A small first floor half bath + laundry - What size?

8 years ago

What are the minimum size/dimensions one could get away with for a first floor half bath with enough room to put a washer/dryer side by side. Toilet and wide vanity with large mirror.

Purpose:

To house laundry area on first floor close to kitchen and living spaces but not in your face.
To provide downstairs toilet for daytime/guest usage.
To provide a vanity with room to do hair and makeup fix on way out of the house in the mornings/anytime.

Not looking for anything big or fancy, just enough space to get all of this in in a functional and ergonomic fashion.

Looking at a rectangular shape - deeper rather than wider from the entrance. Max possible depth 10ft (internal would end up at 9ft depth I think).

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Comments (3)

User
8 years ago
Toilet needs 30". Vanity, 30"would be adequate. A washer and dryer front loading set with a counter on top so you have some place to fold or store stuff needs 60". So, 60"W x 120"long (internal dimensions). You could get away with 30" less if you did a stacked unit, but you wouldn't have any room for storage of laundry supplies.

should do it.
plan2remodel
8 years ago
I had a similar arrangement before my remodel. W/D (not stacked) were behind the bifold doors. Toilet (hidden in this photo) was perpendicular to the vanity. The space was about 6'4" x 12'6". The laundry closet was deep enough for the W/D that I purchased 30 years ago, but not deep enough for newer machines. The toilet and vanity were tight, but within code.

There was no space for sorting laundry. I put a portable laundry holder thingy in the hallway in front of the bifold doors. I used a living room chair for folding clothes and matching up socks.

Remodel is just finished and I don't have a good photo of it yet. I moved my W/D to the 2nd floor hallway, near all the bedrooms - more convenient for me. I expanded the powder room to include a full shower (which is used daily) on the exterior wall (window is inside shower). The toilet was moved 6" to make space for the shower. The vanity is where the washer used to be.
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Why not conceal them behind a false cabinet front? The dryer could actually be built into a cabinet with a counter on top and a bi-fold door in front. The top-loading washer might be a little trickier but you could have a special counter made that is on a pneumatic hinge that lifts up(sort of like a toy chest lid) when you need to do laundry but otherwise acts as a countertop. I suppose if you're only concerned with parties and such, you could build a cabinet surround for the washer with brackets on the top to place a removeable "counter" when you have guests over but otherwise store it off to the side. This might get in the way less than a counter that you have to lift up each time you want to load the washer. Have you thought of switching to a front-load washer which could then be concealed easily in a cabinet like the dryer? I've been in a kitchen where I didn't even know there was a washer and dryer because they were built into the cabinets- but they were both front-loading. The other option- can you put up sliding or bifold doors to closet the whole thing in? Or else!! get one of those hospital curtain type tracks and hang a lovely curtain across the whole thing. This way you can simply slide it off to the side when you want to do laundry but could otherwise select a very pretty curtain to hide it away. Amy Fremont, CA
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Thank you all again for the feedback. I'm really leaning towards sacrificing the laundry room and going with a powder room. The more I think about it and think about the way I do laundry, I believe the ROI (for me) on a separate powder room would be greater. I'm attaching a drawing, but I there really isn't much to work with. The area outlined it red is initially going to be a family room, but in a couple of years it will convert to an in-law-suite, so we want/need to keep that area separate the way it is (so ignore the bathroom there, that's part of the suite). The room labeled with the red L and blue B is the current laundry room, proposed change to powder room/mudroom. The alcove with the blue L is where I am thinking of moving the laundry, and the red X in the area to the far right is the location of the main floor bathroom in the existing house. And yes, we have walls, I just didn't draw them out! :-)
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Original poster here, adding a photo of current state.
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transnationalq
Original Author
8 years ago
I just downloaded SketchUp. I have a file for the current layout bt will try to add what I would like to get comments on for the new layout.

At the moment, the laundry is in the basement and I'm considering moving it to the first floor. I just don't want a tight space on the first floor though. If it can't be done with enough space, I'd much rather keep it downstairs and instead, make the basement feel a bit nicer by getting a newer concrete floor in, possibly polish it (could be done later) and get a proper laundry setup going down there ie; Ironing table, laundry bins, folding table (already have), some shelving or cabinets for detergents etc. In fact, now that I've listed all of that, its not going to be possible to find that kind of space on the first floor anyway.

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A small first floor half bath + laundry - What size?

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plan2remodel

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transnationalq
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A small first floor half bath + laundry - What size?

Comments (3)

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plan2remodel

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transnationalqOriginal Author

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transnationalq
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