Please critique my floor plan!

12 years ago

Hi everyone

I posted a couple of days ago asking for advice about putting the toilet in front of the window. Today I've included a rough floor plan. Four kids use this bathroom. We want one to be able to be in the shower while another is at the vanity (2 boys, 2 girls). We want low maintenance so we're thinking good quality acrylic shower stall with frosted glass. We thought about a tiled walk in shower but are thinking that the tile would be high maintenance and expensive for a shower that no one will really see. In addition to this bathroom, we have a four piece ensuite in the master bedroom upstairs, and a two piece powder room on the first floor.

The wall behind the toilet will be 6 feet high then open to the ceiling (9 feet). For the next 3-4 years when the traffic is high, we're planning to put a tension rod with a nice shower curtain in the opening to the shower area. Then when 2-3 kids leave the nest, we'll get rid of it.

Issues: Is toilet okay where it is? I'm thinking that we'll put a half shutter on the window.

Is two feet enough clearance to get through to shower area?

Any other thoughts or opinions? Thanks for any input!

dfsf

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Comments (8)

palimpsest
12 years ago
With your current schematic if you went with a 5-foot vanity you would have more room to access the shower.

Which way do the joists run? Is there a possibility of moving the toilet? Is that the stack in the back corner?
deedles
12 years ago
That's a clever plan to accomplish what you want. Plus, with a 6 foot wall behind the toilet, there is plenty of room to throw a glass of cold water onto the person in the shower, always good for a laugh from my memory... unless of course you are the one IN the shower. Then, not so much.

I'm gonna echo palimpset and suggest a shorter vanity if possible. Looks a little tight getting through there as it is and you said 2 feet? Kinda squeezy to my mind.

Love your big window molding and the deep sill!
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imagreenthumb
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, that's the stack in the corner.....we're thinking that we'll build a false wall and lose 5 inches, moving the shower over.

Good thoughts on the vanity.....we're trying to keep it as big as possible to accommodate multiple kids prepping, but maybe we should shrink it a bit.

The joists run parallel to the door wall. Thanks for your input! Deedles, my childhood memory is flushing the toilet and waiting for the scream!
lisa_a
12 years ago
I should preface this post by saying that kitchen lay-out is my stronger suit but I had an idea for your bathroom.

This plan assumes that you can move the waste line and plumbing lines for the toilet.

The areas that would need privacy in a house of 2 boys and 2 girls are the shower/toilet area, IMO, so it made more sense to put these in a room together, not the toilet and vanity. This way one of your daughters could be at the sink while a son is in the shower. My brother and I had a bathroom like this growing up and it worked for us.

Oh, and putting the toilet in the same room as the shower means less chance of siblings playing pranks on the one in the shower. ;-)

If you install transom windows above the shower, door and vanity area, you'll get natural light into the shower/toilet area. You could also check into a frosted glass door for even more light into the shower area without giving up any privacy.

I added a window seat below the window to give you more storage and to give that area a purpose. Besides, window seats are cute. ;-)

If clearances will allow it, you might be able to lengthen the vanity up to 1', which would mean your vanity would be long enough for 2 sinks, making it even easier for your bathroom to serve 4 kids.
Fori
12 years ago
I like Lisa's layout, especially from the multiple-kid perspective. And if anyone ever needed two sinks, I think it could be you.

Would it be ridiculous to make the door swing out instead of in? Or, LOSE the door entirely (only works with the potty locked up with the shower of course)? (Or a pocket door so it can be closed when there's company?) Go crazy with plumbing and put a second vanity where the linen closet is? Maybe that's going overboard...but if instead of a closet, you go with a tall cabinet (4 foot maybe), hang a mirror over it, and have another work station.

The false wall to hide the plumbing thing gives you a nice opportunity to have builtin nooks in the shower wall to hold all the shampoos.
terezosa / terriks
12 years ago
I like lisa's plan a lot. That's what I would do in a shared bath situation. The thing I most disliked about the first posted floor plan is that the toilet is the first thing one sees when the door is opened.
imagreenthumb
Original Author
12 years ago
Lisa, thank you for taking the time to rework my plan. The reason we kept the toilet out of the shower area was because we have a powder room just down the hall so if someone is at the sink and another needs the toilet, they just go down to the other bathroom. This would also leave more space in the shower area for changing etc. I'll have to measure it out to see what the clearances would be with your plan.

I like the transom and window seat suggestions. I was planning to go with one sink to leave room for a hair/makeup area, and a cupboard area above the vanity.

Fori, having the door swing out is a possibility, thanks for suggesting it. Great idea for the built in nooks!
lisa_a
12 years ago
You're welcome. But I'm a little confused about how your bathroom will accommodate 2 boys and 2 girls without a door separating the areas that need privacy (shower & toilet). I have two boys and they refused to share the bathroom once they hit puberty. One is quite shy, the other just wanted his privacy. Maybe that won't be true for your kids but I wanted to mention this in case your kids aren't at that stage yet.

As for changing space in the shower area, I believe you'll have enough room even with a toilet sharing the space. Unless you're intending for more than one kid to use it at the same time, that is. You have 4'5" feet between wall and shower. If you place the toilet 18" on center from the wall, you'd have about 28" between shower and toilet. You could place the toilet 15" on center from the wall - this is the minimum, I believe - and gain 3" between toilet and shower. You could also shrink the shower from 3'5" to 3' wide, gaining 6" more. You also have the space in front of the toilet.

But this is your bathroom, not mine. Now's the time to think all of these things through. Paper dreaming is cheap. ;-)