How the utility room became a status symbol for homeowners

Once they were grim spaces to stash the mop. What’s fuelling our desire for laundry-room luxe? 

An attic utility room. Picture: iStock

I am immune to utility room envy. The only one I know — my father’s — is impossible to lust after: a spidery, grave-cold windowless room, containing only a washing machine that boils clothes, a novelty pewter tankard full of fuses, and a pile of yellowing envelopes.

But arachnid-free, luxurious spaces for laundry and storage have become unlikely new status symbols. Celeb magazines and property supplements breathlessly showcase capacious butler’s sinks; floor-to-ceiling cabinetry; “skirtains” (weird decorative valances to hide your shelves); personalised, individual laundry baskets for each family member; and built-in dryer rails.