Home & Garden

Main Floor Renovation Plan - Seek for Advice

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 11th, 2017 4:52 pm

Poll: Which design do you prefer?

  • Total votes: 12. You have voted on this poll.
Plan 1
 
1
8%
Plan 2
 
0
0%
Plan 3
 
11
92%
Member
Apr 8, 2010
224 posts
82 upvotes
Toronto

Main Floor Renovation Plan - Seek for Advice

Hello all,

We are planning to renovate our house and move in afterwards. The problem with our current layout is there is no powder room on the main floor. Therefore, the focus is on squeezing a powder room somewhere. We hired a very reputable designer company and they came up with three plans.

Plan 1: They reshuffle the dinning room and the kitchen. Currently, the kitchen is on the right and the dining room is on the left. They put the powder room beside the dinning room.
Pros: Power room is at least not "in the kitchen" and the closet near the entrance is saved.
Cons: High cost.

Plan 2: They reshuffle part of the kitchen. The cooktop and built-in oven are moved to the left. The powder room is squeezed into the corner of the kitchen.
Pros: The power room is of decent size. Lower cost compares to Plan 1. The closet near the entrance is saved.
Cons: The power room is "in the kitchen", not sure if buyers will care when we resell it several years later.

Plan 3: They put the powder room in the closet near the entrance.
Pros: Lowest cost, since the kitchen is basically untouched. The powder room is away from the kitchen.
Cons: There is no closet on the main floor anymore. The living room is not a square anymore (a corner is cut).

Which one do you suggest? Please kindly evaluate the options both from the convenience and resell value perspectives. Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you.
Images
  • Option 1.jpg
  • Option 2.jpg
  • Option 3.jpg
Last edited by yalewon on Nov 9th, 2017 8:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
15 replies
Deal Fanatic
Nov 18, 2005
5111 posts
1546 upvotes
Kitchener
Plan 3 is what I would go with. Powder room in the kitchen would be awkward for guests
Can the stairs be moved a couple of feet south and fit it under the stairs?
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18944 posts
10527 upvotes
#3 by far. For resale having the powder room is important - paying to shuffle around your kitchen to achieve this may take away from any benefit in resale dollars. You won't even notice the loss of space in your living room and the extra wall that is put up will not be seen as "odd" by anyone but you who have seen it without.

I would also consider a pocket door to save space if that fits your aesthetic preferences.
Deal Fanatic
Dec 31, 2007
5252 posts
1905 upvotes
Richmond Hill
For some reason I can't make it out, is the arrow for the stairs indicating going up or down? I'm assuming up since you're saying the layout is main floor.

If so, what's underneath those stairs? Is it possible to put the powder room there?

#3 is what I would choose, but very reluctantly. If there space underneath the stairs is not really used, I would try to make that the powder room. I feel like even though distance wise it's still "close", the fact that the door opens into the hallway is at least better than opening right into the kitchen as in #1 & #2 (no pun intended).

Primarily because for myself, having the powder room door right beside the front entrance is really tight. Would also get rid of the not square living room problem.
Last edited by enwhyRFD on Nov 9th, 2017 10:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"Buy now, think later. This is the way."
Deal Addict
Feb 18, 2016
1808 posts
530 upvotes
Agree, go with #3. You don't want the powder room right off the kitchen or area where you'll be eating - guests or no guests.

This reminded me of the Flanders rebuild in the Simpsons. :)
Image
Banned
May 12, 2004
9756 posts
4136 upvotes
Ottawa
#2 is definitely not an option. I can just see people walk and while opening the door say “oh wow you’ve got a nice walk-in pantry...*opens door* oh my bad it’s a walk-in depositry.”
Member
Apr 8, 2010
224 posts
82 upvotes
Toronto
Thanks everyone for the advice.

The space under the staircase is very tight. It is basically a triangle (as oppose to a right trapezoid) if you see from the side.
Images
  • Staircase.PNG
Deal Fanatic
Dec 31, 2007
5252 posts
1905 upvotes
Richmond Hill
yalewon wrote: Thanks everyone for the advice.

The space under the staircase is very tight. It is basically a triangle (as oppose to a right trapezoid) if you see from the side.
Hold up. Sure it's a triangle, but the only time anyone's standing is to use the vanity, which could be at the tallest side. The other side of the triangle, well, you're just sitting! Nobody sits that tall! Lol.

Examples:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/57/c1/52/57c1 ... stairs.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b5/cf/cf/b5cf ... throom.jpg
https://www.babywatchome.com/wp-content ... aucets.jpg

After thinking about it a bit more, personally I'd try to go with a #4, powder room underneath the stairs. That would leave a lot more possibilities for the kitchen, pantry, living room arrangements.

Not sure if that helps OP, hopefully in some way it does. ^_^
Last edited by enwhyRFD on Nov 9th, 2017 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Buy now, think later. This is the way."
Deal Guru
Jan 25, 2007
12695 posts
7861 upvotes
Paris
We looked at a house once that was option #2. I went in, closed the door and ran the water and you heard EVERYTHING in the kitchen. Not cool.
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
2808 posts
940 upvotes
Newmarket
Where is the entrance to the basement and garage?

I would only go with option 3 and create a custom storage/coat/shoes storage under the stairs if possible.

Lots of people care about the powder room location, and for resale it may make a difference.
Deal Addict
Jul 29, 2006
4253 posts
1078 upvotes
plan #3 and it ain't close. The fact that it's the lowest cost and best configuration from a resale perspective should be a no brainer.
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
2808 posts
940 upvotes
Newmarket
enwhyRFD wrote: Hold up. Sure it's a triangle, but the only time anyone's standing is to use the vanity, which could be at the tallest side. The other side of the triangle, well, you're just sitting! Nobody sits that tall! Lol.

Examples:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/57/c1/52/57c1 ... stairs.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b5/cf/cf/b5cf ... throom.jpg
https://www.babywatchome.com/wp-content ... aucets.jpg

After thinking about it a bit more, personally I'd try to go with a #4, powder room underneath the stairs. That would leave a lot more possibilities for the kitchen, pantry, living room arrangements.

Not sure if that helps OP, hopefully in some way it does. ^_^
I am thinking along your lines if the house permits, but powder room by the entrance, and storage under the stairs. This way the crap area is further away from the kitchen and dining, in your example (which I would still prefer over 3 options OP presented) for taller men it could be a pain in the butt to pee, and lots of head hitting when standing up. If you create storage there you have plenty of room for coats, and than the shorter it gets you have storage for shoes and so on.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Mar 23, 2008
13006 posts
10009 upvotes
Edmonton
I don't like #1 because the pantry is too far away from the kitchen cooking area, and the lav is in the eating are. Don't like #2 because the lav is in the kitchen. You've only got 3 rooms on the main floor, so that leaves...

C
Member
Apr 8, 2010
224 posts
82 upvotes
Toronto
Thanks everyone! Here comes my own design, I merged two plans into one! The powder room is now under the stairs. What do you think about this one?
Images
  • YW.png
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Jan 6, 2002
6833 posts
7575 upvotes
Toronto
yalewon wrote: Thanks everyone! Here comes my own design, I merged two plans into one! The powder room is now under the stairs. What do you think about this one?
IMHO #3 is still better. 36" fridge won't work where you put (with doors open it'll be about a 42" fridge) and the peninsula is really awkward.. There are code headroom clearance requirements above a commode which I'm not sure would be met in this case. Pluse having a floor to ceiling room there will really disrupt sightlines and open feeling of the house (combined with the peninsula intruding in space it will feel really odd space.. )

I would change #3 to use a powder room pocket door for sure, otherwise someone's going to get a broken nose at some point.
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