Hi Cecil,
Thanks again for continuing to provide such a great resource. I hope this question is general enough.
I've read that a bathroom near an entry door is considered less desirable for feng shui. However, a common use case in some parts of the world is to have a bathroom and laundry room close to a side/back entry to clean up and change clothes in before entering the living areas of the home, e.g. after yard/garden/woodworking/farm/automobile work, or to have easy access to a bathroom while working on these kinds of projects.
This prevents mud, leaves, sawdust, engine oil, etc from being tracked into the living areas of the home.
How would you balance this practical need while also keeping a bathroom door suitably far enough from an entry door to avoid bad feng shui?
Some options I can think of:
A) a layout that keeps the door from immediate view of the entry, but still a close walking distance to the entry door, though this may require more square footage and expense
B) a mudroom with no toilet, and only a shower/sink, possibly combined with a laundry room, which could work for cleanup but is less convenient for toilet use
C) a separate outbuilding just for this purpose, but this would be the most expensive option and is not possible on some properties
Or are these considerations not so important in comparison to the practical reasons that help keep the living areas clean?