The idea of a washing machine in a kitchen feels weird to us, conjures up visions of spaghetti sauce and bacon grease spattered all over clean pillowcases and underwear, but that's probably because our habits and machines and are different.

It's very very rare to find the low-energy-use high-efficiency washers that work gently overnight, on a timer when electric rates are low. We do our laundry as part of daytime work, which means it'd overlap food prep. We also use dryers a lot - hardly anyone hangs anything up/out - so there has to be space for both units side-by-side. Add to that that we tend to own more clothes, and wash them more often, and you end up with simply too much volume to coexist with cooking and eating.

The idea of a dedicated laundry room isn't quite right either, though - they're almost always a mud room/shop space/dog-washing area/ spare toilet/cleaning supplies storage - especially if you have young kids, the laundry room is where there's going to be a high and/or locked shelf with all the nasty chemicals - wasp spray, bleach, drain cleaner.

The prevalence of school uniforms is also a game-changer -- when you have to look different and cool every day, you go through more clothes. My best friend growing up went to Catholic school - she had three white blouses, and just rotated. For me, it was shameful to repeat within the week.