'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

My ILaws have had what tgey call a Utiloo for 20 years - designed by them when they bought their house. It is basically a downstairs loo with a belfast sink (instead of a hand basin) and a washer drier under a worktop with a cupboard built in. The door has a lock just like a downstairs loo would have. No laundry in hung up in there. I've never thought that it was odd.

Why on earth would you not have a full wall and door!!?? Not just you op, but anyone. It's as odd as those baths in bedrooms. Just why??

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.

I take the clean but still wet laundry from the kitchen to outside to dry it on the line. It's a bit odd to assume everyone dries their washing indoors/in a drier.

If you are squeamish about loo being visible for resale, If you have enough space, why not make wall full height with glass at top for light.

In Australia, a loo in the laundry is commonplace and is not an issue (usually it is barely used anyway). We actually put our washing machine and dryer in a fake cupboard and called it a 2nd bathroom as it also had a shower.

Or face some three quarter high but narrow depth cupboards to make it seem more hidden. Of course the cupboards would open into your laundry side. A useful partition to distract from the loo on the other side.

People are not reading this properly and imagining all sorts of horrors. There’s nothing disgusting about this design - don’t start changing your plans at the point, OP!

Space and room layout, in my case. We would end up with a very compromised bathroom with no storage space and less light, and a deep but very narrow cupboard which would have to have the appliances stacked. It wouldn't work.

Having a loo in a laundry room is no different from having a loo in the same room as a bath.

We had a new build house that had a toilet in the utility room , it wasnt a problem as the door locked ...really it was a large toilet with room for a washing machine and tumble drier.No need for a dwarf wall , i think that is confusing people into thinking that people will be using the washing machine while you ate sat on the loo

What kind of madness is this? Of course you need a door on the toilet!

People are really not understanding this. Think of the room as a very large toilet that has some washing machines stuffed in the extra space. Of course there will be a lockable door. To the whole room. Unless someone is going to be taking a half-hour shit when someone else needs to get laundry out of a machine this isn't a problem.

I would say stick with you plans, and if you do change, get rid of the half-wall rather than build a bigger one. I definitely agree with OP on the downsides of a bigger one.

I would do away with the dwarf wall. We bought a house that was utility/ downstairs toilet it worked fine. Washing machine , tumble dryer , toilet and sink all together no need for a dividing wall .

Can't see an issue with it. Sounds like a dwarf wall would be the best use of space and light. Perfectly normal where I live (not UK) and people here are horrified at the idea of Brits taking their dirty/possibly bacteria-laden laundry into kitchens

I definitely think it should be called a Utiloo though!

This is mine btw - if you are of a sensitive disposition you might want to look away...

As long as it's got a lock on the door I'm puzzled by the controversy! Seems a sensible use of space.

So it's basically a large loo that also houses the washing machine and tumble drier? There is a lock on the only door into it? Seems fine to me not to have a full wall then.

Yuk yuk wan laundry by poo particles??? No thanks I choose not to live like a pig
I’d probably never touch your remote / keyboard / phone / door handles / (insert most everyday objects here) again as I’ve got some news for you....

Statistically I really like that set up, especially as the wm / td are “hidden” when the cupboard doors are shut.

This is super off-putting. I'd rather see a traditional outhouse at the property than a toilet in the laundry room.

Statistically that looks really good! I'm showing that to DH as we're currently designing our utility and separate toilet, so food for thought.

Really struggling to see the issue with this. We have a downstairs utility/shower room - there’s a shower and toilet in there and the washer and dryer are in cupboards under the sink. Shock horror, we even have an overhead airer in there! The whole room is lockable. I don’t police peoples poo habits but wouldn’t expect people to use the downstairs loo for a poo and it’s certainlu never been an issue.

I'd just make it a nice large bathroom that happens to have utility stuff in it. That pic above from Aus is a nice idea. The other way round - a utility that happens to have a toilet - seems confused and I don't like rooms that don't have a clear 'point'.

Thanks Raven and Pragmatic.

When the doors are closed it does just look like a vanity unit, it is a bit deeper than normal but because of the stepped back units at the top and the countertop sink you don't really notice. We don't have any outside drying space either, so dragging the laundry downstairs to wash it was daft. We did have a ceiling pulley in the kitchen downstairs though and funnily enough when we got inspected by environmental health...they didn't like it. They considered laundry (even clean) to be a hygiene risk to food.

Statistically - that looks great! Good use of space.

I think it’s totally fine and am surprised by the horror that some people are feeling about this.

Put a lock on the main lootility door - no one will walk in to do laundry while you are using the toilet.

Close the lid before you flush (as you should anyway) - no poo particles flung at clean clothes.

Open the window or turn on the extractor fan after a poo (as you probably do anyway) - smells should dissipate quickly and allow laundry to continue.

Threads like these really do make me wonder what sort of state people leave their loos in if the idea of laundry in the same room horrifies them so much.

The reason we don't put washing machines in bathrooms is because of our stricter electrical safety laws which mandate such a huge clearance between an electrical installation and a bath or shower that it's basically impossible. So we are not really used to seeing the washing machine from the toilet in the same way that other countries might be.

Nobody should be advocating putting washing machines in bathrooms
(i.e. room with a bath or shower) in the UK, as it's generally illegal for anyone to do that and is likely to be a problem when selling.

OP if the room looks like a kitchen/utility room but with a toilet in it, that will put buyers off. If you make it look like a generous downstairs loo with the washing machine neatly concealed away then you may get away with it.

You're having a larder cupboard in a room with a toilet in it? That wouldn't be for me.