I have a 27"- 28"ish wide closet for our Bosch (it's 23.5"). It was as wide as we could go. My only recommendation is that you confirm where the plug is on the stack unit you get before you do any electrical. Fiance wanted the plug low and now the cord is too short to plug in and getting the unit into place is really hard. You may want to give yourself a bit more room than we did. It will save you a lot of hassle.

Many of the units by Bosch and Miele are only 24" to 26" wide, you would have to be more concerned about depth and door swing on a front loader. Even those fairly cheap stack able Thin Twins by Whirlpool/Kenmore/Maytag (whatever) are often 24" to 27" wide but then vary on depth. They are frequently "full size" ore close to it.

I just caution you against making the same mistake we did with electrical. We did not make the mistake with plumbing though. Make sure you put your hookups in a accessible place. We already needed to turn our water off when one of the hoses got knocked off when we put the unit it place (the Bosch tech did it even). We were sure glad that those hook ups were on the side instead of the back. Much easier in a tight spot. It was worth the cost to move that small amount of plumbing.

Good Luck!

IIRC, the bosch models that stack are the Axxis, which are not as large as most 'full' sized washers and their Nexxt line does not stack, unless they've made changes to it.

That said, I think your closet design looks 'tight' for getting things in andout of the machines while standing in front of them... you should check dimensions on some models. I believe the 36" wicth will be plenty, but most of these models are deeper than they are wide, thus your 5 1/2 foot space in front of the machine could eacily turn into 2 1/2 feet of room for accessing and swinging those doors open. I think I'd be cramped in that space, but again, take a tape measure with you to measure depth with door open to the store.

Personally, I have my machines, unstacked in a closet in the bath off my second floor hallway. Bath/laundry room. The closet is about 9+ feet, the machines 'face' each other and I stand inbetween them to toss things from one to the other. The closte has a full lentgh hangning rod that is high enough to hang above the machines (not on pedestals). Works for us, but some may not like it.

Bosch makes an Axxis in 3.4 cu. ft. Bigger than my machine but smaller than many other larger machines. This machine will stack, it is also 23.5" wide
Miele makes one that stacks also- the Little Giants stack and the width is only 23.5, like the bosch. the difference is the 26.5 depth, vs the 23.5 depth of the Axxis.

i imagine other companies have them too, I just wanted to keep my Bosch or upgrade to Miele.

I couldn't use the Miele in our closet, the depth made it a bit too tight. I have more room for door swing than you do though- my Axxis is behind a door but once open there is about 3 feet at least to access it. I have no problems with this but we are both super tall and lanky. A shorter person may have a tough time in a tight spot with a tall dryer.

My LG's fit stacked in the corner of a small utility room. They require approximately 56" with the doors open. You will have 66" which means you'll have to stand to one side when opening. Width won't be too much of a problem, think of them needed about 33" to give you an inch or so on both sides to work them in and out. As suggested, put the plumbing on that outside wall.

I wouldn't put any shelves in there unless they were fold-up since you would be bumping into them all the time.

My stackable kit has a shelf that pulls out between the washer and dryer. It's handy. it was worth the money for the stacking kit with the shelf. Can't remember how much it cost.i agree with weedmeister, i'm only putting shelves above the dryer (or between), otherwise it's too cluttered in that tiny space.

i'm jealous of your 36"! Then I could fit a drying rack and maybe even a broom or two. oh well.

Hi all. Thanks so much for your feedback, it is so appreciated!

I just remeasured, and actually I have more space than I thought. The width is 6'2" (not 5'6"), and where the alcove is I have 40". (I had previously measured with my daughters school ruler, ha ha). I do think I will try to put it in this closet which will drastically reduce my remodeling costs since I won't have to touch the bathroom behind it.

Since I have 4 children, I will probalby want to go with the bigger 27" units with 4.0 capacity. I'd love the way the Bosch units would fit in there, but I think the extra capacity may be worth it. I had a plumber out last week to quote it out, so I'm hoping his numbers come in not too bad. We really want to focus our $$ on the kitchen :)

I'd try to pick out your machines prior to plumbing. That way you know which side the input and outflow water need to be on and where your dryer venting will be coming out. Make it as easy on yourself as possible!

I'd take that stack and move it over to the left and have it face out to the door -- use that space to the right as a hanging space. You might be able to slide a narrow hamper in there, but you won't be pinned against the wall and between two open doors when you are doing laundry (reaching for soap, hangers, whatever). If that wall on the back is an exterior wall, it will be easier to vent too. You will also be able to see the front of the machines and the status of your wash from the door or hall.

If the space seems tight between the door and the front of the washer/dryer stack, consider putting in split swinging doors so each one only swings in half the distance.

I have the LG full sized steam washer and dryer. We were planning on stacking them, but have them on pedestals now and will leave them that way. The machines are so quiet and smooth though that I think they would be great stacked as well. It is 27" wide and the depth was a bit less than the Whirlpool and most others -- other than the Asko and Bosch, which were also smaller washers.