Adding 2nd bathroom downstairs?

[Lubilu28]

So we are already in the process of fitting the bathroom in I just wanted your thoughts?

We have recently had a downstairs extension to the back of our traditional 3 bed 1930s house to create a large kitchen/diner with a little snug area. The old kitchen we are turning into a bathroom/laundry room. We were going to separate this room and have a utility room and small downstairs loo but decided to keep it as one large space to be able to fit a bath in there. We only have a very small bathroom upstairs with just a shower and with our 3 year old and 1 on the way we really, really need a bath. My 3 year old doesn’t like the shower so we have to bathe him in a baby bath in the shower 🙈

We are not planning on moving for many years so wanted to make it work for us but would this put you off?

TIA

Yes. I really would not like this combination. It suits you but I think it’s awkward. I don’t like laundry and loos together. Sorry. I would try and enlarge your bathroom and get a bath upstairs and try not to make decisions based on the whims of a 3 year old.

I'd expect a family home to have room for a bath. In other countries the norm is washing machine in bathroom rather than kitchen so isn't so odd. It is a compromise but I don't think an unreasonable one. Could you try and keep things flexible I.e arrange plumbing so it's easy to split the room in the future ? Or maybe easy to plumb the washing machine in the kitchen.

I love having a downstairs bathroom. We use it all the time when we don't want to disturb the rest of the household - it's perfect when someone leaves the house early for work or when you're tag teaming at the weekend so someone gets a lie in.

I think a utility room with an added bath and loo might look a bit odd if I'm honest. Your suggestion sounds very practical but I would style it as a bathroom with WM and TD either stacked or with a bit of worktop over, rather than as a utility room with added bath and loo.

I used to live in a flat where bathroom contained bath, loo, sink and washing machine. It was nice and compact bathroom, I kept some things on top of washing machine, very convenient. So having washing machine in the bathroom won’t bother me.
I would be more concern about heating. People often do big bathrooms but keep small radiators. And downstairs is usually colder.
Also taking a small child downstairs for a bath is much less convenient then bathing him upstairs, near the bedroom area. But for the right price I might survive this.

Also taking a small child downstairs for a bath is much less convenient then bathing him upstairs

I don't follow this. Just bath them before you take them up. In the morning, at least one of us will make a cuppa or breakfast before showering, so that person just grabs the downstairs shower. Literally no extra steps.

I do realise my view on this is a bit unfashionable, but I think it's so much more convenient than having the second bathroom as an en suite.

We have a downstairs bathroom which is very common where we live. Having a bath will make your life easier and your house more attractive for sale in the future.

attache that’s exactly what we are doing. Behind the door the washing machine and tumble will be stacked with a tall larder unit next to it for extra storage and to hide a laundry basket. So as you walk in it just looks like an ordinary bathroom.

bubblesbuddy we looked at making our upstairs bathroom bigger but it would of cost too much money and we would Have to lose part of the bedroom which is already on the small side. And we are not doing it on the ‘whim’ for our 3 year old, trying to get 2 young children bathed at the same time would be extremely difficult.

greenlynx that was also a worry of mine so we have made sure we’ve got a powerful enough radiator in there.

sorenipples my husband is a dab hand at diy including plumbing and I do think that if we do end up selling in the future or as a family we decide we no longer need the bath we will probably turn it into a proper utility room.

Thanks for the comments as it has put my mind at ease about our decision.

I would 100% put a bath in the downstairs bath/utility room. Bath wiht small kids is easier than a shower, and a bath downstairs is better than no bath at all.

Just have a nice built in cupboard unit around your WM and TD and it just looks like a normal bathroom anyway.

It sounds great to me OP.

Is the upstairs bathroom definitely too small for a bath? Even a very small one? If so, then I'd probably put one downstairs. Generally speaking, though, I think it'd look more usual to have the bath upstairs and a shower room downstairs.

JoJoSM2 it is very small. We could squeeze it in but it will make the room so cramped and would mean a big shift around with the toilet and sink and for the sake of just adding it downstairs will save a lot of time and money. X