i wish in the US it was more common to have laundry facilities in each apartment unit rather than a dishwasher. that would be more useful to me.

When I lived in Italy, we had a washing machine in the kitchen. It was always broken, though, so I only used it once or twice. Mostly, I did my laundry by hand in the bathtub and hung it out to dry.

In the last photo, clean clothes are clearly more important than cooking food, and for many single people in small apartments, that is true.
I love these examples.

Every unit in my apartment building has a washer and dryer in the kitchen. I absolutely love it! In the 50s these pantry/laundry closets housed huge washing sinks and the building shared a clothes line outside. The units were all updated in the last decade to house stacking washer/dryers alongside a pantry with tons of space. I sort and fold in the bedroom, but I iron in the kitchen (not when cooking though) because it's the only room with a lot of space in the middle of the room. I love being able to cook and keep my eye on the laundry so that it never sits forgotten for long amounts of time. I find it very convenient.

We moved into a rental with an oddly arranged kitchen. There was room for much more in the space but they crammed the stove, sink and dishwasher all into one small wall and left the rest of the space open. We moved the stove to an adjacent wall, put in a washer/dryer with black butcher block over the top to match an island we brought in to separate the space from the living room.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3183023&l=0c498155e9&id=623832675

I wish this article also covered people who live in older, small homes that do not have a separate laundry room. We live in a small house (about 1400 sq ft, if I'm being generous, that's small right?) and the kitchen has one wall made up of the fridge, washer, and dryer with cabinets above. We brought in the appliances we already owned so they're not the nice, compact, front-loading things pictured with the article.
However, it's worked out fine. I never had experienced this before so it was weird to me, but now I've adjusted. Not keeping the dirty stuff in the kitchen (really, where would you find space? the kitchen houses so much else already) is the BEST piece of advice. It took me a while to figure that out. Now we all have small baskets in our rooms and a separate one for the bathroom. So much better! Even though we don't have front-loaders I still use the tops as counter space when I need it. It's not like it's going to hurt anything. It's a great place to put hot pots and cookie sheets (my counters are old laminate) so that I can use the counters for prepping what's next. Plus, my husband got me a kitchen island kit for Christmas and with the legs put on the bottom, the leaf that flips up is just high enough to go over our washer and dryer. Nice to have most of it covered up with pretty wood if there's company serving themselves!

So, yes, it can work in small places with enclosures, front-loaders, and enclosures. But don't despair if you've just moved and brought along your big old regular washer and dryer! That can still work too! :)

When I moved to London I was appalled to see washing machines in the kitchen. In the absence of a separate space, the bathroom is a far more logical place: food preparation and laundry don't belong together. Period.

As mentioned in the post, this is a very standard setup in Europe. I live in Germany, and in our current apartment the washer is in the kitchen under the kitchen counter next to the sink. The landlord had the counter built to accommodate a little space underneath the far end of the counter for storing detergent out of sight. We don't have a dryer-expensive to run and would be difficult to fit in (we do have a dishwasher). I think the setup is great, the only annoyance is having laundry drying racks taking up space elsewhere in our home for most of the week.

It was only a few days ago my fiancee asked me why there was a washing/drying machine in the kitchen in a movie we watched. I had no answer really as I don't also get the logic behind it. I, like TriciaRose, can't understand why they're not in the bathroom. Not appealing.

Living in a very small apartment in Paris I have my washer in the kitchen but behind a door so it looks like another cabinet. It is very small and front loading and is also a combination dryer which takes a very long time to work and is expensive so I don't use it often. There is absolutely no other place to put it. I miss the huge, top loading washer I used to have in the States along with my laundry room.

I'm also in Paris and have the washer/dryer combo in my kitchen. As to why it's not in the bathroom? There's no room! It's in the kitchen b/c it was that or not have one at all (my apartment is 35 m2).

After living in San Francisco for 10 years without a washer on site, having one anywhere in the apartment is a dream come true. Like another poster above, I do appreciate that I can keep an eye on it and switch the laundry as soon as it's done (and it's more obvious to my husband, who would likely not notice if it were somewhere less obvious). I sort, fold & iron in the bedroom, soak anything that needs it in the bathtub.

One note for those that suggest putting a cabinet door in front of the washer - it can lead to funky smelling front load washer - I lived in a couple of temporary places with that problem. I do like the curtain idea though, as my washer doesn't blend in with the rest of the ugly kitchen (white washer/black oven/gross, ugly dark brown cabinets/potimarron orange tiles)

When I lived in Europe the only place to hook up a washer and dryer in my apartment was in the kitchen, in spite of the fact that physically, there was a back hallway area that offered much more room. When I inquired about why, I found out the reasons were economical: it required running less plumbing if the washer were near the water line to the kitchen and the dryer could vent to the same central exhaust duct as the kitchen stove fans.

At TriciaRose and Mona D: Laundry belongs in the laundry room. Period. Oh if life was fair! If an apartment / apartment building is so small that the laundry appliances have to be in the kitchen, most likely you have a small washroom. There's also the factors of hydraulic installations, water pressure and whatnot. Nowadays it's all very standardized but back then it wasn't, so if you live in an older building you might not have the "hydraulic prowess" to support laundry in the bath (or in the kitchen, for that matter).
Now let's say you have a washroom so big and capable that you can fit a whole dry cleaner's in there. Wouldn't you rather have awesome baths instead of awesome laundry sprees? Then again, I don't cook that much, so that's just me.

Forgot to say... I launder in the kitchen ("launder" he he, how quaint!) and find as good as it can be in small living quarters. The problem with laundry in the kitchen vs. laundry in the washroom is that it's just like "happily married" vs. "happily single": never an agreement, never a right or wrong answer, like so many things here on AT

My washer is in the kitchen currently which beats the basement, the commonly seen spot in old New England houses. If I had to schlep down my scary basement stairs every time I had to do laundry, well, you know.

I like it in the kitchen as I don't use paper towels, so I can toss in cleanup cloths as they are used. I don't need to do clothing laundry all that often as it's just me, but it's nice to be able to wash the counter tops or floor and then throw the dirty stuff right in the washer until it's full & ready to go (at least once a week).

I wish I had a washer and dryer period. I don't care if they were next to my bed.

I normally hate laundry facilities in the kitchen, but pic three would be the most ideal.

I'm from Spain and I think that here 90% of people who live in a flat have the washing and the drying machine into the kitchen.
We don't have laundry rooms in the buildings like in the US.

When I lived in New York it was very rare for me to wash my clothes in the laundry.

As an American apartment dweller without my own laundry, let's just say I'd give a body part for a washer and dryer in the kitchen. Or anywhere, really.

I find it hilarious that TriciaRose was shocked -- shocked! -- to find laundry facilities in the kitchen. Why don't you just build bigger bathrooms? What do you mean, there's no space? For shame! Next you'll be telling us there's no room to park our SUVs. Who are you people?

LOL rosenatti!

TriciaRose, I'd rather have a washing machine in the kitchen than a door leading directly into the toilet (as seems very common in America). Are you shocked?

In Europe because most people have their washing machines in the kitchen (and sometimes in the bathroom) the machines are manufactured in a size that fits snugly under a standard height kitchen counter. You can get versions that are shallower, so you can put a cupboard door on them, but they are more expensive.

Also, in the UK and Ireland it is illegal to have a power outlet in the bathroom so it wouldn't be possible to have a washing machine in their unless you ran the power lead out the door.

I love in UK and have always had the washing machine in the kitchen, like the majority of my friends and family. We have much smaller homes and not many houses have seperate laundry/utility rooms. New build mcmansion houses tend to have them.

Whilst living in Australia I rented a flat that had a washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. I thought it was gross but I guess it's what you are used to and what suits you. Each to their own.

I mean live in UK :-) I'm not loving it today as it's raining in London. Wishing I had a laundry room now, no chance of hanging my washing outside to dry.

I have a basement laundry area, but I don't think I would mind having the laundry facilities in the kitchen. It seems efficient to me.

You guys might be horrified by this, or maybe amused: my late mother, rest her soul, was housebound in her apartment for the last few years of her life. Since she lived in a third floor walk-up, it was pretty much impossible for her to manage the stairs down to the laundry room in the basement. So during the weeks when i couldn't come see her and help with the housekeeping, she'd hand wash her clothes in the sink and then dry her socks and underwear along with the dishes in the dishwasher. Redonk, i know, but it worked! We used to get a big laugh out of that one.

I have had my laundry in the kitchen or adjacent dining room closet for most of the last 20 years. For a few years I had a basement laundry which I frankly found inconvenient, especially the drudge of transporting of laundry loads up and down stairs. Having one's laundry in the kitchen with the the dining room table nearby for folding is wonderful. Plus keeping the laundry in the kitchen isolates dryer and washer noises there, while permitting me to conveniently and efficiently multitask cooking and washing.

Someone questioned the logic of locating a washer and dryer in the kitchen? It's a logical location because water lines and drains are usually readily available there. And a little reconfiguring of the cabinetry or closets will usually yield enough machine space. Few bathrooms have sufficient surplus space to accommodate a washer and dryer.

Why can't you do laundry in the kitchen? Do you have religious restrictions on food preparation? A room is a room and in an urban setting we don't usually get to have rooms with dedicated uses. Everything happens in the same space. Sock folding on the kitchen counter isn't magically going to contaminate your veggies (from the dirt) in your crisper drawer.

And denisegk 1400sq ft is HUGE! You are so lucky. Most people I know live in 1/3 that much space.

idontdobeige: You posted, "I'd rather have a washing machine in the kitchen than a door leading directly into the toilet (as seems very common in America)." Is it that even modest homes in the other countries you mentioned usually first have a room with a sink and a tub/shower, and beyond that a "water closet?" Since I haven't been outside North America and Central America, your statement made me curious about alternatives to the arrangement described above, which I agree is common here.

Miami's Elaine - I haven't seen that configuration, although I have seen the toilet in one room and the bath / shower / basin in another. My point is that normally they would not open directly off a kitchen, either they would open off a hallway or landing or there would be a small "interim" space (say for hanging coats) between the door out of the kitchen and door into the toilet.

idontdobeige - I'd misunderstood, and was too curious not to ask since I plan to renovate my bathrooms. Thank you for the clarification.

Miami's Elaine - never hurts to ask :) Good luck with your renovations

idontdobeige, I think the wiring restrictions you describe are common throughout Europe. I never saw an electrical outlet in a bathroom the entire three years I spent in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Germany, or Spain. It took me a loooong time when I came to the US to get used to the idea of plugging in my hairdryer in the bathroom!

My family in Germany has a "laundry room" but it's in the basement - a good old "waschküche" ("washkitchen"). When you own a house and hence don't have have to go too far to the basement, I think that's the nicest solution (especially when you have room outside to hang it on the line - and your basement is ground-level on the backside of the house where the garden is...).

But otherwise I think kitchen and bathroom are logical places to put the washing machine.

I live in a rental apartment in the Netherlands, Europe, and the only place to hook up a washer is in my kitchen. My setup is similar to photo #2 and #4, with my appliances (refrigerator, freezer and washer) fitting under the counter.

I keep my laundry hampers upstairs near the bathroom and bedroom, and when one is full, I carry it downstairs to the kitchen. After washing it goes upstairs again to the drying rack.

@TriciaRose:
I fail to see why you would be appalled by this setup, the laundry and food preparation don't influence eachother at all.

Our 1949 Montclair Oakland home came with an old washer/dryer in the otherwise large kitchen. The counter top had a funky cutout to enable one to open the washing machine top. We ended up getting a front loading washer and new dryer. We tiled over the counter top with Japanese nickel tile and it looks completely integrated into our kitchen. All done laundry goes onto our bed for folding so it stays out of the kitchen. We've gotten a lot of compliments on how cool/European it makes our kitchen look.

I have one of those washer/dryer combo things, and it fits nicely under the counter. It washes clothes just fine, but really it should just be called a washing machine because it does not really dry them. I just hang everything to dry, then toss it in my machine on the "dry" setting to get any wrinkles out. It really functions better as a clothes steamer than a dryer, because all it does is toss the clothes around in warm, moist air. I'm guessing that's because it doesn't vent to the outside like a normal dryer does. It is good for freshening rumpled clothes that probably should have been washed before worn again. Now I only iron things that need to be creased or have a very crisp, pressed look.

I grew up with the washing machine in the kitchen...and never thought about it as being a bad thing. Had a laundry room in the basement for 21 years, which I loved. I could ignore all kinds of laundry...mostly ironing til I need it. Now the washing machine is in the kitchen next to the sink, I put a clean tea towel on it & use it as extra space for the dishes that need washing. I have no dish washer unless you count the hubby, I cook he cleans up. Also the drier is in the basement 4 flight down, so I have racks in the apartment near heat sources (it saves a little energy). I think Americans get very hung up on what is right or wrong, there is no right or wrong when it comes to setting up your home...just what ever works for you.

mfarling - the no-electricity in the bathroom restrictions may be in several countries in Europe beyond just the UK and Ireland, but I had an outlet in a house I lived in in Belgium (it actually freaked us out a little bit, we were always terrified of listening to the radio in the bath, then having it fall in and electrocute us). (Er, we bathed individually, but the fear was collective!)

My brother also had an electrical outlet in his bathroom in Germany.

The large kitchen in our small house has a washer/dryer hidden behind cabinets. I find it very convenient, especially with a baby - it is easy to keep the laundry going when it is in the same room we are hanging out in anyway.

I keep the dirty laundry out of the kitchen and in a closet, except for kitchen towels. For those I have a small box with a lid to keep on the counter above the machines. No one else knows what is in it, and I like having somewhere to temporarily stash dirty items:

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I agree with the opinion that I'd give anything to have a functioning dependable washer and/or dryer in my apartment. I haven't had one in years and while laundry rooms and laundromats can be a drag, you make it work and get used to it. Having a washer and dryer just sounds very nice and luxurious. One day I'll have it. Dream big!

Let me amend my comment to say I'd be fine with putting the washer and/or dryer anywhere as long as space could be made for it! :)

I wouldn't mind having no dishwasher. Since only my husband and I live here, I wash the dishes by hand. However, I shape my home for when it will go on the market as well as for myself now. So, I have a dish washer that I don't use in my tiny kitchen. Undeniably, I get very hung up on what is right or wrong. Unappealing and/or no renovations would be wrong. The result would be a reduced selling price for my home. It's my biggest financial investment. This is the case for many other Americans. How do people in other countries avoid this "keeping up with the Joneses" rut?

P.S. It's not that I'm a greedy, excessively selfish, filthy rich materialist who wants to be even richer. Most Americans don't fit that stereotype. It's more that I want not to be homeless when I'm elderly. This concern seems reasonable considering my larger community. How do people in Europe usually handle housing issues? Is it that extended families usually cooperate more?

I live in Australia in a small house. Our laundry is in a cupboard off our meals area (part of open plan kitchen) - so the washing machine is behind doors on the other side of the room from the food prep area. I do however, use the table as a place to fold washing. No big deal, unless we get behind with the washing - with two under two that happens more than I'd like!

Wow! I never knew I had a "European kitchen"! :-)

Hooray for having our own washing machine, do not care that it is the kitchen. And I did not care that, in our last unit, it was in the bathroom. I was just so happy I didn't have to walk 2 km to do the washing. Our kitchen is fairly compact, but I think it fits everything (washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, etc.) in pretty nicely.

I love this post! I had a small laundry in my kitchen in Spain, along with a folding drying rack. It was such a simple solution and worked great; I miss it. However, it seems rather impractical to install a laundry machine in a rental kitchen and expensive/hard to find small units like in Europe. I haven't been able to duplicate this. Can anyone recommend good machines?

headron - I can recommend only not to get Kenmore.

@Miami's Elaine
In my country it's not common to leave appliances behind when you sell a house, maybe that's the difference? We don't have to worry about what's "right" or "wrong" regarding dishwashers and laundry facilities, because the next owners can change the setup to fit their own desires.

Lamina - Your country's way of doing things makes sense. Who knows what my area's future prospective buyers may want? My primary guide is recent upgrades in most homes in my area. Yet, "keeping up with the Joneses" may make my home's upgrades look dated. I won't renovate the same room twice. Even so, some upgrades would make my occupancy more comfortable. I'm reviewing practical, durable, timeless upgrades. They'll be of the kitchen, laundry room, both baths, and the floors. Within those constraints, I still could suit myself with colorful accessories. I review AT to learn both about interior design and about how people live. Thanks for your response!

I would never want to waste the space in a flat with a laundry room, I really don't see much sense, but that might be because I don't have any kids... And that also explains why I use the "kitchen space" more for laundry than cooking.

@jbmariani - Agreed, but the laundry room was here when I arrived, so I'm leaving it. I'll upgrade its worn entry door, archway casement, floor, baseboards, cabinet, water heater, and dryer duct venting. I'll also install a doggy door in its outer wall, cover its exposed plumbing, replace its ironing board cover, and label its circuit breaker box...some day. It's already clean, organized, convenient, and functional, for which I'm very grateful.

In South Africa it is illegal to have any electrical fittings in a bathroom - water + electicity = bad news. That is why washers and dryers are in the kitchen in smaller houses/apartments as a rule.

I've been lucky enough twice now. I can't imagine not having them in or at least right next to the kitchen. It makes life so much easier.