Back to that long walk to powder

10 years ago

I posted this question a few days ago and received some insightful responses, thank you! But at that time I was unable to upload a floor plan. I figured out how to do that (hope the quality is good enough to read, it's a snapshot) so here it goes again:

We are renovating a 1948 cape cod. It is smallish. The beauty if it is that all of the north facing walls include fabulous views of a lake.

We generally like the layout. Need to gut the kitchen/dining area to make a more functional kitchen/laundry and will combine living and formal dining.

There is 1 main floor bath. It is a nice enough bath but seems like a long way from the kitchen ... on the opposite side of the house. It is easily accessible to front hall, TV room, and foyer. The bedroom next to it will be sometimes occupied by a college student kid but hopefully vacant mostly (some guests). We are semi empty nesters and also have 2 beds and baths on the second floor.

So here's the question. Do I really need to add the powder room that you see on the plan, right near kitchen and laundry? I would rather use it for pantry space or desk space, but I am not used to going to the other side of the house to use the loo.

Not a big house ...
Thanks,
Shadey

Comments (4)

Babka NorCal 9b
10 years ago
We are in a 2,000 ft ranch. The kitchen is on one end, the bathrooms are on the other end. Our house is about 55' long. When we first moved here I missed my old "close to the kitchen" bathroom for about a month. Been here almost 40 years. Consider it exercise (!) One less toilet to clean, and fewer trips to the grocery store if you have a pantry.

-Babka
lotteryticket
10 years ago
I think you'll be OK with out it. But if you decide you do want it could you combine it with the laundry room? We have ours that way. It's off the mud room and around a corner from the kitchen. We have the laundry area behind louvered bifold doors. It may not sound great but it works really well for us and we used somewhat nicer fixtures so it wouldn't feel like a laundry room. Bonus: in the cold winter the room is delightfully warm when you're running the dryer.
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Bunny
10 years ago
I see stairs next to the kitchen. Is the upstairs bath any closer, or is it stacked over the one downstairs? My house is single story and small (1250 sq. ft.). My kitchen isn't particularly close to either of my bathrooms and I have never given it a thought. I've never not made it there in time. :)
enduring
10 years ago
I think having a toilet near the mudroom and the garage is a great idea. Can you redesign the kitchen to have the pantry in that space. As for using the powder room as located as a pantry seems disconnected from the kitchen. Do you need that large of a laundry room?

Can you combine the mudroom, laundry room, and powder room all into the space near the side door? It sure would be nice, when outside, not to have to go through the main floor to use the facilities when gardening, recreating, etc.

I like having the powder room near the garage too regardless where in that vicinity it is located.