The Ultimate Utility Room Guide

Image of a mother and son smiling together folding laundry in a white modern utility room. The image features a washing machine and tumble dryer

What is a utility room?

A utility room is a dedicated space in your house to store functional products that you might want to keep out of sight. Often known in the UK as a laundry room, it’s the ideal place to store items like your washing basket, ironing board and cleaning products. A utility room is a great dedicated place to complete household chores like washing and ironing. Essentially a kitchen overflow, you can use a utility room to increase your kitchen space and store less used cooking apparatus out of the way until it’s needed.

What should you put in a utility room?

What you keep in your utility room depends on how much space you have, as well as your needs. The most common use of a utility room is for cleaning activities. Appliances you’d expect to see in a utility room include a washing machine, tumble dryer or washer dryer. Another popular utility room essential is a sink. If you opt for a tap with a pull out nozzle, you can get into those hard to reach areas with ease. You can hand wash delicate clothing or arrange flowers here keeping your kitchen sink free for every day dishes without any cross contamination. Some people also keep an additional fridge or freezer in their utility room. This is especially handy for storing extra drinks or food when you’re hosting, or for ice creams and meat ready for Summer BBQ’s.

A utility room is a useful multifunctional space. For example, a utility room could also double up as a boot room. Most utilities have a hard wearing floor rather than a carpet, making it the perfect place to clean muddy boots or pets! Keeping messier tasks out of the kitchen is more hygienic and also allows you to keep your kitchen clutter free. If room allows for it, you could keep your winter coats, wellies and sports kits in the utility room too.

Having a separate space for your laundry appliances keeps things organised and reduces noise levels in your kitchen.
An additional sink and tap is useful for dirtier tasks such as cleaning muddy boots or arranging flowers.
If you have room for additional food storage, it can be handy to store bulkier items like bags of ice cubes and joints of meat.

Does a utility room add value to your house?

In the rise of open plan living, there is certainly value in keeping clutter out of sight. Having a sleek and streamlined kitchen dining area can make your home feel more spacious. When laundry piles and cleaning products are hidden away you can relax without thinking about your long to-do list. Having a separate space for household tasks can boost productivity. Plus clever organisation makes it easier to find the things you need. Keeping your laundry appliances separate will also reduce noise in your main living space. No more being disrupted by a noisy spin cycle!

If you are thinking about adding a utility room to your home, there are a few things to consider. The most important factor is how much space you have available. If you are adding an extension to your property the costs could be considerable. However if you’re thinking of utilising otherwise unused space, you can create a utility room without spending much money at all.

When it comes to selling a property, having a utility room can be a key selling point. Many potential buyers will be attracted to practical storage space and having an additional room. It is worth noting that whilst a utility room is a useful addition to any home, there is no set figure on how much it could add to your house value. Some experts estimate it could be as much as 5% but this is down to a number of factors. Our advice is to create a utility room if you have space, using budget friendly materials to make it cost effective.

How to organise your utility room

Firstly, you’ll need to decide what the primary use will be. Are you mainly using the utility room for washing and laundry? Do you enjoy batch cooking? Do you have a busy household with lots of wellies and muddy football boots?

If you want to use the space as a laundry room, you’ll need to ensure there is enough room for your appliances. If you have a vented tumble dryer, it’ll need installing next to an external wall so that hot air can flow outside. Integrated appliances will need to sit behind your cabinetry, which can help to make the space look neat and tidy. You have more flexibility with freestanding appliances, especially condenser dryers as these don’t need to vent outside. As long as you have plenty of ventilation around it, you can install a condenser dryer wherever you like. A washing machine, on the other hand will need to be near to your water supply and electrical supply.

For those who love to cook or entertain, an undercounter fridge or freezer would be a welcome addition in the utility room. You could also use this space to store appliances that aren’t used every day, like stand mixers and juicers. Adding plenty of storage for jars, pots and pans helps you to separate your every day essentials from items that are occasionally used.

Adding a shoe rack and coat hooks is especially handy if you use the utility room door as your main entrance. Keeping a bench or banquette near the door means you can easily remove shoes as soon as you walk in. This stops mud being walked through the house, plus your shoes will always be where you need them!

How to maximise space in a small utility room

A small utility room can still be very useful. Using some simple yet clever storage solutions can help you to maximise your space. A stacking kit helps you to safely stack your tumble dryer on top of your washing machine. Using a stacking kit frees up valuable floor space. Some stacking kits also feature a pull out drawer which you can put your laundry basket on whilst loading and unloading, handy! If you are very restricted on space, you can combine two appliances in one by opting for a washer dryer.

Building full height storage cupboards means you can utilise every nook and cranny. Invest in a collapsible stool for quick access to the harder to reach shelves. You could keep surplus laundry detergent and cleaning products above your appliances ready for when you need them. This is also a useful place to store extra towels and tea towels, keeping your kitchen cupboards free.

If you don’t have much space near the door, adding a clothes rail into a full height cupboard keeps coats out of the way. Keeping coats and shoes inside a cupboard will make your space feel less cluttered. An ironing board can also sit neatly inside a tall cupboard, ideally on hooks inside the door.

A utility room doesn’t only have to be practical, it can be pretty too! Use open shelving above the sink to display glass jars, containers and even flowers. Make sure to add task lighting to key areas such as above the sink (if there’s no natural light) and around your appliances. Using colour can transform a small room. Use lighter colours to give the illusion of more space. Or alternatively you could use bold and bright colours to make a serious style statement. Who says utility rooms have to be boring?! By making your utility room look great, you’ll want to spend more time in there, ultimately completing more chores!

Ultimate utility room tips: Stack your appliances to create more space
Stacking your laundry appliances gives you more floor space. It makes loading and unloading the washing much easier too!
Ultimate utility room tips: Use colour and decorative storage jars to create an aesthetically pleasing space.
Bold and bright colours can add real impact to smaller rooms. Open shelving can combine decorative and practical items to utilise space.
To create the ultimate utility room, use clever storage solutions and practical
Hooks help to store collapsible items like ironing boards and drying racks. Image credit: IKEA

Unusual places for a utility room

The most common place for a utility room is next to the kitchen. This is for two main reasons. Firstly, you can easily plumb in appliances to the main water supply. For example, a washing machine needs connecting to the existing hot and cold water supply plus the waste pipe. Secondly, most people use the utility room as an extension of the kitchen. If you’re using the storage space for additional pots, pans and crockery, it makes sense to be close to the kitchen. This also applies if you are adding an extra fridge or freezer.

However if you don’t have space near your kitchen for a utility, there are plenty of other places you can create one! Let’s take a look at some of the other places you could add a utility room.

Garage Conversion

Image Credit: Pinterest Hannah Hopkins Interiors

A garage conversion is an ideal place for a utility room. Close access to outside helps when taking washing out to dry. A garage already has a hard wearing floor making it the perfect place to keep dirty shoes and bigger things like bikes and sports gear.

While it isn’t usually necessary to have planning permission for a garage conversion, it’s always best to check before you carry out any work.

Under Stairs Cupboard

Image Credit: Pinterest Brewed Leaf Love

An under the stairs cupboard is usually a compact space without much useable space. Often used as a ‘junk’ cupboard, you can utilise the space with proper planning and a little creativity.

Adding a washing machine, tumble dryer and some storage baskets you can create a mini laundry room. Pull out drawers or drying racks will also help you to maximise the functionality.

Downstairs Bathroom

Image Credit: Pinterest The House Ministry Ltd

Another practical space that could double up as a utility is the downstairs toilet. Apart from a sink and toilet, your downstairs loo doesn’t take up much space. Therefore you could add in storage for cleaning and laundry products.

You could even create a mini wet room with a tiled area and low level shower for hosing down your muddy pets. Especially handy to have after straight after wet walks!

Spare Bedroom

A spare bedroom can make a useful dressing and laundry room

Doing your laundry close to your bedroom can be useful. This saves time and energy taking dirty clothes downstairs to wash, and instead complete all your washing on one floor. If you prefer to dry your washing on the line, this wouldn’t be very practical as you’d still need to carry your wet washing downstairs.

Whilst utilising a spare room is a great idea, washing machines and tumble dryers can be notoriously noisy. If you have young children who nap, or you use your appliances overnight, this could be disruptive whilst you sleep. Again, it’s important to check you can connect to the required services upstairs.

Basement

Keeping laundry appliances in the basement is a good use of space

If you have an older property, a basement can be a handy space to store bigger items. The benefit of having a utility room in the basement is you can complete noisy tasks away from your living space. You’d need to check if appliances can be fitted here with your builder or installer.

One disadvantage is you’d need to carry your washing down another level of stairs. This can be inconvenient as it’s even further away from your bedroom. It is also important to ensure safety regulations are met where appliances are being used. This includes good ventilation and another exit such as a door or window in case of an emergency.

Landing

Image Credit: Pinterest tidbitsandtwine.com

If you have a lot of unused space on your landing or hallway, this could be a good spot for a mini utility room. Lots of older houses will have an airing cupboard where bulky water tanks used to be kept. Most homes will have now upgraded to a modern combi boiler, which doesn’t take up so much room. You can then use the airing cupboard for more than just towels and bedding storage.

Your landing or hallway might have less room to open a full size door, so you could look at space saving door options. A stable door or sliding door provides a rustic look whilst giving you full access to the internal space when it’s needed.

Utility room inspiration

Ultimate utility room inspiration
Open shelving and clothes rails are a useful addition to any utility room. You can easily find items when you need them.
Ultimate utility room inspiration
Stacking laundry appliances saves floor space and can make it easier to load and unload your washing
Image Credit: Country Living Dedicated spaces for storage help you to keep organised. You can even make a cosy spot for your pooch!
Image Credit: Pinterest Marianna Marks Using a laundry stacking kit featuring a pull out drawer make it easier to load and unload your washing.
A Belfast sink is a handy addition in a utility room. A ceramic sink is durable and will give your utility an eye catching focal point.
Image Credit: Ideal Home UK Using bespoke built in cupboards and shelving provides ample space for items of all shapes and sizes.

Feeling Inspired?

Hopefully our ultimate utility room guide has given you plenty of inspiration. No matter what size space you have, or where it is within your house, you can create a beautiful and functional space to suit your needs. If you need any help or advice on which appliances to choose, please call our sales team on 0115 965 1937.