As I suspected, I wasn’t able to fully finish the faux stones on the outside bedroom door yesterday. But this project will be my top priority today and this weekend, so I hope to have pictures of the finished door for you on Monday. In the meantime, an idea came to mind over the last few weeks that the more I think about it, the more excited I get. But first a little explanation.
Every time I post a mockup showing how I envision the area around the exterior bedroom door, I get comments with recommendations that I’m always open to and happy to receive. But let’s take this one for example. This is one of the ChatGPT models I created a while ago, and while I still haven’t decided exactly what the steps should be here, this is what ChatGPT created based on my input.
What I’m actually imagining (and planning) is a much larger landing, the same depth as our porch, extending five feet from the front door to the edge of the porch. There are three steps from the porch. This will give you a more accurate idea of ​​the depth of the landing and the steps I want to build outside the bedroom door.
But I always get suggestions to widen the landing area and turn the area in front of the bedroom door into a small patio where I can set up a small table and chairs. That won’t happen. There are obstacles in the way that would cost a lot of money to move. As you can see in this photo I shared a few days ago, our gas meter is right on the corner of the house, and the gas company requires a three-foot clearance on all sides around a gas meter. And then to the right of the door you see the white thing sticking out of the ground. This is the renovation of our main sewer line, which also cannot be covered and there is no way I will pay to have it relocated.
As you can see, the width of the steps is limited by these two very necessary and immovable objects. Technically both could be moved, but in my opinion it would be at such a high cost and with very little profit. Even if we had a small terrace in front of this door with a small table and chairs, I can assure you that it would remain unused. I just can’t imagine ever sitting out there, and I know for a fact that Matt wouldn’t either. If I’m going to invest money in an area where Matt and I can enjoy sitting outside, I want it to be in the backyard, not the front of the house.
By the way, there is no space for a permanent ramp either. From floor to door it is about 16 inches, which would require a 16 foot ramp if I were to add a permanent ramp. There is simply no room for a 16 foot ramp. I’m sticking with my idea of ​​a large landing that’s the same depth as our porch, with a lightweight aluminum ramp that can be tucked into the corner of the bedroom for easy access.
Okay, that’s part of the explanation before I show you the plan I have in my head. Now to the other part of my explanation. As you know, since I’ve been sharing this for some time, I’ve all but come to the conclusion that we will never be able to build the addition I’ve always dreamed of. It costs so much money and gets more expensive every year. I don’t feel comfortable spending so much money in such an unstable economy. That’s why in previous posts I’ve talked about how I came up with the idea of ​​living with the sunroom and making it usable for us, and I’m also thinking about opening up the hidden bathroom next to the sunroom and making it usable again. (This has pretty much gone from a consideration to a plan in the last few days.) The more I’ve thought about these ideas, the more at peace I feel with them instead of tearing them down and spending tons of money rebuilding and expanding.
With these things in mind, I recently took Cooper (our dog) into his yard for the morning. His garden is right outside the outside door of our master bathroom.
And as I stood there watching it for a minute, I thought to myself that this is actually the perfect place for a small patio.
I can definitely see myself making this a nice, private area behind our master bedroom, and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I know it’s not exactly common to have an exterior door in a master bathroom, and the plan was always to add it behind this room, so this exterior door was never intended to be a permanent part of this bathroom. But I’m very much of a “work with what you’ve got” attitude these days. And I become more so with each passing day.
I remember seeing a picture a few years ago of a gorgeous (but small) master bathroom with French doors leading out to a private garden and it was absolutely amazing. This image has stayed with me all these years. I wish I could find it and show you, but I couldn’t find it. But with this image in mind, I have a vision of what this little deck could look like. And the more I think about it, the more I want to make this vision a reality.
