One o fmy friends couldn’t make room for her big laundry machines on her top floor, but she had really tall ceilings so it was basically three flights she was carrying the laundry.
She installed a small stackable washer and dryer on the top floor. She starts a load in that each night with all or most of the clothes worn that day, then dries it in the morning. That way the laundry doesn’t stack up, and she only has to put the big things in the basement machine - towels and sheets and such a couple of times per month.
I think the more dining room space you have would be more appealing to future buyers, as oppose to easy access. Besides, going down a short flight of stairs isn’t a big deal. I currently have to go down three flights to the basement. A real pain in the ass. If I only had to go down one, that would be so freak’n awesome.
I’d prefer it in the basement, especially if you could get together a nice laundry area where you can keep an ironing board set up, lay sweaters flat, etc. Living space is precious.
Is a flight of stairs really that big of a deal (assuming you are not too old)? My bathroom is down a flight of stairs, so I’m up and down all the time. Hasn’t killed me yet.
I love this idea. You have a serving buffet in the dining room that doubles as a housing for the laundry equipment. Everyone wins!
That being said, IMO I don’t think a formal dining room is as important to the average bungalow buyer these days as it once was. A well appointed open concept kitchen/dining area will draw more favorable attention than a small kitchen with a small dining room.
Based on how my parents are doing, stairs shouldn’t become a problem for me until sometime the other side of 80. I realize not everyone’s so lucky, though.
But I’m thinking when the time comes, we install an elevator of some sort - wherever the laundry room may be, the 2 story house with basement we’re living in will be a huge waste of space if we can’t get to it all. We’ll be talking low to mid 5 figures here, but that’ll be doable.
I agree, the buffet laundry solution is great. You could even put shelving above the buffet top to hold interesting pantry goods [heavy glass jars of beans and pasta and other dry goods can be very decorative.]
One main problem I have with putting laundry in a basement is frequently you get a moisture buildup between the venting for the dryer leaking, the laying out of wet sweaters and hanging to dry of stuff you don’t want exposed to heat tends to make it humid and can lead to mustiness, fungus and mold growth. It is very difficult to just slap open a few windows and cross ventilate a basement to freshen it.
I do like the buffet laundry solution, too. Very interesting.
Actually, Calgary is such a dry place that drying laundry on the line downstairs is a good thing - it adds a bit of badly-needed moisture to the house, especially when you factor in the forced-air heat in winter.
Not to mention, I’d hate to expose my dining room and the good furniture to all that moisture, even with a dehumidifier running. In the mid-Atlantic where I live, for much of the year, opening windows to freshen things is either a poor option, or not an option at all.
I don’t think a formal dining area is as important as having a dining area which is large enough to seat, say, 10 people. Some bungalows have very small eat-in kitchens, in which case the dining area serve as a catch-all place to eat and socialize.