Toilet in utility?

[womanhuman]

I’m planning a kitchen/utility extension.

I have the option to have a decent laundry room and no extra toilet, or combine them so I have combined laundry room/toilet or have pokey utility and pretty pokey separate toilet.

If the toilet was separate you’d need to walk through the utility to it.

It’d be the third toilet in a five bed house. (There’s already a downstairs loo.)

What would you do?

One downstairs toilet is enough! Large utility would be my choice

Not have it. As someone who has a large house and a decent sized laundry room, we are happy with one downstairs loo in its own cloakroom space. I have a loo in a garden building which is useful when we are outside but other than that, we have 4 loos upstairs. We never have a queue for the cloakroom loo. I like my laundry room very much and wouldn’t want a loo in there. Would feel wrong to me. The possibility of smells unfitting for a Landry room would put me right off this idea! Don’t do it.

Large laundry.

Do you have a second shower already? If not I might be tempted to put one in... but maybe that's weird...

We’ve got two showers already.

I’m definitely veering towards large laundry because without a utility room I’ve been using a spare bedroom for a few years now and I’m used to having tons of space.

It just feels like a wasted opportunity if we don’t put loo in.

It’d be no-one’s first choice unless we were in the garden, but then I feel like we’re adding it to use for a couple of months.

Why do you need two downstairs loos?? Use the space for a decent sized laundry. Why is it a wasted opportunity if you don’t have a loo? More like a wasted opportunity not to have a decent laundry!

I don’t understand why you need two downstairs loos

It’s not that we need two downstairs loos it just feels like a five bed house ought to have a third...

Does two of the bedrooms being downstairs make a difference? (The existing loo is right next to them, this would be further away.)

It seems like a big compromise to me to put a loo in with the washing. 2 bedrooms being downstairs... I think one loo between them is in proportion.

Unless all your bedrooms are also on the ground floor then one downstairs loo is sufficient.

How about putting a downstairs shower in instead or a loo. Coukd be useful if you break your leg or an elderly relative needs to sleep downstairs for a while.

'instead OF a loo'

There’s already a full bathroom downstairs (with separate loo).

It’s an odd house. 😀

We had this dilemma and went for the large utility. No regrets, and we don't have another downstairs loo.

Depends how much time you spend in the garden (and the layout of the house). If this means little dc can pop in without traipsing wellies through the house into the hall, then I'd go for the extra toilet.
If it means teens can have their mates popping in to the toilet from their garden BBQs / parties - I'd put the toilet in.
If you have family or friends round to BBQ then put the toilet in.

I would, however, make it a separate room. Doesn't matter if it is small. I like to feel 'secure' in a toilet. I would feel very vulnerable using a toilet in a corner of a bigger room that is used for other things.
A utility room doesn't really need to be spacious - you aren't going to be sitting out there having a coffee or entertaining out there. It just needs to be functional / big enough for what you want to put in it.

If you already have a loo downstairs that’s enough. We have a utility loo on ground floor and I wish it were bigger to hang laundry in.

Thank you all for your input. Not having another loo would mean we’d have more room for coats and shoes by the back door too.

It’s one of those things, isn’t it - we’ve no need for another toilet now, it’s just wondering if we might need one as the kids get older...

One downstairs loo is enough!

Go for the big utility. I wouldn't combine them. Our utility is full, not just of washing machine and tumble dryer and all the accoutrements of laundry, but also loads of crap like vases, tea lights, spare crockery, glasses etc etc.

Actually, I had another idea last night - I figured out how we could fit it all in (I think) whilst having the toilet in a separate room.

It’d mean walking through the loo to get to the laundry room. Laundry room would be big enough for washer, dryer, gigantic heated clothes horse.

Is that too weird?

Seems odd! I’d still go for the large utility.

How many live in the house?
We have a 5 bedroom house with 4 toilets but only 3 people , too many toilets to clean!

I hate the thought of a loo coming off from the kitchen. I know a few houses where this is the only loo and it always makes me feel a bit iffy.

The loo wouldn’t be straight off the kitchen (in any scenario) - there’s a back door/hallway in between kitchen and whatever else goes out there.

There’s 4 of us.

You sound like you really want the toilet OP so go for it.

Personally I'd leave it. One downstairs loo is enough and yes it's weird to walk through the toilet to get the the utility. Not something I would like to be honest but each to their own.

In the old house we rented, that was actually the case. The downstairs loo, had a shower and also the laundry room was connected, but separated by a door. It was fine. Sometimes you have to make do with what you have. Although, if you have one bathroom down stairs thats enough. I would include another one on a different floor if you can. We have a 5 bedroom house and have 4 bathrooms. We are a family of 4 and I admit I love having all the bathrooms. If we build a basement, I will include a bathroom downstairs in the basement as well, making it a 5 bathroom house :)