Dumbwaiter suggestions?
doc5md
2 years ago
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Laundry Room Location: Upstairs, Downstairs or Basement!
Comments (4)I personally don't believe there is a right or wrong answer here. It boils down to personal preferences and how YOU do laundry. When we bought our house we did a complete gut and reno. My laundry was located in a large closet in my kitchen (large enough for cabinet with sink, stacked machines and another storage unit to the right). Everyone convinced me to keep it there - said it would be so convenient to have it on the main floor. Fast forward a few years and two small boys later ... I hated it. I was still working full time then so weekends were laundry days (that's when I could strip beds and such). I'd be walking over laundry in the kitchen ... yuck! A couple years ago we finished our basement and down it went (where I wanted it in the first place). My issue with having it upstairs with the bedrooms is size. Unless it could be a large room than can accommodate all I want in my laundry then the basement is the only logical place for it. My husband wears suits/dress shirts to work and I iron items like sheets, linens, etc ... An ironing board always seemed to be up in my kitchen. I also like to hang dry certain items so a drying rack had to be somewhere. Anyway, you get the picture. Down in the basement I have a large dedicated room. It has my machines, cabinets and a large laundry sink. I have a large table on castors in the middle of the room for folding, crafting, wrapping gifts. We installed two large Ikea Pax units to hold out of season items and craft/wrap supplies. I've got a wall mounted tv, comfy chair and my elliptical. It's a great space and I use it all the time (as laundry never seems to end). My kids use it too for messy projects or crafts like painting. Nice to not have the mess in the kitchen anymore. I do have to carry laundry up and down but heh ... I could use the exercise ;) I really don't mind considering the space I have to work in. I wouldn't trade it for a small laundry closet upstairs. Now ... a second set of machines on the bedroom level?? That's another question all together :) If you're doing a laundry room on an upper level, I would make it a water tight space with a drain (incase of floods). You certainly don't want to ruin your nice new home. Plus you would want to reinforce the floor to take the extra weight and vibrations (to ensure a quiet spin). Friends of mine built expensive custom homes and this is how they do the (large) laundry rooms on the bedroom level. They usually install Miele front loaders and they reinforce the floors and make them water proof. I read this on waterproofing: "The best way to prevent a leak from flooding the rest of the house is to build a curb across the laundry room's threshold, waterproof the floor area, and install a floor drain. Because the drain will normally be dry, it will require a trap primer, which diverts a dribble of water from the supply line to the drain to keep the trap full and prevent sewer gas from wafting into the living space. Additional safeguards include washing-machine drip pans and electronic shutoff valves that automatically stop the flow of water when they sense a leak."...See MoreSink in Kitchen Island - What Does that Add to the Price?
Comments (13)Thanks laughable, swapping the dining room and kitchen is a great idea - just not affordable for us since it's a 2nd floor (parlor floor) kitchen and the plumbing, electrical etc. is already on the interior wall not the exterior one. the kitchen on the lower floor did in fact get moved to the far wall for more space and the prior owners (who were DIY'rs so it cost them much less than it would cost us) used the basement to run pipes where no one cares anyway - it looks bad in the unfinished basement but good on the first floor. But the prior owners managed to muck up the layout anyway with an L-shaped kitchen with fridge and stove next to each on the short end of the L, and sink/dishwasher and cabinets and a nice end pantry on the long part of the L, which means the corner of the L is between sink and stove and includes a LOT of dead space in the corner that we can't get to (but one of our cats loves sneaking into, where we can't reach her). So we put in a small "kitchen island on wheels" (kitchen cart) that really helps, and then get in each others' way a lot when trying to cook as a team. I'm trying to avoid the same mistakes. We have an appointment with a kitchen design place that knows these old brownstones really well, and I'm leaning toward just going with a brownstone specialist kitchen design place. We might pay more but do it more "right" that way too, and it might mean I can ultimately take less time asking a gazilion questions online and not sleeping enough trying to figure this stuff out (including how to deal with the technology of posting multiple pictures to these posts!)...See MoreThe Maginot Line, Or, How To Defend Your Kitchen Core
Comments (57)John, I wonder if you were an Italian grandma in a previous life? Many Italians in the North End of Boston where my DH grew up had second kitchens in their homes. They had tiny little sweet Nonnies (grandma) that wore aprons and pinched your cheeks. The 2nd kitchen was so the rest of the home would not overheat with all the cooking. But I believe it was for another reason, let me explain. My husband's Nonnie had a kitchen in the basement. And boy oh boy if you went down their uninvited you would get your ear pulled. It was her private space to roll out pasta, stir heated sauces, canned tomatoes, store her back patio garden grown tomatoes, onions and basil, and that basement was her retreat from the family drama. If someone showed up to dinner unannounced, no worries Nonnie had pasta in the freezer, Risotto ready to go, or a cheese that was for company. She would magically appear laided with food to make them feel welcome. Sometimes Nonnie would spend time with a sister or daughter. They would cook, laugh, cry, delight in each other's company but mostly it was for his Nonnie only. Her 2nd kitchen was her escape from the familial drama and place to enjoy her passion for cooking. Not really the heat. It was more than keeping the heat out of the city brownstone. Sometime if you were lucky Nonnie would invite you to help her but this was rare. My husband only in his 40s still remembers his nonnie rolling out Gnocchis in different containers so each one of his aunts, uncles and adult cousins could take them home. She made special meatballs for this uncle who wanted only pork and this one who wanted raisins in his and this Aunt who wanted small ones. Everyone was spoiled with food. It was her way to express her love to her family. I wish you could build a 2nd kitchen for yourself. One with giant locks, bolts and secret codes that only those truly worthy could enter. They would bring you joy while you cook and not interupt or destroy the magic you need to create amazing dishes. When we do entertain, ( i am not the chef you are) I am one of those people who pre-cooks. I know this is terrible. I make the lasagna hours before so only have to bake it, or have DH grill while my accompanyments are simple. Otherwise the interuptions and chatty kattys drive me batty. Wishing you a good solution to your layout and passion for cooking. ~boxer...See MoreTsdiver's Layout (pic)
Comments (8)The distance on paper was 3'10" between the refrigerator wall and the island. This is a through walkway to an outside patio area. The distance between the island and the sink wall was 3'6". I say was because that is what was on paper. Next time I am at the house I will measure it out and see what we "actually" have. I used the measuring function a lot from cabinet to cabinet on the software programs, but I did not take into consideration the small counter top overhang. I'm thrilled that my plan is helping you! The nice part about the software is the ability to save, swap, re-save, try something different, save the different, open the original, and try something new again. And the 3D... well, it is the best part! I'm not very good at visualizing, so the 3D ability really proved to be an invaluable resource! Oh... and on my plan above, each square of graph paper is one foot....See More
doc5md
2 years ago
One Devoted Dame
2 years agodoc5md
2 years agoSo we have a room we call the “view room.”
it is 2 and a had stories up. Windows north, south, and west. It happens to be above the 1st floor bar. And I was thinking about a way to bring drinks up easily. Something small and simple. That would work perfectly!
heres a panorama I shot of that room in framing. Left side is south. Right side is north
One Devoted Dame
2 years ago
PROMark Bischak, Architect
2 years agoOne Devoted Dame
2 years ago- PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago LH CO/FL
2 years ago
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