House with 2 laundry rooms

[pagas]

Here in Texas, a lot of the houses are designed with the master on the main level and the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs.  I think that layout is ridiculous, but it is the thing here.  I just saw a new construction house that came on the market with a laundry room on each floor. One for the master on the first floor and another on the second floor.  Who on earth is doing that much laundry?

[AmeliaBedelia]

I would love that if I had a big family.

I also prefer the master away from the other bedrooms, so perhaps we have different taste in house layouts

[Deleted]

We have laundry (and all bedrooms) on our second floor and it's great not to haul sheets and shit up and down.

I wouldn't mind having the master on the lower floor though, we could be a lot louder...

[ECB]

True FWP: "I have to go down/up a WHOLE SET OF STAIRS to do my laundry!!!".

[speckledfrog]

I scoffed at first, but I think that would be perfect for when my boys are older and doing their own laundry.

[CloudBee]

That actually sounds dreamy.

FWIW, I also hate the idea of a master on the first floor.

[gummybear]

If I were to have two laundry rooms one would be for every day clothes and one would be more industrial/for big things like sheets and towels and extra grody things like work clothes after gardening etc.

I would not want my master on the first floor. Total dealbreaker for me.

[pagas]

Sept 1, 2015 13:23:09 GMT -5 Lucy Honeychurch said:

I don't get this either. But then, I also hate the master-on-main thing. The LAST thing I want is a master bedroom on the main level.

When you have a baby that wakes up in the middle of the night, who wants to deal with stairs?  It doesn't make sense to me.

[ECB]

Sept 1, 2015 13:22:18 GMT -5 AmeliaBedelia said:

I also prefer the master away from the other bedrooms, so perhaps we have different taste in house layouts

While it wasn't what we were specifically looking for (I really had no opinion on specific locations of bedrooms), I LURVE having our master downstairs w/ the other bedrooms up.  And I know as DS gets older, we'll love it even more!

[DotAndBuzz]

Sept 1, 2015 13:20:23 GMT -5 pagas said:

Here in Texas, a lot of the houses are designed with the master on the main level and the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs.  I think that layout is ridiculous, but it is the thing here.  I just saw a new construction house that came on the market with a laundry room on each floor. One for the master on the first floor and another on the second floor.  Who on earth is doing that much laundry?

I used to think that too.  Then we bought a house with that layout.  Now I LOVE it.  The girls have their space upstairs, and I'm not running up and down stairs all day when I have to go to my bedroom for something.

However, in that layout, an extra laundry room upstairs with the kids/guest room is a complete waste.  I don't want to walk up any stairs to do laundry.  Ideal, IMO, is laundry on whatever floor the master is on. 

eta - ok, I read the replies about the extra room being convenient for families w/ lots of kids, or when the kids are older, to do their own laundry.  And I get that.  But I don't think I'd care about keeping laundry convenient for my own kids.  Laundry sucks.  They can deal.  Taking their own clothes down one set of stairs is way more convenient than it will be to them in a few years when they're living in a dorm or apartment.

We also had friends w/ 2nd floor laundry that flooded their house while they were out of town.  Something broke on the washer (which obviously wasn't running), and water ruined not only the floor the washer was on, every floor below it as well.  NOPE.

[pantsparty]

Our laundry room is on the second floor with all the bedrooms. I love it! Obviously it would be excessive to have 2 laundry rooms, but I'm surprised more two-level homes don't have an upstairs laundry room.

[dexteroni]

It's a bit excessive, but I would be all for never having to lug a laundry basket up and down steps again.

Plus that way the nanny can handle the kids' laundry in their part of the house without having to move a load of your underwear or your bras drip-drying. Two FWPs solved at once!

[lovelyshoes]

Sept 1, 2015 13:22:15 GMT -5 @booby said:

you know that blogger i follow - rach parcell? well, she's in utah and i believe her house has laundry on each floor (if i'm recalling the discussion on gomi).

it's so weird and excessive, but also convenient i guess. and expensive - i mean, 3x the washers and dryers.

She is now collaborating with banana republic, ugh.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

We had 2 laundry rooms growing up(well from ages 14 on for me). Anyway, it was great. My parents had the nicer set on their level. We kids used the cheaper ones in the basement. We all did our own laundry, so my parents never had to deal with out crap. I'd love that, personally.

[pagas]

Sept 1, 2015 13:28:05 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

My ILs designed their house with the master on the main level because they knew (or at least hoped) they'd be living in it until they were old and decrepit and couldn't get up the stairs.

My parents did this too.  But I don't understand why they didn't just buy a single story home.  I mean, what is the point of having a house with a whole floor you cannot get to?

[dexteroni]

And yes, for people with young kids, a first floor master seems like poor logistics. Once they're older it might be nice to have them far away though. lol.

I would actually kind of like a first floor master in our next house, with two bedrooms upstairs. It would give guests some privacy, and then most of my day to day living is on one floor. It seems like it would be convenient, especially when we have old dogs (and old us, someday).

[youbetcha]

I saw this in model homes in my area too. The REA said it was for older kids to do their own laundry if they wanted. My neighbors have it and their young kids just use it as a little playhouse for now. (There is no W/D in it yet.)

[Deleted]

We have that layout (master down/rest upstairs), and I'd love it. I find that it takes me a while to get the girls' clothes put away after it's washed because of hauling it all back upstairs.

[dexteroni]

Sept 1, 2015 13:26:40 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Or even one laundry room with two sets of washer/dryers.

I have said that many times. I would love two of each; it would make laundry go so much faster.

[jlt19]

I thought I was lazy having a vacuum cleaner on each floor.

But really, who am I kidding, if I had the sq footage for it, I'd be thrilled to have 2 laundry rooms.

[demelza]

My laundry is in the scary unfinished basement. Having the laundry machines near the bedrooms would be awesome.

Except for the possibility of dummies like me overloading the washer. It only happened once when I was trying to wash a queen comforter at my apartment. Luckily I lived on the first floor and it was a cement floor. I haven't washed a comforter at home since.

[dexteroni]

I would also like two dishwashers. And two ovens. And frankly, two master baths would be heavenly.

[mich1]

Sept 1, 2015 13:23:09 GMT -5 Lucy Honeychurch said:

I don't get this either. But then, I also hate the master-on-main thing. The LAST thing I want is a master bedroom on the main level.

Unless you become mobility impaired.

Our house has the master BR on the first floor, the remaining bedrooms are downstairs (we're built into a hill).  However, SO's family lives in a 2 story house and his stepdad lost his legs to diabetes.  The downstairs could not be renovated (without $$$$$) for another bedroom/bath, so they put in an elevator.  It was cheaper than renovating the downstairs, but still an ongoing cost as it needs to be certified each year.

While I can do stairs now, I am also mobility impaired and very likely to wind up more so in the future.  Many are, as they age.

[ECB]

Sept 1, 2015 13:29:37 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

And yes, for people with young kids, a first floor master seems like poor logistics. Once they're older it might be nice to have them far away though. lol.

 

Bingo.    We moved into our house the day after DS turned 2.  he's almost 7 now.  While we didn't have to deal w /the baby crying issue, at 2, we still had nights where there was some going up and down the stairs a few times.

But by and large - that's very rare these days and we expect to have another good 12-16 years in this house.  I'll take a couple years of annoying stairs to a good 10 + years of separation and privacy!

[pagas]

Well this brings up another question...how old does a kid have to be to do their own laundry?

[DotAndBuzz]

Oh, and so help me if this becomes a "thing," and I have to listen to people on HGTV start going on and on about how "oh, I really like this house, but it doesn't have a 2nd laundry room, so.....ugh, I just don't KNOW. We may have to pass..." And then they'll mess everything up for people who have one laundry room, like normal people.

[pagas]

Sept 1, 2015 13:32:30 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

I would also like two dishwashers. And two ovens. And frankly, two master baths would be heavenly.

Two dishwashers is my dream.  One for clean, one for dirty...no unloading.

[speckledfrog]

I've never had an issue with our first floor master. It gives us a huge amount of space, it's tucked away from the main living area, it's as far from the playroom as possible. Both of my boys were good sleepers, so their first year wasn't a big deal in terms of having to go up and get them. We don't sleep with our windows open, but we wouldn't anyway because our dog is fond of barking at a nothing.

[FastHands]

My parents are considering a master-on-main, mostly because they would only use additional bedrooms for guest rooms. They want everything they NEED to be on the ground floor since they plan for their next house to be their only.

[cville]

Listen, my fondest dream is to get my laundry out of my murder basement. A laundry/mudroom off of my sunroom is my fantasy. At least 10 times a week when I have to hike up and down my rickety unfinished wood stairs into the half dugout cavern of grosss to handle it.

Like, if someone were to offer me EITHER a guarantee that Jed Bartlett was real and would be our next two term president OR I could have my laundry/mudroom constructed, I'd have to pause for a seriously long time before deciding.


So, anyway, two laundry rooms seems like a ridiculous unattainable and excessive goal.