What about a pocket door?

I'd hate it, but that's me. Where's the toilet?

We just had a pocket door installed on our master bath - 32 inch wide door and we plan to keep it open most of the time. Toilet is in the corner away from the door but it IS a small bathroom. We are liking having the door open most of the time and also liking the extra room we have that doesn't get used as it was previously by the traditional bathroom door when it is open or on its way to being open. I was actually worried about whether the pocket door would get jammed easily, especially in a humid environment but this pocket door is installed so well and slides so easily and freely that I don't see how it will get jammed. But we've only had it for a couple of months -- crossing fingers.

Can you post a quick sketch? This would very much depend on layout for me.

Oh, boy, I think there's a spectrum of answers for this ranging from "why not?" to "over my dead body!" I know this because we did a master with no bathroom door and when some people saw it for the first time after the remodel, there was silence and a slight intake of breath before any comment. But we did it for ourselves and it works fine for us.

Depends on your need for privacy plus the timing of your various uses. We skipped the door because the room is carved out of the upper half-story, the ceiling is peaked, and it would just make for an odd geometry. Our walls don't even go all the way up to the ceiling. The toilet is at the far end behind a pony wall and the visual entry to the bathroom is blocked from the bed by a built-in dresser. So there is visual if not acoustical privacy. That is simply not enough for some people, but if you find the idea of no door acceptable, then for you, it probably is.

we had a doorless bath with a very large opening to the master bedroom. The small room with the toilet had a door. This was a rental townhome--it was gorgeous when we went to check the place out--loved it! functional, ugh, no!! My husband gets up for work earleir than me, I could hear (and see) him in the shower, the vanity lights were distracting when you are trying to sleep, etc. If it were my choice, I would not do it that way.

That would be a serious ugh for me also. Although not as bad if the toilet were enclosed in a little room with a fan.

How would this impact resale value? Would it be difficult structurally to add a door later on?

Here is the layout. The bed will be on the wall where the closet is.

Personally, I would hate to not have a bathroom door. Our bathroom door is open a lot, but sometimes I just want the privacy. For example, if your significant other is sleeping late and you need to get ready, do you want to be able to shut the light out so it doesn't bother your sleeping sweetie? If you do french doors and leave room for the doors to lay flat against the wall or do pocket doors that can tuck away, I think that would allow you to keep the room open most of the time, but give the option to close when necessary.

I must say that even though I wouldn't do it for myself, at least the layout makes it appropriate (think hotel bathrooms) -- the toilet room has a door, and you can't see into the bathroom from the bed, so not too bad.

I must say that even though I wouldn't do it for myself, at least the layout makes it appropriate (think hotel bathrooms) -- the toilet room has a door, and you can't see into the bathroom from the bed, so not too bad.

We once lived in a double-wide mobile home. In the master bedroom it had two vanities open to the MBR. The shower and tub were within an enclosure between the vanities and not visible from the MBR proper. The problem was, if either my husband or I went to bed early, turning on the light over the vanity and/or running water was very disturbing. I'm not a particularly modest person, but I like the idea of being able to shut the door on all bathroom activities.

I think it would work better if most of the room was shielded from view. What about moving the doorway up to where the closet and bath meet and putting the corner back to square. Then put the opening, no door, between the closet and bath with a wall slightly wider than the opening in front of it. So you would go through the opening, then turn right into the closet or left into the bath. That little wall would make a great display area, or place for a full length mirror.

Taking a bath and walking out of the shower directly across from an entry without a door might not work for some people

I think having a door or no door depends on the layout. I actually have no door to my bathroom and it really works for my layout. Just omitting a door when the layout actually calls for one, may end up feeling something is missing.

A lot of the modern design has no door because it view the bathroom as part of the master suite. The bedroom flow in to the bathroom seemlessly, either with a small partition or with no partition at all. This way, you get a bigger room, feel more open and airy, and more light. Sometimes, the partition can be a short wall or a full length wall hiding the vanity on the other side, or having a "closet" alley between the bed and the bathroom. Most people will still hide the toilet so it will not come to the direct view from the bedroom area.

In your plan, personally i see it as two rooms. So if everything stays, I think a door is appropriate. However, it can easily turn into a more modern/ no door design if you move a few things around. I also personally do not like diagonal walls (where) and corner tub. I think if you don't want a door, it also calls for a stand alone tub, and maybe an semi open shower area.

Just something to check--how will the "room" be treated for fan ventilation by your local inspector? (They will want a fan sized appropriately, and if no door, you might be looking at a HUGE CFM fan...)

I think you need to at least consider that.

Definitely depends on the practical layout. And lifestyle, in terms of hours of use; someone an early-AM riser while the other sleeps in, etc.

Then there is always the basic need for privacy. Some people need closed doors.

Our master suite is a three-room setup (bathroom, sitting room, bed/sleeping room) and "L"-shaped, so bathroom lights and water noises (sink, shower, toilet flushing) from the bathroom really don't interfere with anyone sleeping. We have large door-less arched openings that separate the three rooms from each other.

So with regards to practicality, my open space works because light and noise from the bathroom really don't interfere with someone sleeping.

Lifestyle-wise, my wife and I are all over the place with regards to waking and sleeping. Example, tomorrow I'll be up at 3AM, but my early morning shower won't wake her. The layout of the space ensures that.

Same with privacy...we're not shy around each other. So privacy-wise, there is no need for closed doors for us.

I love the door-less setup we have, we've been here for years and there's been no talk of needing to change it. I even offered to add doors a few years ago and she flat-out refused.

It's definitely not a one-size fits all proposition.

With your layout, I think I'd want to have a door to block light and water noise. I'm not a big fan of the double doors that you have on your drawing, mostly because the left door, if left open, appears that it will interfere with the shower entry.

I'd rather see a single large hinged door, say 3'6" wide, or pocket doors. With you vacillating between door versus doorless, a single wide pocket door would probably work well for your set-up, but your sidewalls may not be long enough to pull one off.

With your small sidewalls on each side of the bathroom entry, two pocket doors might work.

My two cents. Good luck with your decision!

I'm in the pro-door camp. We live in So. CA, and many homes built in the last 10 years are built without a door to the master bath (although most have a little "water closet" for the toilet with a door). Our last house didn't have a door and it was very inconvenient because of the number of times one of us went to bed late or had to wake early. My husband in particular has the occasional morning where he has to rise pre-dawn, and that was enough of a hassle for us that we specifically looked for a home with a door to the master bath.

Dunno, maybe we're just light sleepers, but the noise and light factors were significant for us...

I would prefer installing a curtain rod with floor length curtain on it. this will put about a 30% privacy for the bathroom. All people may not be feel it comfortable to use bathroom without a door.

Here is a link that might be useful: shower accessories

Our master bath has no door,can only see the vanity and mirrored closet doors from the bedroom, and the toilet closet has a door. Toilet behind a door is a must for me. I'm used to not having a door to the bathroom itself and it's not a deal breaker especially because what I see from my bedroom is just cabinetry and mirror, but would prefer one for reasons other's mentioned. Too noisy if husband is up earlier showering. Doesn't bother him at all cuz he can easily sleep thru that. Hoping to add a door in a remodel, but the layout with entry doors to bedrrom swinging in direction of bathroom opening is going to make that difficult. Would love pocket doors, but don't think that's possible without redesiging the layout which works well now.

We also have a similar set up with our Master Bedroom bathroom. Two separate areas. Area #1 is a space about 9'x9' with double vanity and one wall area with custom shelves. This area opens directly from the bedroom without a door. Carpeting runs from bedroom into vanity area.

Area #2 has garden tub, stall shower and toilet. There is a door leading to this area and has sheet vinyl.

We are getting ready to put our house on the market and the bedroom carpeting needs to be replaced. My question is, do I redo area #1 with carpeting or do I redo area #1 AND area #2 both with new hard surface?

BTW, I do like there not being a door going in to the vanity area.

No doors? Not for me. Married over 45 years, but for pooping and a few other personal grooming times. PRIVACY. Always give me an optional door. But I don't like to crap in a closet. Too much like public restrooms. This is my home.

-Babka

Doors. Yes. ITA on the suggestion of 2 small pocket doors. That would give you the best of both worlds, and look lovely.

We have that situation now and I really wish I had a door. We don't have room for the door swing, so we are thinking we will add a pocket door when we redo the bathroom. The toilet has a door, but you almost have to stand on the toilet to close it - so that will be another fix needed. The fixtures all have a lot of privacy, but it's light and sound when one of us is up later or earlier than the other that most make us want a door option. I like the split pocket door idea too.

I have lived with this kind of arrangement for the past 10 years. We have what is called a "water closet" which contains the toilet. The rest of the bathroom is open to the bedroom. We arrange our bed so that you don't see into most of the bathroom, although the tub is visible. If I am in the tub, I just close the bedroom door to the hall. Having the water closet controls your most private bathroom issues. Sometimes, one of us is up before the other, but we've learned to just turn over and go back to sleep if showers or lights happen to wake us. It usually doesn't. We are about to move into an older home with an open bathroom, although it has a pocket door going into the area that houses the toilet and shower. I'm looking for a solution. We had dual pocket doors in a previous home and they were constantly jamming and getting off the tracks. I hated them and never wanted them again, but in the house we are moving to, a standard door would not be an option. I'm considering one of those barn style doors, but they also ride on a track, so I'm not sure if they would be any better. But as for the open bathroom with the water closet option, for us it was just never a problem.

Another vote for pocket door. Privacy is always a good thing for a bathroom to have. I made a small bathroom with two doors, one a normal door, one a sliding door. Accessible from a bedroom and from the hallway going to the bedroom and both lockable. It is totally functional and worth it to have these doors as it becomes a private bath for the bedroom or an extra bath when entertaining.

Due to the layout of our master bath, we really don't need a door. The bathroom is large, and the toilet is tucked away and hidden. When one of us is using the toilet, we give each other privacy and don't walk in. But we do have a pocket door. Though we keep the door open 95% of the time, there are times that we appreciate the door. For example, when we have houseguests, the closed door gives me another layer of privacy.

I suppose it depends on your setup. My master bedroom
originally had the whole double vanity area open to the bedroom near the front
side of where the bed would be. There is a door going into the other section
that has the toilet, shower and tub. I’m a light sleeper so with husband
getting up once or twice in the night to pee that setup would not have worked.
All my interior doors are heavy wood except the new door we put in on the
vanity section wall to bedroom. At first I had a fit that husband brought home
a matching but non wood door, it’s a light generic door from Homedepot. Being that he is a loud charging elephant at
night, well, always, the lighter door that does not slam like the heavy wood
and a zooped up fan in shower area that has a night light on it has been great.
I’m not shocked awake with bright lights.
Nor am I brought to near heart failure from slamming doors that are meant to
protect me from light and the sound of tinkles.

Definitely have a door! I don't know ONE couple that wakes up at the same exact time and no door to the sink forces your partner to deal with the light while they try to sleep! As a renter who has to deal with these 'hotel bedrooms' all the time, which is what I call them when there is no door to the sink area, I have had to put up shower curtains to try to block the light. Even then I worry about the noise, etc while I try to get ready for work and he's asleep or vice versa! Get the open feeling elsewhere but PLEASE put a door to your bathroom, you won't regret it!

NO! and having just moved into a house with a pocket door NO AGAIN!

The key to a pocket door in a bathroom situation is not to use a pocket door🤷🏻‍♀️…they are lightweight and hollow…we love our pocket doors to master closet and bath as we used regular solid wood doors..in our case antique doors….for a little more personality…but mostly for a more sound proof and a more solid feel when closed…

Nothing like having your partner drop a deuce while you're in bed with the fan off.

With your layout, you would be able to see directly into the water closet if there was no door. That’s a hard no. But I also don’t think your angled walls are the best you can do anyway. So if you decide no door, get rid of the angled wall to give the bathroom more privacy.