This seems like a fatal bathroom design flaw. Imagine having a shower, opening that drawer and then having a medical emergency such as a heart attack...
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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In light of that, the bigger problem is that the door here opens into the bathroom. If a person collapses up against that door - especially if they are of the larger persuasion - you're not getting them out.
That's normal, though. Interior doors nearly always open into a room.
I had mine re-hung outwards because most UK bathrooms are tiny.
Gaver you never seen an outwards opening door?
In my experience, it's rare in North America for the bathroom or any rooms door to open outward, unless it's a closet. Most houses are designed with a straight, narrow, central hallway. Any door opening out presents a risk to anyone walking down the hallway, so closets are the exception. Bathrooms usually open out if they are too small to open inward.
However, never have I seen one designed like this. Doors usually are in a spot where nothing can obstruct them, and they are off to the side or end of a room where drawers and people using the room are unlikely to be near, so the likelyhood of a person blocking the door is low, much less a drawer built into the cabinet. This looks like one of those designs where an original two storey house was cut into two units by a do-it-yourselfer that didn't care about the result because they wouldn't be the one living in their disaster.
A cat would never design such a shit drawer placement
A dog would never do this
As the owner of a dog that might have dimentia, I can tell you with absolute certainty that a dog would, in fact, do this.
We have a dog that, for lack of better terms, has some weird separation and general anxiety. Shit head locks himself in the bathroom, gets scared, and proceeds to try and eat his way out.
Such a good picture. The gap under the door must be huge though for a phone to pass through.
If at all possible, don't put drawers and doors in places were they can block each other like this. If space is limited and there was no other choice, so be it, but otherwise it's the owner's fault.
Man these kitties are adorable!
I'll remember that next time I'm building my own house on the great frontier, grandpa.
Lol, since when do most people have enough choice to decide how your living space looked at this level? I rent so I don't decide that the door is in front of the cabinet, I get what find in a space. Even if I had my own place, do you think I can necessarily afford a several thousand dollar reno just to fix this?
A cabinet of drawers is really easy to relocate. Even if you rent with furniture included, you're generally allowed to move furniture around to your liking as long as you don't damage anything.
(Unless I've been living in a bubble, which tbh is possible but sounds insane to me)
But to be fair to me, I did say that if there's no other choice then so be it.
The angle looks like they must have taken the photo from the outside of the bathroom door, under a gap beneath the door. Took me a minute to figure out how they could get that angle with their phone under the door.
I think the phone is laying flat on the ground, looking up. That grill you see is in the ceiling.
Ohhh that makes sense. The kitties are looking down at it
This pic is classic 🤣
If space is limited and there was no other choice
I think there's always a choice to just not have drawers there. Like, literally just choose to have the door sweep clear. Even if you moved into that house, you can even just remove the drawer completely.
This problem is the reason why standard small bathroom layout puts the sink immediately next to the door, as the cabinet beneath has a swing door that can be pushed aside.
This is likely a landlord/flipper/homeowner special, where they don’t know or care about good practice, and got a good deal on the wrong cabinet.
We redid our kitchen and fucked up with a drawer next to a corner.
It became a shelf.
Had this same thing happen to me in a very small apartment. Not everyone has an option to remodel or choose an apartment big enough for this not to be an issue. Sometimes you're just stuck with a shitty design.
I agree. However, they do make kid safety stuff that prevents drawers from being opened, which might prevent this. Problem with cats is that you won't know you need something until after the first time this happens.
The one we like is basically two pieces of plastic secured to a surface using command strips with a ratcheting strip connecting them. Not too expensive, removable, no holes left behind, easy to install and use.
I'd remove the drawer while living there and put it back when moving out
And potentially not have storage in the bathroom?
I have a bathroom so small the door has to open outward into the hallway. If I can deal with it, so can you.
Isn't that the default? I've never seen a bathroom door open into the bathroom.
No, doors pretty much always default to opening into rooms if they're big enough.
Same, I call it my Secret Poop Closet
Yeah, that's what pedestal sinks are for.
The gap under the door must be huge though for a phone to pass through.
It is flat on the floor looking up, only needs a centimeter or so gap for most phones taking a pic in selfie mode.
Yup. That's a lot IMO.
Had a cat do that once.
We replaced the door handle that day because of was the old type you couldn't easily open from the outside.
Menace cat. Loved him.
If nothing else my cats have forced me to get creative about cat proofing things
So the cats were in the bathroom, with no one else inside, with the door closed? Cats are flexible sure but I've never seen one get under a door jamb.
Little bugger
If a cat can fit their head into it, they can get into it.
Exactly. Their body plan isn't as svelte as a ferret, but they have similar instincts and can make-do.
Fuzzy li'l octopuss'n'bootses
In my experience, sometimes cats will get in places you don't want them to be, denying them the exit makes them want it. Close the door for a little bit, then when you open it, they come shooting out. No muss, no fuss, no one gets clawed trying to usher anyone from behind the toilet or between the shower curtains.
The cats might have pushed the door shut?
Cats are liquid and stealthy. I used to close the door on mine all the time. Wouldn't know it until about an hour later, and they were howling.