right next to our laundry room, and so we don't wind up with clothes all over the house.  It has saved me so much time and effort over the last few years.  Another bonus is that when getting out clothes for the littles for Sunday, or whatever event, I don't have to go room to room and dresser to dresser.  I can go to one place and there it all is!  We keep shoes and winter coats and gear in there, too.  Basically, anything that one might wear goes in that closet.  Dh and I do keep our clothes in our room upstairs.  Another bonus is that without dressers in the kids' rooms, they have much more space, AND their closets are empty, so we have more storage!  We turned the kids' closets into toy boxes.  

 

This....I would love a family closet. We basically had one when I was growing up (didn't call it that, but Dad did the laundry and it all got stacked/folded/hung up out in the laundry room. We were supposed to collect it to put it away, but that hardly ever happened...we just got used to collecting clothes from there). 

[MEmama]

Ours is in the upstairs hallway next to the bedrooms. It's so easy and nothing ever gets piled up or forgotten because the only place to fold is on our beds. I hope to replicate this system if we ever move; I'd seriously hate going back to a basement system.

 

So my vote would be kitchen if you can't move it upstairs. The less space it takes up, the less mess there can be (or at least that's how I roll).

[ksr5377]

Ours is in the upstairs hallway next to the bedrooms. It's so easy and nothing ever gets piled up or forgotten because the only place to fold is on our beds. I hope to replicate this system if we ever move; I'd seriously hate going back to a basement system.

 

So my vote would be kitchen if you can't move it upstairs. The less space it takes up, the less mess there can be (or at least that's how I roll).

I would LOVE for it to be upstairs, but that's not a possibility right now.

[MyLittleBears]

That's a tough one. We have ours downstairs. It's nice an roomy but I'm always scheming on how we could arrange to have it upstairs. The situation you describe would bug me though. It sounds like it is more in your way.

[elegantlion]

I would leave it where it is, hang a curtain rod and curtain over the doorway to hide it and muffle the sound.  

 

We live in a 2 story house with the laundry  upstairs, which is so simple. I would not want to go down two flights of stairs to do laundry in the basement, no matter how large the space could be. 

[KatieJ]

Your current set up is what I have, except the bsthroom and kaundrybroom are in the same room. Cozy.

This is my 4th house and the first time my lsundrybis main floor. I love it! At first I missed the space I had before, but as I ageit is so very nice to not be hauling laundry up and down stairs.

 

Leave the hookups if you choose to set up downstairs. Some of us are sold on main floor laundry.

[Bambam]

I would think a laundry room in the basement would be a huge hassle, and I'd probably forget the laundry more often than not.

 

But I agree, leave the laundry hookups if you decide to relocate the washer/dryer. 

[J-rap]

That's a tough call.  We turned our kitchen pantry (a half-bath size room just off the kitchen) into an actual half-bath and laundry room.  I LOVE having the laundry right there off the kitchen, where I spend so much of my time.  That room also has a toilet and a sink, and a place to hang clothes as I take them out of the dryer.  (Yes, it's a lot packed into one small room!) 

 

I guess 48 inches is probably too wide to add a door, but could you put something like this there, to separate your laundry area from the kitchen? 

 

http://www.houzz.com/discussions/169810/white-shutter-swinging-saloon-doors

 

 

[My4arrows]

Although the space of the basement laundry room sounds nice, I'd keep with the first floor. We have a first floor and second floor laundry room and I find the the laundry sits in our first floor laundry since we are typically on the second floor throughout the day. So laundry there gets done as we school and do other chores. And since the kids rooms are all on the second floor, they easily get their laundry to the washer and can put away the laundry themselves. I usually only use the first floor laundry in the evenings for DH and my clothes (since it's right off our master) and kitchen towels. If I had to redesign our home though I'd only have the second floor and I know I'd rarely do laundry in our basement let alone sit down there and fold it. For me it wouldn't fit right in my day, but I still have littles so that could change as the kids get older.

[gardenmom5]

I'd want s.p.a.c.e   with counters and room for crafts, wrapping gifts, etc. storage, etc.

 

if it's bright enough, it won't feel like a basement.

 

can you do a laundry chute?

 

I do not want to hear laundry going.

[gardenmom5]

I had a house with an open laundry room right across the hall from the only first floor bathroom. I hated having guests be able to see into my laundry room. The home previous to that had the washer and dryer in the unfinished side of a basement, and as much as I disliked that, it was much preferable.

 

So I vote for moving the laundry downstairs. But do keep the hookups on the first floor. You can cover them over, but someone down the line might want to use them.

 

 

this.

 

dd's house has a daylight basement, and the previous owner turned the laundry area into a bathroom without laundry.  they put them in the garage.  she had to put hook-ups back, and only has room for stacking washer/dryer.

she had it done before she moved in.

[katilac]

I'd absolutely go for the space! 

[ksr5377]

I would leave it where it is, hang a curtain rod and curtain over the doorway to hide it and muffle the sound.  

 

This house is so weird.  If i curtain off the doorway to the kitchen, then you would also have to walk through the curtain to get to the door to the garage.  If I just curtain off the area where the washing machine is, I end up having more of a curtain wall, as that space is about 5ft across.  So basically there is a 4 foot arch from the kitchen to the laundry room, but the laundry room itself acts as a hallway connecting the family room, bathroom and mudroom. 

It's an old house, so nothing is "normal", you know?

 

I would never actually take the first floor hookup out. I could see that the lack of space would be much less of an issue once I'm no longer doing laundry for so many people.  If we turn the area into an office space I thought I could just hang a bulletin board over it :)

Edited November 21, 2016 by ksr5377

[AHASRADA]

We've always had laundry in the basement, and that's how I like it. While house hunting, I rejected several houses that had laundry in the main bathroom. I like to throw a load in as soon as I wake up in the AM, and sometimes go to bed with the dryer running. I wouldn't be able to do either with the machines right next to where everyone is sleeping. I also love the built in activity it gives me. Lugging the clothes up and down really isn't a big hassle, and the physical activity feels great. I also need space to spread our drying racks for delicates, etc. that isn't in public view.

[Jennifer132]

I would do the basement option and just teach your kids to bring their dirties down each morning and put them in a communal basket. Then I'd store all the clothing in the laundry room and teach them to get their clothing the night before and bring it to their rooms.

[Guest]

I'd probably prefer the kitchen laundry, especially since it's easy to make a laundry space look snazzier and less messy with just some curtains and rods, along with bins. Good heavy curtains can also act as a sound dampener to keep the noise down in the adjoining kitchen and bath :)