Trends: what women want in a condo

[withm]

I have friends who have houses set up like that, and I sometimes really wish I had it as my laundry maybe wouldn't pile up in one location or another if those locations were closer. Then I remember 3 yrs ago when the hose to my washer ruptured while I was sleeping, and I'm glad that only one of the 3 floors were ruined by it. Pros and cons I suppose. I'd definitely do what my sister in law does if I had the W/D on the top floor, I'd shut the water off to the washer after every use.

We put the laundry closet upstairs at our summer house. The floor is tiled, and up 6" on the walls. There is a slight slope to the floor leading to a drain. It's sort like setting the washer and dryer in a small bathtub. So if there is ever a leak, the water is contained and directed to a drain into the whole house drains.

On the other hand, if you have to service the washer or dryer and be able to pull it out, well you do have to lift it up over the curb to access the back panels. It's not easy but it's do-able.

[shootingstar]

I've never lived in a place with the bathroom walkthrough into a walk-in closet (then into bedroom and vice versa). Better to have bathroom and washer-dryer outside of the bedroom without any walkthrough.

Having a walk-in closet is nice ...except for mine the ceiling filters have to be changed, which means hauling 90% of clothing out to make sure dust doesn't fall... A tarp isn't going to protect this completely.

What seems to becoming more precious is a straightforward, walk-in storage closet in the newer condo buildings. The big thing now seems to high end, steel finish fridge, stove and dishwasher, etc. Though not an absolute necessity for me, having a dishwasher is nice. I lived in an apartment for 5 months where I had to do the dishes by hand....which got awful boring and made cooking (to me) more of a chore. I normally like cooking.

[Owlie]

I have a dishwasher. I never use it, because it's old and does a terrible job of cleaning anything. By the time I've "pre-washed" everything, I may as well just wash it by hand and save the extra electricity. What I would give for a nicer (preferably gas) stove (but electric oven) though...

[nuliajuk]

I don't want a walk-in closet. What I find more useful is to have a large storage closet/pantry for things like groceries, mops etc. I had one in the apartment condo that I lived in for more than 20 years, but at first it wasn't that useful because it was long and narrow with a narrow door at one end. We remodelled it to have a large door in the center, shelves from floor to ceiling either end, and hooks for hanging things in the middle. Then we remodelled the kitchen to make it more useable... and then moved out not long after that.
That place was on the ground floor - actually about 18" below ground. I designed a set of removable steps leading up to the patio door and my husband built them. I actually kind of miss the place, although the condo board drove me up the wall at times and I wanted more space to garden. One advantage of a ground floor condo is that you often have a little space to put a few flowers in if you are inclined that way.

[shootingstar]

If I live by myself, I don't want to be living at a ground level. Not in a big city. But then, I don't want to way high up in the clouds, which we are in Vancouver....33 floors up. A fire drill is kind of drag....all that walking. And I take fire a real possibility because it did happen in Toronto when I lived on 4th floor and there was a fire above me. Smoke was coming through the air vents...believe me, it's a scary feeling. Thankfully I booted down the stairs.

[Koronin]

Both my current home and the home I used to own have walk-in closest off the bathroom in the master bedroom. Never really thought on way or the other about it actually. Although I would find a walk through closet to the bathroom a bit odd. I've had dishwashers in my old house, the town home we rented, my current home and the apt I rented and never use them. Personally for either just me or my husband and myself I find them to be a waste of money. I can hand wash dishes using less water and most definitely less electricity. One thing I do find odd is laudry right off the kitchen. In my old home and the townhouse it was basically a closet in the kitchen that was for laundry. I do like this house where at least I have a laundry room. It's right off the kitchen and small, but it is a laudry room, and it does lead to the garage.

[nuliajuk]

Laundry rooms off the kitchen - or even in the kitchen - are the norm in the U.K. I suppose it's because most homes don't have basements there. From a plumbing standpoint, I suppose it makes sense, although you'd want a drain in the kitchen floor to deal with emergency overflows. Which is not a bad idea if you have a dishwasher, actually.