'Lootility'

[Twotinydictators]

Currently refurbishing, our old small kitchen is being turned into a utility room with a toilet at the end, obscured by a dwarf wall.

The builder is half way through, DH says he thinks this is an error and we should build a full height stud wall with separate door. I think it will be dingy and not the best use of space.

I've looked online and found a few examples of new builds designed with a 'lootility' and other properties listed on house purchase websites being advertised as having a one. I'd never heard this hybrid word before tonight, which makes me think it's not as an usual as DH believes. He says it'll put buyers off.

YABU - a lootility is a bad idea and will put buyers off
YANBU - it's a good use of space and becoming more common

Yuk yuk wan laundry by poo particles??? No thanks I choose not to live like a pig.

I'd put a door in with either a fanlight above or a heavily glazed door.

I've not heard this phrase before but we have one in our new build. The first time I saw it when viewing the house I thought it was kind of odd but I think by the end if the first day of moving in I was used to it.

The door to it has a lock so there would be no problem with people walking into the utility room to see me sat on the loo.

So it’s basically just a big toilet with a washing machine in it? I can deal with that as long as it has a lock - lots of countries have washing machines in bathrooms and not kitchens so that part is ok. Hate the name though 😂

Proper wall, proper door. Doesn't matter if a bit dingy in there. Does matter if wall is only small.

I've seen 'lootility' rooms that work well. Make sure there's a lock or bolt on the door, and some ventilation (fan or window or both). Some buyers might prefer two separate rooms, but others might like the clever use of space. Good luck!

Never heard the phrase but this is what we have.
The decision was between it looking a bit odd and having a downstairs toilet, or no downstairs toilet.
I went with the downstairs toilet option, and do not for a second regret the decision.

Having a downstairs toilet generally lends itself well to ‘modern’ living, and from experience I would says it’s unusually to not find a downstairs toilet in a new house, so from that point of view, and for ease, it made total sense to have a lootility room. Ours however isn’t big enough to have considered putting in any sort of wall, and personally in your situation I would scrap the idea, and just make sure there is a lock on the door.

@carolina21
Yuk yuk wan laundry by poo particles??? No thanks I choose not to live like a pig.

In many many countries it is completely normal practice to have washing machines in bathrooms, so much so they would think us weird for having ours in the kitchen, and probably would be quite offended to be considered pigs for having those facilities in a bathroom

Anyway, in answer, YANBU. Generally these days people want utilities rooms, they also want downstairs loos, if this is the only way of doing it then it’s the best compromise.

In our house, no one goes to the toilet whilst someone is doing the washing, or vice versa.
Pooing is preferable upstairs, but that’s not because it’s a lootility, but simply because it’s next to the kitchen and nobody wants to smell poo in the kitchen, the same would apply lootility or just downstairs loo.

Plus, we us reusable nappies and the ability sort them in one space using the loo and the washer is so much easier than sorting them in the bathroom with the shatula then carting them downstairs

Here in the US we call them the mud room. It is where we clean up when coming from outdoors or pop in for a quick pee if we are mucking in the garden.

We have a lootility. It's about the size of a small box room but the builders put in floor to ceiling doors to contain the washer, dryer and boiler as well as a few shelves. It works well and looks really tidy. Not everyone has the space to separate the two, and as I'm not hanging or sorting laundry whilst actually having a shit I doubt there's any more poo particles on our clothing than compared to the average household.

It sounds like the room you're describing is actually a reasonable size. Assuming you're going with a few kitchen units to accommodate cleaning supplies and other shite as well as the washer and dryer, it could look a bit like a galley kitchen with a random toilet in it. In those circumstances I would try to box off the toilet. A friend has used a half height wall with a New York loft style window to divide a room in her house and it works really well- perhaps you could do something similar with frosted glass to solve the dingy/lighting issue? As long as the window is well above waist height it's not like anyone would see anything even if the loo was in use.

I have a downstairs loo and I also have a utility room. I am barely in either for more than a couple of mins. I would avoid going in just after someone has used the loo just the same as I would a toilet on it’s own. I honestly think it will be fine although I would probably avoid drying washing on a clothes horse in there.

A toilet in the laundry is pretty common here in Oz.

Our downstairs toilet is a combined laundry/bathroom. You can lock the laundry door if using it as a bathroom.

I really don't see the problem? Is a good use of space.

In a busy household we really haven't run into an issue with someone desperately needing to do laundry while someone else is using the bathroom.

We also tend to come in/out of the backyard through that door.

Kitty litter is in there as well. With cat doors in both doors.

Works well here. Is one of our most useful/used rooms. Is the 'guest' bathroom for downstairs as well. If we are having visitors we just make sure there is no messy laundry kicking around (i.e. shove it all in the cupboard). Not that hard.

Our is similar to this in lay out (though alas not as new!) except where the small window is at the end of the room we have a door to the outside. So no separation of the loo/room at all.

IAmNotAWitch

Are those transparent doors at the end a fridge and/or freezer?!

So somebody could be sitting there having a big steaming stinky poo right next to where fresh food is kept? You might as well multitask and peel some veg or sieve rice whilst you're sitting on the bog doing your dirty business. Euuww!!!

LOL, I don't know what those end cupboards are (though on closer inspection they look like pull out shelving with towels or something on them). I just pulled an image from Google that had a similar layout, ours just has cupboard/bench top to the end.

Shrug, while I wouldn't keep food in a bathroom/laundry I wouldn't be horrified by a drinks fridge.

Though as a proper Australian I keep my drinks fridge in the garage...

I believe these are very common in cells in police stations.
I personally wouldn't consider one in my home though.

Either have a lock on the door of the entire room if the only other things in there are laundry things or a wall between the 2 with a lock on it.

Really common in Aus to have a laundry with a toilet in it, sometimes a shower. In our first house here it was really handy as there was a door to outside to hang clothes out and it was also near the pool so wet people could nip in there if necessary. No walls/screens.

Oops, slow typing. Iamnot got there before me!

I agree with IAmNotAWitch in thinking that those end units are pull out shelving that probably contain cleaning/laundry equipment. Having a laundry room here is very common, and is often combined with another toilet/wash basin facility.

We have the shower unit in our laundry and I'm very keen to get a second loo in there but it would have a door, probably a concertina shutter door (see pic) though as space is so limited. The walls are already in place, just need the loo itself and the door! (And yes the walls are floor to ceiling, not halfway up)

My sister had those concertina doors for a while ThumbWitchesAbroad, she found they developed splits in the seams pretty quickly (could have been a quality issue though).

Could you get a pocket door in instead? I love the look of the barn doors but I am not clear on how you would lock one?

And yes as SnowsInWater mentioned, this set up is excellent if there is a pool because wet kids just dry off in the laundry/bathroom and don't attempt to traipse through the house (well, they don't try it more than once). Husbands however, apparently need shouting out more regularly. Biggest design fault in my house is that the bloody washing line is within splashing distance of the pool...which is an EXTREMELY first world problem, I am aware.

ive seen loads of these and didnt think it was even a thing to have issue with.
lots in norway.especially in ski areas.
lots in small places where its a space saver.
lots in student houses when we were looking for my sister and her mates somewhere to live.
lots in terraced houses.

If I was looking round your house, I'd hate the idea and would mentally be working out how much it would take to change it to a full height wall/lockable door. If I liked the property I'd also be offering less to represent the cost of it.

We have a lootility (never heard of this phrase before); utility room has boiler cupboard/ washing machine/ tumble dryer and a loo and basin. Opening window too and a lockable door. There’s no room for a separate wall and as others have said - seems pretty normal.

To clear up a few things: the dwarf wall is a half height, half width partition wall, just a few inches higher than the worktop. It provides a visual barrier between toilet area and utility area and keeps toilet unseen. The door to the room is lockable and no one will be using the room whilst someone else is on the toilet.

The utility area is effectively a small kitchen, with a tall larder cabinet, WM, TD, sink and two further wall units. The toilet is on the same wall but tucked away in the corner at the end. There is nothing at all on the opposite wall, which I've kept intentionally clear to allow for drying washing whilst still providing a walkway to get to the toilet.

Thanks for everyone's responses, the votes are IABU, the responses are a bit more mixed. Builder will be here in two hours and still not sure what to do

Mi sis has got this, two lockable Dolores, our into house and one into garden. It’s a loo, washing machine and dryer and cat food room.

It’s fine. No dwarf wall though.