Shortage of space might be dealt with by having a washing machine and a separate dryer with the dryer stacked above the washer? I would avoid a Washer/Dryer, especially for a young family with lots of laundry. Normally it's difficult to dry a full wash load, washing tends to need sorting and items removed to enable even drying; and of course, whilst clothes are being dried, further laundry cannot be done. My experience is that the whole process is slowed by using the one machine for both.
I was relieved to go back to separate machines again!
