I like a laundry room that I can close off from the rest of the house. I wouldn't care for a combo room (laundry/mud/powder) I don't think but clutter really bothers me ;). With dirty, sweaty boys I do a lot of laundry and there is almost always a laundry basket with clothes to be put away in there. . . I prefer to shut the door on it rather than have to walk by it to use the restroom or hang up my coat/purse, but that is just me. That is also the reason I didn't want lockers in my hallway - I have a separate mudroom in the back hall with a door I can close in case of company. I didn't want the first view in from my garage to be of backpacks and lunch boxes ;). Instead, everyone has to take a couple of extra steps to hang up their stuff, which is no different than they do now, and I get a view from my garage entrance of my breakfast table and french doors to the outside . . . I know this wouldn't work for everyone (there were plenty of people who wanted me to change my mudroom to something you would walk through to enter the house) but I know myself well enough to know that that would drive me nuts ;). I also know this doesn't work for everyone, so think of how you live and your comfort level with clutter because both laundry rooms and mud rooms seem to attract it, at least in my house!

Does the third bath function as a powder room that just happens to have a shower or is there another reason for it? Pool bath? Shop or outdoor cleanup before entering the main house? Can't really think of any others, but those might be reasons why someone would pay more for a full bath in that location, but if it's functionally a powder room, a shower wouldn't seem to add any value at all -- functional laundry space will.

chicagoans, I will most likely remove those French Doors since that will be the new living room. Not sure I will need a door or should I add one? I have moved all of my cabinets that were in my sewing room to the new sewing room and because it is laid out different I could not figure out how to add everything. I removed the half bath for the moment. Also, if you are talking about the window on the porch I will be removing it and putting the den on the left side of the porch. I have not added a door in the garage yet to go to the outside (is that what a man door is?) I have been looking at Foyer layouts but don't want to go too wide but I think I would like French Doors for the entry or at least a door and a half with both sides that will open. I will have the doors to the den will be off the foyer and I was thinking about adding the half bath at the end of the den wall. If I put the laundry room in the kitchen I was going to put the pantry on the east side but the entry door will be at the other end. What would you do and would you enclose the pantry with walls and a separate door or just have the shelves exposed? Right now my shelves are 12" deep but I think I would like them deeper--maybe at least 14" deep. I know the garage is on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen but those are the only places I can have them located because of the lot.

Wdcruise- you’d think that those expensive devices would work, but they often don’t. When the washer says 33 minute cycle, for example,it could still continue for up to 30 minutes. I use very little detergent, so I hope it’s not super rinsing. It may be off balance because of the type of laundry and the machine will keep spinning to find balance. The dryer doesn’t really work well in their pre set settings such as “towels” or similar. So I usually use just a timed setting and have to go check a couple times on dryness. They’re Electrolux front loaders. Yes, they should work better but they don’t. They’re 8 years olD. I have had several repairs and service calls and I’m not investing any more. Part of the reason the washer is off balance a lot is because it’s on the second floor - according to one serviceman. Because it’s on the second floor i need big plastic pans underneath to catch potential leaks. That’s probably part of it. I need those, according to my homeowners insurance (yes I talked to my agent). So, for me - second floor laundry is useless.