Layout help please

[tentative3]

We have a mid terrace early Victorian house which has twice been extended. For various outing reasons we are getting rid of the utility room completely. We will no longer have that space to play with. The kitchen faces due south and it seems a real shame that someone put a downstairs shower room in that space.

Can anyone see an alternative layout in the kitchen which would allow us to retain a downstairs loo and put the washing machine somewhere? The shower will go, it's never used and not needed. We would love to open up the second extension by removing the shower room but if we can't the washing machine will take the place of the shower.

Our initial thought was to put everything on the opposite side of the room to where it currently is but having measured the space it's only 72cm from to the start of the french doors and I don't think that's enough space for a loo by the time you add in the wall which would be needed. There's a step up between the kitchen area and the second extension where the shower room is.

Can you move the door into the galley part of the kitchen to make it a corridor with toilet and utility off it?

Sadly not, but good idea. The house is listed and the conservation officer doesn't care too much what we do out the back but the original parts of the house are much trickier to do anything with.

Do you need the door that opens to the outside at the side of the galley kitchen? Could you not put a downstairs loo there and use the French doors as your only rear entrance?

Yes, I'd love to get rid of it as it renders the space behind useless but it opens out to a teeny tiny walled courtyard which has a drain in it so we need to retain access. There's no other access to it.

Oh how annoying! I guess your only option is to make the downstairs loo smaller by removing the shower (maybe even get one of those space-saving hand basins?) and moving it as close to the door as possible while leaving a corridor to the bathroom. Or could you turn the window in the lounge into a nice door out to it?