My house is a 1989 builder basic, and this especially comes out in the bathrooms. The bathrooms have oak cabinets with 30″ high plastic laminate counters. The master bath has a large jetted tub and a tiny one-piece fiberglass shower. Also the master bath toilet is in an awkward location.
Existing Master Suite Issues
My master bath vanity, at 6′-0″ wide, is a nice enough size with double sinks and some counter space. New cabinets, counters, sinks, and faucets would be a good update. However, I would like to tinker with the other elements of the bathroom, as well as the rest of my master suite, because they have more flaws in my opinion than just outdated finishes.
While my current bathtub is 6′-0″ wide, my shower is only 2′-6″ x 2′-6″. Since I use the shower more frequently than the tub, this is too much of a disparity for me. I could possibly do without the tub, but the tiny shower is my number one issue to resolve on my remodel.
Another thing that could be improved on in my master suite is the door swings. The door into my bedroom swings into the door opening for my bathroom. Then the bathroom door swings into the floor space in front of the toilet and then up against my shower door.
The last issue in my current master suite that I would like to improve on in the remodel is the closet. It is less then 5′-0″ wide currently and has hanging space on both sides. As a rule of thumb, I aim for a 5′-0″ wide closet for hanging space on one side only. This is because hangers typically take up about 2′-0″ of space and that leaves 3′-0″ for walking space. If I design for hanging space on both sides, I typically make the closet 7′-0″ wide. If I hang clothes of both sides of my current closet, my shoulders will hit the hangers as I walk through. I currently only put clothes on one side of my closet as a result.
I have come up with four options for my remodel starting with the least invasive to the most invasive, which will probably correspond to the least expensive to the most expensive.
Option 1
This option does not move any walls, but it does move some plumbing fixtures and doors around.
In this option I would replace the existing large tub with a shower of the same size. Then I could move the toilet where the shower used to be.
This leaves a whole wall that could be taken up with the vanity making it extra long (almost 9′-0″ long). There could even be a storage cabinet between the sinks.
To improve the door situation, the door to the bathroom would be changed to a pocket door so it would not swing into anything. Then the door to the closet could be moved to one side, instead of the center, leaving one side for clothes and a decent sized walkway inside the closet.
Option 2
This option keeps the wall dividing the closet and bathroom in the same place but expands into the master bedroom. My current bedroom space inside of my master suite is pretty large so taking a few feet out of the bedroom is not a detriment to me.
The expansion into the bedroom space provides the closet with 3′-6″ more in hanging space and also gets the closet door into a better position. The hall that is created when you come inside the bedroom also helps to give more sound privacy to the bedroom. The hall could be used to access a linen closet since the bathroom vanity is not as long in this option as Option 1.
Option 3
This option switches the location of my current bathroom and closet. The window that is currently in my bath stays so the closet has a window, and then a new window of the same size is added to the new bath location. The bath extends 5′-6″ into my bedroom, but that still leaves enough space for the bed wall (which would become 14′-7″ long).
The shower, toilet, and vanity are all on one wall. It’s the same size vanity as I have currently, but the shower would become 5′-0″ wide.
This option is big enough to still fit a tub, which could be a freestanding tub. The closet ends up being accessed through the bathroom, but that is not an issue for me. There is also an entry hall created like the last option.
Option 4
This option is an addition to my house. My master suite is on the second floor of my house so the bathroom addition would create space below on the first floor. Currently there is a screened porch on the first floor below where the addition would be. I would like to replace the screened porch eventually because of some design flaws (another post for another time) so the new screened porch could be incorporated into the addition. The addition would be 13′-6″ x 14′-6″ overall.
In place of my current closet and bathroom, there would be two separate walk-in closets with a hall in the middle leading to the new bathroom.
Inside the bathroom is a 5′-6″ wide shower, two 5′-0″ wide vanities, a toilet room, and a tub.
Which Option To Choose?
I am leaning towards Option 1 or 2 since I feel like I am getting a big enough improvement without having to have extensive changes. My husband likes Option 4 because the bathroom is much more luxurious than our current bathroom, and it gives more square footage to our house. Which option do you prefer?
Remnant Architecture 