Hi, They're a brilliant idea - especially if you don't have a room for laundry and need to incorporate a laundry into your kitchen. We have one currently and will be doing it again when we do our kitchen extension. It is a case of when your "laundry" isnt in use your appliances (and tub) are tucked into open backed cabinetry and made to "disappear". When it comes to the tub they're not an essential item anymore with modern washing machines having all sorts of great cycles. We have a laundry cupboard with a tub and when we do our reno we're getting rid of the tub in order to get more pantry space - in 8 years we've used it once for laundry - but it's been used for "emergency" storage and as an indoor esky during parties and large gatherings many times - as a result we're getting rid of the tub and having an extra large kitchen sink instead and a pantry. Dryers are either external venting (so it goes outside of your home like a kitchen or bathroom exhaust and needs to be ducted specifically) or have a front vent which will release the warm damp air into your home (this is commonly the case in apartments) meaning that you absolutely can't have your "laundry cupboard" closed and have the dryer on - if this is the system you have to use I encourage you to think about having doors and windows open and/or investing in a de-humidifier to prevent moisture build up - we do all of this depending upon the weather. Your water inlet has to be plumbed (just like a regular laundry) as well as grey water outlet. If you're putting in a tub then grey waste will go into that piping either through the laundry tub or through the tub's cabinetry carcass or directly into an outlet pipe. I'd be reluctant, personally, to have towel and linen shelves in there as fabric absorbs moisture and smells easily and would, instead, incorporate a pull out drying rack that'll make use of the warm air from the dryer (so when sheets and towels are in the dryer you can hang quick drying items like T-shirts and underwear on the rack utilizing the extra heat) and put in a drawer or wall mounted ironing board.

Hi charlie_com: would love to see more as your house plans develop. We bought a house in The Gap last year. So hi, neighbour! We are currently working on plans for short term and long term renovations. I came across your post when searching for advice about whether it would be a big issue if laundry doesn't have direct external access. I agree with others who have mentioned the condenser dryer: our laundry is currently not internal and concealed, but we bought one soon after we moved in (a Bosch heat pump/condenser dryer) and are really happy with the investment as it reduces moisture in the laundry area and is much more energy efficient. I must admit to using it a lot now, because of the energy efficiency, and it being so much easier to stay on top of the laundry. The Styling Edge's photo of concealed laundry set up reminded me of a house where I first saw this set up being sold in Ashgrove several years ago. It was very nicely renovated, and part of the fairly open plan living, dining and kitchen zone, leading to the back deck and then back yard. I remember thinking it would be handy to have a laundry that was so close to living areas and bedrooms and not be separated from the main living. The house had no trouble selling, so it certainly didn't seem to be a deal breaker for buyers. I think it could be more problematic if there was a long, windy route through or around the house, to get to a clothes line. And by the way, I did check out your other posts to see if there was more progress on your house, and spotted the mention of not having a rug for 10 years due to inability to decide, and had a bit of a chuckle: that sounds so much like me.

I'm still concerned that the covered alfresco area is located to the NE, it will block much of your winter sunshine from entering your living areas, making your home colder in winter. Personally, I'd try to locate your alfresco o the eastern side of your living areas (& somehow moving the master further SE). However, if you are going to stick with your current alfresco location, I'd recommend you change from a hipped roof alfresco, to a gable roof alfresco. If you make it an opened gable, & have a cathedral ceiling you'll end up with quite a bit more winter sunshine entering your house. Similar to the images below.

Hi We've done automation where just about everything opens and shuts (eg 10 TV's) for $100's of thousands of dollars in a multi million $$ home to simple lighting /aircon and AV in homes... There is no right or wrong answer, as it depends on both your appetite for it and your budget...but here is what we tend to do... We do lighting with preset scenes only now as we've found most people still prefer to use a switch, even if it is a simple dimmer press switch. Those scenes include all off controlled by the bed side in master and at the front door as you go out, to evening mood lighting, to passage only (to eg kitchen) at 20% on movement sensor at night so you can see where you're going on the way to toilet/get a drink, away mode (lights come on and off to simulate someone home), theatre preset (lights and projector/tv set)... Where a lot of big money is spent and systems become unwieldy is in the level of programming required at the switch itself vs the board and how many commands it needs to do a simple action. We've tried all sorts of systems but generally find the simplest wins all of the time as it is more user friendly. At present, we are trialling the simplest system we have found so far which is Amazon voice activated service (Alexa) with off the shelf light switches from Belkin (available in eg JB Hi Fi), portable music systems and aircon integration. As it is mostly plug and play wireless it is so far making the hard wired systems we've used before seem overly complicated and expensive. It is also expandable and once you see what Amazon has in store for us here in Oz re services you can order with it, it can be quite amazing... If I had to suggest a minimum automation, do scenes that resonate with you for lighting, install SONOS (we do it in EVERY property even if it has no automation), link your aircon, do a scene/macro for the home theatre if you have one and get good internet over Foxtel cable.... Cheers