Okay, folks. I already warned you that if you don’t like playing with floor plans and considering all the possibilities, you might want to take a break from blogging and check back in a week or so. By then, I’ll probably have made all the decisions, finished my studio, and will be moving on to plans for our new bedroom. Also, my workshop build is scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. Yay!
But for now, I still have things to discuss regarding our floor plan and possibilities. Last weekend, I sat down with Matt and explained everything to him. I wanted him to understand all the possibilities and decisions that needed to be made, and to give him the opportunity to ask as many questions as he wanted. I wanted to see if he had any input on the direction of our house, how each area could and would be used, and to see if he saw any accessibility issues with possible plans or possibilities.
At first, he didn’t seem like he had any strong opinions, but after we talked a bit, he started to voice strong opinions on a couple of things. I was shocked! The two things he expressed strong opinions on were (1) how to use the guest bedroom once we move into our new bedroom and (2) where to put our new workout area.
As for the new workout area, Matt wants to build a small room off the back of our bathroom. And as for the guest bedroom, he really likes the idea of it being a combination laundry room and closet. So here’s what we’re considering…
The space 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 eliminate the exterior door to our bathroom. I was willing to live with that exterior door in the bathroom if I had to, but it does feel a little odd to have an exterior door in the bathroom. But if we add a little sunroom/exercise room, that room will obviously have the exterior door, and the bathroom door will be a pocket door that matches the bedroom’s pocket door, which was the plan all along.
And then, as far as the laundry room and closet, he wants to keep it all as one large room. I talked about possibly 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 to be one large room, which is fine with me. Since he has a strong opinion about it, and could have been happy with it either way, we’re going to keep it as one large room.
What I didn’t have a firm opinion on (or any input) is the hall bathroom. So I’m still figuring out what to do about that. But as you can see in the floor plan above, I’m seriously considering removing that bathroom and expanding the studio bathroom to be a guest bathroom taking up 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 that would be the exact layout of that bathroom, but it would be a full bathroom that would include a shower and/or a tub. That way, my studio could easily be used as a guest bedroom if needed, and our guests could have a private full bathroom.
And that would free up the current hall bathroom for us to use as storage space. That would be really helpful because the only thing I’m still missing is storage space for Matt’s wheelchair, Hoyer lift, etc. That little area of the bathroom would be perfect for that. And if we do that, we’d also turn that whole side of the house beyond the screened opening in the music room into a master suite. I love that idea.
So the plans are moving forward. I was very happy to get Matt’s input. At least two decisions were much easier for me to make knowing that he really had a strong opinion about them. It wasn’t easy to get those opinions from him and it took a lot of convincing, but once he made his decisions, he was determined to stick to them. I’m very happy with those decisions and if I can just work out the bathroom situation in my mind, we’ll have a complete and finalized plan.
UPDATE: Just a few words about converting our hall bathroom into a laundry room…
I considered this option, but there are several reasons why I decided not to go in this direction. Ultimately, I don’t see any benefit at all (either for me or for a future owner) in that option.
First, I love the idea of my laundry room being in one big, spacious room, rather than tucked away in a small room. Second, I don’t like seeing Matt’s gear lying around when it’s not in use. If I had the choice, I’d rather not have it in my nice closet area or my nice 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 is definitely beneficial for me to put the laundry room in the bedroom and convert the hall bathroom into a storage area. So is there any benefit to a future homeowner if I convert the hall bathroom into a laundry room? Not really.
If I convert the hall bathroom into a laundry room and the bedroom into a huge closet/storage area, and then a future homeowner wants to convert that closet/storage area back into a guest bedroom, that leaves a guest bedroom without an easily accessible bathroom. So their only option would be to convert that laundry room back into a guest bathroom. And then they’ll have to find a new spot for a laundry room.
So the situation for a future homeowner is the same no matter what I do now. If I put the laundry room where I want it (in the big room) and turn the small bathroom into a storage room, and then a future homeowner 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 homeowner 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 are in the same situation any way they go. No matter what I do now, if they want that big room to be a bedroom, they will turn the small room back into a bathroom and have to find a new place for a laundry room. So I prefer to make the decision that I prefer for my own benefit while this house is ours. And my choice would be the large laundry room/closet combo, and keeping Matt’s gear in its own little storage area.
Addicted 2 Decorating is a place where I share my DIY and decorating experience while remodeling and decorating the 1948 home my husband Matt and I purchased in 2013. Matt has multiple sclerosis and is unable to do physical labor, so I do most of the work around the house alone. You can learn more about me here.
