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allison_kostelnik70

Bathroom faces the front door.

last year

When you walk in the front door…BAM…the washroom is directly in front of you. Any ideas on how to make it more visually appealing would be appreciated.

Comments (26)

  • last year

    Close the door.

  • last year

    Thank you for the very constructive feedback. 😒

  • last year

    If that is the front door I would want one with less glass but that's not the point. I would keep the door closed and put the mirror from above the front door on the bathroom door. The mirror looks silly so high. Put a pretty curtain on the bathroom window

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Sympathies as I too have a 1/2 bath in a difficult area.

    I was going to make the same comment about closing the door as I don’t see any simple way to make the view of the toilet appealing when entering through the front door.

    Can you eliminate that bathroom?

    Are you open to moving the bathroom elsewhere on that floor or is it feasible to move the door opening to one of the other two non-window walls?

    Post a floor plan if you want feedback on an alternate door placement or bathroom location.

  • last year

    Unfortunately there is no other place for a bathroom. It’s a tiny home and every square foot is accounted for. I really don’t want to keep the door closed, it’s such a small place and turns the area very dark.

  • last year

    Darkness can be addressed with better lighting in the entryway. Honestly, I can’t imagine not keeping the bathroom door closed in these circumstances. I’m not the kind of person who thinks toilets must never be seen, but it definitely should not be the first thing you see directly in front of you when you enter the house.

  • last year

    We also have a small half bath tucked in at the end of our entry hall. Our entry hall is narrow and utilitarian, with the main front door, a door to garage and a door to the back. Along the wall, we have a coat closet, a pantry, and another small pantry closet. The hall ends visually with the door to the half bath. It is a hall of doors, so it blends in. We keep it slightly ajar when unoccupied. It is a quirky house and so it just is what it is. We do have wall sconces which helps, and might be something to consider if you have any wall room for them.

  • last year

    Agree with adding better entry lighting.

    Is there sufficient ceiling height to add a fixed transom window over the bathroom door to allow light from the bathroom window into the entry if the bathroom door is closed?

  • last year

    You could get a smaller vanity and turn the toilet so that it is at the end of the vanity facing the toilet. How long is the wall with the vanity?

  • last year

    Not enough info to know if these are feasible solutions:


    - Add a transome above the bathroom door and keep the door closed while still getting in light.


    - Swap doors for one that is frosted glass in the upper half and keep the door closed all of the time while still getting light in. (My friend lives in a pre-war building and all of the bathroom doors have glass in the upper half. I don't love it. It doesn't feel private enough to me.)


    - What is above this entryway? Can you install a skylight to get more light in and keep the bathroom door closed?


    - Bottomline: Unless you want to gut and reconfigure your entire bathroom, you need to .keep the door closed and find a way to bring more light into your foyer.

  • last year

    Paint the bathroom a pretty color and also paint the door the same. Make the door something nice to see so you'll keep it closed.

    Add a roman shade to the window, maybe some fun wallpaper so people look at the walls before the toilet.

    If there's a possibility of rearranging the plumbing to move the toilet and sink, I'd look into it. Maybe someone here can help measure if that's a possibility.

  • last year

    What Kendrah said

  • last year

    Improve your lighting if it’s dark.

  • PRO
    last year

    Of course keeping the door closed is an option but not always done by family members just like keeping the lid down. So... you can hang a roman shade on the window, store the toilet brush out of sight under the corner at the end, replace the shower curtain with a waffle texture white one, place a larger plant or two visible from the hallway on the counter along with a mat on the floor.



  • last year

    It looks like a nice tidy bathroom - unfortunately! If it wasn't, you could rearrange the layout in order to not have the toilet be the first things you see. However, since your bathroom appears to be nice, it would be a waste of money to do so.


    I was going to suggest the same thing as was said initially above - close the door. However, since you need the light from the window in the bathroom, the you could add some items as Jilly has suggested - try to bring the focus off the toilet. If you had a really pretty/colorful rug, that might help because people's eyes would be drawn to that first.


    My other thoughts have also been posted above - use a door with partial frosted glass in order to let some light through if the door is closed. There may be some types of glass that would provide enough privacy even if the inside of the door was a big glass panel.


    Also, adding a transom window above the door would let light through into the hall/foyer area (however, it looks like you may only have 8' ceilings - so, not much room for a transom over bathroom door). Transoms are not expensive to add. In fact, I'm having one added over my powder room door in order to let light into the powder room because it has NO WINDOW!


    You could add a transom window over your front door (depending upon how the front of your house looks) - there appears to be quite a bit of height above the front door. That would make up for the loss of the light from the bathroom window. You could then keep the door closed.


    I don't know if you have a second story - but a skylight or solar tube would provide a lot of light to that area - so, you wouldn't miss the light from the bathroom at all. Solar tubes are less expensive and have less issues (my understanding). I have a neighbor who added one to her hall bathroom upstairs (no window) - 20 years ago and zero issues. She actually did purchase something to be able to dim the light a bit because the one she had in a different house was too bright.


    This one is in a hallway off the garage door:




    The next two photos are in a long upstairs hall that was pretty dark during the day.


    Before:




    After:



    I asked someone about the cost to move a toilet - the answer was (as I expected) - "It depends."


    If you have a basement or crawl space under the bathroom - it's easier (esp if you have a basement with open ceilings) = cost less $. It also depends on how close the new location is to the vent line and waste stack. Additionally, the cost will change depending on whether your floor joists run the right direction.

  • last year

    I'd put that door on a spring that automatically keeps it closed. :)

  • last year


    I would find a more decorative window film that draws attention away from the toilet.

    Nothing too bright, but just enough to add interest.





    LINK

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    No matter how attractive the room, the fact is there is no way to disguise the toilet and that's what's unpleasant about the view into a bathroom. So, blocking the view with the door is really the only fix for that. I suppose you could hang a dutch door and keep the bottom half closed to hide the toilet and still be able to see the window.






    If you have a centered ceiling light fixture in the bathroom maybe hang a nice chandelier or hanging fixture that would be framed by the open top half of the door,

  • last year

    Many years ago I lived in a 600 sf house and it is tough. Often this is a starter home and it is better to save money toward the next home than to spend a lot on the one you are in.


    It is just a toilet, not the end of the world.

  • last year

    The desire to have natural light in the entryway is secondary (maybe way way down the list) to how undesirable the view of the bathroom is, no matter how cute the bathroom. Put in a light.

  • last year

    Thank you for the very constructive feedback. 😒

    That actually IS the cheapest, easiest option. I like the glass half-door /have zero issue with opaque glass on a bathroom door, but it'll be even nicer if you add a wreath to it. That'll give you an attractive focal point as you enter the house, and it'll allow you to say, "The bathroom? It's the door with the wreath."

    I really don’t want to keep the door closed, it’s such a small place and turns the area very dark.

    Perhaps you could replace the door with one that's all-glass instead of half-glass? That'd give you double the light.

    Alternately, how about adding a solar tube in the hallway outside the bathroom? Doesn't help with the bathroom issue, but it'd bring in more light for the hallway, and that's always a positive. Solar tubes aren't all that expensive.

    You could get a smaller vanity and turn the toilet so that it is at the end of the vanity facing the toilet. How long is the wall with the vanity?

    I agree that the dead-ahead toilet isn't ideal, but few of us want a smaller vanity /less storage.

    However, since your bathroom appears to be nice, it would be a waste of money to do so.

    Totally agree. This is not a problem -- the bathroom works.

    I would find a more decorative window film that draws attention away from the toilet.

    I like the look of the window film, but it does nothing to detract from the toilet.
    I suppose you could hang a dutch door and keep the bottom half closed to hide the toilet and still be able to see the window.

    Now that's creative thinking! I've never lived with a Dutch Door, so I don't know if they're easy to use in reality, but it would block the view of the toilet, while allowing light to flow through. And replacing a door isn't all the money in the world.

  • last year

    I like the Dutch door best if it’s feasible. I understand it’s good to put better ceiling lighting in hall anyway— great for nighttime as well- but I get the appeal of the window not just for day light but the “ long view” in a small house. Also I like letting bath, with hand towels drying & such— not be closed up all the time, so sure you can leave the door open” ajar” for that but Dutch door looks fun. I have no idea about sound transmitting in that type door vs. part glass or other.

  • last year

    A toilet is hard to disguise, but it might look marginally less conspicuous if the wall color behind it matched the toilet color.

  • last year

    For now, change the front door rug/mat to something shorter. As it is, it seems like it is leading someone from the front door straight to the bathroom.

  • last year

    "Dutch door looks fun. I have no idea about sound transmitting in that type door." Dutch doors are used as exterior doors, too, so I think they can be substantial enough and fitted for weather proofing...I don't think sound transmission would be a problem.

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