Giving up eat-in kitchen

[Wallflower]

Well, since we're talking repurposing of rooms, I thought I'd chime in with my situation.

I have a dining room. The kitchen is a giant L shape, with one portion an eat-in area that leads to the dining room. (See incredibly rough drawing, below.) My long-term plan is to make my house livable on one level, which means moving the washer and dryer up from the basement.

In the next 5 years, I hope to re-do the kitchen and right now, my thought is to give up the eat-in area (which I never use) and put the washer and dryer there. I have time to play with ideas, though.

Would you give up the eat-in area?

[Susie]

I'm all in favor of repurposing spaces to fit your needs, especially when -- as it sounds like here -- you are not contemplating selling.

I can't relate to not using the eat-in area though, so I don't think I'm a good person to answer about whether I'd give it up. We use ours for most meals.

[Wallflower]

Jul 20, 2022 8:36:16 GMT -5 Susie said:

I'm all in favor of repurposing spaces to fit your needs, especially when -- as it sounds like here -- you are not contemplating selling.

I can't relate to not using the eat-in area though, so I don't think I'm a good person to answer about whether I'd give it up. We use ours for most meals.

I'm trying to tell myself that the modification to move the washer/dryer into that space could be undone easily if someone else wanted that space back.

As for me, I never use either the dining room or eat-in space. I'm single ... I eat sitting on the sofa like a slob.

[kitty]

I'd give up the eating area especially since the dining room is right there.

However, I feel like doing that would almost make the two rooms effectively function as one and having it chopped up by putting the laundry there might mess with the flow? If you are completely redoing the kitchen anyway, are there any other options for laundry placement so that the old eat in area could be "kitchen" and flow right up to the dining room?

[Wallflower]

Jul 20, 2022 9:07:57 GMT -5 kitty said:

I'd give up the eating area especially since the dining room is right there.

However, I feel like doing that would almost make the two rooms effectively function as one and having it chopped up by putting the laundry there might mess with the flow? If you are completely redoing the kitchen anyway, are there any other options for laundry placement so that the old eat in area could be "kitchen" and flow right up to the dining room?

As I was mocking up the drawing I included in my OP, that thought started trickling through my brain ... it's not a bad idea at all. It would be harder to undo, I think, but I'll think it through and see what I can come up with.

[dragon's breath]

I have planned my future house so that I will also be able to live on one level when I'm older (have designed it with a closet that will be ready for a quick washer/dryer install, with everything--piping/electric/vent-- in place when it is built). W/D will be downstairs until then.

I say do what you want, since it's your house! If that space is better for you as a spot for a washer and dryer, go for it. It can probably be done in a way that it could easily be changed back for future owners, but if you plan to stay long term, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[macmars45]

I've never lived in a house that had two dining areas so I say go for it especially since you never use the eat in area anyway.

[momin2013]

I think it would be fine to eliminate it and just have the dining room as the eating space (I'd try to open it up as much as possible, i.e. remove what look to be the two little walls going into it so it's completely open to the kitchen).

I personally would NOT want the washer/drawer in the space that's currently marked as eat-in, however. I like the idea of main floor laundry, but I would reconfigure the kitchen so all the kitchen-eating areas are together, then create a small laundry room off the kitchen at the other end (with walls/door going into it).

[libbygrl109]

I could see your idea working, especially since the dining area is so close to the kitchen. I could see that area having floor to ceiling pantry cabinets on both sides so you could camouflage the washer and dryer a bit more.

[pittpurple]

If you do that I'd put in a door there as you won't be able to eat comfortably if you're doing laundry. Our laundry is off our kitchen and we just ruled out creating a small eating area there are it's just so noisy.

(I see you aren't using it often but I would think you would want to keep the option on the table?)

Ideally I'd put it on the other side of the kitchen - the right hand L bit and put some doors there to close it off.

[Deleted]

If you were to move the w/d in to that space, how much space would you have empty? Would it be possible to turn the rest of the space in to a sort of walk-through Butler's Pantry to keep the flow from the dining room to the kitchen more coherent? Or if you are planning on redoing the kitchen anyway, unless you need to, I wouldn't do anything now and would have the laundry space designed in to your new kitchen.

[brooke77]

Ideally, I would combine the kitchen and eat-in kitchen and put laundry room on the other side of the L where the kitchen is.

[krystee]

Would it be feasible to combine the eat in area and top half of the dining room as the eating space and make the back portion of the dining room a walled-off laundry room? Or does that remove windows from the dining room?

Or could you camouflage the washer and dryer really well in the eat in space and make it part of a fancy butler’s pantry so it makes more sense and flows better between a kitchen and dining room?

[krystee]

Ignore my first suggestion, I like the idea in the post above mine better!

[Wallflower]

Thanks, everyone! It is definitely something to think about, and something I had not even considered.

My first drawing was a little misleading, though. I've expanded the drawing, though still incredibly rough. From the front door, you see straight into the kitchen ... does this change anyone's ideas? (I've marked the doorway, but there is no door there, though I might be able to add a pocket door. There is a pocket door between the dining room and the eat-in area. 

[mrsukyankee]

I'd use the pantry area as the laundry room, if that would work for plumbing, and then in the eat in area, put a pantry cupboard or two. That way you still have a similar look, don't have to change the layout and it still feels like 'kitchen'.




Now, note, it's not unusual for those of us in the UK to have washers/dryers in the kitchen - they tend to be put in cupboards in nicer kitchens or at least integrated in some way. So that could be another idea.

[Wallflower]

That's one of the paths I've considered, mrsukyankee. The sad thing is, I have an almost unnatural affection for the pantry. It's huge! I can stand in it!! The light turns on automatically when I open the door!!!

It's the most logical place for the washer/dryer, yet I'm fighting to find another good option. That's a me problem, I guess.

[pittpurple]

What about the hallway closets? My mom has her laundry in a hall closet and it's great - really close to the bedrooms and she can just shut the door to it. She has a washer and dryer on the floor and then space to hang things / laundry baskets above it but you could also stack it and have some shelves. She has sliding (or pocket maybe) doors so it doesn't block the hallway at all.

[memenee]

After seeing the new drawing, I prefer the kitchen to run across the whole back wall and the washer / dryer over in the other part of the kitchen by the door that leads to the bedrooms.

If you Google washer /dryer in kitchen you will see many examples where the front loaders are inside of kitchen cabinets. So it will still look “kitchen” and not laundry room. You can do cabinets or shelving above. You can put the coffee maker on top of the
Counter there and make a coffee bar (if that’s your thing) all while hiding the fact that the washer and dryer are there.

[mrsukyankee]

Jul 22, 2022 3:18:10 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

What about the hallway closets? My mom has her laundry in a hall closet and it's great - really close to the bedrooms and she can just shut the door to it. She has a washer and dryer on the floor and then space to hang things / laundry baskets above it but you could also stack it and have some shelves. She has sliding (or pocket maybe) doors so it doesn't block the hallway at all.

This is what we have in our home and love it. 

[origami]

I would first look to put it on the right side where the bedrooms are, near the bathroom or the closet. If it’s near the bathroom then maybe plumbing won’t be a huge issue. That can add up fast.

To answer your original question, 100% I’d combine the dining and eat-in kitchen areas. If the dimensions work, I’d do a big kitchen island with stools and then 1 dining/kitchen table

[dragon's breath]

Jul 22, 2022 7:30:36 GMT -5 memenee said:

After seeing the new drawing, I prefer the kitchen to run across the whole back wall and the washer / dryer over in the other part of the kitchen by the door that leads to the bedrooms.

If you Google washer /dryer in kitchen you will see many examples where the front loaders are inside of kitchen cabinets. So it will still look “kitchen” and not laundry room. You can do cabinets or shelving above. You can put the coffee maker on top of the
Counter there and make a coffee bar (if that’s your thing) all while hiding the fact that the washer and dryer are there.

I agree with this, if the space is big enough (which, if it's already kitchen space, I would think it is).  With two exceptions... I do a lot of laundry before I go to bed (and if I get up in the middle of the night, I'll move a load to the dryer).  I would not want the W/D so close to my bedroom that running it would keep me awake, but it is a great spot since it's so close to the bedrooms and bathroom.  Other problem is if it would require the creation of a narrow galley kitchen.  I do not like galley kitchens.

[pierogigirl]

Is the bathroom large and/or next to a closet? Would it be possible to redo the bathroom and closet so the laundry could go there?

[Wallflower]

Jul 22, 2022 12:22:31 GMT -5 pierogigirl said:

Is the bathroom large and/or next to a closet? Would it be possible to redo the bathroom and closet so the laundry could go there?

The bathroom isn't too huge and I'm hoping to expand it (by shaving a little space off one of the closets) so that I can make it more "old person" friendly. 

[Doggy Mommy]

Coming from someone who basically has 2 dining rooms (the kitchen "eating area" is as big as the dining room) and thinks it's totally silly to have 2 dining spaces so close to each other, I'm all for repurposing it.

[aprilsails]

I like the idea of stacked washer dryer in cabinets with a butlers pantry space beside in your eat-in kitchen space. I haven’t had two eating tables in any of my homes. It doesn’t make sense to me. We eat every meal in our dining room. I dress it up with a fancy table cloth when we have guests over. Voila! Formality.

[pierogigirl]

After seeing your updates and reading the suggestions, I like aprilsails idea the best. I'd turn the eat in kitchen area into a butler's pantry with some built-in shelves on one side and a laundry cabinet on the other side.

[ellipses84]

Extending cabinets to conceal a stackable washer/dryer is pretty common in urban apartments. I don’t know that I love the idea of it being between the kitchen and dining room, but if that’s the only good spot, then I like the idea of making it appear like a butlers pantry. Without seeing window locations on your plan, IDK what other options are. If you want to renovate your kitchen, you could probably fit an enclosed laundry room at the opposite end of the kitchen.

[stemmie]

I'm all about repurposing rooms. I use my breakfast room which is kind of walled off from the kitchen as my home office; before that when DS was little it was where I kept the desktop to keep an eye on things. We eat dinner in the dining room- my home is only 1900 sqft so having two rooms dedicated to eating seems OTT.

Since you have a basement, plumbing shouldn't be an issue, but you may need to vent the dryer straight up if it's on an interior wall. I'd look to putting the washer in the bedroom area. I have a friend whose MCM rancher had a BR combined with her primary BR to install a bigger bath with ensuite stacking laundry set. She also has the original washer/dryer in her basement for times when she wants to wash a comforter or slipcovers.

[purplepenguin7]

With your second drawing, I would turn the pantry into the laundry area and then create a new pantry in the eat-in kitcken area. It seems like all the same space but for some reason that flows better for me with the dining room.

I also re-purosed an "eat-in" section of kitchen because we were never going to eat there, although my area seems smaller than yours, I wouldn't hestiate on using the space differently.