Here ’s what to wait when a powder way is included in a place listing , plus how it chip in value if you ’re sell your home .
JARED KUZIA
You ’re familiar with full john , but what is a powder room , which you sometimes see in home listings ? What ’s with the fancy name ?
Credit:JARED KUZIA
“ Often referred to as a half tub , a powder room typically include only a sink and toilet , ” say Stephanie Duncan , a senior habitation designer withOpendoor . “ A full bathroom includes a cesspool , toilet , exhibitioner , and tub . ”
This in - depth look at the features that define powder rooms , include insights from home experts , show how they lend to ahome ’s overall value and sellability .
Stacy Goldberg
Credit:Stacy Goldberg
What Is a Powder Room?
A powder room has only a sink and lavatory and is usually the can used by guests . It ’s a separate space , notattached to bedroomsin the household .
“ The name follow from the eighteenth century ; it was a way where ladies could retire to freshen their make - up and fragrance , ” explains agentMary Hall Mayerof Coldwell Banker Warburg .
“ pulverisation rooms are often strategically placed on the independent floor of a home , near master living area like the vestibule , animation elbow room , or dining elbow room , making them easily approachable to guests without the need to enter secret areas of the abode , ” Duncan aim out . Those private areas are typically bedrooms and upper levels .
Credit:Emily Followill
A powder room ’s location also makes it gentle for homeowners to get at .
Jeff Benach, principal of Chicago-based Lexington Homes
“ The fact that a home include a powder room means the buyer or owner will savor add convenience . ”
Thesehalf bathsare good additions in other area of your home .
“ We also see powder rooms on the back side of a house , especially if the owners have a pool and do n’t want folks who are dripping with water walking through the ease of their home to get to a bathroom , ” saysChrista Kenin , a real estate factor at Douglas Elliman . “ We sometimes see gunpowder room in other levels of a home , such as a basementor in a finished attic / upper floor , so tribe do n’t have to climb additional stairs . ”
Types of Homes with Powder Rooms
“ A common myth is that only larger home base or luxury homes have powder rooms , ” say Wendi Miller , a sales fellow with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Lifestyles Realty . “ It is common for a smaller home , townhome , or condoto have a powder room or one-half bath located near the kitchen or keep room . ”
While these rooms are often described as half baths or node baths in home listing , they ’re also part of the number figure include in the quickfacts on the listing .
“ It ’s why you ’ll see idiom like ‘ 2.5 baths . ’ The powder way is the half , ” Duncan adds .
The Value of a Powder Room
Powder rooms are a Brobdingnagian bonus in home and apartments for their added toilet facility for both homeowners and guests .
“ A well - maintained andtastefully decorate gunpowder roomcan potentially increase a home ’s market value , ” Duncan suppose . “ The powder room is a great spot to add some extra care when prepping the home for visitors . prime , diffuser , andhand towelsadd style and social function to the space without breaking the bank . ”
In New York City , they ’re more than just convenient . They ’re a hot commodity .
Annie Cion Gruenberger, agent, Coldwell Banker Warburg
“ [ A pulverization room ] add value because it allow folk members ’ bathrooms to remain private . Edgar Albert Guest will not invade your privacy , and your personal bathroom stay on clean . ”
“ Many flat , especially pre - war homes , do not have them . Powder room are not just pure opulence but a necessary as well . Especially since COVID , the great unwashed desire their individual nursing home area not to be used by others , ” says Gruenberger .
Renovating or Adding a Powder Room
One way to sum value to your dwelling is torenovate or add a bathroom .
“ According to Opendoor ’s 2023 Home Decor Report , buyers mention home with updated bathrooms ( 61 % ) as their big domicile shopping turn - on , ” Duncan say . “ Adding a half bath to the home has the potential to increase resale value by $ 9,000 on average . ”
If you ’re go to add a bathroom strictly for resale , Miller suggest going the distance with a full john . Short of bring a bathroom and find the disbursal of hiring a pro to add the necessary plumbing system , Miller says a newly renovated powder way can be an easier way to add to resale economic value .
“ It is of import for the pulverisation room to be unobjectionable , brilliant , and freshly painted . update lighting is a must , ” Miller total . “ solace - height toilets , for which the seat bear about 17 to 19 inches from the land , andcomfort - height emptiness , which are about 36 column inch in height , are wondrous upgrades to a powder room . ”
Decorating a Powder Room
Benach has note that pulverization elbow room are oftenmore highly decorated than full bathrooms , which are individual portion of the dwelling house . For example , you might string up a patch of art in your gunpowder room but not your full bath . late design trend show that homeowner likelarge wallpaperpatterns in these suite .
“ Buyers can do a lot offun things decorate a powder roomthat do n’t wreak as well in a full bath , such as using much more impactful wallpaper and displaying art and statement pieces , ” he adds . “ It ’s also an easy way to decorate ‘ up ’ because it ’s the humble elbow room in the home ; it needs fewer material , so it is less expensive . The investment in style and decoration in a powder room get more impingement because that is the bathroom guests will see and apply . ”
You might be wonder about the wisdom of wallpaper in a privy , but agentSteven Gottliebof Coldwell Banker Warburg says it ’s fine .
“ A half - john or gunpowder way does n’t have a bathtub or rain shower , so there is n’t much steam that can create abridgement and demolish the decor , ” he explain .
Staging a Powder Room When Listing
Of of course , dissimilar interior decoration convention utilize if you ’re going to list your home . In that case , less is more .
“ In sleuth a pulverization room , a seller should check that the way is extremely clean and freshly painted with minimum decor , ” Miller says . “ You do n’t want the room to come along too officious . ”
She suggest jazzing thing up byadding a custom mirrorinstead of a builder - score mirror and getting free of those unsightly cleaning supplies when listing your home .
“ The pulverization room should be inviting . plunger , toilet brushes , and other functional bathroom point should be hidden , ” Miller add . “ A cosmetic hand towel and mitt goop in a cosmetic heart is acceptable . A marketer should make certain the toilet paper roll is a full roll . ”
Frequently Asked Questions
AJack and Jill bathroomis situated between two sleeping accommodation , and is accessible from both . These are typically used in children ’s sleeping accommodation areas .
In a split bathroom , there ’s a disjoined body of water cupboard , leaving the shower / bath area free for others to use . Split layout are frequently establish in primary bathrooms .
