Our master bathroom opens to our closet which opens to the laundry/mudroom off the garage. You wouldn't have this exactly.... but I still have the experience of a master closet adjacent to the laundry room to comment on:

It is so sensible for us, and I looooooooooooove this setup. I would not want to live in a house with anything different. It looks like your laundry would still be accessible to you if you are the type who wants it near the kitchen. For us, having it right next to the closet makes laundry so incredibly easy (we don't have kids, but your kids rooms are on a different floor anyway.)

Do you guys come in from the garage with dirty things you need to throw in the washer? Would it be annoying to take dirty kids clothes from mudroom to laundry room?

Parkview-I know you've seen what we are considering and even though we don't have it yet it is one of the things I was excited about. Right now our laundry is right off the garage - no mudroom. It is actually in the 1/2 bath - extremely TIGHT and I HATE it. My kids are younger and if they are ever filthy they strip right there and we throw it in. That is an issue less and less as they've grown (7 and 10). In the future they'd likely just strip right there and we'd carry it in a basket to the washer.

Long term I think we will like the laundry over by the master instead of in the mudroom area for a couple of reasons:
It's not on public display....most of our guests - especially neighbor kids come in through the garage entry. This way your sorted clean/dirty piles are not on public display. Or if you are soaking something it will be undisturbed. I think that is a positive. Plus no baskets to trip over, get in the way.

If it was combined with the mudroom - no worries about dropping clean clothes on a floor that the kids just kicked their dirty shoes off on or the dog just dripped drink water all over. I can see that now already....

Blocking it out for now but someday they will have girlfriends and that could be uncomfortable for them to walk through and see mom/dads/boyfriends underthings.

When they are grown and out - perfect location. I am not wishing it away but we are planning on the forever home so I am taking that into consideration.

I am hoping to be able to incorporate something like lolauren with a walk through to the closet from the laundry room....

My 2 cents. ;)

We revised our plan to remove the laundry from its space next to the garage. We made our room into a dog room/mudroom. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, it is one of my favorite features of the house. We have a grooming tub, fridge and sink on one side of the room and cubbies on the other.

We then put one laundry room upstairs (into what used to be a very oversized linen and walk-in closet) and put a stacked washer/dryer outside of the master closet.

I love my mudroom!

Bevangel does a good job in making the case for a laundry-centric placement, that is, put the laundry room where it best enhances the laundry experience.

However, the space within a home is a combination and compromise between competing interests, so a case can be made which has you analyzing how you use the spaces and the size of the spaces with respect to frequency of use and intensity of use and other factors that play off of space usage and then prioritizing your space usage.

The laundry room has to go somewhere so determine who important ease of use is to you compared to what you have to sacrifice from other activities/spaces in order to get that ease of use. Moving the laundry room buys you mudroom or kitchen space and costs you master bedroom space. Moving it to the second means that some other space has to be sacrificed.

I don't do small loads and I don't do laundry frequently because, to me, the job of laundry is not directly proportional to the amount of laundry, so to minimize my time spent doing laundry I do big loads. This means that the convenience of having the laundry right next to my closet diminishes in appeal. I'd rather have a bigger closet or bath or living room or bedroom than have a convenient laundry room and so my laundry room goes to an area that doesn't have as many conflicting space usage demands.

A young family that does laundry every day is going to be seeing this situation differently and will value the compromise differently.

My point is that there are conflicting desires for space within a house so this decision shouldn't, I believe, be evaluated only on what makes for the best laundry experience.

We put a full size laundry room upstairs - huge room with shelves/hanging space, etc but then did a stackable washer/dryer within the master bath/closet area (first floor master). We are only in the house a week and a half, and it's the BEST thing ever :)

In our old house, we had an upper master w/ laundry right outside our bedrooms. So, it was very convenient. We didn't want to lost that, but wanted to avoid the lugging of hampers up/down. Plus, we wanted 2 washer dryers bc it makes life easier if we can get 2 loads done at once. So, we opted for 2 locations in the house that are convenenient to where we are and then one big one for storage/kids stuff, etc

I have no clue why people put it in the mudroom/off the garage away from where laundry is. But, it's been the trend the last several years in my area. I know some people love it, and it definietly works for them. But, we prefer to have the w/d where the laundry is so we don't have to haul laundry anywhere. This set up has worked out great so far!

hth

Hi Parkview-

Here are a couple of pics that I love for organization and using vertical space. I know I found some on here also but can't get to my clippings right now (only have a sec on my lunch break). I think it would be harder to achieve with a combined mudroom/laundry although my space will not be this large either but I hope to incorporate some of the ideas:

It's from this blog iheartorganizing:

Here is a link that might be useful: Organization Blog

I recommend a small stacked washer/dryer in the master suite & a normal size laundry near other bedrooms. Your personal things don't get mixed with the kids' & it's SO easy to put your stuff away & hang it all up. It's a little spendier but you could always put the hook ups in & then buy W/D later.

i installed my laundry center inside my master bdrm closet. clothes come out and get hung right up where they belong. it's heavenly! i strip in the closet and can treat stains et al right there as i get showered and changed.

there's also a stacked unit downstairs in the mudroom for household/horse stuff.

Since the master is on the first floor and the other bedrooms are on the 2nd, someone is going to be toting laundry.

I don't even think about our laundry being in our mudroom. We don't, though, have stacks of laundry there very often. We do the laundry and then it goes back to wherever it belongs.

I definitely would *not* consider any option that didn't include a not-through-the-master way of doing laundry. My kids, starting at 11 or 12, did their own laundry--and I wouldn't want them going through my bedroom to do it. (Especially not as they got older and were doing laundry at odd hours.)

Even as a secondary laundry, I wouldn't have wanted to give up *any* closet space to a w/d in the master closet area.

Thanks for all the insight! We have ultimately decided to use a different plan (of course!) and keep the main laundry by the kitchen/playroom but then do a small stacked set by the master closet. I figure with two little ones I will be near the kitchen and playroom often but will still want to keep my laundry access in the closet.

Bevangel -
I did read that article a few weeks ago when it was posted - and I agree that McMansions are all over the place - but I don't know how to find plans or examples of GOOD design?? We actually have a new plan that is similar to the one I posted but still has some of the things you mentioned in poor design. Honestly, I don't want our house to be boring....so I don't know where the balance is.

If you have any links to pictures of well designed exteriors, I would love to look through them.