Why can't the frig go on the south wall?

Well, it may look awkward, but if that's the best place for the door, then go for it. I have a small galley kitchen. Prior to the remodel, the bathroom opened outside the kitchen. When I remodelled, we removed a short wall that separated the kitchen from the entrance to the basement which is where the bathroom opened to. That brought the bathroom door opening directly into the kitchen opposite what is now my pot drawers. That was the only way I could get 3 feet extra space plus a little window into the kitchen. I don't notice any awkwardness with the bathroom opening into the kitchen - and often use the sink for a quick hand-wash as it's close at hand :) Sorry I don't have a photo showing what it looks like.

Thanks for the feedback. To housful's question, the south wall will have a small breakfast table we would like to sit. We have been sitting there for years and would like to keep it. Also the refigerator is pretty big to occupy that space.

But I want to talk to town's building dept. to see if there is any restrictions in terms of bathroom door.

-J

I'm going to chime in here as one of those people who likes as much separation as possible between toilet and food. Which is funny when you consider how low I am on the neatness/cleanliness obsession scale. My husband is pretty loosey goosey too, and when were house-hunting that was a deal-breaker for him. We live in the northeast where a lot of the Victorians -- our favorite -- would have a bathroom "addition" wedged into a corner of the kitchen, and we vetoed a lot of these on that basis alone. Oddly enough, we did end up buying a house with a bathroom carved out of the original kitchen (probably in the fifties), but only because the purchase price was low enough that we could afford to rip that bathroom out before we even moved in. We even went through great pains to make sure that its replacement -- a powder room under the stairs-- opened onto the hall and not the family room. So it's possible we're a lot more obsessive about this issue than most... but I think you are right to give it some very serious thought.

In fact, I'm just obsessive about this enough to suggest moving your bathroom sink to the outside of the toilet room. say where you have the short counter and the upper cab now, just to get the bathroom door even further away from the main part of the kitchen. (It would have side benefit of an even handier hand-washing spot for the cook, as per dancingcook's comment.) Of course, this wouldn't work if you were planning to have the door open INTO the bathroom...

Good luck.

I never thought about this, but in our current house, the half bath opens into the kitchen. Mind you, it's part of the kitchen that has stairs to the basement, and a door to outside, a few feet away from the actual kitchen part. But you can see the toilet if the door is open! Never bothered me - I think having a bathroom near to the back door is very impt for coming in dirty after gardening, or for kids to use, etc.

I do think your fridge location seems a bit awkward though, it's a long way from the kitchen. But you gotta work with what you have!

I rarely comment on layouts as I just don't have the time, but I am going to echo the sentiments of viva99. I think it is just plain gross to have an entrance to a toilet that near my fridge and counter. I would do away with the bathroom and possibly convert that area to a nice pantry with a cute sink. I am all for extra bathrooms, but not when they are technically in the kitchen. Gross!

I guessed on the dimensions, but what about elongating the powder room and stretching the kitchen.

... has your fridge always been this far from the rest if the "triangle" (range and sink and prep space)? I'm curious, because said you've been enjoying sitting at a table on that south wall for years, but I'm wondering if it was always at the expense of having a more conveniently placed fridge. I have done a lot of space-squeezing in my own kitchen just to get a small eating table in there, but I don't think I would personally be happy having so far removed.

OTOH, if that's what you're already living with and enjoying, then you should ignore my comment.

..."having the fridge so far removed"

And that layout from houseful looks pretty ingenious to me.

Just wanted to chime in and agree with willis13.
I also have a half-bath that opens into the kitchen. Never bothered any visitors, and never bothered me.
Given that that's the only place for the half-bath, (and, in my case, serves as a first aid station and a place for washing up after gardening or woodworking) I wouldn't worry about opening into the kitchen.
I'd be more concerned about the walking distance from the frig to the prep area. However, if the frig is there for easier access by non-cooks, then leave your plan as is, provided code is either met or your house is grandfathered otherwise.

I just purchased a home, which had the powder room entrance in the kitchen. I also couldn't bare the thought of this, and we wound up relocating the room entry into a closet which is off the dining room (basically, a butler's pantry of sorts). Now, you'll enter the large closet (we're taking off the door of the closet) and turn right, and enter into the bathroom. It gives the effect of entering a small "hallway" off the dining area, instead of actually entering from the room itself. I'm still debating whether or not taking off the door is the right thing to do. My architect thinks so, but maybe putting on a door with opaque glass might be better, just to give the illusion of 2 place to go through, instead of one before entering the toilet area since there still is the problem of someone sitting at the far end of the dining table being able to see the door to the bathroom (it will, of course, be kept close when not in use).

Not perfect, but 100% better than where it was (or, the original entry which was IN the dining room - the prior owner had it relocated to the kitchen).

Plan B - How about add a 'fake' door in front of bathroom door with some decorative glass. It at least make people think there is a separation between kitchen and bathroom:

Plan C - we will push the bathroom door further and change the toilet, sink position witch requires lots of plumbing work and $$. Is it worth to do?

I would endorse your intent to check with your local planning commission. Code here (near Philadelphia) requires two doors between the bathroom and kitchen--which is proving a bit of a hassle for us too. Good luck.

I like the fridge placement better in your second new plan. How wide is the passage to the toilet? Is it wide enough to be useful for something?

What a lot of people do is make a recess so that a standard depth fridge can be flush with the rest of the cabinetry. Can you move the wall between the windows over ... Oh, that's Houseful's plan. It's a good one! You could combine that idea with your first new plan above, and have the sink outside of the toilet area, and have your two doors. That is, do something halfway between both of your new plans, taking the best from both.

I think your first new plan is a great solution for the powder room issue, to get the necessary two doors, but that fridge outside of the kitchen proper looks like my nightmare. One of the most important considerations in my kitchen remodel was bringing the fridge a lot closer to the cooking area, and mine wasn't as hard to get to. Please think that through really well, and try pretend cooking with that location, before you go further forward with it.