It is not often that you get the opportunity to decide on the design of the house you are going to live in. It is usually a standing house you buy or just sail along with the design ideas offered by the builder. You may suggest a few changes here and there. If you were to get that opportunity, what kind of design would you choose? Will you have a toilet placed next to the kitchen? Could be an interesting thought!
Can a toilet be next to a kitchen? When designing a home, architects try to avoid designing bathrooms near the kitchen. The general rule is that the bathroom should not share the same wall as the kitchen. Even if it is designed this way, remember to install an efficient ventilation system.
If you are designing your own home and you have no qualms about where the toilet is and where the kitchen is, it should not pose any problem to anyone. There may be purists with different ideas and others could flaunt a Feng Shui tip to say otherwise. However, the final call on this must rest with you, the owner of the house. You can check with the other members of your family if they have any objections to the arrangement.
If you consider just the architectural or the design aspect, you can practically have any room adjacent to any other room irrespective of their function. The only arguments could be the accepted practice and the aesthetics involved in it. This then moves to a sensitive territory of individual likes and dislikes. It may even step into the next level of how much you care about what others think. If you have got the toilet built next to the kitchen and you have no practical problems with that, the argument ends there.
Let’s talk about odors
One key consideration for advising against having a toilet next to the kitchen is the kind of odor that can travel from the toilet to the kitchen making it a little unpleasant there. The counter argument against this is that if you could have the toilet within your bedroom, then this should not be a big issue.
However, the critical aspect here is the odor. There are ways you can handle the odor. You can keep your toilet meticulously clean so that no odor emerges. You can fix a ventilation fan that can suck and throw the air from within the toilet out into the open and not permitting the odor to travel in any other direction.
You can try a combination of all three; keep the toilet always clean; fix a ventilation fan and also use the right kind of freshener to spread a pleasant aroma all around. This will make sure the kitchen retains the smells that emanate from cooking and not invaded by any other odor.
It has already been discussed that in a majority of cases, the decision to build a toilet next to the kitchen is out of necessity and not due to a great design idea. If this is true, then the residents of the house have to own the responsibility to take all those actions to negate any issue arising out of it.
In each of the three areas discussed, you have several alternatives and some modern techniques available to make it happen. You have the latest cleaning techniques and materials to keep your toilet spotlessly clean. The toilet fresheners have also undergone many changes and you can buy the best product available in the market.
On the vent fan too, there are improvements in the technology and design. Search for the best vent fan and fix it.
Your worries about toilet odor will disappear and you need not feel guilty of having a toilet next to the kitchen.
Can a toilet be near a kitchen?
There were building rules earlier which necessitated that there must be two doors between the toilet and the kitchen. This rule appears to have been relaxed over time. If you are planning to build a toilet near the kitchen, check with your local authorities if there are restrictions of this kind. In any case, you will have to get your plans approved by them.
The general feedback from the field is people build a toilet near a kitchen more out of compulsion than other reasons. If the space available is limited, then you end up giving into such exigencies. There are many examples where an elderly person has to access a toilet and the only portion available in the house is near the kitchen.
Can kitchen and bathroom share a common wall?
If you consult a Feng Shui expert he or she would say ‘No’, it is not good. However, the practical aspect has to be weighed and that is much more important. The bathroom will have a lot of plumbing going through the wall. Will that be the wall shared with the kitchen? That won’t work. If you have a plumbing issue and the wall has to be broken to attend to it, you will disturb the kitchen.
The kitchen too will have a few connections. There will be a gas pipe coming through the wall. There will be electrical points for kitchen appliances. If there is a free wall in the toilet and on its other side is the storage area of the kitchen, then this arrangement may not be an issue.
It is only when you have superstitions or start following things like Feng Shui the conflicts can arise.
Related questions
What are the special requirements for locating the kitchen?
The kitchen is certainly an important part of your home and you will have to give it the best consideration. Modern kitchens have become very organized and there is not much mess created unless you are bad at handling things around the kitchen. The kitchen has to have some ventilation, good lighting, and the provisions for the appliances to be easily connected. There must be the chimney to throw out the hot and oily fumes from above the stove. If these requirements are met, where you have your kitchen is immaterial.
Can you put a toilet anywhere in your house?
Yes, in practical terms, you can install a toilet anywhere in your house. You may have heard of a toilet in the basement or a garage. Some people build a toilet below the staircase. It comes down to the management of space and the living comfort of the residents in a home.
The only objections raised by people are that the toilet could be giving out a bad odor and it can affect the other parts of the house. This looks like a specious argument since having a toilet inside your bedroom is the norm. If it can be inside your bedroom, it can be anywhere else as well. It may indirectly force you to keep your toilet clean and hygienic. As long as you know how to maintain your home, these things should hardly matter.
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