Patent ID: 8413470

Claim:
A modular laundry system for performing at least one of a laundry care function and a non-laundry care function, comprising: a first laundry appliance comprising a housing having a width, an upper surface and defining an interior, and configured to at least one of wash and dry fabric items; a second laundry appliance comprising a housing having a width, an upper surface and defining an interior, and configured to at least one of wash and dry fabric items; and a vertical laundry module comprising: a housing defining an interior and having an upper surface and a width less than the width of each of the first and second laundry appliances; at least one of a drawer slidable through a face of the housing and a door opening from the face of the housing to access the interior; and at least one functional element located interiorly of the housing, wherein the at least one functional element performs a non-laundry care function selected from the group consisting of resource management, lighting, power outlet and supply, and module controller function; wherein the first laundry appliance, the second laundry appliance, and the vertical laundry module are of the same height such that the upper surfaces are co-planar and form an effective continuous upper surface; and wherein the first laundry appliance, the second laundry appliance, and the vertical laundry module are stand-alone units arranged in a contiguous relationship to forma coherent modular system.