Thanks bspofford, I have been decluttering with a vengence for the past five years. The reno has been good for that, cuz not only do I get a chance to go through everything with a fine tooth comb when I pack it up, I am even more ruthless before it gets back into the new and improved space! And, when I packed up the Master closet (tiny though it is), I found two new bathing suits, a nightie and a T-shirt still in the bag, that had fallen out of sight. Thought I had imagined buying them when I spent months fruitlessly looking for them! I am so looking forward to having the space that things won't have to be so crammed anymore!

We remodeled (a smaller house than yours) and moved laundry to upstairs. We don't have a dedicated laundry room (didn't have one before either). But, we have more than a stackable-size only closet for laundry. My laundry closet that is convenient to bedrooms is 3 1/2 feet deep by about 9 feet long with 8' of bifolding doors that make the "closet" open into a room-size when those doors are open to the hallway. It feels room-like to me. And, there is plenty of room for utility type stuff--a counter top, space to put the laundry baskets, laundry detergent, etc. What you show in those images, I see no practical space for laundry detergent, hang-drying, etc. So, does it need to be a dedicated room? No. But, more space than a tower closet for a family house (2900sq ft is larger than my family sized house).

Why would I have to open up the fall if I can fit the appliance through the existing door? IF you can get both appliances into the pantry (and I don't think that it is possible to do with the existing door opening), then you need room in front of the appliances so you can operate them. My laundry 'closet' is 53.5" deep with a 40" door opening and I know how restrictive that is. If I had only 45" of depth, I don't think the dryer door would open. I have conventional old school appliances. 29" wide dryer with fold down door & skinny Speed Queen top loader (<26" wide). ...realized by the time that's done I wouldn't be cutting the vent run down by much... Would venting the dryer through the roof eliminate any elbows? Do you have rigid (smooth) ducting or is it all flex vent? What is the length of the current run vs the thru-the-wall & Up option? Keep in mind that heated air rises so you'll gain some venting help when the vent goes vertical. Thru the wall and up will require just one elbow and possibly another 120 degree fitting (if you need to offset because of a wall extending above the roof of the garage. In calculating vent length equivalents, an elbow is equal to 5' of straight run length. So, if your current set-up has more than one elbow, you may be gaining more efficiency than you realize. If you have a lot of corrugated, flex duct, you'll benefit by replacing with smooth rigid venting. My venting scenario is awful. I had 4 elbows in about 12' of run. We were able to switch out one elbow for a 120 and replaced most of the flex w/ rigid duct. Still far from ideal but those changes made a significant difference in drying time. Even heavy loads like jeans (out of the SQ top loader) dry with one setting of the dryer (about 50 minutes.) Most other loads dry in 40 minutes. Synthetic loads in much less time. Before, I routinely timed out and had to reset the dryer a second time in order to get dry clothes.

I have laundry in the basement-- have a laundry chute direct to the laundry. I have never wanted a laundry on the second floor but have wished that I had it on the main floor sometimes. Advantage to basement--usually have a lot of room (I don't). We can get really dirty sometimes, with gardening and landscaping projects. Can shuck the dirties in the garage or back entryway and drop down the laundry chute there (or in a bucket in the garage)...vs having to deal with them upstairs (where we have carpet). I wash clothes once a week. Smelly dirty laundry is in the basement; not stinking up the bedrooms. I have a clothesline strung in the unfinished part of the basement for drying rugs, mattress pads, sheets, jeans, etc. during the winter/ rainy days. As well as drip dry items that don't go in the dryer. The clothes line is also handy for hanging wet or damp dirty items to dry (like bath towels & kitchen towels) before they go into the dirty clothes hamper. I fold & sort items as I unload the dryer. Towel stack to the linen closet, DS's clothes in one stack, etc. Usually cart the basket to the main floor and someone else will haul it on upstairs. Have had three laundries that were in enclosed back porches and one just adjacent to the garage when I lived in the south. That arrangement worked really good and would be my preferred location for a laundry. Would not want W/D in a closet if it can be avoided. I use my laundry sink a lot as well as having the washer drain hose empty into the sink. (With a lint sock to keep lint and dog hair out of the sewer line--septic leach field if that's your situation.) You adapt to wherever the laundry is. Pros & cons to wherever it is. Main thing is that a home laundry beats the heck out of having to go to the laundromat! We've probably all had to do that at some time in our lives.