Thank you for your feedback. I think I'm willing to consider it because the laundry room isn't going to be much bigger than a closet anyway. Big enough to have some shelves and a spot for a waiting load of wash, but not big enough to fold/iron/or otherwise hang out in.

But I'm happy to hear you think it's okay to just have a family bath that is guest accessible. Part of my issue is that I'm used to newer construction where there seems to be a design to accommodate guests with separate facilities. The first time we had friends over for dinner, it felt really odd to have them use the kids' hall bath. I don't know why. Our first house only had one bath on the main level and we never thought anything of it. I guess somewhere along the way we got spoiled!

we did exactly that-put in a powder room instead of the laundry..the narrow custom closet has yet to come..waiting for months on that already.

the laundry went to the garage-i hate being there. i'm the main laundry person- lol -in this household, and this garage is cold like hell. not enjoying. and I do a lot of laundry. and frankly I'm not a fan of my family doing laundry-they don't take as much care. so it's me spending time in that cold garage..hate, hate.

but we had to think about guests, especially long term ones..for example my elderly MIL that might live with us at some point..we do have a guest/kids bathroom, but sometimes it's not enough, when several people of different ages and with different needs share a home.

so I sacrificed..what one can do. I was promised a clean and organized garage as a trade off but it didn't happen just yet))). we'll see.

but I wouldn't do it for kids)) elderly relatives get more considerate treatment..kids are more resilient to discomforts of life, and nothing wrong with them sharing. unless there are health concerns(there are plenty of conditions-unfortunately-where a person just needs to go a lot), then adding a space makes the same sense, kids or not kids.

Would I give up a main floor laundry room? NEVER.

Can you sketch out a floor plan? Maybe there's some sort of compromise...

We had a similar dilemma, but opted to keep the laundry, as it also contained our utility closet, and with 6 people, something always needs to be thrown in the wash- I usually leave the door open so random items can be thrown right in. We also considered we have a 4 bed, 3 full bath- so another toilet just wasn't that big of a deal, even though the guest is near the kids rooms.

Additionally, most of our guests are kids/friends, and we never have overnight guests. If we should, they'd be in the en suite, and the kids whose room that is are kicked out for the night. I guess I don't feel bathrooms are private spaces- they are when the door is locked, but after that it's for anyone to use, and each should be cleaning up after themselves. Of course, I grew up with 3 kids sharing it and guests.

Thank you for all of the input. I'm mulling it all over and trying to think through all the pros and cons. I don't worry about the kids' feelings about sharing a bathroom--they don't know any different so it's not a concern for them--it's my feelings about it. Also, I think about all the traipsing back and forth to the bathroom from outside and think how nice it would be to have a bathroom off the entry so as not to have all that traipsing right through my kitchen!

If it was a real laundry room I wouldn't consider it, but it is more of a walk-in laundry closet than a room. I would still need to take clothes elsewhere to fold, iron, etc. Other than scrapping the half bath idea, the only other option would be to combine the laundry and powder room, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. You would have to walk through the bathroom to get to the laundry, and to me clean laundry and bathrooms don't really go together. Thoughts?

A drawing would really help. There may be a plan you have not thought of.

I know people are all sorts of squeamish about toilets and laundry mixing, but sometimes they can be planned together, with some separation. (And besides that there are more germs in a kitchen sink than on a toilet seat, and no one is squeamish about putting a laundry in a kitchen).

I grew up in a house with the laundry in the first floor full bathroom. Eventually my mom made my dad put bifold doors in front of the machines--there are things that can make it feel less weird. You would really love having BOTH!

If the laundry room isnt going to be much bigger than a closet anyway, then I would do the half bath. It doesnt seem like you would be losing much and having a half bath for guests to use would be nice. But it might be worth posting the plan. Maybe someone on here can figure out a better compromise.

I would definitely do the half bath.

Thank you all again for the feedback. I'm really leaning towards sacrificing the laundry room and going with a powder room. The more I think about it and think about the way I do laundry, I believe the ROI (for me) on a separate powder room would be greater.

I'm attaching a drawing, but I there really isn't much to work with. The area outlined it red is initially going to be a family room, but in a couple of years it will convert to an in-law-suite, so we want/need to keep that area separate the way it is (so ignore the bathroom there, that's part of the suite).

The room labeled with the red L and blue B is the current laundry room, proposed change to powder room/mudroom. The alcove with the blue L is where I am thinking of moving the laundry, and the red X in the area to the far right is the location of the main floor bathroom in the existing house. And yes, we have walls, I just didn't draw them out! :-)

Are you going to take out the bathroom in the new family room? I would leave it if possible. It seems like the laundry is in a perfect location for a powder room.

If you had no bath downstairs, then I would do it -- but since you do, then I would keep the laundry room and not do the half bath. How often do you have company that might use the bath? Consider that.

No. Assuming you are talking about the area outlined in red: That whole area is part of the new addition, but since it will only be a short time before it becomes a private in-law suite (with full-time residence), we are planning ahead and not considering that a family/guest bath. The other bathroom (marked with an X) is in the existing house and will be staying as-is.

I agree, the laundry is in just the right spot for a powder room. I sure wish I could have both, but there just isn't room (or budget) for everything. Maybe I need to start playing PowerBall!!

Is this plan a done deal?

Is how the addition is attached to the house already fixed?

Is the area I have marked the shower?

1) the in-law suite bath seems huge for a 3/4 bath even if this is supposed to be universal access, which I don't think it is because of the shower configuration. That bath layout has a lot of wasted space.

2) there is probably some space dedicated to circulation, getting into the space that could be planned more efficiently if the way the addition meets the house is flexible.

Really in an addition this size I think there should be room for laundry and a powder room, even though I can't read the dimensions.

1) Yes, that is the shower. However, I realize looking at it now this is an old drawing. It's since been tightened up and a linen closet added. Space between walls/toliet/vanity/etc. is roughly 3 feet all around. It's not meant to meet universal access codes, but to be enough to make it work should some form of mobility assistance become necessary.

2) Unfortunately, the way the addition meets the house is how it has to be. There are obstacles we have to work around (utility access, existing structures, elevation, etc.) coupled with an extremely tight budget. Sadly, we can't afford to reinvent the wheel.

If it were not for the eventual dedicated in-law portion, there would definitely be room for a laundry. But drawing the family room with the ability to convert it to a decent private in-law suite was the priority.

You are probably not going to be running the laundry while you are entertaining guests so nobody needs to know what is in that closet. Also, the new machines are really quiet. You may need to have louvered doors for ventilation. Is it possible to remove the recessed outside entrance and place the door in plane with the outside front wall? That would give you ample room for a mudroom bench and hooks in the right location. You can have ancillary hooks either along the hallway to "stairs" in the addition or in the "old" laundry/proposed half bath as you stated but best to have them right where people enter.

scrappy25, we did originally have the entrance wall in plane, but we had to recess it because there is a detached garage behind and we had to have room for a landing and steps. With the wall in plane, the steps would end right at the door to the garage. Oops! I like the idea of putting hooks in the hallway to the stairs though. It's not perfect, but a good compromise.