Alright, y’all. You’ve already been warned that if you don’t like playing around with floor plans and considering all fo the possibilities, you might want to just take a break from the blog and check back in a week or so. By then, I’ll probably have all of the decisions worked out, my studio finished, and be moving on to projects for our new bedroom. Also, my workshop build is scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. Woohoo!
But for now, I still have things to discuss about our floor plan and the possibilities. This past weekend, I sat down with Matt and just laid it all out on the table for him. I wanted him to understand all of the possibilities and the decisions that needed to be made, and give him an opportunity to ask any and all questions. I wanted to see if he had any opinions at all about the direction of our house, how each area could and would be used, and see if he saw any accessibility issues with any potential plans or possibilities.
At first, it didn’t seem like he had any strong opinions. But after talking for a bit, he actually did start to express some strong opinions about a couple of things. I was shocked! The two things he expressed strong opinions about were (1) how to use the guest bedroom once we’re moved out of it and into our new bedroom, and (2) where to put our new workout area.
As far as the new workout area, Matt wants to build a small room at the back of our bathroom. And regarding the guest bedroom, he really likes the idea of it being a combo laundry room and closet. So here’s what we’re looking at…
The room at the back of the bathroom wouldn’t need to be huge. It just needs to accommodate a few pieces of exercise equipment, but I’d also like it to be filled with windows like a little sunroom. I love this idea because it would remove the exterior door from our bathroom. I was willing to live with that exterior door in the bathroom if I had to, but it does feel kind of awkward to have an exterior door in the bathroom. But if we add on a little sunroom/workout room, that room will obviously have the exterior door, and the door in the bathroom will be a pocket door that matches the pocket door into the bedroom, which was the plan all along.
And then, as far as the laundry room and closet, he wants it all kept as one big room. I discussed the possibility of building a wall and separating it into a closet area at 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 one big room, which is fine with me. Since he has a strong opinion about it, and I could have been happy with it either way, we’ll keep it one big room.
What he didn’t have a strong opinion (or any input) about is the hallway bathroom. So I’m still contemplating what to do about that. But as you can see on the floor plan above, I’m seriously considering removing that bathroom, and expanding the studio bathroom so that it’s a guest bathroom that takes up some of the current pantry area. That would leave me with a much larger guest bathroom, and a much smaller (but still a good size) pantry.
I don’t know that that would be the exact arrangement of that bathroom, but it would be a full bathroom to include a shower and/or a bathtub. That way, my studio could easily be used as a guest bedroom if and when needed, and our guest(s) could have a private full bathroom.
And that would leave the current hallway bathroom free for us to use as storage. That would be very helpful because the one thing I’m still missing is storage for Matt’s shower wheelchair, Hoyer lift, etc. That small bathroom area would be perfect for that. And if we do that, it would also turn that entire side of the house past the cased opening in the music room into a master suite. I love that idea.
So the plans are coming along. I was so glad to have Matt’s input. At least two decisions were made much easier for me knowing that he actually did have a strong opinion about them. Getting those opinions out of him wasn’t easy, and it took quite a bit of coaxing, but once he made his decisions, he was very set on them. I’m very happy with those decisions, and if I can just get the bathroom situation settled in my mind, we’ll have a complete and finalized plan.
UDPATE: Just a word about turning our hallway bathroom into a laundry room…
I did consider this option, but there are several reasons I decided not to go this direction. When it comes right down to it, I don’t see any benefit at all (neither for me, nor for a future owner) in that option.
First, I love the idea of my laundry room being in a big, spacious room, rather than tucked away in a tiny room. Second, I don’t love seeing Matt’s equipment sitting around when it’s not in use. If given an option, I’d rather not have it in my pretty closet area or my pretty laundry room. And since there’s a small room available where it could be stored when not in use, it just makes sense to me.
So it’s definitely beneficial for me to put the laundry room in the bedroom, and turn the hallway bathroom into a storage area. So is there any benefit to a future owner for me to turn the hallway bathroom into a laundry room? Not really.
If I turn the hallway bathroom into a laundry room, and the bedroom into a huge closet/storage area, and then a future owner wants to turn that closet/storage area back into a guest bedroom, that leaves a guest bedroom with no conveniently accessible bathroom. So their only option would be to turn that laundry room back into a guest bathroom. And then they’ll have to find a new place for a laundry room.
So the situation for a future owner is the same regardless of what I do now. If I put the laundry where I want it (in the big room) and turn the small bathroom into a storage room, and then a future owner wants to turn that room back into a guest bedroom, they have to turn the storage room back into a bathroom and find a place for a laundry room. If I turn the bathroom into a laundry room and the bedroom into a closet/storage area, and a future owner wants that room to be a guest bedroom, they have to turn the laundry room back into a guest bedroom and find a place for a laundry room. They’re in the same situation either way I go. Regardless of what I do now, if they want that large room to be a bedroom, they’ll be turning the small room back into a bathroom, and having to find a new place for a laundry room. So I’d rather make the decision that I prefer for my own benefit while this house is ours. And my choice would be the big laundry room/closet combo, and tucking Matt’s equipment away into it’s own small storage area.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
