Can you mark the location and orientation of the toilet?

If you want the kitchen to open into the family room, you really have no choice but to move the laundry and bathroom to the other side of the house and put the kitchen in their current place. Why can't you move the toilet? Also, is the south wall "view" a passthrough to another room, or a window with a view? Is this floorplan the entire floor, or are there other rooms missing?

Thank you benjesbride and biondanonima. Here is an updated drawing w the toilet info. The contractor said that a 3" toilet drain tube makes it "inadvisable" to move the toilet. That said, the plumbing is just under the floor in the crawl space so you'd think it could be moved without blowing the budget. The floorplan is the entire view, the south wall is sliding doors to a deck.

Hm. Having to leave that toilet in place really limits your options. I would probably start by getting a second or third opinion on moving the toilet and how much it might cost. Was the old kitchen in the top right corner of the drawing (NE corner)? Just wondering in terms of whether there is already water/drainage there.

Do you want to keep the deck door on the west side of the house? I assume it leads to the same deck as the sliders on the south side?

Is it feasible to move the washer dryer upstairs? Do you prefer them on the main?

Would you consider putting your kitchen in the bottom left space of your plan?

Thanks Biondanomima. I will get a second opinion on the toilet. The kitchen was against the west wall, the northeast corner was a bedroom but it has some pipes because the water heater closet was in there. Yes, the deck is wrap around so both go to the same place. We could definitely close off that door.

Hi benjesbride. If we move the w/d upstairs we have to add some more support under the washer, take away half of the master closet to create the laundry, plus I'm a little paranoid about pipes bursting now (we had braided water lines but the pipe below that is what burst). Maybe I can put them in the bathroom inside of a custom cabinet or in a linen closet? Thanks again for helping me with ideas.

Thanks mark_rachel. I hadn't thought about that. I'd probably consider it but I am not creative enough to see how it would work - it seems like it would push the family area away from the sliders that have the water view.

If the toilet can be moved, I would be inclined to move bathroom and laundry to the NE corner and put the kitchen in the NW corner. A large L shape with an island would work well - you could stop the one side of the L at the deck door, or close off the deck door and extend it further into the living space (if you wanted). Depending on the size of the kitchen, you might even be able to incorporate that central post into the island design.

If you can't move the toilet, perhaps moving the laundry would help - if you put the laundry in the NE corner (maybe as part of a laundry/pantry room or something), you could use what is now the laundry room to create a new bathroom - it looks like if you built a rectangular room just large enough to encompass those two windows, you'd end up with a bathroom about 6' on the west wall by 10-11' on the north wall. That new 10-11' wall could then be one side of your kitchen L. Heck, with a little creativity you might be able to fit the laundry inside of a 6'x11' bath, then the NE corner could become a breakfast nook!

biondanonmia, do you think something like this would be good if the toilet can be moved? That's the stove on a diagonal in the corner, fridge on north wall, sink under west window. We can put the w/d into a custom cabinet in the bath. Thanks again. (diff software, not as precise but close)

Yes, that's what I had in mind, although I definitely wouldn't do a corner stove. The layout of appliances would depend upon the length of the sides of your L, windows, whether you close up that side door to the deck, etc. My first thought would be to put the fridge on the end closest to the living area, so that people aren't walking through your kitchen to get beverages and snacks all the time. Then you'd want the sink on the same west wall and the cooktop on the north wall (this would have to be tweaked to work around windows). You could consider a layout with the sink on the island, too.

Thank you benjesbride. Sorry that was not to scale - I threw it together quickly on an ipad app. I hadn't considered a flex room. Maybe I can leave it open for now and use it for a breakfast nook/reading area, and then if we sell it (or need a 1st floor bed) we can just put up a wall for it to be a bedroom.

Here's a mockup on your to-scale (ish?) drawing of a new bath that keeps the toilet in place, similar to what benjesbride was talking about. I didn't bother creating anything new for the laundry, but her drawing shows a very nice idea! You could also leave the NE corner open for a dining area or study area and erect a wall at a later time for a bedroom if desired, as you suggested.

The measurements are estimates but should be pretty close. The bathroom would be approximately 6x10.5. Theoretically, you could extend the bathroom farther to the east and extend your kitchen another foot or two, but I worry about creating a pinch point between the kitchen and the staircase. Incorporating that central post into the island could also create a tight squeeze between the island and bottom of the stairs depending on the actual measurement between the two.

Here's the other option, provided you can move the toilet. I didn't bother to make a new bath/laundry room, just moved the old one over, but you could definitely create a much nicer layout in the space you have. This gives you a lot more room for the kitchen, although you would still have the post floating out there in the middle of nowhere unless you extended the kitchen/island down to meet it.

By the way, what is under your staircase? Does it split at the top and go up to the second floor on both sides? Is the space underneath usable?

Thanks biondanonima. Creating a study in the NE corner is appealing - I work from home and could use it as an open home office. Under the staircase is open (used to be a closet, now the walls are gone). There are only steps on one side of the stairs right now, but w the wall down we'll put steps on the other side too (a wall used to cover that whole side). It's usable; we'd like to keep it somewhat open. The main entry is against the stairs and it has always felt kind of tight when you walk in.

Good to know about the staircase; sounds like you could easily incorporate a coat or broom closet under there, which you'll probably want. Do you know the exact measurements surrounding the post?

If that flex area can be kept at a minimum of 9' x 12' it'll be able to serve as both a dining area or if walled-off a legal bedroom.

Please create a new thread when you get a drawing from the architect with the new bathroom layout.