Why not put a door in directly across from the pantry door, move the washer & dryer to the wall where the door currently is now (obviously closed off) and put the sink and a counter top across the back wall with the upper cabinets? I think having the washer & dryer next to each other is important.

I agree, having the w&d not next to each other would make me nuts. Need to work that out.

Is this a renovation? If it were me, I would take the whole hallway, pantry and laundry space and white it out in the plan. Rethink where the optimal entry from the living room (?) to the kitchen should be and where you want to access the laundry room and pantry from along with how much space you would like each of them to take up. The angles and hall are taking up (in my opinon) way too much space. Are there knee-walls here? Or what is going on with the extra interior walls there?

I agree about having the W/D next to each other, however, he doesn't think there will be any space for me to stand once the dryer door is open. Basically no room to manuver. I would tape this out, but have a current penisula in the way that is making it difficult to actually lay out.

This is a renovation. The laundry room currently resides in the corner where the main kitchen is and the dining room where the frig/desk is.

Because the door at the start of the angles is where the most traffic comes from outside and upstairs I feel it is critical to have. It does technically enter the same room as the pocket doors down the wall do, but serves a different purpose.

thanks for your input so far!
Allie

Okay but to clarify I wasn't talking about getting rid of the door altogether, just maybe pushing it down so that the laundry (or pantry) is on one side and the hall runs straight through to the kitchen. There is a lot of space taken up by the diagonal, if you can move the door, I would consider it.

I would try to rethink the plan without the angles, they're really causing more problems than they're solving. The triangular pantry might be ok but the angled hall and pentagonal laundry room are inefficient uses of space.--I would try to work it out with rectangular divisions

I agree about rethinking the angles because they create a lot of wasted empty space. That really makes is difficult to create a good lay-out in the laundry room. Count me as another who would hate not having washer and dryer next to each other.

How do you intend to use the pantry? If this is where you intend to store regularly used items, it's quite a hike the prep area and the island becomes a barrier island.

Is the purpose of the angled hallway from kitchen to LR to hide the kitchen from sight? Will this hallway get a lot of traffic? It's only 33" wide, which is narrow considering it includes access to the pantry. Could be an area of congestion.

What purpose have you assigned to the cabs and counter to the left of the DR opening? Could this area be made smaller and turned 90 degrees so that the cabs face the butler's pantry area? If so, you might be able to straight out the other angles, make the pantry a rectangle, put its access facing the kitchen not the LR hallway, and fix the laundry issues.

Basically what I'm envisioning is (from left to right), a rectangular laundry room with the long side running from kitchen to LR wall, then a much shorter, non-angled hallway from kitchen to LR, then a rectangular pantry with long side running along the LR wall, then a set of cabs and counter with long side running against pantry wall and facing the butler's pantry. If you want to block views from LR to kitchen, you can add pocket or swing doors. A door will also block noise a lot better than an angled hallway. This doesn't really address the pantry distance from prep area but it does at least move the doorway out of a narrow hallway.

If you can't or are unwilling to eliminate the angles, consider stackable front loading machines for the laundry room to achieve a more user friendly lay-out and make the oddly shaped room live larger than it does now.

Do you have a separate dining room? I'm seeing 2 small round tables and an island, none of which will seat more than 4 people. This is not a good configuration if you do any entertaining.

I am not sure what the rooms are surrounding the kitchen but what is the thing next to the table? Is it a counter? Why not make that a pantry? I would put the door to the next room where the word pantry is above and make the laundry room a complete square.
OR I would still make the laundry room a rectangle and put the pantry on the opposite wall of the W/d, who cares if it is in the same area? I would still make the doorway into the kitchen next to the word pantry above. Either way you could have a rectangleular island.

Sorry for the crude modifications but how about something like this?

Laundry is now a rectangle, you can put the door anywhere on that wall, the pantry is reshaped but still has the angle to match the kitchen island. Doorway to the other room is just shifted over a bit.

wow - you guys are great. I was going to take pictures of the existing tonight, but spent the evening pricing for a charity yard sale.

It is a renovation. The area to the left of the kitchen table is a half wall with a view into the family room. so this area will serve as a buffet. The area next to the desk has countertop cabinets and will hold craft stuff and overflow from the desk area. the other stand alone item is a hutch.
I am a little concerned about moving the door into the kitchen as it would then be within a small living room area (I am taking the rest of this long room for the dining table)
I see what you all are saying. I was wondering about moving the laundry and pantry to the right of the door and making them more retangular like and see if they fit between the door and the hutch.
The angular hallway is there because of the need for access. The original design didn't have the door and it is the main access from the front door and the bedroom staircase. Not for noise or anything else.

Now that I am home, I am going to cut out a W/D set and see where I can make them fit!

thanks everyone - if I missed answering any questions - let me know!
Allie

Have you considered getting a washer and dryer that can stack? Many of the new front-loaders have that as a possibility.

ssnowjay posted a good alternative - and here's another.

even more crude - I'm not used to drawing on the computer. but you get the idea. the doors could go on the sides closer to the kitchen or by the hallway. I agree that those angles are messing it up!

{{!gwi}}

ok, here are 2 options I worked on last night. Please excuse the raw lines, but I don't have access to drawing options - unless there is something out there free.

{{!gwi}}

input would be appreciated.

Allie

Can you post the layout of the existing space first? I think you're locked into these odd angles because you've seen a design using them, and they aren't really working at all.

Starting completely fresh with completely new perspectivese seems to be warranted. To do that, we need to see the space as it exists NOW.

ok, excuse my drawing, but I think this should give you an idea of what we are living with now. The design we have been working with is a pretty radical change. I was days away from ordering the cabinets until we determined the measurements didn't work in reality. Better then after!

I lost scale on some of the interior items, but the walls are essentially correct. I moved my dining room table into the far end of the living room and it makes it tight, but workable for us. (family of 4 with kids 4 and 8 years old)

thanks,
Allie

{{!gwi}}

one last bump, just in case there are last minute ideas.

thanks everyone,
Allie

Is that turned 90 degrees from previous plans? I'm having a hard time grasping how it relates to the plans you've posted already so that makes it hard to offer suggestions other than what I already have. Maybe someone else can understand it better than I can.

btw, what I suggested is very similar to what snowjay drew.

Allie-

If you are willing to revisit the whole plan, then I would highly suggest that you post what you have now, what the measurements for the space are, and after reading the intro thread, what you want to fit in the new space. There are some seriously talented people here who would love to draw up completely fresh plans.

Is that turned 90 degrees from previous plans? I'm having a hard time grasping how it relates to the plans you've posted already so that makes it hard to offer suggestions other than what I already have. Maybe someone else can understand it better than I can.

btw, what I suggested is very similar to what snowjay drew.

Yes it is rotated. I use the bay window to orient myself.

A.

Seems I'm having posting problems. Double posted above and then couldn't post at all this morning. Try, try again, right? ;-)

So in your new plan, the laundry room is moving to where pantry is, pantry is moving into part of the kitchen and kitchen is taking over laundry room and formal dining room and you're incorporating your formal dining room into the family room. It also looks like your new plan does not move doorways in the family room and the kitchen table stays in the same spot. Does that sum it up?

I agree with brickton: post your plan with dimensions and let the design pros here have at it. Post your wish list and the restrictions, too. For instance, are you willing or able to move doorways into the family room? The wide doorway isn't an issue but moving the small doorway in the corner could open up more possibilities for you.

This doesn't mean you have to toss your plan, it's just to give you more options to consider. It's quite possible you'll end up with a plan that combines the best of the KD's plan with what GWers come up with. Yes, it means stalling ordering the cabinets but this gives you a better shot at having the best possible plan, no stone left unturned, and having no regrets later.