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powermuffin

Lesser of two evils

powermuffin
11 years ago

Hello. I live in a very old house and we are planning a kitchen remodel soon. As part of this remodel, we are considering switching the location of the only main floor bath with the main floor laundry room. The reason that we are considering this is that the bath opens right into the dining room currently. It is a pretty bathroom, but still we see the bathroom from the dining room table! By switching the rooms, the bathroom would then open to the kitchen and be equally as visable from there. But it wouldn't be visible from the kitchen eating area. In your opinion, which is the lesser of the two evils?
Thanks,
Diane

Comments (5)

  • chibimimi
    11 years ago

    Check local codes to make sure you can have a bathroom opening directly off the kitchen.

    Of the two, it's probably more embarrassing to see (and use!) the bathroom from the dining room, since meals held there tend to be more formal. Guests might find it very awkward to take a bathroom break when they're just a thin door away from the festivities!

  • energy_rater_la
    11 years ago

    it is pretty expensive to move a bathroom.
    why not put a screen & some plants around
    it at the bathroom door off the dining room?

    price it out. plumbing alone is costly.
    cheaper to add some insulation on bathroom
    wall so not one can hear the bathroom sounds.

    best of luck.

  • powermuffin
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the input. I will look into the code issue. The path into the kitchen from the dining room is directly in front of the bathroom doorway, so no way to screen it off. A couple of things that I should have mentioned: The basement underneath both rooms is open and the plumbing accessible. While you cannot really hear anything from the dining room when someone uses the bathroom, our family and friends are reluctant to use the bathroom if people are in the dining room. The dining room is always used when we have guests, and even most often when it is just the two of us.

    I do have another option, though not good either, and that is to move the bathroom doorway to inside of the adjacent bedroom, which is currently used as an office. Do you think that this is a better solution?
    Diane

  • millworkman
    11 years ago

    I would do that especially since it is used as an office. Although the plumbing is exposed it is still quite expensive to reroute and redo the entire bathroom plumbing.

  • missyoka
    11 years ago

    Yes, I would have the bathroom open into the office. How much of your office do you really use on a daily basis? (If you use it as an office now, it means you really will never need it as a true bedroom.)
    Once the bathroom door opens into the office, you might want to remove the wall with the main office door completely (or at least widen it to the width of two people).
    Place the desk/computer area that you use daily against one wall of the old office, framing it in with bookcases to the sides of the desk as well as above it, creating an alcove effect for the desk area. Use light "pucks" under the upper horizontal book shelf run that is directly above the desk for task lighting and to eliminate the bulkiness and need for a desk lamp.
    If there is a window in the office, place a single wooden ledge above it to store more items (be sure to secure with screws and anchors). Tape fabric to the edge of this wooden ledge, and you will create the very finished look of a window valance.
    Place office bookcases on either side of the bathroom door for additional storage.
    You should now have a clear and direct path for foot traffic (a "mini hallway") that goes through your office area and leads to the bathroom without losing any real storage space for the office. It will enhance flow to the bathroom and make it look like it was always there!
    Since your office will now be open concept, store office items in attractive baskets all of the same colour, and choose a wastebasket whose colour blends into the wall colour. If you wish to hang many pictures on the wall, paint all frames the same colour.
    In small spaces, clear floor space is more important than clear wall space.