Window placement

9 years ago

After some discussion here, I came up with this bathroom layout for a new house.

In this layout, the window is PERFECT. I want the natural light on my face when I am doing makeup, etc. I don't want the window over the bath tub because it's cold, and I don't need the neighbours seeing me naked getting into the tub.

However, DH doesn't like the layout. He thinks the size of the bathroom is huge, and with this layout it feels small. It was also pointed out to me that because I've got a tub and a shower on either side of the doorway, I'll have to have the light switches outside the door. That's less than ideal.

So, I thought about switching it, like this:

But now what do I do with the window? If you move it over to the left, over the tub, then it's very similar to our current bathroom, which has me constantly leaning over the tub at awkward angles with a hand held mirror trying to find stray hairs.

If you move it over to the right, so it's over the vanity, then it makes mirror placement awkward.

For the record, I do NOT want double sinks. I want as much open vanity space as possible. A second sink is a waste of money and space for me. I had it in the first drawing to keep everyone from centering it and cutting off my "prep" space. I had no intention of installing the one on the right, closest to the window. In the second layout, I would have 1 sink on the right side of the counter.

Comments (7)

User
9 years ago
Design isn't an inside out procedure. How the fenestration lines up and looks from the exterior is just as important, if not more so, than how the windows land in the interior space. You have to design the inside and outside at the same time.

Think about putting the toilet and vanity on the same wall and the shower and tub on the same wall. You're stuck in the trees and can't see the forest. Don't get hung up on sizes and must haves in the first phase. Figure out how the elements work as a whole, inside and out, and then figure out what the specifics need to do to accomplish the overall design.
palimpsest
9 years ago
Or try switching the shower and toilet in #1
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amberm145_gw
Original Author
9 years ago
I have considered the look from the outside. This is the north side, so there are very few windows to line up with. Moving this one a few feet in either direction isn't going to affect the external design.

I have considered numerous layout possibilities, I'd rather not defend every one of them again.

This question is about where to put the window. Does it look horrible in the second layout? Does it make sense to move it in either direction? Or should I just accept that the light switch will have to go outside the door?
enduring
9 years ago
I hate light switches outside of the bathrooms. I have used them at my mother's house and others, I hate them.

I don't like layout #2, the corner at the tub, vanity, and window is very awkward to look at in your plan.

Plan #1 - the shower looks like it will be an obstacle to access the toilet.

I like Palimpsest suggestion, switching the toilet with the shower, in plan #1.
ineffablespace
9 years ago
I'm not asking you to defend the layouts you have, just suggesting that if you switch the shower and toilet that you can use the layout you like with regards to the tub an vanity, and still have the light switches inside the bathroom instead of outside which is another complaint you had.

But to specifically answer the question about the window in the second layout, yes, it's in horrible position. but it's because the tub and vanity are in horrible positions in that layout too.
dekeoboe
9 years ago
Why does the light switch have to go outside the bathroom? Why can't it go inside, on the right side above the end of the tub?
palimpsest
9 years ago
No outlet or switch can be placed above a bathtub or within 36" of an edge of a tub to prevent touching it from inside the tub and getting electrocuted. Exceptions are specific protected switches for the operation of whirlpool tubs.