Is it possible to put in a laundry chute above the pantry? Very easy to install or cheap to have a handyman do. If all the bedrooms are upstairs, it makes more sense to have the W/D upstairs unless it would really open up valuable space where it is now.

Our current laundryroom is a mudroom, just off the garage. It is 6x10', with cabinets on one wall for extra storage. It isn't really a pantry, but we do store extra dry goods in it.

We don't have kids but when the laundry room was in the basement I carried the baskets up and down. I preferred to think of it as exercise rather than a pain!

I have 3 small kids. Currently the laundry room is off the kitchen / mudroom area.

In our previous house we had a 2nd floor laundry. I know they are very popular but I hated it and when we remodeled this house I just shifted my laundry a bit but kept it on the first floor.

Why I like 1st floor:
- I spend all my time there during the day, and if my laundry were on the 2nd floor I would forget a load in the washer every single day!
- We have a laundry chute so getting dirty laundry downstairs is no issue
- We have 3 kids who do chores and my DH takes my laundry up (I wash / hang / fold, he takes up), so getting clean stuff upstairs is no hassle.
- all the really dirty gross laundry gets generated downstairs - milk cleanups in the kitchen, towels from cleaning dirty dogs, kitchen cleaning rags, etc., so it is easier to keep them cleaned.

My laundry room is about 6 x 10. Along the 6' wall I have my w/d on a 20" high platform so loading them is a breeze and the controls are at eye level. Under the platform I have my sorting basics for dirties.

{{!gwi}}

Along the long wall I have a tower for hanging stuff (we hang nearly everything), then a folding counter over cubbies. In the cubbies I have a basket for each family member plus one for clean linens. I have upper cabs over the sorting table but I had them hang them very high so I'd have room to work at the counter.

{{!gwi}}

At the end of the run I have a small laundry sink, and since this laundry room is right inside the back door from our patio, we stuck an extra potty behind a half wall.

This whole room is separated from my mudroom by a pocket door. Until I built this separate laundry my w/d were in the mudroom; lockers along one wall and w/d along the other. It really really sucked. If I sorted the laundry on the floor, people were always walking through it. People were always putting things on my folding counter because the mudroom is the main traffic way in from the garage and backyard. So to do laundry I would have to clean off my counter everytime--- grr! In my opinion, it is much better to design the laundry function apart from the mudroom function.

Plus, back then, my laundry was always messy and I really didn't want to look a the mess from my kitchen so I put in the pocket door. But wonder of wonders, now that i have an efficient and well designed laundry room, it is almost never messy! I absolutely love my new laundry room :)

Anita

Nicely done, Nomore!

I love your laundry room, I'm so jealous! We just moved and my set is in the basement utility room, no chance of finishing it as we need clearance for the furnace and hot water heater. But in our next house I want a room just like yours nomore!

Thanks for the compliments. I call it my laundry palace. I love it. Considering how much time I (we all!) spend in there, it is such a satisfying luxury!

Anita

Whenever this question comes up (1st or 2nd floor) it always comes down to when, how and what type of laundry you do. I don't like the laundry room sharing another purpose most of the time. Because, if you have kids and a lot of laundry it's always busy with laundry coming and going (controlled chaos). Its usually too busy to sacrifce part of the room's function. If your an empty nester its a totally different animal.

Our master is downstairs and there are three bedrooms up and two small (under 10) kids. We have a first floor laundry room/mud room with a huge double 9probably triple but it has two big doors) closets and lots of storage. The kids enjoy the "throw the laundry off the balcony" game where one kid tosses and the other holds a basket and tries to catch them. Well at least this is great fun when you are 9!

Otherwise I don't mind it downstairs and it comes in very handy. I can hear it when the dryer or washer stops. Great for taking something yucky off and putting right into the washer (or laundry tub next to it).

Hate my laundry room on the first floor -- the bedrooms and most of the baths are upstairs, so the schlepping up and down gets annoying. That, and DD is a little mess maker (special needs, okay, so no "just spank it out of her," comments, please) and can't be left unattended, which means hauling her up and down the stairs with me. Not horrible, but not really all that much fun either, especially with the amount of laundry I churn through. Personally, I'd rather run upstairs to change it then carry it up and down the stairs, but it isn't really an option in our house.

I think my SIL's new house is really cool, though -- she has a big upstairs laundry room where all the bedrooms are, and a smaller washer and dryer in the mudroom, which is perfect since her husband works construction and they live next door to my in-laws farm.

I actually really like the idea of most of the laundry being done upstairs, but having the means to take care of really messy stuff (including the 'running through the sprinkler' suits and towels) right in the mudroom. Her house isn't that huge, either, I think she just really put a lot of effort into designing it well.

C'est la vie. My house was designed by the builder, so it's big on oak trim and very weak on unimportant stuff like, oh, kitchen and laundry room layout. ;-P

Good luck!

Our laundry is on the second floor, right by the bedrooms. I actually really like having it here. With 3 kids, clothing and bath towels are definately the bulk of my laundry, so it makes my life easier to have it upstairs. Its kind of nice to have it outside the normal flow of traffic from visitors, etc. too.

We recently bought the Samsung VRT steam washer and dryer set and they really are quiet enough for the second floor. Love them.

Some things to consider.

When we bought our new house we were trying to decided between laundry on 2nd floor or basement.

2Nd floor is usually most convenient for most families. Bedroom and bathrooms are there so it makes less hauling. But that room has to be water tight. First you are going to get a lot of humidity form the drier. Second it anything ever over flows or leaks. Big mess to pull all the carpet or flooring to try to dry it out. Only to have to mold and mildew and need replacing. Antoher thign to consider is the noise. Imagine the drier with some shoes or a washer that has an uneven load on spin cycle. That will right right above your head while you are trying to watch TV.

We ellected to temporily put ours in the basement. Much less noise, If something leaks it concrete with a drain. The humidity is evenly distibuted through the whole basement and eventualy throught the whole house.

Future plans are to install a laundry chute in the second floor hallway and move the laundry area into a future mudroom/pantry inside the garage. Of course all the plumbing and electrical will need to be moved but thats not a big deal.

After doing the research I would not personally want the laundry room on the second floor. To many things to go wrong and cause major major issues.

Great pics of the above laundry palace.