I lived in the US for a while and my laundry room was upstairs which seemed odd at first but was fairly standard and actually did make sense as all the clothes stayed upstairs But the key thing is US houses are way bigger (mine was 5 beds and 3000sq ft) and cost less than the current average UK house price (the value of the house I lived Was around £200k) shed have been better building from scratchIf this really is their forever home then they probably don't care if they bring the value down and it does seem more convenient having a utility upstairs. I actually think it's a great idea and am a little jealous