A utility does one job better than any other room in an Irish house: it takes the washing machine, the drier, the airer, the mop and the recycling out of the kitchen. In an open plan house that is not a nice extra, it is what makes the open plan bearable, because a spin cycle no longer competes with the television.
Who designs and fits utility rooms in Dublin?
The Home Upgrade Co designs, supplies and fits utility rooms in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. One team handles the design, the supply and the installation, and the fitting is done by our own fitters rather than subcontracted out, so there is one point of contact from your first message to the last door. Every utility is made to measure around the washing machine and drier you actually have, whether that is a full room, a small utility or a space under the stairs, and it can match your kitchen doors and finish. Where the plumbing, ventilation and sockets are, or will be, is settled first so the units are built around them; that work itself is for your own plumber and electrician. The whole room is drawn in 3D before anything is made. Every job starts with photos, a short video and rough sizes of the room, and the 3D design and itemised quote are free with no obligation. Everything we make in wood carries a 2 year warranty against defects. Stephen, who coordinates our installation team, has more than ten years in kitchens, and the manufacturing partner behind our units has twenty years in the trade.
- What we do: design, supply and fit, all by one team
- Who fits it: our own fitters, not subcontracted
- Where: Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow
- Spaces: full utility rooms, small and tiny utilities, deep presses and under stairs utilities
- Built around: your own washing machine and drier, side by side or stacked in a tall unit
- Finish: can match your kitchen doors so the two rooms read together
- Price: worked out from a free 3D design and itemised quote, drawn from your photos, video and sizes
- Warranty: 2 years against defects on everything we make in wood
- Experience: over ten years fitting kitchens, and a manufacturing partner with twenty years in the trade
- Contact: WhatsApp or call 089 222 3395
What are the best utility room ideas?
Machines under a worktop you can fold on, a deep sink, a ceiling airer with an extractor, tall storage for the vacuum and hidden recycling bins.
Those five ideas for a utility room do most of the work in any size of room, and the sections below take each in turn: how much space you need, where the machines go, drying clothes indoors and the storage that earns its place. Clever utility room ideas are mostly about planning the plumbing, the ventilation and the sockets first, because those are the parts that are hard to move later, and then fitting the storage around them.
If the space is tight, skip to the small utility room ideas, where the answer is usually to go up rather than out.
How much space does a utility actually need?
Three square metres is enough for a working utility. Two will take a machine, a sink and some storage if it is planned properly.
People assume a utility needs a room. It does not. A run of about two metres against one wall, with a door on it, does most of the work: machine, worktop over, sink at one end, tall storage at the other.
What it does need is plumbing on that wall run and somewhere for the machines to drain. Adding a utility to a spot with no services nearby is where the cost goes.
Where do the machines go?
Under a continuous worktop, side by side, with the drier next to the washing machine rather than stacked if there is width.
Stacking saves floor space and costs you a working surface, so it is a trade rather than a win. Where width allows, side by side under a worktop gives you somewhere to fold, which is the thing people miss most in a cramped utility.
Leave a gap you can reach behind. Machines need pulling out occasionally, and a run built tight to both walls makes that a two person job.
What about drying clothes indoors?
Plan for it, with an airer and ventilation, because in an Irish winter it is happening whether the design allows for it or not.
A pull down or ceiling mounted airer over the machines uses space that is otherwise dead, and it keeps wet clothes out of the kitchen and the sitting room. It needs the ceiling fixing planned and the head height checked.
Ventilation matters as much. A utility drying clothes with no extraction pushes that moisture into the rest of the house, so an extractor or a vented drier is part of the design rather than an afterthought.
What are the best storage ideas for a utility room?
A deep sink, a tall cupboard for the vacuum and the ironing board, and somewhere out of sight for the recycling bins.
A deep sink is the most used thing in most utilities: filling buckets, soaking, washing things that should not go in the kitchen sink. A shallow one is a false economy.
Full height storage takes the awkward tall items that otherwise live in a corner of the kitchen. Recycling bins under the worktop keep them out of sight and near the back door.
Everything we make in wood carries a two year warranty against defects.
What are the best small utility room ideas?
In a small utility, stack the washer and drier in a tall unit, keep a short sink run and put pull out storage everywhere else.
Small utility room design mostly comes down to going up rather than out. Side by side machines under a worktop are still the better layout where the width is there, but in a tiny utility room it usually is not. Stacking the washing machine and drier in a tall housing, using the stacking kit the machine manufacturer specifies, frees the rest of the wall for a worktop and a sink.
The ideas that earn their place in a small or tiny utility room:
- A tall unit housing the stacked washer and drier, with a cupboard above for detergents and spares.
- A short sink run beside it, even a narrow worktop with a deep sink, so there is somewhere to soak, rinse and fold.
- A hanging rail under a wall cupboard or across a recess, so shirts go straight from the drier onto hangers.
- Pull out laundry baskets inside a base unit, so the washing is sorted and the floor stays clear.
- Boot and coat storage by the back door, with a low bench or open shelf for wellies and football boots.
Two details make a stacked washer and drier work in a tall unit. The housing has to be built around the machines you actually have, with room behind for the hoses and space to pull them out for a service. And the drier still needs its moisture dealt with, through a vent or a condenser, plus an extractor or an opening window in the room, for the reasons in the drying section above.
If there is no room for a utility at all, look at the space you already have. An under stairs utility is the usual answer: the wedge under the stairs or a deep press at the end of a hallway can often take the storage half of a utility, with the machines staying in the kitchen, and sometimes the machines too where plumbing and ventilation allow. Our under stairs storage page shows what fits in that space. If the utility also has to hold food, a tall larder unit beside it does double duty, which our pantries and larders page covers.
The Home Upgrade Co. designs small utility rooms in Dublin and the surrounding counties, and the 3D drawing shows whether the idea you like actually fits your room before anything is made.
What should a utility room have?
At minimum, a place for the washing machine and drier, a sink, a worktop to fold on, tall storage, ventilation, and somewhere to dry clothes.
Use this as a checklist when you are planning one:
- Plumbing and a drain on the wall where the machines and the sink will go.
- Space for the washing machine and drier, side by side under a worktop or stacked in a tall unit.
- A sink, ideally a deep one. Not strictly essential, but the thing people most often regret leaving out.
- A worktop, even a short one, for folding.
- Ventilation, such as an extractor fan or an opening window, so moisture does not spread through the house.
- A way to dry clothes indoors, like a ceiling airer or a hanging rail.
- Tall storage for the vacuum, the mop, the ironing board and the clothes horse.
- Recycling bins under the worktop, near the back door if you have one.
- Enough sockets in the right places, positioned and wired by an electrician.
- A door, so the noise of a spin cycle stays out of the kitchen.
You do not need every item to have a useful utility room. Plumbing, ventilation and sockets are the three that are hard to add later, so we settle where they are first in the design and the rest is planned around them. We make and fit the units; the plumbing and electrical work are for your own plumber and electrician.
How it works
Send us photos, a short video and rough sizes of the space and tell us what you want. Our designers draw it in 3D so you see the finished piece in your own room, and you get one complete itemised quote. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
Who are our fitted utility rooms for?
Everything we build is premium and made to the highest spec: made to measure, designed in 3D, scribed to the walls and fitted by our own team, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than after you have waited for a quote. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.
One team for this and the rest of the job
The same team that makes this fits it, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes, internal doors and windows. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four. See the rest of our work.
Frequently asked questions
Who designs and fits utility rooms in Dublin?
The Home Upgrade Co designs, supplies and fits utility rooms in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. One team handles the design, the supply and the installation, and the fitting is done by our own fitters rather than subcontracted out, so there is one point of contact from your first message to the last door. Every utility is made to measure around the washing machine and drier you actually have, whether that is a full room, a small utility or a space under the stairs, and it can match your kitchen doors and finish. Where the plumbing, ventilation and sockets are, or will be, is settled first so the units are built around them; that work itself is for your own plumber and electrician. The whole room is drawn in 3D before anything is made. Every job starts with photos, a short video and rough sizes of the room, and the 3D design and itemised quote are free with no obligation. Everything we make in wood carries a 2 year warranty against defects. Stephen, who coordinates our installation team, has more than ten years in kitchens, and the manufacturing partner behind our units has twenty years in the trade.
Can you fit a utility into a large press or under the stairs?
Sometimes, and it depends on plumbing and ventilation. Under stairs suits storage better than machines in most houses.
Can the utility match the kitchen?
Yes, and most people do it in the same doors and finish so the two rooms read together.
Do I need a separate sink in the utility?
Not strictly, but it is the thing people who skip it most often regret.
Does a fitted utility cost less than extending the kitchen?
Yes, by a long way, because nothing structural moves. A utility fit out uses a room or space you already have, so there is no building work. The utility itself is still premium and made to the highest spec, so it is not a budget purchase.