I'm shorter than you and also have a 10 year old going strong set of the Whirlpool front load washer and dryer and would love to do what you are wanting to do too. I would say if you want it and it's affordable, do it; if it isn't really in the budget though, why not post a pic of the whole room to see if someone has a creative alternative?

Just make sure you can get the appliances in and out. We had a heck of a time with our dryer hook up and don't even have a counter on top.

Lukkirish- at this point, there is no budget (ha! Within reason) it's just getting these trades to come and they all just fool around and are unreliable.

I'm of the mindset of while we're at it...we're not moving, doing all this is cheaper than moving, it's just such little things that add up and are a pain to get done, and we are not handy in this aspect at all.

Thanks for the chat. And that pretty much is the room! The door goes to our garage. There will be closet doors. Our carpenter is making them.

I would also be able to put some uppers up and reach them!

What a great space! I'm very jealous that you have all that space for your laundry room, coats, vacuums, etc. I also have to remodel my laundry room, so post any updates.

I agree - while you are in there, if you can afford it and since you do not plant to move, do what you can, and do it the way you want it. It has taken me a long while to learn this lesson. The last thing you want to do is walk into the laundry room and get angry because you didnt do something you wished you had.

Thanks rockybird! It seems like barely any room at all in there once my DH, the 4 year old and myself are in there, but I guess we are lucky! Thanks for the perspective! Now it's just doing this piddly work of moving the outlets and water line down, which I'm sure will cost a fortune. But it would be nice afterwards! I'll keep you posted!

I hear ya! I really do! I was hoping that there was room for a murphy table or something. My want is to fix where A previous owner moved our laundry upstairs to a small 4th bedroom and turned it into a bath, laundry combo. I love that the laundry is on the second floor, but I want to rearrange the layout so they are each in a space of their own. I have a great plan that can be easily executed but the plumbing and electrical costs are quite high and I can't justify the cost to my dh. I'm sure there is a reason but personally, I don't understand why electricians and plumbers are so expensive.

A lawyer realizes his toilet is leaking and needs to call a plumber. Calls the plumber, he comes and fixes the toilet. "That'll be $200," says the plumber. The lawyer exclaims, "$200! You were here for 15 minutes! I don't make that much!" Plumber- "Neither did I when I was a lawyer."

The current cabinet won't work? Can you modify it to the right height? You might be able to use a prefab laminate counter- I think they're about the right length. Maybe that would save a few bucks to put toward moving the electrical and plumbing down. You could put up a beadboard "backsplash" instead of having the drywall repaired and repainted, and put a long shelf above it, and wait a while on the upper cabinets.

The current cab is too short. I'm going to call a cab place in the next couple days to see what we can get. Thanks for the tip on saving some $$!

Look at big box stores for a ready made cabinet or vanity or a ready to assemble (RTA - Ikea is one brand but there are others).

That's funny and could actually be true! LOL, well at least you have a good sense of humor! BTW, Another trick you can do with the cabinet is pull it out from the wall so the front is lined up evenly with the machines, the gap behind it will be covered by the counter and no one will be the wiser.

Good idea lukkiirish!

I'm just wondering, the Whirlpools I have are pretty tall even without the risers. If you have the sink in the middle, the rise to have it level with the counter will be very tall and uncomfortable to use, especially for someone our height. If you're going to move the electrical and/or the plumbing, I would inquire first about having them rearrange the configuration so the w/d are side by side and the sink is next to them. Or the alternative would be like the last picture. Before you have even your tile guy come in, I would put a full design together first so that you won't have any backtracking to get it right. Is the sink something you really use or need? Can you put a storage cabinet there for your soaps and cleaners and just leave the sink out? I would skip the cabinet guy as he is going to charge you a premium, you can get a tall cabinet from the big box stores for a fraction of the cost, and put a riser under it to lift it. There are pieces you buy to put across the front to hide the mechanics of it and it will still look nice. You can also order semi custom, and those are almost always on sale, 20% off.

I agree with jlc. If you are going to move plumbing or dryer ductwork, I'd opt for moving the W/D together if possible, as it seems much more efficient. Something like photo #1, and if you have to step-down the sink then your height won't matter. Is the problem now that the existing cab too tall? Can you have someone cut it down?

Did you see aktillery's butler's pantry? She bought unfinished cabs and painted them herself and they look great. A nice option for later for your uppers if you can make the existing lower cab work.

Are your Whirlpools stackable? Mine are, and I did have them stacked in a previous house. This house, the layout is side-by-side, with uppers above. The depth of the W/D makes using anything but the bottom of the cabinets impossible without a step stool. I fold clothes straight out of the dryer and into a basket and being hunched over that long is a pain, so I've actually been considering removing the uppers, stacking the W/D again, and putting a floor to ceiling cabinet next to them, to make better use of the space.

Maybe something like this would work for you?

Minneapolis Remodel/Addition · More Info

I was thinking of stacking before. Those pics are all gorgeous! So much to think about! I'm kinda going into this half baked it almost seems looking at those pics!

Just to add to your design thoughts...have you considered a deeper sink? I have one in my current laundry room that is deep enough to hold and fill a mop bucket and is great for soaking items for stain removal. Another idea...I don't have a drip dry rack and would love one. That's a great way for us short people to use the space above the washer and dryer.

Also, don't forget to allow for plenty of room for the dryer vent hose, especially if you want metal. That will push your dryer out from the wall further than the washer.

Outside playing- this issue with the sink and I guess it's location is that there is just no room! Water splashes out along the sides of the w/d if too vigorous, no counter space for anything. The existing cab is too short, and ugly. I tried to rustoleum paint it and it didnt go well!

Errant_gw- they are stackable. Sigh. Who do I even call for all this?

I agree about moving the sink if you are having the expensive of moving it up anyway. In theory it shouldn't cost that much more to swap spots with the washer when you consider the grand scheme of it all. That way you could paint current cabinet to save $ and just switch out the countertop to match whatever you choose for over your appliances. Of course you'll have to have some drywall patching done as well, but you would gain folding space if you do front load washer/dryer. Your electrical outlet should also be a gfci outlet since it is so close to the sink.
I also agree with those that are saying to put storage above. We put up old cabinets and ours and it was such a good call. We don't even have a sink in our laundry though. I don't know why they never put one in and had a closet in there instead.

Why is it that laundry rooms are almost always too small and poorly thought out? Guess that unless you have the ability to design your own they are done my the same folks who don't cook and don't shop but put together kitchens for people who do. And we get to buy them and try to fix them.

So, then your existing sink is shallow? I think Fun2bhere is on to something, and you should look at a deeper sink. We have a really deep one in our laundry room and, although it is not next to our w/d, it is next to a wall. I use that thing a lot both for washing up after being outside, soaking laundry, filling a bucket, and many other uses. It was an inexpensive sink I do remember that and might solve your splash problem.

The sink is not shallow, I guess I'm just messy!

If the Whirlpools weren't so big I would think stacking was a good option, however, it's a really uncomfortable way to work if you're not exceptionally tall.

From my perspective the sink is the problem and if you redo the area without it, you could avoid all the additional costs of moving the plumbing and electrical by just capping off the pipe and replacing it with a counter height cabinet for storage. That option allows you to leave the cabinet in the middle and put the counter straight across like you planned to do originally.

We do like having a sink there as we come out of the garage all grungy and it's a good utility sink. So that gorg cast iron apron sink upthread will not be going in :)

I wouldn't give up my laundry sink either -- and mine isn't even next to the garage.

Ok, just a thought but I get it. I have a 7x9 pantry that used to be the laundry room and I will be adding a sink in there when we build in the shelving later this year for the sqme reason.

akl_vdb, why do you need a counter? Is it for appearances only? I have an HE top load washer and front load dryer and I use the tops of both for folding clothing. I had a folding table at one time, but realized it was much easier to do it all on the machines. Since your machines are both front loaders they should be as good as, if not better suited, to folding than mine are.

Justgotabeme- counter just for some continuity. I think once the tile is done we'll just move the machines back without the pedestals and see how that looks for now. But do I remove that little cab before he tiles?? Agh!

Thank you akl_vdb.
Can you tell me what the hole is in the floor to the right of the sink? My guess is the dryer vent, but I've never seen on in a floor before. If so, is the vent on the dryer underneath the dryer?

justgotabme- you are right, hole is for the dryer vent. Goes to the basement then goes to the outside. The vent ends up being behind the dryer, so the dryer is pushed from that far against the wall. Thank you lukkiirish!

Oh, and my DH wants the laundry room upthread with the apron sink! Ours looks nothing like that! I don't think it will either!

that is not a hard design to accomplish, just expensive, especially the sink.

I told my dh that we don't have that because it would be 2 k. He's like, that's it? He thought for the whole thing...I told him just for the sink. Silly boy.

You can do that set up cheaper than you are thinking. The more you are able to shop for reslae, savage and such (Habitat REstore is just one known nationwide, but every area has local versions too), but you can also search online for sink deals. Doen't look like you would want a 30-36 inch kitchen sink, but a smaller one. I saw one recently for $4-600? I'll try to see if I can still find it. That is likely to be your biggest cost item. You can look at remnant or prefab counters for that small, straight space. Shelving and cabinets can be very basic paint them yourself variety -- or even reclaimed

If that's what you really want, get the floor taken care of and shop until you find options to fit the budget that makes it happen. And you can hide the connections instead of moving them.

If we take ours off the pedestals at some point and try the counter above, I think I would build out a shallow cabinet (4-6 inches?) with sliding doors and oune could be an access panel to the connections. The idea would be to have just enough space to put laundry supplies so I could use the upper cabinets for other things. That's either DIY or paying someone to do someting unusual, which is sometimes reasonable and sometimes $$$.

Here is a 24 inch farmhouse sinkfrom Home Depot for $649. Find a moving coupon and get 10% off. My faucet is a Whithaus and I love it. Very high quality. Basichaus might be a lower end line, but I would expect quality materials -- just simple designss and not extra details.

Here is another one in a brand I am not familiar with but below $400.

I think one I remember was from Woot and those are limited time deals, but search around.

You could also easily modify Ikea's farmhouse sink to have the counter cover the top edges instead of sitting on top if you are looking for the same look for less. The single bowls in US are only $189. We have their double bowl in this place and had the single in the last place. I really loved the single. It was deep and wide. Ours was in the kitchen of course, but I think it would work well for the laundry also. you'd just have to modify slightly.

akl_vdb, our dryer vent goes into the wall with duct work leading outside. My W/D are only a few inches from the wall. Although, with yours out a ways you could have a deeper shelf for storing your laundry needs. I have one, but it sticks over the back of the washers just a bit.

Ok, so I'm focusing on removing the cab now. We have to do the plumbing part tonight and the actual cab removal in the am before the tile guy gets here to tile. He has the ditra on now so we cannot walk on it. So fun when the plumber bails! Then we can take some time to plan and look around. Thanks!!

I'll have to see if we can do the dryer vent in the wall to get a bit more space justgotabme.

Littlemonkeys3, I'll have to see what Ikea offers, thanks for the suggestions!

Lascatx- that's a neat idea about sliding doors, have you seen that somewhere? I do have a carpenter now and he's particular and awesome from what I've heard, he can do anything apparently.

We are in Canada, so everything is a bit more, but I am good at finding deals!

Thanks all!

You're welcome. Good luck! I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

I havent seen it on in a landry room but I saw it done in a kitchen -- the back splash behind or to the side or the cooktop. I have also been seeing the sliding doors on a fair number of furniture pieces lately. Like this one and here is another one. This wouldn't require any special carpentry skills -- you have panels that slide in two sets of grooves so they pass in from and back of each other. No hinges or other hardware necessary - perhaps a router to make the channels, but they could be assembled.

akl_vdb I'm in Canada as well. I think I paid about $250 for the single bowl. That was probably close to 8 years ago though. I do think it was close to that price though when we bought the double bowl for this house, only last year.

You cab buy glides for sliding cabinet doors.