Don’t get me wrong, I love my Victorian house, but perfecting the layout in what is a long and narrow building has been a challenge. I’m finally in a position to add our kitchen extension and renovate our bedrooms. And for what feels like forever I’ve been puzzling over one particular question: where should the utility room go?
Would it eat into the kitchen? Could I squeeze it under the stairs? Should I sacrifice a chunk of our shiny new garden-adjacent entertaining space? In the end, I decided to ignore all those options entirely and put the utility room upstairs.
Controversial? Maybe, but it makes a lot of sense in my book. These are the main reasons why I’ve come to this decision, and I’ve also asked a few experts to weigh in on whether I’m doing the right thing.
1. Doesn't it make sense to wash clothes close to where they're stored?
When you really think about it, the majority of laundry is generated upstairs. Clothes are taken off before you shower, towels are used in bathrooms, sheets and pillowcases are stripped from beds. So why carry everything downstairs dirty, only to bring back up again clean? Sure, you might want to line-dry some items – particularly towels and bedding for the whiteness and hygiene that UV brings. But, on wet days when you're reliant on a tumble dryer, it really does seem like a waste of time.
“Positioning the utility room next to the bathroom removes that unnecessary circulation around the house and creates a much more intuitive and streamlined daily routine,” agrees Charlotte Tilby, head of marketing at Calypso and LochAnna Kitchens.
“It also futureproofs the home to a degree. Carrying heavy washing baskets up and down stairs multiple times a week isn’t especially practical long term, especially if you're beginning to struggle with motility, and modern house renovations increasingly prioritise ease of day-to-day living.”
As Head of Marketing for Woodstock Co., the parent company for LochAnna Kitchens and Calypso brands, Charlotte has her finger on the pulse for the latest design solutions for any bathroom and kitchen space. Championing both the company’s brands gives her a wealth of knowledge on new and innovative products hitting the market.
2. It leaves me with more space in my kitchen
Designing a kitchen isn't easy at the best of times. And nowadays, there seem to be more gadgets to add to the mix. Wine coolers, American-style fridge freezers, air fryers, bean-to-cup coffee machines – how are we meant to find space for it all?
By ditching the laundry appliances, that's how. "Kitchens today have become far more than purely functional cooking spaces," says Charlotte Tilby. "They’re entertaining areas; family hubs. Because of that, there is a growing desire for kitchens to feel calmer and less dominated by bulky household appliances.
"In many UK properties, washing machines and tumble dryers are still fitted beneath kitchen worktops, but that can compromise storage, add noise, and bring a very practical task into a room that is often designed for cooking, gathering and hosting," adds Charlotte Butler, kitchen design manager at BK Eleven. "Moving those appliances upstairs gives the kitchen more breathing room, while allowing the utility area to be planned properly around laundry, linen and household storage."
"It also removes a layer of visual clutter that can make kitchens feel overly practical rather than sociable," she adds.
“Integrated laundry appliances can seem like a convenience within a kitchen, but in practice they often interrupt functional parts of daily life like cooking, dining and entertaining," agrees Rikki Fothergill, bathroom design expert at Big Bathroom Shop.
"Keeping laundry rooms upstairs is the perfect way of avoiding visible laundry and the demands of chores from taking over free time. Like in many Mediterranean homes, siting utility areas closer to bathrooms helps create a quieter, more considered layout where practical tasks can happen discreetly in the background of everyday life,” adds Rikki.
Charlotte has a background in hotel interiors and holds a degree in interior design. Since moving into bespoke handmade kitchens in 2014, she has spent more than 14 years designing kitchens that balance day-to-day functionality with strong visual character.
3. It keeps noisy appliances away from entertaining areas
There's nothing guaranteed to ruin a Zoom meeting, cinema night or romantic dinner for two like a spin cycle. So if you spend most of your day working, eating and relaxing downstairs, it makes a lot of sense to keep laundry appliances as far away as possible. And where better than upstairs?
"Washing machines and tumble dryers are inherently noisy appliances, and in open-plan homes especially, they can interrupt conversations, hosting or simply the atmosphere of a calm evening at home," says Charlotte Tilby.
"Relocating those appliances upstairs removes that background noise from the kitchen and main entertaining areas entirely. It helps preserve a quieter, more relaxed environment downstairs, while creating a clearer distinction between areas of the home for household chores and spaces intended for socialising or unwinding."
Naturally, you're not going to run your appliances at night while you're sleeping next to them (and it pays to leave them off for safety reasons too), so it might pose a slight issue if you have previously taken advantage of cheap nighttime tariffs. Similarly, if you have young children or work shifts, it might not be so practical. But for my lifestyle, it's the perfect fit.
4. The plumbing is already close at hand
Trying to find a space for a utility downstairs can be further complicated by your plumbing set up. It's all well and good if your kitchen is right next door. But otherwise, you may have limitations.
"Putting a utility area within or next to a bathroom is probably the most space efficient option because you're already in the wet zone and you're usually closest to the soil stack and existing hot and cold supplies," explains Matthew Powell, plumbing expert and founder of WarmZilla.
"That means shorter pipe runs for both water and waste, fewer floor or ceiling penetrations, and less chance of slow drains because the route can be simple and direct."
"Placing the utility next to the bathroom rather than inside it might give you a better day to day result," he says. "You can still stay close to the soil stack and water supplies, but the room is drier, easier to service, and simpler for electrics and storage. It also gives you more control over noise by using a solid door, lining, and anti-vibration measures without compromising the bathroom experience."
In this scenario, Matthew recommends siting the separate utility back to back with the bathroom so they share a wet wall. "Keeping the soil stack, wastes, and hot and cold feeds on one side of the wall reduces complexity and makes faults easier to find," he says.
"Design a shallow service void so pipes can run straight with gentle bends and so you can add access hatches where traps and valves sit," Matthew adds. "It also pays to place appliances so the waste route is short and direct to the stack connection rather than taking a long scenic route around the room."
Starting as a plumbing apprentice, Matthew spent more than 20 years building and scaling heating and plumbing businesses across the UK, covering everything from boiler installation and heating systems to high-end bathroom projects. Combining hands-on trade experience with technology, he launched WarmZilla to transform how homeowners buy and manage boiler, plumbing, and wider home services.
5. If it's good enough for the Europeans
I've happily holidayed in Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece for decades. And in many cases, I've noticed laundry facilities either within or next to bathrooms on the first floor. In fact, in most of these countries, having a washing machine in a kitchen is something of a rarity.
And I'm not the only one to notice. "In Mediterranean homes this type of setup is really common where kitchens are 100% focussed on preparing food," London- and Majorca-based interior designer Clare Morton tells me. "Cooking is a very separate job to laundry in the med!"
"In the UK, we’ve grown up with washing machines in kitchens but thinking differently can elevate the home! In my own property, I put a utility next to the master bathroom – it sits naturally close to the bedrooms, which makes laundry much easier to process, organise and put away day-to-day," she reveals. "Next to the bathroom is perfect as the plumbing set up is easy to access for the washing machine."
And Clare's top design tip? "I would also design the utility so it feels elevated and integrated rather than too “spare room”. Household chores are more fun in a nice environment!"
Clare Morton is an award winning British Interior Architect and Interior Designer, living in Mallorca and working across both Mallorca and London. She is known for her meticulous eye for detail, professionalism and creativity.
If your home is crying out for a separate laundry space – whether you choose to locate it upstairs or on the ground floor, make sure you avoid these utility room mistakes, and get an idea of utility room costs with our guide to budgeting.
