Storage or Downstairs cloakroom

[Jollygoodride]

We are looking at buying a house, with only 1 storage room downstairs, which we would like to convert to a cloakroom.

I've always wanted a toilet downstairs and would rather visitors are not going upstairs all the time.

However, would it be a crazy idea considering that's literally the only storage space internally.
There's storage outside and a garage as well, so not too bad I suppose.

What would be in do?

Last sentence should be what would you do?

Id have a cloakroom too for the same reasons as you. You can be clever with storage in other places but you cant hide a loo under a table!

I wouldn’t get rid of the only indoor storage - you really don’t want to be schlepping out to the garage every time you need the vacuum cleaner or the clothes horse; and whilst it’s easy enough to be religious about putting coats in wardrobes after wear, stuff like bicycle helmets and wellies and rain gear and backpacks really need to be in a cupboard or your hallway begins to look like a jumble sale.

If you have enough visitors that a downstairs cloakroom would really make a difference (for the record, I have a lot of visitors and have never found it an issue) then I’d keep looking for a house which already has one or one which has more storage.

Cloakroom. Then either get shed in garden for storage (what are you storing)? Or declutter - maybe you don't need the storage space after all.

Thanks all. @onedayoranother I'm just thinking of where we would store things like the vacuum cleaner, brush, mop etc.

@ComtesseDeSpair we found the perfect house but the vendors changed their mind. Unfortunately there just isn't anything else on the market and we've been looking again for 6 months now.
Looks like I'd have to sacrifice either storage or cloakroom

Toilet /cloakroom all day every day

We found a doinwsrairs loo invaluable with kids

Someone needs a poop whilst someone else is bathing

Someone comes home soaked in mud amd snow after a winter play

Someone comes home covered in sick and too yucky to go upstairs

Kids come home from hockey or football practice and too mucky to go upstairs via carpet

The dog !

There are multiple reasons why a downstairs loo is invaluable - but the number of folk in the house , and the number of small people / elderly people is key . All it takes is one of you to slip over on the ice tomrrow and that’s it … you can survive without having g a kitchen or a bed even … but a loo is essential on every floor

No debates !

How big is the garage? Could you convert the back part into a utility and downstairs loo?

Downstairs toilet is invaluable at so many different stages of life and for so many reasons.

Is the garage attached to the house? Surely that is all the storage you need there ?
There are all sorts of option for storage (including upstairs) - depends so much on the configuration of your house, and who lives in your house and how you use it, but the options are there, whereas a downstairs toilet is SUCH a positive addition to any house.

We have a downstairs loo and a shower room downstairs.
Small children needing the loo
Grubby children from the beach or mud
Convenient for all of us
DH's grandma
Visitors not needing to go upstairs
PIL
DH with his broken foot
DH filthy from football
Me filthy from gardening
Hosing down wellies

Is there any scope for a small porch-type extension - either front or rear to incorporate a loo? Or converting part of the garage on the assumption it won't be for the car?

Cloakroom.

All day long.

How big is it, could you split it with a stud wall, we have a small storage room and toilet at the back of the kitchen, the storage room is handy for boots, brooms etc and also provides an extra room between the kitchen and toilet

@LuluBlakey1

How big is the garage? Could you convert the back part into a utility and downstairs loo?

We've done exactly this - used about a third of the existing garage to make into a utility and a separate cloakroom. We've also converted the remaining section of the garage into a study as I'll be wfh when I go back to work after Mat Leave. Will be getting a shed at some point to hold the lawnmower etc.

Could you get something like this fitted for the bit under the bottom of your stairs then convert the rest into a cloakroom. That way you can tuck a hoover and some shoes etc away

Loo, definitely. We had a tall cupboard built in the kitchen that housed our vacuum, ironing board, iron and mop and bucket. You've just got to be clever.

Downstairs cloakroom for me

I think if you can fit one a downstairs loo is always a good idea, it's the kind of thing you miss when you don't have it. There's bound to be somewhere else you can use for storage, maybe check out houzz or Pinterest for unusual or innovative storage ideas.

The garage is a good idea but it's out at the back on the side, so you have to go through the kitchen, and through the garden to get to the garage.

You've all given some great ideas. think I'll look at converting one of the kitchen cupboards (there is loads) to a tall cupboard.

Thanks all

Cloakroom, and throw away most of what you were considering storing. I moved house once and created flooring in the loft to store my precious belongings. 16 years later I moved out of that house and went into the loft to retrieve all the said belongings I hadn't touched since the day it went up there.

I would opt for the Cloakroom, so practical and handy, and I’m glad that we chose a house with one already installed, as it can be an expensive job to retro fit one if you have to have all the drains put in first, around 11k quote recently received by a neighbour.
Some people opt for the Saneflow Macerator type of toilet that’s designed to pump the solid waste out through a standard sink drain exit, but these are never very successful, and are prone to blockages and are also quite loud due to the motor needed to liquidise the solid wast before it is pumped. They are however useful in situations where a Downstairs toilet becomes essential, for Elderly relative care or Disabled living, where they are often fitted by the local council Social services department using a means tested Grant to cover the cost.
A skilled craftsman in the building trade can often find and open up small voids around a house that make handy storage areas which otherwise go unused. We opened up the side lower half of our staircase, and gained a 2M X 1.5M floorspace with a sloping height from the lower stairs in doing so. Good for storing the Vacuum Cleaner, shoe rack on the back of the door, and space for the school bags and shopping boxes. The rest goes in the Garage or the outside Shed.
I very much doubt that after having a Downstairs Cloakroom-in the Hallway, we would ever live in another property without one, especially that we have young Grandchildren around most Days.

@Snow1n I want that and I don’t have stairs!