Would you help with this house design question?

[praisefor3]

We have torn down the walls of our laundry room to expand our kitchen. Love it. We have a ranch house with 2000 sq feet up and 2000 down. We have a 3 car garage and our plans were to take the front part of the 3rd bay and build a laundry room in it, still leaving room for a small car in the 3rd bay. Now I am torn with whether or not to take the whole 3rd bay and turn it into my dream room of an expansive laundry room/mud room/dog bath sink/shoe storage/lockers for the kids/lots of cabinets, etc. or to continue with the smaller laundry room with just room for washer, dryer, sink, and maybe a box for shoes. Our area has both 3 car garage houses and some 2 car garages. We have 2 acres and the room to build an unattached 3rd car garage if we ever would want to but my guess is that it would not happen since getting projects done is not our strength and spending money on that would be way down the list before a lot of other priorities. Our home is a nice brick and I don't want to lower the value by losing the 3rd car garage but I love the idea of the laundry room. Building on the back of the house is cost prohibitive right now because that would be adding new roofing, trusses, etc. So...any thoughts/experience in this area? We don't think as creatively as I wish we did so I value any input! Thank you!

[JudoMom]

We have torn down the walls of our laundry room to expand our kitchen. Love it. We have a ranch house with 2000 sq feet up and 2000 down. We have a 3 car garage and our plans were to take the front part of the 3rd bay and build a laundry room in it, still leaving room for a small car in the 3rd bay. Now I am torn with whether or not to take the whole 3rd bay and turn it into my dream room of an expansive laundry room/mud room/dog bath sink/shoe storage/lockers for the kids/lots of cabinets, etc. or to continue with the smaller laundry room with just room for washer, dryer, sink, and maybe a box for shoes. Our area has both 3 car garage houses and some 2 car garages. We have 2 acres and the room to build an unattached 3rd car garage if we ever would want to but my guess is that it would not happen since getting projects done is not our strength and spending money on that would be way down the list before a lot of other priorities. Our home is a nice brick and I don't want to lower the value by losing the 3rd car garage but I love the idea of the laundry room. Building on the back of the house is cost prohibitive right now because that would be adding new roofing, trusses, etc. So...any thoughts/experience in this area? We don't think as creatively as I wish we did so I value any input! Thank you!

I'd love to have one of those "magazine" laundry rooms with all that you mentioned.

One thought I had was do you have a place to store lawnmowers, edgers, tillers, etc? If they don't fit easily in your other bays and you don't have a storage shed, I'd maybe leave enough room in the front of the 3rd bay to store a riding mower and other outdoor equipment. That should still give you plenty of room for a pretty nice dream laundry room.

[JFS in IL]

I mean,how often does one really find three cars IN a garage..usually part of a garage just collects "stuff" anyway, right (at least out here that is the case).

[Ottakee]

I would go for the expansive laundry room--with a 3/4 bath in it as well if you can swing it. It will keep the rest of your house SO much cleaner and neater to have the laundry, mud room, back shower, coats, boots, etc. all contained back there and out out sight.

[Lolly]

We had just torn out a wall to make a nice, huge laundry room in our house a year before we had to move in with fil to care for him. (His huge house has an unbelievably small laundry room. Barely enough room in it to turn around. No room to dry delicates.....:() I loved my big laundry. I had hampers for sorting. The kids would bring their dirty clothes and put them in the appropriate hamper each time they changed. I had shelves. Lots of shelves. I could take stuff out of the dryer, fold, and make a stack for each person to come pick up at their leisure. The girls, who had bedrooms on that level, started just using the laundry room as their closet. It worked great. Shelves for storing blankets, extra pillows, and our games. A place to keep sleeping bags. I put a small tv in the room. The exercise equipment was moved into it. I had a rack to hang up drip dry. A rod to hang up clothes straight from the dryer to keep wrinkles at bay without ironing. I loved my laundry room!!! It was my special place. I want it back.

[Doran]

Big laundry/mud room (Do you even own three cars?!?). With creativity, you could build a wall off the back and add an access door from the back side for bigger tools, lawn mower, bicycles, etc. Or you could just install a free standing shed for those items somewhere on your two acres.

We have never had a garage. We don't live in an area prone to bad weather or theft/vandalism, so we don't miss it. But, given your choice, I'd say you've got the opporunity to HAVE IT ALL! A place for cars, and a place for all the mess that life creates. Go for it!

Doran

[Beth in Central TX]

I'm with everyone else--go for the big laundry room. Our laundry room is so small. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I spend to much time in there that it's starting to feel like the walls are closing in on me. Who knew 3 boys could generate so much laundry!

[mcconnellboys]

I vote for the big, dream laundry (which I still want, myself),

Regena