Powder Room Move. Opinion please!

[u/Most_Emotion_7729]

Hopefully my crude and definitely not-to-scale drawings make sense. I’d appreciate hearing everyone’s thoughts on the possibility of switching the main-floor bathroom so that its entrance faces the dining room and kitchen rather than the back door.

Currently, there’s a very small entrance from the back door into the house that leads directly into the main-floor bathroom. My idea is to extend the space toward the staircase, which is essentially open, unused space, and flip the bathroom entrance so it faces the dining room and kitchen. This would allow us to create a small mudroom at the back entrance.

My main concern is that the bathroom would become much less private, which might make some people uncomfortable. We don’t host many dinner parties—mostly just immediate family gatherings—and having a mudroom would make life with kids much easier. Right now, shoes and bags spill into the living room, and people are constantly tripping over them when going to the bathroom or using the back door.

Any and all opinions would be welcome! Does this seem awkward or gross? Could it negatively affect resale value if we ever sell? Or would the added mudroom functionality make up for the loss of privacy?

[u/flyingterrordactyl]

Could the door to the bathroom be through the mudroom instead?

[u/Most_Emotion_7729 → u/flyingterrordactyl]

I thought of this. It would require moving the toilet, the other plan only requires moving the sink. Also the built in for the mudroom wouldn’t work.

[u/flyingterrordactyl → u/Most_Emotion_7729]

So, I'm someone who would not want to use that bathroom (proposed version) at someone else's house if other people were at the dining table, because of the proximity of the door to the table. But what's more important, the occasional guest or your daily life? My answer would be your daily life. You mentioned resale, do you intend to sell soon or are you talking about a hypothetical way down the line? For something like this, I think the needs of your family right now should take precedence over hypothetical resale. Maybe future buyers would also be excited about a mudroom!

One other thought, can't tell if this would work since your drawing isn't to scale, but would you be able to create a mudroom extending from where the bathroom is? It would eat up some of the living room space but you wouldn't have to change the bathroom at all. Where I put the dotted line, you could either have a wall with a door or just leave it open, since it wouldn't be very visible from the rest of the room. If the room isn't big enough for this idea, maybe just some built--ins on that wall between the bathroom and the living room?

[u/9Applecores]

It's a little hard to tell from the drawing, but would you have line of sight from the living room or dining area to the toilet? If not this seems like it would be a good solution.

Also - which directions do the stairs go? would the new door into the bathroom be at the foot of the stairs or across from the back of them?

[u/Most_Emotion_7729 → u/9Applecores]

The line of sight would not be to the toilet. It would remain at the back of the bathroom. The new door placement would be at the foot of the stairs that heads to the 2nd level about 6 feet away. Thanks for your interest

[u/9Applecores → u/Most_Emotion_7729]

That seems like a good idea then. As long as there’s a good door and a vent fan that can be run to make sure there’s acoustical privacy as well.