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| Almost done tinkering with the layout. We were originally going to relocate the laundry to a workshop that is located within the detached garage. However, I think I have decided that I would prefer the convenience of having it in the house. We live in Southern California, where garage laundries are quite common, but I think it would get tiresome after the novelty of my new kitchen wears off. :-) I have the space to incorporate a laundry closet in the back space of the kitchen area, but I'm at a loss on the best way to conceal it. Next to it will be storage for things like dog food, seldom used appliances, paper towels, etc. The space is approx. 112". There is a post directly to the left of where the washing machine is in this photo. I'm planning on having it framed out to be the terminating point for this space. Planning on about 33" depth, but that can vary slightly. Sliding barn door leaves half of the space exposed, and I am having trouble sourcing a single door large enough to cover half the space. Pocket doors leave me with unusable 'wings', since it isn't deep enough to walk into. But maybe having a visible w/d is the 'least worst' in this situation? Any clever ideas that I'm missing?
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by williamsem (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 0:13
| These! Watch the video, I need to figure out how to use some in our theoretical future home we are building. I wanted to use the cabinet size version for hidden backsplash storage, but that isn't in the cards for this kitchen. Maybe a pair of these side by side? |
Here is a link that might be useful: Lateral hinge
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- Posted by Mizinformation (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 0:43
| What about bypass barn door hardware on two tracks rather than a single track? We're doing that with two recycled doors in a very similar situation, but in half the space: stacked laundry on one side, pantry on the other, two bypass doors. You could do two wide doors, or 3-4 smaller ones. Google Image "bypass barn door" and you'll get lots of examples of multiple doors on two tracks. Have fun! |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 1:01
| Williamsem's link is interesting. Another option might be french doors--two smaller doors that swing out towards you. When both are open, you have a generous doorway. You avoid having a very large single door needing lots of space in front for opening. You do need a little framing space in the corner, but not much and certainly not as much as pocket doors. When we reno'd the whole house last year, we replaced every door in the house. I hated the old bifold doors in all the bedroom closets so we replaced them with this type of two out-swinging french door setup. So much better! |
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| Pretty storage on top with front load w/d below with pocket doors. See link. |
Here is a link that might be useful: photo
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| Like that last one using entertainment style pocket doors. Anither idea. - stack the washer/dryer to use less floor space and again use the same style doors. |
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- Posted by herbflavor (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 6:37
| why don't you get stackable washer dryer-turn them 90 degrees and push them back along wall with dining area....make like a refrigerator alcove.....and across the front only needing a bifold door. Even extend the partition side on the left and on the indside of this assign wire shelves for folding of the clothes/general bulk storage/etc. |
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| Have done something like this where each appliance is in what woukd look like a refridgerator cabinet and each cabinet has tall pocket doors- the storage area would also be a cabinet. There is plenty of depth for the doors which end up at about 17-18 wide for each unit. So the doors don't have to protrude more than an inch or so-we used Blum push to open latches and no handles. Another option: Hafele has hardware for doors that slide and then turn in and stack on the end of a run. Pricey hardware, but less expensive cabinetry so could be a wash (no pun intended:) |
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| May want to double check the 33" depth against real life washer/dryer. It may not be deep enough. I'm currently looking at laundry set in a small space and I didn't find much that meet my needs. Your needs may be different. |
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- Posted by GreenDesigns (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 8:09
| Yeah, most laundry these days is around 30-36" in depth by the time you account for the hookups for the dryer. I don't think the position will work. Plus, the dryer needs to be on the right of the washer hookup, and that will make venting complicated. If the workshop is on the other side (It's not garage) then why not flip them around back and do a swinging door from the kitchen into that area. That will solve the concealment and access issue as well as give you more space around the seating, which is currently too tight. Then you could use the current area as a shallow coffee bar or wet bar area or even just shallow pantry. It would probably help with the dryer venting route as well if the space on the right is close to the exterior. If the area is garage, that won't work because you need a fire rated door into a garage. |
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| For reference - My large Miele front loader W and D are each 28-1/2" deep (the doors bow out in the front so hard to get an exact measurement). I have 4-1/2" from back of machines to the wall and it is pretty tight to the dryer vent. |
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- Posted by pricklypearcactus (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 11:26
| As others mentioned, new washer and dryers do seem much deeper. I was surprised at how deep (when you take into consideration the space needed for hooking up plumbing and dryer ventilation) my new ones were compared to my old ones. I think you should consider doing a stacked washer/dryer in a dry-walled closet perhaps with two small doors. You could create a storage closet next to the stacked washer and dryer. You could probably do the same thing for a non-stacked, but would run into problems with the door. But if you at least plan to separate the storage from the washer/dryer area with a wall, that shrinks the span that a single door solution must address. I have a stacked washer/dryer myself and I love the extra space created by them. |
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| Thanks for all of the suggestions and links provided. Williamsem-Those doors are very cool! I've never seen those before. I have a feeling they may be out of my budget. Mizinformation-I love the bypass barn doors. However, again I'm afraid it may be out of my budget. The hardware alone is $1k, plus the doors...I'm not sure I can swing that. Breezygirl-that is what I am planning on doing for the pantry in the upper right hand corner. I'm not sure it would work for this space though, wouldn't I need some framing down the middle between each set of doors? I'm afraid that might chop up the space and make it less usable.
Chispa-I thought about that, similar to that house we saw in Pasadena. But then would it look strange to have a closet next to it? I'll put it into my planner and come back with a elevation drawing. a2Gemini-I think if I don't do the undercounter w/d, I will get a stackable unit. Herbflavor-I don't think I can picture what you are describing. Are you saying to have them face the inside of the closet? Wouldn't that take up valuable closet space since that front access area would then need to be empty? Jakuvall-That might work. I'll have to see if my cabinets make doors in those sizes. I was hoping to avoid using cabinetry, since framing is less expensive. But maybe I can't avoid it. MAgs438-You might be right about that space being too shallow. We had a shallow laundry closet in our old house and I didn't much care for it. But I would still take that over having to trek out to the garage. What solution did you come up with for your space? GreenDesigns-Gosh, I wish. The workshop is actually behind the brick wall where the fireplace is. The wall behind the kitchen is the driveway (front of house). So there is no way to create house access to the workshop, short of removing brick wall and fireplace, or bumping out the front. I did think about doing that, but that is quite involved. It would involve a lot of work to the front of the house in the living room and dining room, which is probably beyond the scope of this project. Chispa-I have a duet, which is 28.5" deep too. I forgot about the clearance needed for venting though. Hm. PricklyPearCactus-I did forget about the space needed for venting. I am liking your idea of creating a laundry closet w/ the stacked machines, and then have a seperate storage closet. Do you think it would look strange to have almost 9 feet of doors though? ------------------- OK, I'm going to play with some of the ideas above and I will come back with drawings and see what you guys think. |
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| In your situation, I would be tempted to leave the washer and dryer fronts out in the open. Use a panel on the side, cabinets on the other side for the dog food and appliances and such, and top the whole thing with a counter. Front loading washers and dryers look pretty good, and this way they'd be just another appliance in your kitchen. |
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| Beaded curtain? Nah. Treat them like kitchen appliances as Hartwood suggests. Cuz they are. |
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| Have had my Duet both stacked and side by each. Hated the stacked, especially in a small space....no where to pull things out of the dryer....suspect if yours go stacked in the kitchen, the island will become the defacto folding/sorting area. Much prefer our current side by side under a counter. |
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| Did you look on Houzz? I searched photos using "laundry in kitchen" and there were some photos showing different ways to hide or display the W/D. You mentioned 9 ft of closet, I don't see a problem with that at all. I thought the kitchen in that Show House was very well done. The counter above W/D, although a bit high, still works well as a folding area in laundry mode and buffet/serving/bar area in kitchen mode. I don't think you could go wrong if you did something like that. |
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| We are now empty nesters so we don't have a lot of laundry. Our kitchen remodel must now include laundry area. I'm going to do laundry units side by side with a (hopefully easily removable) countertop on top with some doors in front of laundry. Considered stackable but then using island for folding would have been a requirement. My kd did bifold doors but I really like door ideas posted in photos here. Don't know if I can accomplish it though. I'm looking at pulling the trigger on a Electrolux set from a black friday sale, because (1) it fits a king size heavy bedding (no laundry mat for me) and (2) it has a 27" depth i believe. The dryer hookup is diff than others i looked at and in the back it shaves off some depth. I still need to ensure the units can be serviced if need be though. I'm hoping they can be slid out if servicing is required. This kitchen remodeling stuff is challenging. |
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| Chispa-I did look on Houzz, but I didn't see that particular photo for some reason. Thanks for posting it. I showed it to the cabinet maker, so we will see. I am not crazy about the slat doors, although I realize they are necessary for venting purposes. Hartwood, Fori, Maggie-I think I am going to end up with them sidexside under counter. I'm not sure if I'm going to have pocket doors built for them, since I suspect they will be left open most of the time anyway. Mags438-What E'Lux set are you considering? I went to Best Buy yesterday and they all seemed to be the same depth, although I did not have a measuring tape with me. The shallower depth would be wonderful, since I have to buy an extra deep counter. I'm planning on doing walnut, I think. So here is the rendering I did of the sxs next to a storage closet. Sorry it looks like it was done by a 7 year old, my PS skills are about at that level.
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- Posted by fouramblues (My Page) on Thu, Nov 29, 12 at 15:10
| I don't know whether you plan to do that area up to look like a laundry or if you'll try to disguise it. One could argue either way. But if you're going to camouflage, I think over the W/D would be a great place to set up beverages when you have people over. Going with that idea, I'd probably want to swap the storage closet and the W/D areas and frame out the post nicely. I know you didn't ask, so feel free to ignore. Either way, I really like the way your space is working out! |
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| Hi Drybean, I just found this lady's laundry area and it made me think of your dilemma. I like her simple cover-up solution. Photobucket's being pokier than pokey for me, so I'll let you go to her blog and look. I was hoping to put the picture here, but it just isn't loading. What she did was to make curtains that are mounted on swing out curtain rods, so they move completely out of the way for access to her front loaders, and then swing back in again when she wants the machines covered. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Swing out curtains in front of washer and dryer
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| Hi drybean, I went with midrange (series 60) e'lux laundry set. I considered the next tier up but really didn't need *all* those bells and whistles for laundry. There are many more other things that I'd rather splurge on in the kitchen. I'm purchasing from a local dealer and purchasing a 5yr service contract since every washer/dryer line for what I was willing to spend (2k), had one or 2 problems and i didn't want to deal with manufacturer if I got a lemon or had problems. The $125 rebate requires that I take delivery before end of year, so I will. I only purchased now to ensure I had correct and accurate sizing for cabinetry. Paying $1799 for set. I checked out best buy as well. Was leaning toward samsung or lg, but when I learned more about the more shallow depth of Electrolux, it seemed to be the winner for my needs. FYI- we asked the sales folks to show us how one did the hookup in rear of unit. |
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Fouraumblues-That is an excellent idea to use it to stage drinks. I love the idea of using it as such. So you think to move the laundry bar area (ha!) to the other side, like this would work better?  What do you mean by frame the post out? In this scenario, I was planning on extending it so that it become the right wall for the storage closet. Laughable-Thanks so much for thinking of me! I like what she did, and the swing out arms are a clever idea. I think in mine kitchen it would get filthy in about 5 minutes, what with my kids mistaking them for a dishtowel. Maybe when they are a bit older... Mags438-I'm so glad you were able to get the ones you wanted! I'm happy to learn about the shallow depth of the Elux ones, I thought they were all a standard 30". I'm *thisclose* to convincing DH that we need new ones. |
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