A New Age For Laundry Rooms
I just returned from the Oak Hill secret blog day , where I will also be tomorrow. Thanks to those who took the time to visit with me. I heard quite a few good ideas! If you are wondering what I am referring to, just read my previous blog. I will have more “Hybrid Ranch” design hand- outs for tomorrow. If you came early, I was a little late, as I was meeting with a nice (we only build for “nice” folks) couple tying up some details on their upcoming home project. As for those of you who read my blog posting from 2 days ago, HERE IS PART 2 OF OUR LAUNDRY MYSTERY.
I have been telling you about the ups and downs of having a laundry upstairs when building a 2-story. I firmly believe that in the not too distant future, laundry room locations will be changing to an entirely new concept. When I was recently in Vegas , listening to a slew of national “expert” seminars at the International Home Builder’s Show, I heard several big- name home architects discuss this subject of the upcoming Generation “Y” buyers, and what they will be demanding in homes built between 2012 and 2052. Get ready for another “wild idea”.
To set this answer up for impact, go back a few decades to the time when bathrooms were outside of the main house. When the first bathroom was put inside the home, the general public reaction (seen in an old news article) , was that this was a bad idea since getting rid of human waste was something not fit for doing inside the home. Shortly , after the inside bathroom became the common “norm”, someone suggested 2 bathrooms would be better than 1 , since everyone had to use the bathroom as a daily occurrence , each doing so many times each day. This was seen as an outlandish luxury to have 2 bathrooms in one house. As you know, having 3 or 4 or even more bathrooms today (counting one in the basement) is now the current “norm”.
This same thought process was attached to the first attached garages. Having a single -car, attached garage was seen at first as an over-the-top outlandish luxury. Imagine, just walking out of the back door into the garage! Most families only had one car back in the 50’s when this attached garage idea made it’s first appearance. As families started to have more than one car, the garage size grew and again, anything bigger than a one car size was viewed as strictly a frivolous luxury. Current trends have seen the 3 car garage become the new “norm” (but surveys say, that is trending away to smaller 2 and a half sizes).
I am convinced that if a new “wild” home idea does not strike the general public as a frivolous luxury when first introduced, it probably is not fully realized. If you have not guessed where I am going, let me” lay it on you” here . The day of multiple laundry rooms is very close and may already be here for some. Just like the bath room history I just mentioned, who in your home does not generate laundry? Just like having only 1 bathroom , let’s say, on the first floor(we have all seen older homes with this layout), it is simply more convenient to have laundry roomS, near each bedroom area. The fact is that most ranch homes now have one bedroom on one side of the home and the other bedrooms on the opposite side(often called “split” bedrooms ), and many 2-story homes homes now have the master bedroom on the first floor and the other bedrooms upstairs. In some two story homes, there is another bedroom in the basement. The first impression you may have when I mention putting in a second laundry is that this is a luxury and it would cost too much money that many folks might not want to spend. Doesn’t this sound exactly like what the folks in 1960 would have said about having a 3 car garage?
We are NOT talking about having a full-fledged laundry “room” in 2 locations, at least not yet. The new Generation “Y” buyer will start by putting a simple closet right in the shared secondary bathroom or in a small closet located between the bedrooms, just off the hall. The cost of a small apartment sized stack washer/dryer is not expensive, and running a few more plumbing items directly next to the bathroom, is not expensive either. Think of how convenient it would be for those in the secondary bedrooms to just plunk their dirty clothes directly into the machine each time they go to the bathroom . The alternative is to plunk the dirty clothes into a hamper, then lug it across the home. Which is easier? Which makes more logical living sense? In the morning, the ease of grabbing something out of the dryer would be wonderful. And, what about the shorter traffic path of only going a few feet from a laundry to get to the dresser and closets for putting the clothes away?
You may be saying “What is this world coming too? Are kids getting lazier that they can’t take all their clothes across the home to the main laundry?” I might say, “Are we all getting so lazy that we can’t walk up a flight of stairs to use a bathroom? Are we not healthy enough to put on a coat and walk outside to the garage? Are we all so lazy that we can’t spend a few quality moments doing the dishes, or scrubbing our dirty clothes on rocks? (O.K. that last example crossed the line..a bit). Do we really need a machine to wash our dishes for us? This, of course sounds silly today, but I bet you this would have been the common response to the suggestion of these new “wild ideas” , back in those days.
Today, I am designing more and more bathrooms that are shared exclusively by 2 bedrooms. This is called the ‘Jack And Jill” bathroom arrangement. 5 years ago, THAT would have been a “wild idea”. I can imagine taking that same shared bath idea and putting a laundry attached either IN it or directly NEXT to it. I , for one , can tell you that I am designing my newest series of homes to have this as an a pre-designed option, not an afterthought. By moving 1 wall, the laundry can be put right between the 2 master closets, or into the back hall area.
A home designers main goal should be, first and foremost, to design homes that meet their client’s requests. Their second biggest goal should be to pioneer new innovative ideas to make lives easier for those living in their homes. In the last 3 years, I have designed and built at least 6 homes that had 2 laundry areas. They are 2 story homes that have a first floor master with a small stack unit near the master bedroom and also have a bigger laundry “room” upstairs. It just seems to be an easy-sell to the right clientele. If someone does not want this, my standard arrangement would have a closet near the master bedroom main door, just into the hall. If they do ever want to do the stackable, the space is alraedy there for it.
I have enough new “wild ideas” to write a few more blogs on laundry rooms but this is enough for now. In my next blog, let’s shift gears and talk about an idea for the master bedroom that I am sure will resonate for A WHOLE LOT of people. When you hear it, you may think it too is a frivolous luxury or you may say, “Wow, why has no one ever done THIS before!?”
Stop out and see me tomorrow if you want to see some neat “before the decorating” drywall ideas and the early concept of the new “Hybrid Ranch” concept.
Blessings,
Tom Hignite
