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Looking for layout advice: help needed to create two bathrooms!

7 years ago

Hello,

my apartment is divided in a way that wastes space in the entrance and corridor.

I would need help in order to better divide the premises and insert a second bathroom.

Thank you very much in advance for your ideas and suggestions!


(... I'm, sorry the map speaks Italian... Finestra means window; ingresso means entrance; armadio a muro means cupboard; contenitori bassi means low containers; altezza soffitto means height of the celling).

The base unit of measure for lenght is the meter, which is roughly equal to 3.28 feet)



Comments (34)

  • PRO
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Nobody will work that hard, especially for free.. Print it, convert to inches and label all the spaces.: ) Reload it to Houzz. Call us lazy in the USA.

    Your best bet is a pro on site.

    True Top thanked JAN MOYER
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I would love to help but my brain is working faster and better if it is in a measurement system and language master (or almost as my English is my second language). I recommend you make a more direct translation/conversion for us. You will get more help.

    True Top thanked suzanne_m
  • 7 years ago

    So sorry! I'll submit a new post asap!

    Thank you very much!

  • 7 years ago

    I think we would need to know what each of the rooms is in order to get a better idea. Is there more living space (I don't see stairs on the plan)? The reason I ask is that I can see the half-bathroom in the top left, but don't see anything with a shower or tub.

    True Top thanked Nick
  • 7 years ago

    A couple of other thoughts/questions:


    Are you looking to put in a full bathroom or just a WC/lavatory?


    Consider the toilets that wash and dry you. You can get seats retro-fitted to an existing toilet. That way you don't need a bidet, which would reduce the space required.


    The others are right. Despite Houzz's attempts to expand into Europe, this site is still heavily US-centric. Translating the words and measurements into American will generate more replies. Though it would probably make more sense to get a local pro who knows the local market, codes, etc.

  • 7 years ago

    Here I am again with a new map and more information (there is no more living space)!

    I tried to do my best...!


    Nick Brown, I was looking to put in two full bathrooms, but I agree with your idea of considering just one bathroom and a WC/lavatory.


    Actually, I love American style homes!

    Thank you again!




  • PRO
    7 years ago

    I am concerned about the actual permission to add a bathroom . I am not sure about Italy but in NA it is unlikely that you could add a bathroom in an apartment building since most of the units in the building share certain parts of the plumbing.I can’t really see a purpose for 2 full bathrooms since there is only one bedroom so a lavatory would probably be what I would do.To be honest I don’t even see the point of that since the bathroom is already in a spot where guests could use it too.I happen to love Italy and in my dreams is where I want to live somedaybefore I die but I see your frustration with many apts. in Europe.

    True Top thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    As I understand it, you own this apartment, correct?

    What kind of a 2nd bathroom would you like?

    Could you find some photos on Houzz that are kind of like what you'd want? There are many European and tiny bathroom photos on Houzz. If you post a few that you like, it will be easier to help you figure it out.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Now that I'm looking closely at your floor plan....

    That looks like a really nice space!

    1. Have you thought of getting rid of the short wall that takes you into the bedroom? It looks like that would make the center of the apartment much more spacious. And you could maybe put an interesting door going into the bedroom to be a focal point from the middle of the house? Brightly colored, or artistic, or sliding?

    2. Do you need the 55 1/8" wall at the entrance to the living room? You could take it down and have one big space at the front entrance all the way to the window in the living room, and free up even more space in the middle of the apartment? The only walled-off rooms you'd now have would be the bathroom and the bedroom.

    3. Now you could probably fit a micro WC somewhere. You could use a "pocket door" to make it easier to get in and out.


    All this space in the common areas of the house in the US is called "open concept". The kitchen/dining room/living room blend into one another. You can entertain friends while cooking, etc.

    True Top thanked tangerinedoor
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Search in houzz.com for "tiny powder room" (WC):


    Dang, my tiny powder room photo didn’t make it to here.

  • 7 years ago

    I don't know if this could help houzzers with the measurements but I am giving it a try. Each square is 6 in.:


    True Top thanked suzanne_m
  • 7 years ago

    If a powder room is enough, you could do something as simple as this:



    True Top thanked suzanne_m
  • 7 years ago

    That’s pretty much where I thought a WC could go, too, Suzanne. I would try to put the door on the short end, though, otherwise the front door looks directly into the bathroom.

    True Top thanked tangerinedoor
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I agree with the door at the end. It means you would probably need to make the room slightly wider. We have something similar and have a very shallow basin, 750 x 250 (29.5" x 10") on the left of the picture below. The room itself is 1050 x 1500 (41" x 59") so wider and shorter than in the diagram that suzanne posted, but not too dissimilar.



    None of this gets you the two full bathrooms you say you want. My guess is you would need to take out the bidet and make the existing bathroom smaller in order to create space for another shower. I am not sure the rationale for two full bathrooms in a one-bedroom apartment (and it's probably none of my business), but it does get more complicated (and costly) if you have to start taking out walls. Is the apartment in Italy? I know a quite a few Italians with holiday apartments in the Balkans. The building regulations will be different in each country (and also vary by commune in Italy), so a local architect should be high on your call list.

    True Top thanked Nick
  • 7 years ago

    This is an amazing forum, indeed!

    Thanks a lot to all of you!


    Patricia and Nick, I'm thinking of the second bathroom, even if my apartment is small (it is in Italy; no problem with building regulations), because guests have to pass through the kitchen, to get into the existing one... But all of you are right, a tiny powder room, like Nick's one, could be more than enough.


    Tangerinedoor, I found some lovely tiny bathroom photos on Houzz. The last you can see below is my favorite idea... I'd love to build a kind of 'pillar' that hids a toilet! ... I just need to imagine where to design it!

    Even the 'open concept' that you suggest is very interesting. I could make the apartment 'less Italian' ; )


    Suzanne, thank you so much for your time and work with new maps and a project!!


    Patricia, I hope you will be able to come to Italy, soon!


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  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    The last picture seems to be only a powder room. Are you ok with that? If a full bathroom fits in the space, would you like a shower or a tub/shower combo?

    Also on your floor plan you have marked were your shower is. It is a huge space. Can you steal some space from that area to be able to insert a shower (or tub) in your second bathroom?

  • 7 years ago

    Actually, if a full bathroom fits in the space I would prefer a tub/shower combo.

    I can steal some space from the area of the existing shower, without any problem!

    (You know, I don't love that bathroom that opens onto the kitchen as my master bathroom...)

  • 7 years ago

    I'm not sure what is the underlying problem that you are trying to solve. Is it that you need two full bathrooms, or that you don't like having to access the bathroom via the kitchen? I am not sure what structural constraints you have, but I would guess that the pillars need to stay as they support the building above. Not sure if you can move other walls. It would depend also on budget, but could you change the layout, so that you have (from top to bottom) kitchen, bathroom, bedroom? That would put the bathroom next to the kitchen. You could even have it en-suite and put a toilet up by the main entrance. The kitchen would need to be designed around the pillar. You could certainly put a galley kitchen in there, but how it is designed would depend how much cooking you actually do.

    I just feel that if you put two full bathrooms at the top of the page, you end up with two very small bathrooms that you don't actually need.

    suzanne, I am assuming that w/c simply means toilet (as in water closet). If there is a washer, I would expect it to be in the kitchen in this sort of apartment. I would be surprised if there is a dryer.

    True Top thanked Nick
  • 7 years ago

    Thank you again, Suzanne and Nick.


    As you both suppose, I can't remove any of the pillars. Anyway, all the other walls could be moved.

    The shelves are used for the kitchen.

    I confirm that W/C is the acronym for water closet and keeping the toilet, bidet and sink in the current location is not a must-have for me.

    .

    Nick, my first idea was to add a bathroom (even a tiny one) for the reason that I explained.

    Now, I'm really appreciating all your suggestions and I think I can assess to change the layout, in order to improve it.

    I must admit that I don't do much of the cooking at home.... and the washer is in the kitchen (but you will be surprised: it is a combined washer/dryer, and I need it because the apartment has not a balcony).


    Please, may I ask if you could you draw a rough sketch of the layout you are thinking of?

    Might make it a little easier for me to picture the outcome.


    Good night (in Italy it is almost midnight...)!


  • 7 years ago

    The WC is the "water closet".... aka the toilet, la toilette, loo, john, head, throne, insert Arabic version, el baño, insert Welsh... Cautionary: arm yourself with the various linguistic options before traveling abroad: hand signals could be very embarrassing for both parties.

  • 7 years ago

    Nick you are right, the middle piece in the plan is the bidet!

  • 7 years ago

    The WC is the toilet.

    It certainly needs to be pretty close to the bidet. The alternative would be a toilet that washes you and then you can dispense with the bidet altogether.

    True Top thanked Nick
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    So sorry, I just realized that the thing beside the bidet is a sink. I thought that the drawing showed a water tank followed by a toilet followed by a bidet and the sink was in reality somewhere in the large area where the shower is but was just not drawn. It all makes sense now :).

  • 7 years ago

    How high from the floor are your two windows on the West wall?

  • 7 years ago

    Hello Suzanne, the distance from the floor to the windows is 47 1/4

  • 7 years ago

    Is the living space mentioned on your floor plan the dining/living room combo?

  • 7 years ago

    Yes, it is

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    This is one attempt. I am not familiar with the regulations nor the dimensions of europeean appliances/bath fixtures etc. This might not work, I don't know. Maybe the distance between the toilet and the bidet is too far. I placed them that way so you don't see them when you enter the bathroom but it may not be practical. Also I wonder if the shelves you have in your kitchen are inside the pillar. In the floor plan below, I completely remove the shelves:



    If you don't need the powder room:



    True Top thanked suzanne_m
  • 7 years ago

    Thanks a lot, Suzanne! These are insightful ideas!


  • 7 years ago

    With regard to the kitchen cabinets, Suzanne, what do you think about something like the ones I have found on Houzz...?


    Nick, maybe you was imagining something like the layout that Suzanne drew, when you described the bathroom next to the kitchen and the kitchen around the pillar... ?


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  • 7 years ago

    Yes, that is how was imagining it; except suzanne drew it much better than I would have! I think you would need to check if any of the walls are load-bearing before going too far. I love the blue cabinets, though that might just be personal taste. I spent six months in Milan many years ago and could just see those cabinets fitting into the apartment I had there.

  • 7 years ago

    :-)

    We are in agreement!

  • 7 years ago

    I love Italy too. I spent 2 weeks last summer in Naples, Rome and Florence. That was an amazing vacation! I love the blue cabinets too.

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