Okay, guys. You’ve already been warned that if you don’t like playing with floor plans and thinking of all the possibilities, you might want to take a break from the blog and come back in a week or so. By then, I’ll probably have all the decisions made, finished my studio, and moved on to our new bedroom projects. I also have my workshop scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. Hooray!
But for now, I still had things to discuss about the floor plan and the possibilities. Last weekend, I sat down with Matt and laid everything out on the table. I wanted him to understand all the possibilities and decisions that needed to be made, and to give him the opportunity to ask any questions. I wanted to see if he had any opinions at all about the orientation of our house, how each area could be used, and if he saw any accessibility issues with any of the plans or possibilities.
At first, he didn’t seem to have any strong opinions. But after talking a little bit, he actually started expressing some strong opinions about a few things. I was shocked! The two things he expressed strong opinions about were (1) how to use the guest room once we moved into our new bedroom, and (2) where to put our new workout area.
For the new workout area, Matt wants to build a little room in the back of our bathroom. For the guest room, he really likes the idea of it being a laundry room and walk-in closet. So here’s what we’re looking for…
The room at the back of the bathroom doesn’t have to be huge. It just needs to fit a few pieces of exercise equipment, but I also want it to be full of windows like a mini sunroom. I love this idea because it eliminates the outside door from our bathroom. I would have been willing to live with that outside door in the bathroom if I had to, but having an outside door in the bathroom seems kind of awkward. But if we add a mini sunroom/workout room, that room will obviously have an outside door, and the door in the bathroom will be a pocket door that matches the pocket door to the bedroom, which was the plan all along.
Next, as for the laundry room and closet, he wants it all to stay in one big room. I discussed building a wall and separating it into a closet area in the front of the house, accessible from the bedroom, and turning the back half of the room into a laundry room, accessible from the hallway. He didn’t like that at all. He wants it all in one big room, and that’s fine with me. Since he has a strong opinion about it, and I could have been okay with that anyway, we’ll keep it all in one big room.
What he didn’t have a strong opinion on (or any input on) was the hallway bathroom. So I’m still figuring out what to do with that. But as you can see in the floor plan above, I’m seriously considering removing that bathroom and expanding the studio bathroom into a guest bathroom that would occupy part of the current pantry area. That would leave me with a much larger guest bathroom and a much smaller (but still good-sized) pantry.
I don’t know if this is the exact arrangement of the bathroom, but it will be a full bathroom with a shower and/or bath. This way, my studio can easily be used as a guest bedroom if needed, and our guests can have a full private bathroom.
This would free up the current bathroom in the hallway for storage. This would be very helpful because the only thing I still lack is storage for Matt’s wheelchair, Hoyer lift, etc. This small bathroom area would be perfect for that. If we do this, it would also turn the entire side of the house past the opening in the music room into a master suite. I love this idea.
So, the plans are going well. I was very pleased to get Matt’s input. At least two decisions were easier for me to make because I knew he had strong opinions about them. It wasn’t easy to get those opinions from him, and it took some convincing, but once he made his decisions, he was completely committed to them. I’m very happy with those decisions, and if I can calm the situation down in my mind, we’ll have a complete and final plan.
Update: Just a word about converting our entryway bathroom into a laundry room…
I have considered this option, but there are several reasons that have made me decide not to go in this direction. When it comes down to it, I see absolutely no benefit (neither for me nor for my future owner) in this option.
First, I like the idea of having my laundry room in a large, spacious room, rather than in a small room. Second, I don’t like seeing Matt’s gear scattered around when it’s not in use. If I have the chance, I’d rather not have it in a nice closet area or a nice laundry room. Since I have a small room available where it can be stored when it’s not in use, it makes sense to me.
So it certainly makes sense for me to put the laundry room in the bedroom, and turn the hallway bathroom into a storage area. Is there any benefit to the future owner if I turn the hallway bathroom into a laundry room? Not really.
If you convert a hallway bathroom into a laundry room, a bedroom into a huge closet/storage area, and then a future owner wants to convert that closet/storage area back into a guest room, that means the guest room won’t have an accessible bathroom. So their only option is to convert the laundry room back into a guest bathroom. Then they’ll have to find a new location for the laundry room.
So the situation for the future owner is the same no matter what I do now. If I put the laundry where I want it (in the great room) and turn the small bathroom into a storage room, and then the future owner wants to convert that room back into a guest bedroom, they have to convert the storage room back into a bathroom and find a place for the laundry room. If I convert the bathroom into a laundry room and the bedroom into a closet/storage area, and the future owner wants that room to be a guest bedroom, they have to convert the laundry room back into a guest bedroom and find a place for the laundry room. They are in the same situation no matter which way I go. No matter what I do now, if they want that great room to be a bedroom, they will turn the small room back into a bathroom, and have to find a new place for the laundry room. So I prefer to make the decision that is best for me while we have this house. My choice would be the great laundry room/closet, and store Matt’s gear in its own small storage area.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my home decorating and project journey, renovating and decorating the 1948 home my husband Matt and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and can’t do any physical labor, so I do most of the work around the house myself. You can learn more about me here.
