There’s one room in your new home that will get an awful lot of usebut doesn’t often get much attention in the planning stages: the laundry room.

Think for a minute about how many times you go into your laundry room in a given week. You may not linger long, but you’re probably in there pretty regularly. Something you may not have considered is the ideal location for your laundry room. Should it go upstairs near the master bedroom? Should it be on the main floor? Let’s take a look at the advantages of each option.

Locating the Laundry Off the Master Bedroom

Many homeowners appreciate having their laundry room right next to the master bedroom for the sake of convenience. Most of the laundry you do comes from your bedrooms. Since your bedroom is where you get dressed and undressed, there are always loads of clothing to wash, not to mention bed linens and bath towels. It’s nice to be able to walk just a few steps to deposit dirty clothes and linens in the laundry room, instead of having to schlep it to the other end of the house. And if the laundry room is nearby, you may be more likely to run a load of clothes at night before going to bed and then throw the clothes in the dryer the next morning before your first cup of coffee or tea. Having the laundry room so close to the bedroom also makes putting things away more convenient. Instead of having to haul finished laundry all the way from the kitchen area, you can simply walk a few paces and hang things up.

Keeping the Laundry Near the Kitchen

What about locating the laundry close to the kitchen? Are there advantages there as well? This placement is appealing to a lot of people because the kitchen itself can create a lot of laundry. Plus you have two workspaces located together and you can use the laundry room to store cleaning supplies used in the kitchen (without sacrificing precious kitchen storage space). Many homeowners also use the laundry room as a mudroom. Kids coming in from soccer or softball can drop dirty clothes right there instead of dragging them through the house. Plus, the laundry room can serve as a second pantry for bulky items that would take up too much space in the kitchen. Here’s a helpful post about other ways to maximize the use of your laundry room.

Which option is right for you? It all depends; whatever your needs, you have options. Our Somerset plan in Hillsborough has the laundry room on the second floor (near the fourth bedroom), but gives you the option of locating the laundry instead on the main level, between the kitchen and the garage. Some of our other floor plans give you flexible laundry options as well! You get to choose which laundry location works best for your family’s needs!