When we remodeled our last house I moved the laundry from the basement to the second floor and thought it was a huge improvement. I had a teenager at home at the time. He was smart enough to know he didn't want to be in the bedroom right next to the W/D, so he moved to a bedroom down the hall. If you're going from laundry on the first floor to second floor I don't think that would be as big an improvement. The dirty clothes originate in the bedrooms, so having laundry on the second floor is great, but if you spend a lot of time on your first floor, having the laundry there means you don't have to go up and down the stairs everytime it's time to move it. So I think it depends on how much laundry you have, and what time of day you usually do it. You probably aren't going to want to leave the dryer running after you go to bed when it's upstairs. The newer W/D have annoying tunes they play when they're done and not all of them can be turned off. Our older machine let us turn off the tune but the one we got last year doesn't. But as far as the kids, don't a lot of them have earbuds permanently attached? They don't seem to hear anything their parents say, are they going to hear a W/D? :-)

IMO both 2nd floor and basement laundry rooms are a PITA you spend the better part of the day on the main floor why would you want to go up and down to move laundry . One trip down in the AM and one trip up after the wash is done if you put it on the main floor . I have a main floor laundry now and would never go back to either of those other choices . BTW the plan can'tbe enlarged and it only shows the main floor . BTW if teens are napping they should have done their laundry before going to bed.

You can buy noise reducing pads for washers as well as put in Roxul Safe and Sound insulation in the walls and floors and you will want a foam filled door as well. I have had both basement and second floor laundry and prefer main floor laundry because that is where I am during the day.

Our W/D are on the 2nd level. They are new and seem to be a pretty good set (LG) but they are pretty quiet. We do get vibrations but the noise isn't excessive. We probably need to check the level TBH but I don't see it as a problem at all.

I don't see why you'd need a barn door. I definitely would not change that at all. Your laundry room space is good. If you really think it's an issue use a pocket door not a barn door.

Thank you, All. Love the earbud comment especially :) We have 4 kids and seem to run loads of laundry ALL DAY--just the bedding once a week takes a ton of loads. We live in a split level where the current laundry room is in the basement so there are 3 flights of 6 steps between the laundry machines and the dirty clothing currently. (4 flights from the master bedroom!). I was going to shrink the new laundry room plan by one foot and give it to the guest room/office in order to fit a murphy bed (that was going to be a separate posting) hence the barndoor adjustment. Thanks for all your helpful advice!

We had a second floor laudry in our last home. It was incredibly convenient to have sorting, washing, folding, and putting away all on the same floor. (Out of undies but haven't folded the laundry - no problem. Dart in your towel to the W/D one room away!)

That said, our washer leaked three times into the kitchen ceiling and we had to do some damage repair. We had a pan underneath which did zilch because water didn't land in the pan! We are now putting a W/D in our apartment and our coop rules require an automatic shut off valve detection system. Can't say how well it works, but we are getting one.

I would not do a barn door. Noise can be a problem. Get a really good, tight closing door. As far as the machines shaking, you need to leave enough room on all sides to be able to wedge some kind of foam in there so if it rocks it isn't hitting up against the wall.

We almost moved our laundry from the basement to the upper floor during our reno - but i realized that I dry a lot of clothes on the rack and like to be able to spread out my baskets to separate lights, darks, delicates etc - we realized that we didn't have enough room upstairs to do the laundry the way we like to do it (there was really only space for the W/D and I def didn't want baskets in the hallway) so we kept it in the basement - my sister moved hers and loves it - She does say that she cannot run loads at night and that is def when I run a lot of laundry.. so I think it likely depends on how a household uses the W/D and surrounding space.

Remember that washer and dryer doors take up space when they are open, as do laundry baskets. You need to account for space for your butt + basket. My laundry room is 7'-1" (can't read the dimensions on yours but it looks smaller than that) and I wouldn't want it any narrower.

We all sleep with fans on anyway so the noise from the washer is pretty much drowned out by the fan. But I also typically don't run wash loads right when I'm going to bed - prefer to have the last load be in the dryer.

It will be loud but it will be convenient.

You just avoid doing laundry times when you don't want the noise in the rooms next to it, like late at night when you have a guest staying over.

That's what we do and I still prefer it over first floor laundry rooms.

I really don't see how it's a problem to have your laundry in the basement. The thing is that most laundry baskets are a pain to carry. I put my laundry in canvas bags from LL Bean and I can carry it with one hand. Or one in each hand, unlike the classic Rubbermaid laundry basket.

Not to be a wet blanket but one of the major causes of house fires is the dryer. And the bedroom level is full of flammables My parents wouldn't let me burn candles and incense in my bedroom. Be sure to have good access to routinely clean out the dryer vents and hose.

Had what you're proposing in my last house. LOVED the convenience of not having to carry dirty/clean clothes up and down the stairs. Had little space for folding/hanging clothes in the laundry area, though, so almost every load was carried directly to a bedroom. Barn door was worthless in terms of noise and often got left open. Could not use the washer after bedtime due to the noise. When Lowes hooked up my brand new washer, they didn't get the hoses tight and water leaked through the walls/floor and destroyed part of the first floor ceiling as well as part of my wood floors on the first level. The washer was in the code-required drain pan, but the leak was slow and water followed the hoses to the wall and gravity carried it down. Despite all the negatives, I still feel the upper floor laundry was worth it. I'm now working on renovation of our current 1-level home, and we are moving the laundry from behind the kitchen to the other side of the house in an extra bedroom that is being carved up to create a master closet, linen closet and the laundry room. The contractor is putting rock wool in the wall to deaden the sound.

At my last home I had the laundry moved upstairs. Since 90% of my laundry is generated upstairs it was the best thing ever. My current ( year old ) washer & dryer are very quiet, maybe noise levels are brand dependent , IDK

Big picture thinking here. Moving the Laundry away from adjacent rooms will help. I noticed your Laundry is as large as the Office and as large as both old bathrooms put together, you eliminated the closet in a Bedroom, and each old bedroom has their own personal bath now (1 much more prominent than the other), just not connected as an ensuite but down the hall.

So . . . did you do a scheme where the Laundry takes over the central bath (the former Master bath) and gets expanded (yet will be smaller than the Office)? The main bath becomes shared between 2 rooms, you get a closet back to the bedroom, and the Office footprint becomes less linear.

Hmm. I wonder if earthquake strapping kits would minimize some of the vibration noise? Talk to your contractor about that. The suggestions above are all good ones re: noise abatement. I will join the chorus that having laundry on the 2nd floor with your bedrooms is super convenient.

We live in a 4 story townhome, and have laundry on the third floor between two bedrooms - adjacent to my son’s and several feet away from ours. Small area with a pocket door. We have very little complaints about the sound. Normally, I don’t even close the door, but if I’m running something in the evening I will. We have front load Electrolux machines that sing a little song at the end of the cycles. Rarely hear it. Have never woken my son if he’s sleeping late. I would prefer a larger space, but the location is super convenient and sound hasn’t been an issue.