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Master Bath and Closet Help

MrsHunter
10 years ago

Basically we are looking for getting the best use out of the space. The space we are working with is 18'2" x 10'6". This is both for the bathroom and closet. This is a new build. So everything can be moved (except for the exterior walls - the block has already been laid)

We are thinking about doing a freestanding tub instead of the one on the drawing, it would be 67"x37". The shower is what I'm having a really hard time figuring out. We are trying to do this the most economical way but get a shower that we like. I'd like to do a shower surround and base, those seem to be cheaper than doing a custom shower. Am I completely wrong with this?

Any other layout ideas? I feel like we have a lot of space but I don't feel like it is being utilized the best way. Wants: separate tub and shower, two sinks, and the room for the toilet.

Please help.

Rough drawing of what we have now:

Picture of bedroom (door goes out to covered porch)

Comments (13)

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    Hi MrsHunter,

    Maybe if you swap the positions of the vanity and the shower you could have room for a 5' x 3.5' or 5' x 4' shower. You probably would not need to have the angle in it and make it rectangular if you like that better.

    Turn the vanity so that it backs up against the water closet wall. Then the first thing you would see when you enter is the vanity.

    It's a generous space so I bet you'll be happy with it no matter what. If I can sketch up something I will post it. I like a good puzzle.

  • MrsHunter
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks! I'm sure we'll love it no matter what the layout ends up being, since this is our first time having our own master bath!

    A friend looked at the plan and gave me a couple of ideas, but I'm still not 100% sold. I do like the vanity in the corner or on the wall with the water closet, but I don't like that I feel like it is running into the tub.

  • MrsHunter
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ideally, we'd love to have a shower and tub like the one below, take up the entire wall on the ride side. However I feel like that is way out of our budget.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    The picture you posted was kind of what I was thinking of, too. It does look expensive but you might be able to save some money if you put a partial wall between the tub and shower. I bet glass is more expensive than tile. And you don't have to tile to the ceiling above the tub. It's a nice look but you can do something just as nice without that expense. If you have the right paint on the wall you can complement the tile so the shower doesn't just look like a cube stuck in the corner.

    I agree with you about the vanity running into the tub. It might make you feel like you only have a couple of feet of access to get in and out. You don't want it to feel cramped.

    What about putting the vanity under the windows? You have to be creative about the mirrors, either suspending them in front of the windows or use the smaller mirrors that are attached to an arm. If you have a nice view it could be awesome and certainly a bit out of the ordinary.

    Then you could put the tub against the water closet wall and put the shower next to the vanity. You might have to scale the vanity back to 72" but that's still a nice size.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    Take a look at the Houzz link below. I messed around with this again and laid it out in Excel ( my app of choice). If you put the tub and shower opposite each other you could do a large window or pair of windows between. You might even be able to put a chair or small window seat/bench there.

    I like the shower and tub layout but not sure I'm happy with the rest of it. I do like that the view from the bedroom would be the vanity. You could put in a really nice one and it would be nice to see that first.

    It's always good to get some ideas as they tend to spark new ones.

    Here is a link that might be useful: [bath idea on Houzz.com[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/black-swan-residence-aspen-contemporary-bathroom-denver-phvw-vp~4897177)

  • williamsem
    10 years ago

    Just to think outside the box a little...

    It looks like those stairs only go down. Can you capture any of that vertical space?

  • enduring
    10 years ago

    I would want my toilet to be more accessible than how you have it. The toilet is what I use most in the bathroom. The shower once daily, same with a closet. Toilet?...every 3-4 hours and once during the night :(

  • MrsHunter
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Wow! Thank you all for the responses, and sparking some new ideas. :)

    @williamsen: I do like the layout of the bathroom like that, I just don't like the toilet being stuck in the back corner of the closet. I like that it is still sort of part of the bathroom.

    @enduring: Are you talking about where I have the toilet? Honestly I think this toilet would be used at night, in the morning and then the rest of the time i'm assuming we'd probably use the 2nd bathroom since I feel like that is closer to the living space. But then again I'm not sure on that :)

    @LotteryTicket: Thanks that is also a great idea, I'll have to see with moving the window over how that looks from the outside. We can't change the windows since they've already been ordered, but I do like that layout.

    Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate the help!

  • kaysd
    10 years ago

    18'2" x 10'6" is a nice size space. With that much room, I would want a shower that is larger than 4'x4' with an angled entrance. 60" x 42" is a really comfortable size for a shower. 60" x 36" is also good (we had that in our last house). I would also want more separation between the moisture in the bathroom and my clothes (i.e., a door, and also a good ventilation system).

    I agree with not running a shower into a bath because then it is hard to get into the bath and you feel "crowded" while in the tub. I think it is fine to run a vanity or tub into a shower, as long as you leave a 28-32" opening to get in (with or with out a glass door).

    This is how I would lay out the space. The closet is separate and has more hanging space. The tub goes in the bottom right corner, but it can be oriented on the right wall (so it "goes" with the tub like in your inspiration photo), on the bottom wall, or at a diagonal if it is freestanding. Depending on how you orient the tub, there should be free wall space for some shallow shelves if you need more storage.

    {{gwi:1458971}}

    {{gwi:1458972}}

    In my drawings, I used 6" thick interior walls, but yours may not be that thick. I also assumed 18'2" x 10'6" was the usable interior space. If those measurements have to include the exterior walls, then either the vanity or closet gets shorter, and the closet gets a little narrower. 6'-6" is as narrow as I like to go with a WIC, so there is 2' of depth for hanging clothes on each side, with a 30" walkway down the middle. HTH.

  • kaysd
    10 years ago

    Here is another option, in case the first 2 will not work because of window placement.

    {{gwi:1458973}}

  • kaysd
    10 years ago

    Bumping for OP.

  • MrsHunter
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure how I missed the last few posts, but WOW thank you kaysd. You gave me a lot more to think about! I really appreciate it!

  • kaysd
    10 years ago

    You are welcome. It was fun to design for your space. My entire master "suite" is 18' x 19' including the bathroom and closet, so a walk-in closet and bathtub were off the table.

    You might want to consider using the Fantech Dual Grille ventilation system. It lets you have 7â³ ceiling grilles (with or without lights) in 2 or more locations, and they are all serviced by one fan motor located in the attic. It is very quiet and energy efficient and you can use controls that allow for low level continuous or intermittent ventilation (a specified number of minutes per hour) to control air quality all the time, plus a button that lets you turn the fan up higher for short periods of use. We are installing this system in our master bath. In your case, I would put one in the toilet space and one in the main area to protect your clothes from shower steam.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fantech