Planning a Utility or Boot Room

Utility Room.

If you lead a busy life filled with children, pets and a garden all topped up with the usual domestic laundry chores then this is the room for you. It’s the barrier between the main house and the outside world, holding no excuse for muddy footprints to migrate anywhere else. A room that takes a whole lot of punishment, day in and day out, demanding good organisation, copious storage and a really well laid out design. It can take the pressure off the main kitchen in so many ways, leaving this room separate for other specific duties. After all, a washing machine on full spin is not the best background noise at a dinner party and a soggy doggy is best dried off before greeting your friends. If you are lucky enough to have the available space, we would really recommend considering this as an option.

So, where to start? We advise drawing up a detailed list outlining your specific needs. Firstly divide this into the main uses the room could potentially have eg, laundry, outdoor gear and pets. Then make detailed notes of the requirements needed for each area.

Laundry area. If the main role for the room is washing clothes think about the space you may need for the washer and dryer and also storage for laundry and associated products.  You may need a tall slim cabinet with a dedicated area for your ironing board too. A good sized butler type sink is so useful for handwashing or soaking items before washing and a pull out drawer below is great for storage of your cleaning products. Taps with detachable hoses are a practical option for rinsing our the sink and for filling buckets etc.

Worktops. You might want to continue the same choice as your kitchen or perhaps introduce something new. Keep it simple, light and clean looking, a white quartz with delicate veining looks really fresh and clean…just right for a laundry!

Shelving. Painted wooden shelves with brackets are so useful.  And with the addition of hooks, pegs or a brass rail they can look really great whilst also being very practical.

Once you have decided your remit the next thing to consider is plumbing and wiring. If lucky you can tag into the existing set up or perhaps you need to make some alterations or a completely new system. Good advice is to plan the wet side to run along the outside wall for ease of drainage and water in, with the tall storage on the opposite side. Not forgetting venting (if needed for the dryer) and don’t scrimp on plug sockets, you can never have too many.

Boot Room. 

Often part of the Utility Room or maybe a separate room depending on your set up.

The number one remit here is to be able to deal practically and efficiently with muddy shoes/pets/children, or all three!  Also, to allocate somewhere to sit comfortably whilst removing footwear, like a bench seat with storage under. And once taken off and cleaned, footwear can then be popped away easily and in an organised manner, maybe separate cubby holes for each member of the family. You could have drawers or racking under this seat and above you could incorporate a line of coat hooks in either metal or wood (shaker pegs) for coats, hats, handbags, dog leads etc.

If you have the space, then a tall cabinet with a hanging rail inside is good for long coats with some internal shelving for baskets (gloves, scarves and hats). Then whatever the current season you can swap over your attire; put away your winter/summer coats and rearrange things when the weather changes again. For a finishing touch, decorative ventilation holes in the doors look pretty and provide airflow for damp clothes. 

Pets. We all love to spoil our furry friends and your pet will love you for popping his/her bed near the radiator. With the food and general pet accoutrements (including soggy dog towel) all near to hand. A pull-out bin for storing your dried pet food works a treat.

Floors are most practical if tiled, then any spills or muddy foot/pawprints are easily dealt with.

With the paint colour choices in this room you could have a bit of fun and go for a more daring colour or if you are wanting to be uber practical then go for the darker colours choices.

And finally, keeping the cabinet style the same as the main kitchen will ensure continuity in design throughout this busy part of the house.

So, if you’re thinking and wondering about any of the above for your new kitchen and need some advice, our designers will be very happy to help. Call 01544 318818 and speak to one of our lovely and very experienced team.