That would probably help but you still need space for the hoses and the drain pipe from the washer (at least 2-3'). So 31' will super tight. Are you measuring to the wall/trim or the door? The door frame may give you a bit of additional depth. Do some research and look at owner's manuals for various brands and see what you can find. They give dimensions as well minimum clearance required from the wall. I can tell you right now that any Samsung model is out - they all are over 30'. But you may have some luck with LGs, Duets or other brands. Good luck.

I'm sorry the Bosch 500 series only vents from the back or the right. They are fantastic products and our customers REALLY like them. In terms of some other options, I know the GE Profile: PFDS450ELWW vents left, right, and back. It's capacity is 7.5 cu ft. This is just off the top of my head, but don't fret! You are right, Whirlpool is an option and Maytag might be as well. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Want to laugh and learn about appliances? Read our blog!

We found California Closets and Closets by Design very expensive and didn't want a boxed kit, which the Container Store offers. Our decision came down to Closets Central and Easy Closets because they offer the same quality as the first two but are more reasonable. They also don't offer installation, but it is not difficult to do yourself or you can hire a local handyman. We went with Closets Central because they have a much wider selection and seemed more solid. Both companies cost about the same but the service was better with Closets Central. We're not familar with Creative Closets, so we can't comment. All of the companies you listed offer European systems so the flexibility would be the same on all of them. We waited a long time to do our master closet so we wanted it fabulous, which we got. We saw that Building Products Magazine ranked CC higher than EC by a good margin, so that helped us decide also. Easy Closets seemed too cookie cutter for our needs, while Closets Central provided a custom design. The resale value of any quality closet will be more than what you spent on it. A realtor friend said Closets rank #2 in importance to home buyers. Only kitchens rank higher. Hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: Closets Central

I have this problem too. I had 30"x30" closets, then after remodeling they became 52"x24" closets. Overall it's an improvement, but definitely the top shelves are less useful than before--can't get anything too deep up there. If I did it over again, I would have at least gotten a cost estimate for doing like a built-in wardrobe, but I don't think that's the kind of solution you want at this point either. I did buy a closet solution from Easy Closets and placed the rod pretty high, which leaves more useful storage on the bottom. Above the door I have shelves with some plastic storage containers--I'm still putting things away so it's not too packed yet.