I like your revision. One recommendation is to move both sinks on the same wall and make a sit down makeup area on the revised short sink area. The large sink area is a lot of space. How will it be used?

I like it, Dutty--especially the new entry into the bathroom. There are only 4 things that I would rethink on this version:

1) In the master bedroom, have you thought about centering the windows and doing a patio door on either side of them? It would give some symmetry & balance to the space and maximize any views from the master. I would change the door swing so that it opens toward the outer edge of the balcony so you don't block the balcony access so much.

2) In the shower, I would consider doing away with the enclosure/door and leaving the whole area open once you enter the dry-off area. This would allow for easy access should either of you ever require a wheelchair or walker in the future.

3) Will there be a door for the toilet room? It will need to open out, if so. If it were me, there would be a door. I never really "got" toilet rooms until I had one--now I see why they're so very nice to have!

4) Are you 100% sure you want the tub on the front of the house? Many homeowners use a frosted window at the tub--if you're going this route, how will that look from the outside? Will it work with the rest of your exterior? We have a clear glass 4x4 window at ours, but the tub is on the rear of the house and overlooks 35+ acres of privacy. I could not imagine doing a clear glass window over a tub on the front of the house for privacy reasons--even as far back off the road as we are. Blinds will be a pain to clean between all the moisture in the bathroom pasting dust to slats + having to reach over the width of the tub & tub deck. No easy feat! I might would consider moving the tub to the side wall and having a long sink wall along the front with a makeup area at the window.

That's all I see. Overall, it's very nice and flows well. Great job! What have you decided on the back stair/laundry area?

I works. I think you have some good suggestions above. But, for sure, you need a door on the toilet room and it need to open out (to the right, or to the bottom, I'm not sure without dimensions). You need that door because you have to enter your closet via the bathroom. And, you don't want to have to literally walk right in front of someone using the toilet to get your LBD...

Can you put some dimensions on your drawing? What size is the shower? How big is the toilet room and entry? What size is the closet? Etc.

The shoe shelf door looks more functional in the first version. Is it supposed to swing closed? If so, it doesn't look like it can in the second version with the bench there.

What if the bench were built into that little alcove? The tiny part at the top of the alcove could be cubbies that open toward the bench, for things like purses. Then shallow shoe storage could go up the wall where the bench is shown in your latest version.

Thanks Everyone!!!

OK, I'm a big dork... I was so tired last night of editing the plan that I left a bunch of stuff out like POCKET DOORS!!! Yes, I would never NOT have a door to my potty. I can only imagine what you all were thinking *is this chick some sort of creepy exhibitionist* :) And, I also forgot measurements. I'll post the updated file below.

@mother - Re: the long wall, to be honest, we haven't gotten far enough as to how it will be used. We don't really have a linen closet so one elbow will be a floor to ceiling cabinet (now that I've said that, I'll need to make it deeper). I know I should have a vanity area but haven't figured out where it should go yet. You're idea might be a really good one about switching the sinks... I'll play around with it.

@dream:
1.) On the patio, I hadn't thought of that....interesting. I'll play with it! Do you think it kills the view to look at a patio? I'm sorta bummed because we are over that screened area for the pool BUT there isn't really another place for the pool because we don't want it directly behind the house. Arrggh.
2.)The reason for the door on the shower is that I want to do a steam shower. I have an open air shower now and I'm always COLD and I have little ones with allergies so I figured we'd close that one off completely and then have one of those steamers that you can put essential oils into (it would be like sitting inside the jar of Vicks... wait, what would that do to their eyes?! Just thought of that! LOL)
3.)Yep, potty MUST have a door!
4.)I read your response right before bed last night and have been thinking about my exhibitionist problem. I'm totally with you and never even thought about it. Problem with moving it to the side is that that side faces the creepy neighbor and is closer to "eyes" whereas the front will be less visible although still visible. Now I'm wondering what to do. Maybe plantation shutters that are always closed on the bottom and always open on the top would work? Crap... these little details are why I'm probably getting an ulcer!

We still haven't figured out the laundry area. During this weekend master bedroom marathon, we actually considered moving the laundry back upstairs to that second office (adjacent to the closet) and making that downstairs laundry area the second office/craft/mud room. Not sure. My brain hurts. And let me just say thanks for all your help... it means a lot to have people to bounce ideas off of.

@Kirk - I forgot to draw in the door but I LOVE the way everyone is imagining me/DH walking by each other sitting on the pot. I imagine my DH sitting with his magazine and me walking by and waving, "hi babe!" in my LBD. What a way to set the mood for a night out, huh?! LOL.

@dekeoboe - sorry about that! Thanks for asking. Let me know if this helps. :)

I agree about moving both the sinks to the long counterspace area. I would then incorporate the currently-small-counter-sink space into the closet. It could be an accessories area (jewelry, belts, ties, etc.) You would need to move that wall/pocket door next to the tub. Are you envisioning the tub as a big focal point, though? It could be moved to the sink wall, if need be...

The spaces with corner cabinetry aren't going to be optimal. I think there are too many small items in a bathroom that would get lost in that kind of space. A pull out corner susan might be ok to fix it... You still have room to move around the tub, sinks, etc. to try to avoid those corners........ (unless you have plans for them.)

@chicagoans - I must have been writing my response when you posted yours... I just saw it. :) That little alcove is a hidden space to hide things. That shoe shelf closes so that you'd never know there was anything behind it. It will be closed 98% of the time and when we need to open it, we would just move the bench and swing open the shoe shelf... does that make sense?

@lolauren - we have no plans for the corners and we weren't loving them either. The tub was gonna be a focal point when it was claw foot BUT I sorta decided I want a fun tub from kohler that can bubble, change colors, etc. :) So, I'm not sure I care where the tub goes. I'll have to play with this some! Thanks!!

Thanks dutty, that helps.

The closet isn't going to work as drawn. Each half is only 5' 2.5" and that is not wide enough for hanging clothes on both sides.

You might also want to think about having the doorways larger than 30".

dutty: got it re: the shoe shelf door. I thought the shoes were on the inside of it (on the alcove side of the door) rather than the closet side, which is why I thought it would be awkward. That hidden space will be a great little spot for tucking things away!

I realize you haven't changed the closet significantly from the way your architect drew it as shown in your original post on this thread. But the closet simply is not wide enough to hang clothing as represented. Each row of hanging clothing needs 2 ft of width, The aisles down the middle between rows of clothing need to be 2 feet wide at an absolute bare minimum. And even then, you'll be brushing against clothing on both sides as you walk thru the closet and, if that doesn't give you claustrophobia I don't know what will. If you want to have room to walk down the aisle without brushing against clothing, the aisles need to be 2.5 ft wide. And, if you want to actually be able to step back a little bit and look thru the clothing hanging on the rods to decide what you want to wear, your need each aisle to be 3 ft wide. Between office and masterbath, your architect shows 4 rows of hanging rods plus two aisle-ways. Thus, even with very narrowest possible aisles, your closet needs to be a MINIMUM of 12 ft wide and you need 13 to 14 ft of width for it to actually be reasonably "comfortable". You architect only gave you 10.5 feet! He should have known better!

I suspect the closet started out with the two aisles rotated by 90 degrees. In that direction you have 13.5 feet so that would be wide enough for four rows of rods plus two reasonably comfortable aisles. If you had him rotate the aisles and rods just so you could access that little alcove behind the mech closet, I'm sorry but that was a bad choice to make and he should have told you why it wouldn't work well.

You would be better off to turn the closet back the other way so that the aisles run parallel to the front wall of the house instead of perpendicular to it. You could still access the lower half of that hidden alcove by having a small hidden door beneath a row of hanging shirts. Then make use the upper half of the hidden alcove by inserting a narrow set of bookshelves in the corner of the office and maybe insert an art niche the hallway. The art niche could hide access to a very small wall safe if your wanted.

BTW - Glancing over the whole plan, I kind of get the feeling that you really like having "hidden" spaces and little secret rooms.

Hi Dutty--In response to your questions above...

Master Bedroom/Balcony--I don't think it kills the view at all to have the patio out there. I was more concerned with balancing the windows/doors on that wall and being able to take full advantage of the view. The door swing recommendation was purely a functional thing.

Got it on the steam shower. The spa I go to when DH & the kids get me gift certificates has a steam room that I just love. They spritz the steamer thingy with eucalyptus oil and it is wonderful. You could do the same. 5x5 is a good size, will there be a seat? How deep will the seat be and on which wall will it be located?

Your exhibitionist problem-- I see two solutions to this one. 1) Move the tub to the side wall and put in a frosted window to provide privacy from the creepy neighbor's prying eyes; then do a long sink wall along the front. This would allow for a clear glass window on the front of the house, privacy in the bathroom and the frosted window would not look out of place on the side. 2) Slide the shower to the side wall and put the tub on the back wall. Place a large window over the tub looking out over the back yard. The window could be clear (no creepy neighbor) or frosted. Here's a pic of a bath similar to the layout suggested in option 2 with the tub on the back wall and the shower on the side wall...

Hope this helps!

CHECK - REWORK CLOSET!!! :) Thank you Bevangel and Dek. It never ends ALTHOUGH I'm happy I'm doing this now and NOT being sorry later. It feels like I'll never know what's right unless I can take a virtual tour of the home but 3-D renderings would be WAAAAAY out of our budget. Sigh.

And, yes Bevangel, I do like secret spaces and nooks and crannies. Well, I think I do. I may end up crying in my soup once the home is built. I'm a total weirdo. Maybe it's a longing for the older homes of up North instead of the creepy concrete Mediterranean boxes I've been staring at down here in FLorida for the past 10 years.

@Dream - I'm gonna jump into illustrator tomorrow and edit this again. I like your idea of moving the shower to the side wall if I can make it work. And I'm assuming there will be a seat so we can sit in the steam but I haven't thought about it. It needs to be comfortable enough to sit for a while so I'm wondering if 5x5 is big enough? Stay tuned and THANK YOU!!!!