Utility/downstairs loo or extra living room?

[agnesrose86]

I am reconfiguring the downstairs layout of my house, mainly to create a new open plan kitchen/diner. In addition to this, I could create either a utility room and downstairs loo or additional living space leading to the garden. I have three young children so would use the extra space as a play room/family room. What do you think would be most useful for busy family life? I really can't decide!

I would hate to be without a downstairs loo or a utility room - I think they are both essential.

A downstairs loo definitely!

Utility/toilet every time. It's good to have an area where you can drape laundry or dump "stuff".

I agree with all of the above with regards to the downstairs WC, could you do both and compromise on space, additional WC's dont need to be big but if you want a utility too then I guess its goodbye to the play area/room. It is great that visitors dont have to go upstairs for the bathroom and the kids would never be out of there.

Good luck.

Utility and loo, no question.

Thanks all. I am really surprised it is so unanimous. The only reservation I have is the back of our house is so light, I am worried it will be wasted on a utility. Although I do think I'll be in there a lot!

Family room. By far the most important room in our house. Fantastic luxury to give the children space for their toys and stuff. And when they get older, no fighting with them over television programmes, noise etc.

I would not be without this extra reception room.

Don't waste what I assume is South-facing space on a utility room. Family/playroom can double as a space for hanging washing. Downstairs loo, yes, but don't you have a staircase you could put this under?

Space at the back of the house should NEVER be used for a utility and loo. Our current house is laid out like that and it's such a waste of garden views and sunshine. Can you put the utility somewhere else though, as I agree with PPs that a utility is essential.

It's a really tricky one, utility couldn't go anywhere else and the space under stairs is about 20-30cm too small for building regs. I wish I was more IT competent so I could post a pic of layout.

Could you do downstairs loo and tiny family room? Even if it's basically just a toy storage area, it would mean the toys didn't take over the living space, and when the children are older it could make a lovely study.

If it's big enough to make into a living room, then it would seem a waste using it for a downstairs toilet - even though I'm a great fan of them. That said, if you are planning to have just one living space, I wouldn't really want all the things I have soaking in buckets to be doing that in my living room - if I had to have a kitchen / diner then I'd want laundry stuff out the way.
Having lived with all ages of dc now, a second living room is invaluable - they never want to all do the same thing at the same time, so being able to shut the door and separate out is invaluable.
Would it be worth a consultation with an architect to see if they can find a solution you've not thought of.... along the lines of putting the toilet under the stairs, but a different one if building regs won't allow there ?

Loo and utility. Our cloakroom is a whopping 1.7 by 1.1m

You don't need much space at all for a loo and sink, and they are v handy to have downstairs, especially if you don't like people traipsing all over your pale upstairs carpets in their muddy shoes....

We have a kitchen/diner, a living room and a second reception room. The dc did use the second reception room for toys etc when they were younger, but have hardly been in it since they turned into teens.

Ime, teens tend to be bedroom based rather than use a reception room. Our second reception room is redundant space now they are older.

We already have a utility room and downstairs loo, but if we didn't I'd be looking to convert our second reception room.

Rather than reconfigure the existing layout, I could do a small extension (3m x 3m) in the sunniest room of the house for the kitchen diner leaving space for utility, WC and spare living room. I am not 100% sure I would recoup the costs if I decided to sell but we plan to be here a long time so shouldn't be too much of a deciding factor if we can afford it. I think it would be worth getting an architect in for some advice. I should say that my dcs have an enormous bedroom, the biggest room in the house, so the majority of their toys are there but it doesn't stop our only living room from being a bit like chaotic soft play most of the time. I might be able to find the floor plan on line from when we bought the house, will post if so.

In the future would be beneficial to have an additional bedroom even if it's downstairs? Sharing does get more difficult as they hit the teen years?

Loo and utility every time. Our downstairs loo is useful for us, visitors everyone. Our playroom has been used as such twice in ten years despite various attempts at redecorating/ soft furnishing. The kids play in the living room and the "playroom" has become a computer room / dumping ground for washing, ironing board, Hoover, kids old toys, kit from hobbies, pet food etc.. We should have made a proper utility from the start.

Having lived through the little years and with kids now aged 16, 18 and 20, my order of preference would be - own bedrooms (especially when they hit their teens), utility/downstairs loo, second living area.

A lot depends on how houseproud you are I guess. We only have one living room (two rooms knocked through) and pretty much gave that over to the kids when they were small - toys everywhere. However, if you want a living room that is kept really nice and out of bounds to them then that's fair enough.

I would hate to be with my downstairs loo and utility - both quite small but invaluable.

The pattern with my kids was that they played in the living room all the time when they were little, and often wanted to share a bedroom, even though they didn't have to. As they got older though, they wanted to spend more time in their rooms, especially if friends were round, and now all 3 very much have their own space in their bedrooms.

I agree stonecircle, I had 2/3 very happily sharing for a long time but now they are preteens having a room each is making life much more harmonious. That would influence how I designed a room - perhaps a room that could be used as a utility now but could be used a bedroom with en-suite loo in the future?

I would hate to be without my downstairs loo and utility!

Random - it's interesting isn't it how you have to keep rethinking how your house works as your kids grow up. We're about to replace the shower in our en suite with a small bath/shower and replace the enormous bath in the family bathroom with a big shower enclosure. The bath was great when they were little but it never gets used now - they all trail through our bedroom to use the nice big shower in the ensuite - and DH and I are sick of it (especially after midnight or before we've woken up!)

I tend to use my 'playroom' as a dump all room as DD wants to bring all her crap toys into whatever room I'm trying to keep tidy. I wish we had a proper laundry room and a pantry, maybe the playroom will be getting a makeover

I totally agree about own bedrooms. My dcs are all under 5 so really want to share at the moment but I plan to convert the loft into two additional bedrooms and a bathroom when they are a bit older. Also agree that a spare room downstairs that can be used as a bedroom is really useful too as it can change with the needs of the family.

Playroom and a downstairs loo. We have our downstairs loo under the stairs and our rear extension as a playroom with massive storage space and a sofa bed for occasional guests. We have three 5 yr old so the second reception room is invaluable for breaking up fights, squabbles etc.