Why I Decided To DIY My Closet/Laundry Area Combo Room (And Decided Not To Use IKEA Cabinets)
I don’t know how many times I’ve said this through the years, but it remains just as true today as it’s ever been. Sometimes I get so dug in on an idea, and while my comment section can often feel like I’m drinking from a fire hydrant with all of the number of ideas being shared with me (which I love, but can also feel a bit overwhelming at times 😀 ), sometimes it’s one single comment that gets my attention and really gets me thinking in a new direction.
And that’s exactly what happened when Phoebe made a suggestion about the closet and laundry area combination room that I’ll be building in the current guest bedroom. She suggested that I divide the room into two separate areas so that I can have a separate closet and a separate laundry area.
That’s an idea I had already considered, but I had ruled it out because in my mind, one room (presumably the laundry room) would be accessible via the current door into the room from the hallway, and the other area (presumably the closet) would require a new door from our soon-to-be bedroom into that sectioned off area. I shared this idea a while back, and it looked like this…
I had considered that option very seriously, and had even talked to Matt about it, but for some reason he’s adamant about not building a wall in that room, and especially about not putting a doorway from the bedroom into that room. I don’t know why he’s so adamant about that, but he is. And since he makes so few requests when it comes to this house, I pay attention when he actually is adamant about something, even if I don’t understand his reasoning. 😀 And since then, I’ve gotten pretty excited about having a comfy little reading area where the door into the closet would need to be, anyway. With that idea in mind, I had moved past the two-room option and have really become attached to the reading area idea, so I don’t want to give that up now.
All that to say that when this idea was presented, I didn’t really consider it. I wrote it off immediately, and explained why I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. Phoebe explained that’s not what she envisioned, and she sent an email to explain her idea more in detail. She wasn’t suggesting closing the two areas off to each other completely, and she wasn’t suggesting putting a door from the bedroom into the new closet space (which, for some reason, is the part that Matt really objects to). And she sent me this drawing…
I was intrigued. Her design still showed a wall diving the two areas, and I knew that Matt wasn’t thrilled with that idea. But I thought that maybe since it didn’t require a doorway from the bedroom into the sectioned off part of the room (the part labeled Laundry Room), he might be on board. So I started playing around with the arrangement.
What I realized very quickly is that this plan wouldn’t even require me to build a wall at all. I could literally just use the wardrobes, placed in two “U” arrangements and secured to the floor and ceiling, to section off the room into two spaces.
At first, I was having a really hard time getting everything to fit because I was still set on using the 23-inch-deep IKEA wardrobes for both areas. Wrapping such deep wardrobes around corners causes a whole lot of wasted space, so with four wasted corners, I wasn’t actually gaining any storage space by having more wall space available. Anything I’d gain with more wall space I’d lose with corners.
So I headed to Pinterest and Houzz (my two go-to resources when I need quick inspiration) to search for closet inspiration, and I realized that most closets don’t use 23-inch-deep frames. Most closet system are only about 14-16 inches deep. The only reason you’d need 23-inch-deep wardrobes is if you want to put doors on them and have everything closed inside. But if you’re not using doors, there’s really no need for such deep frames.
Here’s what I’m talking about. This is an image from Home Depot’s custom closet systems page. You can see that the hanging clothes stick out past the frames of the shelves and drawers. Those frames are only about 14 inches deep.
And there’s no need for them to be deeper since there are no doors on the frames, and no need for the hanging clothes to be completely contained within those frames. And having shallower shelves just makes more sense to me. I was having so much trouble picturing storing my shoes or folded sweaters or purses on 23-inch-deep shelves. It seemed like a lot of wasted space. And the good news is that when you reduce the depth from 23 inches to 14 inches, the corners become usable. You can build usable corner shelves into 14-inch-deep frames without taking up a huge amount of space inside the room, so no storage space is lost.
So with all of this newfound inspiration, I started back at square one with the room. I started off trying to make IKEA’s 14-inch-deep wardrobes work, but since they only come in three widths, the size limitations became a problem. Plus, the main size I would need to make this new design work (the 14″ deep x 29.5″ wide) is the one size they’ve been out of stock on for several months now, and there’s no indication when they’ll get more in. I can’t base my whole design around something that may or may not be available when I’m ready to start the room. And they didn’t really fit perfectly anyway. It was more of a “it’s the closest to what I need so I can probably make it work” type of situation.
So in the end, I just decided that the way for me to squeeze every inch of usable storage space out of this room is for me to build it myself from scratch. With that in mind, I designed, and tweaked, and moved things around, and tweaked some more, until I came up with what I think is the perfect plan based on Phoebe’s original idea. This gives me quite a bit more closet storage space than my original idea, and it separates the laundry area from the closet area. And the best thing of all is that going from 23-inch-deep frames to 14-inch-deep frames allows room for a small island in the middle of the closet area, which not only gives me more drawer space, but also gives me a countertop to fold clothes as soon as I get them out of the dryer. So here’s the new plan…
I’m so excited about this new plan. I lie awake at night and dream about it. I can’t wait to get started! You can compare that to the old plan below. I was able to do the old plan on the IKEA planners, which gives a 3D view of the plan. I wasn’t able to do the new plan on the 3D IKEA planner because it won’t allow you to put Pax wardrobes anywhere other than lined up on a wall. Anyway, here’s the old plan, which only utilized the two long walls of the room. This was the laundry room side:
And this was the closet side:
The new plan does require a stacked washer and dryer, but I’m okay with that. I mean, I’m only five feet tall, which means that I’m used to things in life being a little bit inconvenient for me. When I had my old washer and dryer (before I bought my current ones), I had to use a step stool to get things out of the washer. Constant slight inconveniences are just a way of life when you’re only five feet tall, so I’m used to it. So if I have to use a step stool to get things out of my dryer, it won’t be any worse than my old washer.
Side note: As I was finishing up writing this post, the driveway guys showed up!!! They weren’t scheduled to be here until Monday, but they finished up their last project early, and came right over to get started. WOOHOOOO!!!! They’re going to start at the back of the driveway (back section of driveway behind my workshop, and the ramp to the workshop) today, and then work their way to the front of the property. So by the end of the day today, I may have a ramp, but the bulk of the progress will still happen next week. But at least there’s progress, and EARLIER than scheduled! How often does THAT happen?! 😀
UPDATE: The washer and dryer in the new arrangement are on an exterior wall. That is the part of the room that juts out past the front wall of the living room and the front wall of the master bedroom. There was originally a window there, but we had it closed up.
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Okay, okay! I hear y’all! 😀 I promise, I do listen. I did another floor plan showing side-by-side washer and dryer with upper cabinets instead of stacking the washer and dryer. This would also include a countertop over the washer and dryer, which I didn’t show in the drawing.
I’m also loving the ideas of a door between the two areas like I did my music room doors (i.e., pocket doors that aren’t really pocket doors), and the idea of the island on locking casters in case I need to get the washer and dryer out. All great ideas!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I am in love with this new plan. Tons of closet space and storage, plus pretty. It’s a win-win-win!! You’re amazing.
Loving the layout, it is very modern while also staying true to DIY roots, and I cannot wait to follow along. If it were my space I would keep the floor level W/D and put shelves over, but that is because I hate having something like that so tall. Otherwise it is a great way to define each space without closing the space off.
Agree
Agree too!
Glad to see you revised the W/D situation! I took am short (5’3″) and need to keep a step stool handy to sometimes get a sock or hanky from the deep washer! I would hate to use one all the time to do laundry, and would probably fall at some point and break something! That is how our laundry was set up in our 1st house, with cabinets above and a shelf under them for laundry soap etc. I had a top load washer, so no countertop, but it wasn’t a big deal to me. I also had a wall mounted rack with a rod to hang clothes right from the dryer onto hangers – Hubs made that, and it was heaven to me!
Yes, both the washer and dryer on the same level and folding surface spanning them is the best idea.
I’m short also but rather than using a step stool I hang stainless steel tongs with plastic grabbers next to my washer to nab any items too far away to reach. My arms are a bit short. Petite proportions.
I agree entirely with Jennifer about keeping the W/D on the floor and putting the cabinetry above. I am only a few inches taller and about the same age as Kristi. Considering future potential limitations as we get older is definitely something to think about. I’m very nimble and balance well, but I would hate getting on a stepstool to bring wet laundry down to the washer all the time. I have cabinets above my W/D but only store things on the higher shelves that I don’t need that often.
I agree also. W/D on floor. You just never know if something will happen to prevent you from climbing on a stool to remove clothes from dryer. I know personally.
Why does this plan need a stacked w/d? The wall opposite- that’s a lot of storage! I just think of aging in place, a getting on a stool when your 80+ may not be the best idea.
Have you seen the full height spinning shoe racks? That might be a good solution for a couple of the corners, considering your love of shoes! 😁
Yes! I was looking at those spinning corner shoe racks just the other day. I added those to my list of features to seriously consider!
I know that your situation in Texas as to humidity might be completely different, but the idea of combining clothing storage and a laundry room has giving me the chills since you started writing about it. Over here in Hamburg/Germany, we have so much rain and cold, wet weather that I would never think of having extra humidity from laundry near where I store my clothes. But I imagine that might not be an issue for you, otherwise you would have changed something about it. Having said that, I’m pretty happy for you to plan some sort of separation between the two rooms!!
Another detail that bugs me when looking at the new floor plan,though, is the washer/dryer being on the wall connected to your bedroom. Wouldn’t you rather move them over to the wall opposite so that when you might need the bedroom during the day (if one of you is ill and stays in bed, say), the movement and thrumming of either machine is not so much a bother for the person in bed? (And I don’t want to write Matt here explicitly, because that does apply to you as well – of course I wish that the situation never arises, but who knows?)
Other than that I think this is another of those genius aspects of your decision to not use Ikea but build the wardrobes yourself. So happy for you!
Central Texas is vastly different from Hamburg. 🙂 For example, our average summer temps for June, July, and August are 93, 97, and 97 respectively, with many days in well over 100, and up to 105-107. Even in September, our average is 91, and October is 81. We don’t really get winters here. The average temp for December and January is 62. We get cold days, but we don’t get cold months. And it definitely doesn’t stay cloudy and rainy here. We have sunshine most days of the year.
Contrast that with Hamburg, with average temps in June, July, and August of 70, 74, and 74. That’s autumn for us. 😀 September, 66. October, 57. That’s our winter.
We have had a lot of humidity the last couple of years (as evidenced by the damage done to our home gym floor), but our dehumidifier seems to have taken care of that issue. Now our humidity in the house stays in the 30s.
I’m not worried at all about the washer and dryer in the closet. This is such a common thing these days, and I can’t imagine it would be such a common thing if it caused a problem.
The washer and dryer aren’t on the shared wall with the bedroom. It’s on the part of the wall that juts out from the front of the house. I put it on that side so that the vent on the exterior wall from the dryer won’t show. If I put it on the other side, the vent would be visible right there on the front porch.
wow, that are vast differences in temperature and it explains why my issue isn’t yours!!! Thanks for explaining – as well as about the wall! I didn’t look at the entire floor plan today and that totally escaped my mind. I’m glad that this way you not only avoid the noise but also have an handy place for the vent!
I think the confusion lies in the room being flip-flopped as it is shown here. The door to the room is shown on the left, with the window opposite. But that is not how it “sits” within the floor plan of the home! It threw me off for a second too, until I noticed the “window” wall!
You may want to look at the new washer/dryer in one combos. The newest ones are an huge improvement over older ones and would not present a height challenge that stacked ones do. Plus no venting required because they work with a different heat pump type system to remove water. So you can put them anywhere. Another plus is no moldy smell because you forget to transfer them to dryer. Cost is similar to buying both separately. And less space needed- so more storage.
Several brands are carrying them now.
Challenges people have are more related to large families and multiple loads.
I have Miele and they only take smaller loads and although they don’t need to vent it increases heat in the room. Mine is in a location away from my clothing but I would not want them in my walk in closet. I do however love them
I had one when I lived in Turkey. That was literally the only option. They just didn’t have separate dryers there. I’d never do it again. I hate that one load, start to finish, took about 2.5 hours, and even then, my clothes never once came out completely dry. They were always a little damp and had to be hung to dry the rest of the way. They’ve probably been improved since then (I would hope so, although I did have a top-of-the-line German brand at the time), but that experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I’d never go back.
You may want a counter to the left of the washer stack for a landing zone. Or a pullout shelf in a floor to ceiling closet
I agree that you definitely want a counter next to a stacked washer/dryer. I utilize the top of my dryer a lot when doing laundry, even though I have a sink and counter on the other side of the dryer.
I have to agree with Jennifer to keep the W/D at floor level with shelves or cupboards above. I say that having difficulty with my knees and climbing onto a stool won’t do. Other than that, a great idea.
We recently used a professional company to do our closet and one thing I really wish we thought more about was hamper placement. We work full time out of the house and I only really do laundry on the weekends. We have this beautiful closet with awkward hampers that just kind of hang out in the room, in a not-pretty way. I’m also in love with my washer and dryer and i know yours are new, unless you’re unhappy with them wouldn’t you want to try and accommodate the current ones you bought? I only wish i had counter space for folding.
This plan does accommodate my new washer and dryer. They’re stackable.
HI Stephanie –
I have the same W/D as Kristi and the machines are stackable. One can have them side-by-side or stacked. Mine are side-by-side. My son recently bought the same ones and intends to stack them due to space limitations in his house.
I’m curious as to why Matt doesn’t want a door to the closet inside the bedroom. I’m 5’4″ tall and would definitely give up the approximately 30″ wide floor to ceiling closet in order to have a side by side washer and dryer and avoid using a step stool to use a stackable washer/dryer.
I’m curious, too. 😀 We’ve had more than one conversation about the idea, and he can never explain to me exactly what he doesn’t like about the idea. He just knows he doesn’t like it. And I get that. I’ve had similar situations where I know that I don’t like an idea, but I have a hard time nailing down exactly why I don’t like it. We humans are strange creatures sometimes. 😀
I also am short, but prefer the on-the-floor setup of the washer and dryer so I can reach the clothes without a lot of effort as I am getting older. A shelf for folding and a hanging bar over both W/D and a space underneath for a wastebasket and/or laundry supplies would be my preference. Also, if you shift them on that same wall towards the front of the house, you can more easily vent the dryer through the wall of the house, and perhaps the noise from the washer won’t be as noticeable in the bedroom.
The area where I have the washer and dryer is the part of the room where it juts out past the other rooms and lines up with the front edge of the front porch. So it’s actually an exterior wall. There was originally a window there when we bought the house.
Luck is raining down on you!
I would definitely reconsider stacking your washer and dryer. Why make things more inconvenient for yourself when you don’t have to? If there is not room on the side wall for them to be next to each other, can they go in front of the window? Then they could also be vented directly outside. Or if that window is too low, then do you really want to put a dresser in front of it? I’m sure you can find a way to keep your side by side machines that will not be inconvenient every time you use them — other than the ongoing inconvenience of having to do laundry in the first place lol 😉
The dryer vents directly outside where I have them. That’s an exterior wall. I wouldn’t want my washer and dryer in front of the window, but for some reason, I don’t mind a small dresser being in front of the window. For some reason, that makes sense in my mind. 😀
I am so happy for you that your closet and laundry area are coming together! Great plan and then the “icing on the cake” to have a contractor start earlier than expected! Great day and enjoy every bit of it!
Hi, Kristi!! I LOVE your blog. I sent you a picture of our laundry room table and the baskets underneath it on Instagram. I couldn’t figure out how to send it here. 😆. Anyway, we really love these rolling commercial-laundry style baskets. I could envision them under your window in the laundry room. Just something to think about!
A stacked washer and dryer may work for now, but I have found that using step stools can be hazardous. Plan for the future since this is your “forever” home. A home healthcare consultant advised me to get rid of step stools and throw rugs in my mothers home to prevent falls. I now, years later, have taken her advice for my own home.
Hi Kristi! I’m guessing you’ve already thought of this and ruled it out, but I’d strongly suggest that you consider putting your washer/dryer next to each other with a counter over them rather than stacking them. Yes, you *can* live with inconveniences, but you’re designing your forever laundry room. There’s really no good reason to design a known inconvenience into it, and when you’re older, getting up and down a step stool for every load of laundry could potentially be a safety hazard. If it’s the storage driving the stacking decision, you can put cabinets above the washer/dryer. If you’re not really needing the storage (and you’ve got TONS!), you could put pull out drying racks above your washer and dryer and have a super convenient spot to dry delicates. And if it’s a matter of a few inches space … You’re building your closets … Adjust the size. 😉 Overall though, I love the new layout! It’ll be great! 🙂
Perhaps consider flipping the washer and dryer to the other wall, so that it is not against the wall to your bedroom. This way you won’t be disturbed by the sound of them running when you are trying to get to sleep.
Also, consider the side by side washer and dryer option. You can still have counter space above for folding, but it will certainly make your life better long term!
The washer and dryer in the new plan are on an exterior wall.
I am a newcomer to Texas. Our laundry room has a bathroom fan installed to vent the humidity! I use the fan every time I do laundry. We didn’t have an in laundry fan in Minnesota, so I just assumed it’s needed here!
This ramble is more reflective of living with a narrow (28″x58″) laundry closet off my kitchen (opens to the base of stairs). I have an experienced suggestion since you are building so much in a purposeful way.
Follow what you got, but don’t build in the washer and dryer stacked. Install the hook-ups build the clothes closet. Try out the areas with wire shelves on wheels that can get re-purposed. Get a feel for the flow with it stacked. Then build in custom details after some time. I say this visually on paper it works and helps things *fit*. I’ve found I stacked our W/D and missed the horizontal needs. Laundry works better with a balance of horizontal and vertical. The washer is always on the bottom, so you are lifting wet clothes from a low deep spot to a high point. Then reaching (I’m 5-6″), to set the dryer controls. You can’t fit much under a stacked washer door to avoid the swing. I know you’ll need less because the closet will be right there but there’s occasionally a need to quickly dump it all out. Having them side by side built up gives more accessibility below. Most stacking set-ups require depth behind the dryer. If you do stack, most kits stagger the machines, so the stack is about 6-4″ deeper than side by side. Also maintenance, be able to shift/walk the stack occasionally to clear built up fur and lint. I like open pedestals because, while awkward, you can have the vent hookup assessable below to not have to move the machines to clear a vent if necessary.
God is good!
Phoebe’s plan is almost identical to what I was picturing.
Love it all.
Will there be doors? If so, I suggest you do like the music room and make a shallow wall with sliding doors so they don’t stick out into the room. Or you could go with folding doors between the rooms.
Heh, I actually suggested the music rooms too, they kind of seem to suit the room so nicely, don’t they? Especially if she ends up moving them when the addition is built and the actual doors need a new home!
Phoebe suggested a door, but I’m just afraid that any thing like that will take up valuable inches of space. That’s why I didn’t want to build a wall. Even though walls are only 4.5 inches thick, that’s still 4.5 inches X 11’4″ of space just for a wall. I do like the idea of a door like the music room door, and I’ll actually have a leftover French door once the doorway into the studio from the breakfast room is closed up. I’ll give some thought as to how I could use it.
What I was wondering though was, will the music rooms door stay there once you build an addition? If not, you should absolutely move them here, they are gorgeous and would suit the wardrobe aesthetic so well! (Save the peacocks!)
My plan right now is to keep the music room door in place.
But then you have to leave your bedroom to get to the closet where your clothes are to get dressed or bring your clothes into your bathroom or bedroom to get dressed without walking around “noodles”, as we call it here. I haven’t seen a master suite like that before. Funny, talking about the W/D in the closet….last week I was watching a “home decor” type show and they showed the washer/dryer, sink and counter top, plus upper cabinets in the master closet. After all of the discussion on that on your blog, I had to laugh. So glad the cement work has started. It will look so nice. Is the floor in your new master bedroom done yet? You have so many projects going, how to you pick one to work on. I would be going nuts trying to work on all of them at once.
I haven’t even started the floor yet. I was hoping to get to it this week, but I fell behind on getting the studio finished with the electrical problem (which I did finally sort out), and then with having to spend two days on taxes (which we always put off until the October 15th extension deadline). I hope to get final pictures of the studio this weekend, and then move on to the bedroom on Monday or Tuesday. Honestly, I’ll probably be too excited about driveway stuff on Monday to concentrate on working on the bedroom floor, so it’ll probably be Tuesday.
In the future, when you need to either repair or replace the washer or dryer, will you have space to move them out of the laundry and closet without banging into your built-ins or the island?
You might consider adding lockable casters to your island, and then hide them behind baseboard/trim until the need arises.
Brilliant idea! I hadn’t even thought of that.
In regards to the closet island, will it fit through the opening between your closet and the laundry area? My reason for asking is that you could roll the island into the laundry area and remove the clothes from the dryer by just turning around to fold them. Just a suggestion. Loving everything that you are doing! Congrats on the driveway!
So beautiful!! I love what you’ve done Kristi! I can already picture standing in the doorway and looking out over the island at the window with a dresser under it. You already have the practical figured out – next will come the making it beautiful part!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! The new plan is so practical!
Perhaps Matt wanted that wall opposite the bed without doors because a TV could be there?
Another thought to consider would be the ease of your W/D being delivered through your wardrobe to the laundry room – perhaps have your island on lockable wheels?
I’ll definitely do that. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Congrats on your driveway starting early! So glad you have a good group working on that!
Something I wish I would have paid attention to when getting our stackable washer and dryer: make sure the doors open the correct way (from the left or right) depending on how you want to access them. Our stackables don’t have reversible doors and they are set up so you have to be backed into the corner to get the clothes in or out. I figure we will live longer than the washer and dryer so we will rectify that when we have to buy the next set in 10-20 years!
I’ve read all the comments and I agree there will come a time in your life that you won’t be as steady on your feet as you are now. I am also 5 feet and had the stackables and step stool to reach the controls. We are now in an apartment with laundry room on ground floor.
My suggestion would be to built a platform only about the height of a toe kick under the machines. But you would pull it out for you to stand on, much more sturdy than a step stool. I’ve seen them on pinterest in childrens bathrooms for them to stand on.
Ok, short girl here too….I had my washer/dryer set stacked in our old house, and loved it. I actually had more trouble getting wet laundry out of the top load washer than I ever did out of the stacked dryer on top set. My current situation has front load machines both on the floor, I am crawling on my hands and knees to get clothes out of them both now. I wish I could stack my set again. I have both sitting on the floor with cabinets above, and I can only barely reach the bottom shelf. It’s just a waste. This is a new house, but I am seriously considering taking out two cabinets and stacking my set again. By the way, I love this new plan. Our closet and laundry are two separate rooms, but connected, and I love it. I also have a small island in my closet that has shelves spaced about 6″ apart and a good amount of my shoes fit in there, so that would free up some of your wall space too. Or you could put drawers in the island for socks or even jewelry.
Yes to what you said! I’m only 5′ tall and not a spring chicken. I have my washer and dryer stacked. I have no problem with them and enjoy having a 24″ deep counter and 18″ deep wall cabinet next to them for folding. I have not needed a step stool to reach the clothes in the dryer. The front control panels on mine are not angled much, so I can reach the dryer controls just fine. When we were purchasing, I paid attention to this detail when I chose them, knowing I’d be stacking them. I have no desire to go back to side by side and bending over so much.
Kristi, I am so happy things are happening fast for you. Especially your new driveway. I have looked at your blogs and I sure do love the way your new workshop looks….and I sure do know you are going to ‘Kristi’ it up to look even more beautiful and handy to use all your tools on the inside. I looked at your closet and laundry room photos and love everything. I am curious about one thing…..your 14 inch deep closets. I am wondering how your hanging clothing will stay dust free without doors. I think the closets look great and if they fit your needs then everything is even better. Just curious because I’ve never seen closets like this before.
Instead of thinking of it as a bedroom, just think of it as a big walk-in closet. Most walk-in closets don’t have more doors on the hanging clothes sections. It’s just a separate room with one door on it. Now if you mean dust from the dryer being in the same area, I’m thinking about adding a sliding door to separate the two areas.
Ohhh okay. That explains it. Thanks for explaining this to me. The sliding door does make sense too.
I join with those advocating for not stacking the washer and dryer! I speak from experience: if anything goes wrong, and something always does, you’ll be unstacking, repairing, and restacking. If the washer leaks, you’ll have to get the dryer down in order to shut off the water and get at the back of the washer. If the dryer conks out, same thing. And woe unto you if the washer becomes unbalanced during a cycle . . . you can end up breaking hoses, bolts, connectors, etc., on both machines. Don’t ask how I know. I would, however, get pedestals for floor-sitting models to ease the amount of bending you do.
Love the new design for the closet/laundry! I recall when Hubs and I were designing our first go at DIY – ing our basement, we wanted to add a closet to store seasonal clothes, but didn’t want it too deep. So we got a hanger and did the measurements based on the hanger plus a couple of inches to allow for bulky coats. It worked fine for what we needed. AND – I saw your reel on FB about the driveway! So awesome that they could get a head start today! (I guess they don’t work on Saturdays??? Our concrete people around here put in half days on Sat.) That means you will have concrete just a tad earlier than anticipated! YAY!!! Have a great weekend!
I can’t help but echo all the cautions about stacking.
I’ve loved having the space over the W/D to hang clothes that are not quite dry. It’s incredibly practical.
Take your time and mull over the options. You do so well at that.
Can I ask why you moved the door to your bedroom? I went down a rabbit hole because the closet door outside the bedroom was throwing me, so I looked at your recent post with the new floor plan to see what was happening outside that door and noticed you did have the access to the laundry inside the bedroom door there. I love this plan for your combined closet and laundry, genius since that’s where most of the laundry is (I’m all about efficiency, lol), but I’m picturing the mad naked dash from the bathroom to the closet 🤣 and having to leave my room would terrify this modest, shy gal. This would still leave the other wall available for the tv. Am I reading the floor plan wrong?
The dash from the bathroom to the closet is exactly what I do now since the room that will be the closet is now our bedroom. 🙂 I’ve been doing that exact dash for two years now, and it’s never bothered me.
I am so glad you are reconsidering the stacked washer and dryer! I am 5’2″ so I know what you experience with the “height” issues. I will say this–and I swore in my younger years that I would never say something like this–at 66 I am realizing that I will need to be more careful as I age, particularly with climbing on stools and ladders. If you can do the side-by-side placement, you’re one step closer to safety, particularly as you and Matt stay in your “forever” home and you age gracefully. Sending you hugs! Thank you for always involving us in your plans!
Oh my gosh!!!! What a dream!!!! Regular front loading washer and dryer being side by side and with folding area on top and the island being on casters for just in case make it PERFECT!!
You will be happier with non-stackable washer & dryers.
From someone that has had both stacked and side by side washer and dryer. I think in the long run having the side by side you will be much happier. I know that you are not thinking about selling your home but stacked always makes people think that you dont have enough room to put the side by side even when it is in a huge area.
I love where this is going! I’m another commenter who prefers the w/d on the floor instead of stacked. I’m nearly as short as you and I can reach the bottom of our washer all right, but we had one a while back that was an inch higher on the outside AND the bucket was deeper, and I disliked that one because I had to dive in and let my toes lift off the ground to remove the last pieces of wet clothing. So, test your washer in the store because there are slight size differences that can make a big difference to YOU!
I’ve read all of the comments and I have a few questions. I’m 68, recently diagnosed with osteoporosis. Periodically, I move the dryer to clean the vent behind and I have to bend down to get the clothes in and out. Your comments just made me think of putting a pedestal on locking casters under the dryer. I wonder if that would work well. Plus, Kristi, I hate how the lint comes out of the dryer vent and sticks all over the grass and flowers outside. Can you come up with a way to capture that as it comes outside without causing backup and a fire? Thanks for your wonderful blog.
p.s. Judging by the number of happy emojis in this post, it feels like you’ve got your groove back!
I’m sure there’s a solution to that. I’ll have to look into it.
You are smart to put your dryer on an outside wall so that it can vent directly to the outside. This should help reduce lint and dust. We do have a laundry sink but we use it so infrequently that it gets dusty (even with 4 kids). Do you have another utility sink somewhere for washing out paint brushes?
I don’t yet, but I hope to put one in or near the studio and close to the back studio doors.
That final plan is five star! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So glad you decided against stackable. I got your very type of washer dryer based on your reviews. (You replied to my question months later saying you still loved them so I got them. Thank you! I love them too!) but it isn’t so much about getting the clothes out of the dryer…though when my back is messed up that does hurt me. It’s more about reaching the controls..and I am 5’7”! So I was gonna suggest you not stack them.
I hope the lint hose is better attached than my old dryers in all the years past. I have always had an issue with dusty lint in the air in my laundry room, settling into clothes and such I have in there. I have always questioned having a stackable set in my actual closet, which is huge and has the room, and I would so love having it in there. Hope you do not have to deal with this.