'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

This is an example of what I mean about the wall...

We have our washing machine and dryer upstairs in our main bathroom, in a fully enclosed unit under the sink. It works well for us, and is the difference between only managing a small integrated wm downstairs vs having large freestanding wm, td and then an integrated dishwasher downstairs instead

No brainer

But the room is still primarily the bathroom, the secondary laundry function is hidden, obviously the door locks...I'm not sure if it's the dwarf wall that's making people think you'd be using the room for both simultaneously and causing issues.

Our laundry does not and never has smelled of poo though...

If the room is only going to be accessed by someone doing the laundry or using the loo I don't see the point of boxing the loo in.

I recently moved my utility room from the kitchen to the bathroom, best thing I did because it's a much better use of space. It now looks similar to the picture below.

@StatisticallyChallenged I guess what Im trying to achieve is the opposite of yours: primary function is utility room, with the secondary function of a hidden toilet.

@nokidshere I think the main difference is that this is a long slim room whereas yours is more square. It just made sense to me to make it look tidy and keep it hidden. I like the example I've posted above but I am obviously in the minority. Votes are still showing IABU so it might be time to concede. Builder will be thrilled

Glass bricks above the dwarf wall?
(Pootility room! Fnarfnar!)

I never understood the British thing of putting the washing machine in the kitchen.

Bathrooms make way more sense to me.

If the room is only going to be accessed by someone doing the laundry or using the loo I don't see the point of boxing the loo in

Agreed.

I would love a utility room with a loo in it downstairs (couldn't bring myself to say lootility though!).

I agree with the majority of no, a proper door.

Also I think you are meant to have 2 doors between any toilets and the kitchen. Would you have this?

Yes, the kitchen is now a extension across the width of the back of the house with seperate double-doors.

I think it’s a really sensible idea, so long as there is a lock on the door I can’t see any problem. We have a separate small utility and small cloakroom, with wasted ‘hall space’ it would have been a much better idea to have one large room.

I wouldn’t like it.

I don’t see the issue at all as long as the room has a lock on it? So if you are going to use the loo, lock the door, if you are going to do laundry, don’t.
I think it’s fine!

It's no different to having a washing machine in the bathroom is it? Just make the whole room lockable.

A separate room for each would be better but if you haven't got the space that is not possible.

We had similar for few years. Downstairs toilet, extra shower, sink, washing machine all in one downstairs room. We also put up wall units for storage.

One visitor did make a comment about it being wrong to use the room for food storage. It was tins which the stupid mare wouldn't have known about if she hadn't had a peep into the cupboard.

I think the dwarf wall creates the impression you'd be doing both simultaneously, even if that's not the plan. That's normally where the dwarf walls seem to pop up, places like hotel bathrooms with dual sinks where they expect two people using it together.

I think folk wouldn't make that assumption without the wall. So I'd say no wall or full wall

OP, Don't! My best friend has one of these in her house. It is disgusting and she is constantly embarrassed. It has got to a point where she is considering get rid of the loo and putting one in under the stairs. (She inherited the house and didn't buy it!)

Just no. Especially if you're planning on selling soon. It will put buyers off

I would not buy a house with that feature. Sorry OP.

I hadn't seen the pictures .....even more of a no. That wall is too small.

People in some other countries think we are weird for putting washing machines in our kitchens

Just build it how you want to use it you can't live your life in a house just worrying about selling unless you're moving soon

Curry, why is it ‘disgusting’? Surely no one is using the loo whilst someone else is loading the washing machine ?

I really struggle to understand how this is disgusting? Maybe if you hung clothes to dry on a great big airer over the bog but otherwise, why is it disgusting to have an appliance in the same room?

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
Yep
You folks are so strange, take the dirty laundry downstairs where you prepare your food (yuk), take the clean laundry out in the kitchen with potential food smells, and off you go upstairs again.
So much easier to do that in the bathroom. And it makes more sense to clean the clothes where you clean your body in a sense...

I love cultural differences

Now that I've seen the picture I think a dwarf wall which also functions as a shelving unit would work well. You don't need a full wall, no-one is going to be using the loo while you're doing the laundry!

It's only really in the UK that I see laundry facilities in the kitchen. In most other countries it's in the bathroom or in a separate utility or cupboard space.

However, obviously if you want to sell the house anytime soon it's clear it will be an issue and most people here expect the toilet to be seperate. I don't like those concertina doors. They break and don't feel like a proper sound barrier. Have you see doors that sort of fold in two? I think some companies like Eclisse might do them. They sort of open in on a track and fold in two vertically at the same time so you don't lose space..maybe something like that would fix it?