Only bathroom by the kitchen: would you consider a house with this layout?

[Wannabemamas]

Came across a few of these as sadly our budget won't go far in our area. The toilet being right against the kitchen puts me off and also the lack of bathroom upstairs. AIBU?

@JingleSnowmanTree - yes you are correct, the regulations don't formally require a bathroom not to open directly off a kitchen, though as you can see from other replies on this thread this would be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. A house being designed or converted today would not have this arrangement and in my experience it's not particularly common even in Victorian conversions - when bathrooms are added at the back there is usually a lobby or utility area between the kitchen and the bathroom.

Ugh! Imagine trying to eat your breakfast knowing someone was having a dump just a few feet away.

This is a common layout in smaller Victorian and Edwardian houses with 2-3 bedrooms in London as the houses weren't built with indoor bathrooms. As PP said you should be able to build a loft extension to put an additional bedroom and bathroom in as the roofs should have enough pitcg.

Also I have lived in a house that garden was next to a commuter railway line. Due to the number of tracks there were only a few trains per hour. The main issue for a couple of years were that the train announcements were so loud you could hear them all over the area.

I wouldn’t like it tbh especially as there’s no window in the bathroom.

I think it might be hard to sell when the time comes. Unless the price is exceptionally good value for your area.

Oddly the people I know with that layout have large living rooms some of which were originally two rooms so they eat in there.

They’d be the whole length of the kitchen away, it’s a galley kitchen. You’d eat in the living/dining room.

You get used to it; I’d want to make sure the bathroom was properly built and heated.

Forgot to say on my above post but if it came to a choice between this layout or garden backing onto a trainline I would choose the trains.

I do like trains, though.

it's a pretty standard layout. wouldn't bother me too much.
I might consider changing the shower room in the space between the bedrooms so that it becomes accessible from the landing.

The shower room is accessible from the landing.

I've sold houses with this layout when I used to flip them. If they are common for the area then it's not an issue. I personally wouldn't, but the ones I sold appealed to first time or second time buyers on a certain budget.

The bathroom off kitchen debate is the same for me and en-suites. I can't stand the thought of a toilet basically in the bedroom.

I know a fair few people in houses like this…they are fine and sell on fine as that is what is in the area. Depending on lay out you may be able to do a loft conversion or squeeze in an upstairs loo.

I'd wait it out - if you're looking in an area with lots of terraces, it's likely that more will come on the market very soon. And you may get lucky and find one with a two-storey extension at the back – and therefore an upstairs bathroom.

I'd love a Trainline at the bottom of my garden - no neighbours!! A friend has one and I am deeply envious

It depends how busy the line is I suppose and if it makes the house shake, but I associate trains with happy holidays and travels and find the sound very soothing

@Anothernick

the OP has a lot to consider, I just think it's important they have the correct facts.

I said I wouldn't buy it, I said I love the trains, I wouldn't buy a new build either. It's hard though when your budget doesn't stretch too far, to work out your compromises.

I'd love a Trainline at the bottom of my garden - no neighbours!!
And they won't be building a tower block of 'stunning luxury apartments' on it.

My friends house was like this, I won’t lie it was far from optimal. If you need the loo in the night or a quick pee early morning, you’ve to go downstairs, and to shower or bath you’ve to go through the kitchen holding your clothes and undies. I could live with it, as we all could really, but it isn’t good.

I’d look at putting a loo upstairs or possible loo & shower, you’d need 4ft x6ft and could possibly take from over stairs and into one bedroom ?

But then it will cost more, surely?

Diesel or electric train ?
One train an hour at peak or all through the night ?

Diesel would be a no outright

Exactly

Easy to get an extractor fan fitted into the bathroom and it will help stop damp too.

Very normal in lots of places, including Portsmouth. I lived in these types of houses for years and yes, you walk through the kitchen in and out the bathroom in your towel.

Fine if you're on your own or close to the other person in the house, not great in a family IMO.

If that was all I could afford, I'd run with it.

This layout in my area is common, loads of terraces in both very expensive and less expensive areas.

What matters most for resale is location, not layout. If someone wants a terrace in a specific area, they know the bathroom is likely to be downstairs.