How to Design Great Utility Spaces

From plant rooms to pantries and boot rooms, designer Pete Tonks explains how to get these hardworking spaces right

The way we live is evolving and all manner of utility spaces – from plant rooms to boot rooms and pantries – are becoming increasingly essential to creating a clutter-free home. Architectural designer Pete Tonks explains what to consider and how to get these spaces right in his design masterclass

as a designer of bespoke homes, I am becoming increasingly fascinated by just how personal we can make the spaces we live in. It is more noticeable now than ever before that we are right in the middle of a design evolution. Our lives have become more complex and the same can be said about the homes we build.

Not so long ago, a house plan would typically need to accommodate the basic rooms: dining, living, kitchen, utility and study, and then the bedrooms, main bathroom and, perhaps if you were feeling particularly indulgent, a master bedroom with en suite and built-in wardrobes. In addition, one might expect to see a cupboard tucked away in the hallway, just about large enough to house a couple of coats and pairs of shoes. Upstairs, an airing cupboard, no larger than the tank that sat within it, might double as a space to store bedsheets or dry clothes. Meanwhile, the loft would provide space to store all manner of items, from Christmas decorations and sports gear to old toys. This has pretty much been the blueprint followed across the country for many years.

So why the change? There are many reasons, and here I will set them out in more detail and explain why they must be considered at the very earliest opportunity within the design process.

The rise of The PlanT room

First of all, we are putting more technical ‘kit’ into our homes and this has major implications on the design of your home. Take mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) units, for instance. These are typically placed in the roof space, ideally somewhere central within the plan and above the bathrooms. This positioning allows direct access above through the roof for venting, and being near bathrooms provides efficiencies when it comes to the ducting routes. So, if the MVHR unit and ducting is taking up some of the loft space, the options for storage in the attic are diminished.

Of course, it would be perfectly reasonable to consider using the remainder of the roof space for storage, so where’s the problem? Well, the popularity of vaulted ceilings and mezzanines within bedrooms – which, incidentally, are features I am particularly fond of and have incorporated into many designs over the years – has seen storage space within the loft shrink further. More clients are now asking for all bedrooms to be vaulted which then removes significant hidden storage and cable/ducting/pipe run routes. (This scenario exists in both single-storey or multi-storey homes.) As a result, this puts more pressure on the spatial

properties of the room layouts and a need to create storage opportunities elsewhere.

The common sense option is to get the main kit together in one place: the plant room/control centre. This ‘room’ can be anything from 1.2m x 1.2m up to 2.4m x 3m typically, dependent on budget, requirements and your aspirations. It’s important to make it easy for tradespeople and service professionals to gain access to this room, perhaps without even bothering you. This can be achieved with an external door providing access.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE UTILITY

Moving on to the utility room which, in my opinion, is dead in the water. It has become such a multipurpose room and is never large enough to cover the multitude of uses we command from it today.

Once a room only to house a washing machine, tumble dryer and sink, we now need much more space. Typically a household will have multiple fridges and freezers. We’re also increasingly opting for stripped-back, minimal kitchens, which may even be staged and dressed as places to serve food and entertain only. Therefore the utility may serve as a wash and prep area. And it does not end there. The utility room has to typically accommodate coats, shoes, school bags, pet paraphernalia, sports kit, dirty washing, wet washing for drying… the list literally does go on and on.

So here’s my solution to make the very best use of your layout:

• First, get yourself a porch or covered doorway into the building and this is likely to be your daily entry/exit point rather than the main front door. Beyond this you will require a boot room for daily family comings and goings, hanging up keys, washing dog paws and dumping school bags.

• Separate to this room/space, you will then ideally have the laundry room for the ‘clean’ activities of washing and drying clothes. The laundry room should be kept simply for washing, drying and ironing. This should ideally have its own external door but this is not vital as exit can be achieved through the boot room door. (Another idea is to place a laundry room near to the bedrooms. This could save you carting loads of washing from one end of the house to the other. It could double as a place to store bed sheets, too.)

• And then the plant room for the workings of the house, such as the hot water cylinder, boiler, underfloor heating manifolds, etc.

So, in effect, you have three main areas within your plan all being served off of the same circulation zone. Do not necessarily think you need to get these areas to directly connect to the kitchen. I would much prefer to see all of these activities taking place away from the kitchen as ultimately

“The utility is dead in the water. It’s never large enough to cover the multitude of uses we command from it today”

the kitchen is today’s living room, and why would you want to hear the washing machine while you are sipping your latte and watching TV? It is always best to get these rooms on the outer limits of the plan for easier access to the exterior as this will result in natural and logical spatial flow. You may not have the space for a dedicated laundry room, boot room and plant room and will have to ‘double up’ in some places. Do not see this as a compromise but a slightly more challenging design puzzle to be solved. If you are renovating or extending, your options may be slightly more constrained. This is where you will benefit from working with a designer with a good track record. The chances are, an architect or designer will see space potential where you do not. You can never have enough storage but a good designer will look at unusual ways rather than obvious, and will present options for you. As always, it is going to be more cost-effective to plan all of this down on paper prior to going on site. As such, it is important to seek the advice and opinions of your chosen contractors, including the electrician, plumber and heating engineer. That way, you get all of the ‘heads’ together ensuring you have done the best you can to create the best solution for you personally. Le Corbusier once stated ‘a house is a machine for living in’, and with the busy lives we lead today, never has that been more relevant.