Removing (too small) downstairs loo and replacing it with a coats cupboard?

[ThatThereWoman]

I live in a Victorian Terrace house which currently has a tiny downstairs toilet at the end of the passage. It's so small that only the children can sit down - and even they prefer to go upstairs (the hand washbasin is too close - I suppose it could be repositioned).

We also have a lot of coats and shoes in the passage way, and a plethora of brushes, mops etc in the kitchen.

I am wondering whether I could repurpose the loo into a multipurpose cupboard. And achieve my dream of a clutter free hallway.

The question isn't whether it would be a problem for my family, but if/when I sell the house on? There are 6 bedrooms, so I assume people would expect there to be a loo downstairs.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/hemnes-hat-rack-white-60243798/
with the matching shoe rack might look ok judging by your pics

Don't get rid of it!

Put in a smaller compact loo. You can even get corner ones.

The sink is in the wrong place, it would be better turned around, with the wider edge against the largest wall. Or even a corner sink.

Put a large mirror in it too to give it the illusion of space.

What's in the other cupboard? Could that be used for coats?

The shortest projection close coupled toilets are around 600mm. How far does your current toilet stick out? We used the Tavistock Micra in our new loo under the stairs. It’s tight but we felt it was important to have a downstairs loo.

As PP said I think you could gain from rotating the basin onto the far wall.

Unfortunately I can’t help with the coat problem. We have exactly the same and there’s only two of us in the house. We need to be more strict about only storing one coat each in the hallway - everything else could go into wardrobes/cupboards upstairs.

For dog stuff, we’ve allocated part of a kitchen cupboard to treats, collars etc. Could you do the same?

The photo of my pup, whilst I was painting the woodwork shows how little floor space we have. It’s a very slim room under the stairs (that’s a miniature dachshund for scale )

Even though the basin unit is really close to the loo... having it side on means it doesn’t interfere with leg space.

Perhaps the key difference is that we don’t have a cellar so we’ve been able utilise more length of the understair space?

www.houzz.co.uk/photos/home-renovation-in-northfields-w13-modern-cloakroom-london-phvw-vp~152711459

Something like this looks like a similar floor space so might give an idea of how you can fit things in. If you search on Houzz for ’toilet understairs’ you get some ideas.

I would add some freestanding wardrobe space to a bedroom.

We have just had this put in to our tiny cupboard under the stairs

@LauraJayne15

the basin looks quite obtrusive, but is that a trick of perspective? What are its dimensions?

how big is the room?

Totally understand the narrowness plus clutter.

Put a second and maybe third row of pegs in under the original, at child height. That sorts coats.

For random bits and bobs and shoes, put in a small bookcase or set of shelves, either tall and slim next to hooks, or low and wide under hooks area. Put a couple of small open storage boxes on a shelf or two, either by category (hats, gloves, dog) or by owner (DC1, DC2, dog) whichever works best for you.

Can't take a pic of mine right now. I spent £7 on a pre made row of pegs from Wilko. The small bookcase was serving no purpose elsewhere so shoved it there. And the 2 boxes are about 4x6in, so small, but deep at about 5in, £1 each in Ikea iirc. Hats and gloves. Also have a smaller one for sunglasses.

I agonised over a proper shoe storage unit but realised the goal could be accomplished much more cheaply and with less committment

Have any of the people recommending loos with built in basins actually tried one? I find them very impractical because to reach the basin you have to reach over the loo which may be too far for small DCs (I’m assuming there’s not going to be space to stand beside the loo because if there was you wouldn’t need the space saving loo). Also the ones I have used are linked to the flush, ie when you flush the loo the refill water runs automatically out of the top tap and through the basin, so it’s cold and you only get that pre-measured amount. Wouldn’t be great if, for example, you had to clean up after a leaky tampon!

@PigletJohn I think that’s the perspective in the photo but I guess it could be obtrusive for someone more portly. It’s difficult to get a good shot in such a small space. The basin unit is 200 x 400 and the room measurements are 1600 x 780. Like I said it’s slim and I’d rather the space was 100mm wider, but there’s enough space for us.

@Blibbyblobby we were adamant that we didn’t want a combined wc and basin for the reasons you’ve mentioned. It also seems weird to lean over a toilet to wash your hands. There’s definitely no room to stand to the side in our downstairs loo. If there was then we’d have hung a separate basin there.

Great advice from Boob, hopefully we can see a pic at some point? Your set up sounds excellent and truly resourceful

Thank you all. I agree, I'm not that keen on the washbasins that are on top of the loo. I might try to put a basin on the other wall and look at smaller toilets.

As for the hall space, I'd rather have some sort of cupboard/shallow wardrobe so that the coats aren't visible at all. But I could have a longer line of hooks so that there are fewer coats on each one. And then some sort of basket/bench arrangement underneath.

I'm painting the passage shades of black so it feels as though I need dark furniture or similarly painted furniture. I've been out the last 2 evenings, and in my absence, the coats and shoes have taken over the whole passage.

I'd move the coat hooks to nearer the door, where the bike or scooter is, as they currently hang over a radiator cover in the narrowest part of the hall by the look of things. Add a shelf above and give the seven year old a double hook at a height she can use. I put this from IKEA in a small bedroom instead of a wardrobe - it's Mackapar Good value for money.

They do similar in black too.

How about this then to go with the black? www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/pinnig-coat-rack-with-shoe-storage-bench-black-20329789/
Its quite old school and looks like it could contain a fair bit, you could add another shoe bench as shown in one of the photos.

I like that rack @trickyex

The coat hooks are currently over some really rubbish shoe storage from made.com - it's all broken and made are taking it back and refunding me.

I'll have a think about moving it all to the front.

I think it would look fine if you have functional storage there (at the front) and alter the loo to make it feel more spacious. Perhaps some tiny led fairy lights and/or bright art prints on the wall might be a good distraction from the clobber.
IKEA has some decent shoe benches which means the shoes are hidden under a top layer which looks neater (and gives a surface for bags/sitting on to get shoes on/off etc.

As the kids get older they spend longer and longer in on the loo and in the bathroom & shower if you don't have two Loo's then it would become more useful when the older the kids get even if you can't fit on it . its better then nothing . you can get some really small compact Loo's now .