The "Powder Room" Dilemma

so you would have 2.5 baths - with a tiny powder room in between 2 full baths? seems silly, kill it

THREE toilets instead of 2?

SAVE IT.

There will be days you'll wish you had that extra half-bath.

Do you have a washer-dryer in the apartment? Does the building allow it? Might be a great spot for one if they do.

We already have space for a washer dryer but that's a great idea if I need to move them
for some reason during reno.

Thanks for the opinions. As someone w kids, I lean to NYCMatt's view.

Are all the bathrooms going to have doors along the same wall? If so, that will feel... weird. If the two other bathrooms are either en-suite or have different access points then save the 1/2 bath.

The idea of moving your w/d there is also a great idea.

*doors along the same wall into the same room. You say loft, so for some reason I'm thinking they all open onto the same space.

"Are all the bathrooms going to have doors along the same wall? If so, that will feel... weird."

That's the charm of a loft.

It's supposed to be *unconventional*.

If you want a "sensible" and un-weird layout, stick with Classic Sixes on the UES.

I'd keep the powder room v. having guests use a kids' bathroom. Also, not sure how many kids you have, but a powder room allows for a lot more flexibility in getting ready in the morning.

I had a half bath off the master bedroom in one of my previous places -- an odd, but remarkably practical, set-up. I could steam up the shower of the main bath, then retreat to the powder room to get ready in a temperate space with a clean mirror, etc. I also kept all of my personal items in the powder room, so guests had a "hotel ready" main bathroom.

In short, it's always nice to have a guest bathroom that's no one's primary bathroom.

Sounds like a pathetic use of good plumbing. Make it a bar, you'll never regret it.

NYCMatt is right. That's the "glory" of the loft. The only plumbing stack is in the center of the floor, so bathrooms must be close to one another, but they open on different spaces nonetheless. If I wanted to mess with that I'd have to build up the floor and it would be a mess. It's not ideal, but it is the trade off for the open space. There's a lot to be said for the classic 6. In another life...

I'm surprised aboutready has no opinion on the powder room.

Having a wall of doors leading to various bathrooms located in the same space is weird, it has nothing to do with being a loft and everything to do with poor partitioning and/or layout decisions. Wet walls should back up onto each other, it's what makes it a practical use of space in regards to plumbing risers/lines/etc.

I'm not sure if you are replying to me or to MattNYC. I think I replied that although all the bathroom must build off one wall, the location of the stack, they open on to different spaces. The one wall is the location of the stack, but there will be at least 3 wet walls when all is said and done. It remains true, however, that the building and its plumbing lines were conceived to serve industrial rather than residential use and this presents certain limitations one must work around, including the fact that all the bathroom (regardless of the location of their entrances) must be designed to be adjacent to one another.

I can see in my mind the apartment you are imaging, but that is not the case here. If it were, you would be correct, of course.

Hint: Loft living was never intended to be "practical". You're living in a space that was originally designed as a warehouse, factory, or office.

Yeah, I think I get that, Matt. I'm in a loft for the I oldest reason in the book: it was the cheapest way to get the space I needed.
Hope to die in an apartment straight out of Hannah and Her Sisters, but this is where I am now and I'm grateful to have it.

familyguy - sorry I was replying to NYCMatt. I saw your response and think it makes sense layout wise.