Do I keep laundry in entrance or move to basement?

3 years ago

I'm about to close on my first house and I love it, except for the entryway. The front door leads to a full flight of stairs to the main floor (see pic). The stairs land in a 8x7 mudroom w/laundry, so it feels like you are really entering through the laundry room (see bad pics from past owner). This house will be a resale in 3-5 years, so what would be more valuable to buyers--1) keeping the laundry in entry on the main floor (master bed/bath + second bedroom, and kitchen) or 2) moving it to the unfinished utility room (see pic) in finished basement (walkout with bedroom, full bath and family room)? If 2, is it worth it to finish the room?

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Comments (18)

jrb451
3 years ago
A laundry room right off the entry way would be a head scratcher for me but it is convenient to the source for most of the laundry. On the other hand, I could make a case for not having to travel the stairs up and back to do laundry.

Not much help, huh?
tartanmeup
3 years ago
What jrb451 said. Could you ask a local realtor? They'll know what homeowners in your neck of the wood appreciate. In the meantime, are you okay with the entry in this house? Does it flow well for you? If not, will you be able to live with your until you sell in 3 years?
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No, no one's suggesting reconfiguring the stairs -- if you launch into that project, it really is time to just choose another plan. Moving stairs means massive re-engineering, which would not be worthwhile when other small plans are available. What we're suggesting is using the space ABOVE the stairs. This would remove the open, airy feeling of the staircase ... but it would give you more liveable space in an otherwise too-small upstairs. Here's a website with step-by-step pictures of a couple guys "taking in" that space. Obviously you wouldn't do it later; you'd have it included with the original build, but this gives you an idea of what type of space we're discussing: http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-an-Empty-Stairwell-into-a-Storage-Loft/ Consider the poorly-drawn layout I've sketched below. The bedrooms are untouched. This makes the current kid's bathroom into a larger closet for you ... takes in the space over the stairs to allow you a slightly-larger-but-still-simple bath; you could probably have a small linen closet next to the vanity ... and relocates the kids' bathroom. I think the proportions in the kids' bathroom may be problematic -- it's just a rough sketch. Of course, this does nothing to address your initial concerns about the laundry. Perhaps you could go with a small stack-up machine INSIDE the kids' bath? Perhaps a stack-up machine where I placed the toilet, move the toilet over to the other side of the room. I'm thinking this room would be about 7' wide -- it took in a basic bath PLUS your closet -- so that might be enough to have a small machine in that room. Then you could build a larger, nicer laundry in the basement eventually ... but still have the small, stack-up machine handy for small, quick loads. Perhaps this could be the best of both worlds -- or as close as can be in a small space? Off topic: Is a wet room 'specially expensive? Why?
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Denita
3 years ago
Tasha, can you post a quick sketch of your floorplan with dimensions?
maifleur03
3 years ago
I am missing something since there appears to be a door that needs to be opened to access the laundry room.
User
3 years ago
I currently have laundry in the basement. We've recently bought a condo, and one of the non-negotiable things for our purchase was a main floor laundry. You don't wanna schlep laundry up and down stairs. Ever.
ci_lantro
3 years ago
I'm a little confused.

Are you saying that the laundry room is at the top of the stairs & that you must pass thru the laundry area to get to the kitchen, etc.? Where is the living room? Or is the only public area the family room in the basement? Must guests pass thru the the laundry area?

I don't like how the dryer is blocking access to the closet in the current set-up.

Pending more info, I'm leaning to moving the laundry to the basement.
Newideas
3 years ago
I suspect the laundry was initially in the basement and was moved to the main floor for convenience. If you choose to relocate the machines, leave the hookups so it is flexible for resale.
Perhaps remodeling the closet area and putting a stacked unit would allow you to close off the laundry machines from view?
graywings123
3 years ago
I would leave it where it is and make it the best looking laundry area I could.
Tasha
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks everyone. The house is two stories, the first is technically a walkout basement with a rec space, bedroom, and full bath, and the unfinished utility room. the second story is where the kitchen, living room, master, and office are. To get into the house from the front, you walk through the front door then you walk up those stairs, you stop at a small landing and a door. That door opens to the current laundry room and you're facing the appliances just as the picture shows--theres the closet ahead of you and the door to the right opens into the kitchen. The kitchen and living room are open concept, but you do go through the kitchen first. I hope that clarifies. Unfortunately I don't have a layout of the house and we haven't closed yet on the sale. So yes, guests must walkthrough the laundry room (as it is now) to access the main living areas. And I don't think I know if I can live with that for three years. But I also don't know if it's worth the expense of finishing and putting new hookups in the basement utility room. the closet is too small to put the machines into, but we are thinking about a stacking unit to save space.
Denita
3 years ago
Once you close, put together a diagram to scale and proper measurements. This will help you decide what is possible plus if you post it here others can help give you viable alternatives. Don't make changes immediately when you move in. The planning stage will be critical to not going overboard on a change. Are there other homes in the neighborhood that have handled this situation in the way you are currently thinking? If so, it might be a good idea to see what others have done too.
maifleur03
3 years ago
If you took a picture going up the stairs it might help with the visualization.

Alternative is just draw out the area and do not worry about the dimensions since your question was about moving the appliances not reconstructing the landing. An arrow showing the flow to the living area could be of use to give suggestions on best method to hide them.
Elizabeth
3 years ago
I would leave the laundry where it is. I agree with not hauling laundry up and down the stairs. Awful.
daisiesandbutterflies
3 years ago
Is there enough space to closet in the laundry? Regardless, switch to stacking, will look better. I would not move it to the basement.
hisown
3 years ago
I too would leave it where it is. I think most people hate having to go to the basement to do laundry. I know I do.
wdccruise
3 years ago
I think the placement of the appliances there will be offputting to prospective purchaser of your house. It's weird, it's what buyers will remember about the house, and says, "this place is shabby" regardless of how nice the rest of the house is.
Denita
3 years ago
@wdccruise The OP is the buyer, not the seller. She wants to know what to do with the space and the laundry after she closes. The issue as I see it is that the floorplan isn't clear from her post. With an actual floorplan augmented with pics, we can see the issue more clearly to give better advice.
wdccruise
3 years ago
She's planning to resell the house in 3-5 years so I say fix the problem.
ci_lantro
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I agree with you wdcruise. A laundry smack dab in the entry will be a major turnoff come resale time. Makes for a really bad first impression.

ETA that a pile of dirty clothes/ hamper can be really stinky. I certainly don't do laundry every day and would not want to have to--to rein in the stink.

Do I keep laundry in entrance or move to basement?

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Do I keep laundry in entrance or move to basement?

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