The 1 disadvantage of doing the same on the main level as the basement is that if someone is using the toilet, no one else can be getting ready. Everyone is locked out of any function.

That said, in your layout, it would be more efficient use of space to replicate it upstairs.

What would be even better though, is to figure out a way to get the toilet separated by only 1 door (or toilet and shower separated by only 1 door) from the vanities. Anyway that you can reorganize your space so that you have a toilet/shower room separate from the vanities? (if you have 11', you can do it for sure).

We're living in our temporary rental (during the build) with a *modified* Jack and Jill and we love it so much we put it in the new house. Our teenagers think it works great. Each person has a sink AND toilet, and they just share the shower which is in its own small room in between the two. Everyone has privacy for their "business!" And we have guests often and I think they'll appreciate the privacy, too, plus everyone can get ready at the same time. Just a thought...

You have the room to do what mydreamhome suggests. I like that option; and it wouldn't be that much more expensive.

I was looking at your floor plan thinking that there must be a way to fit in full two baths, but I'm not skilled enough to figure it out! Dreamhome sure nailed it, perfect solution!

Same concept, different layout option to maximize wall space in back bedroom...

Thanks for the great ideas. I love this layout drawn by mydreamhome. My only concern is that the two 5' tubs will be too wide for the space when placed back to back. As it is now the width of that span is 9'4".

Do both need tubs, or would one prefer a shower only?

We have a 5' tub in a space slightly smaller and we were able to inset it into the wall somewhat to make it fit. Basically there is a lip on the top rim of the tub and that was cut into the 2.4 somewhat. However, before proceeding with that idea I'd talk to your plumber and/or designer. We did it in a DIY bathroom upgrade in our current home so I'm not sure how it would meet code!

Make the tub on the right a shower and you can fit it in with no problem.

You could also add a second door to bedroom #3 and the first door could be left open for guest access while still being able to close the bedroom door.

I like mydreamhomes plan but want to go towards having guest access to bath also. I've drawn this plan to allow multiple people to use the bath and still have the privacy of the shower and toilet. Any thoughts? In a new home are reach-in closets a lot less desirable than small walk-ins? Thanks for any advice. I appreciate so many people giving input.

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I don't see a picture of your entire first floor - do you have another bathroom for guests to access?

Yes. We have a powder room on the other side of the house just off the kitchen. Here is the main floor plan. Thanks.

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I would think the door swing with the sinks opposite might be problematic. You won't be able to use the second sink without the door completely closed. While that does give you guest access, it puts the sinks in the same room which is part of the benefit of two separate baths. Think of two teenagers trying to get dressed in the morning . . . There might as well be a double vanity I think.

I am sure there is a way to do it and leave one of the baths open to the hall for guests but I will defer to those who are much more plan oriented than I am !

Walk ins are probably more desirable from a naive standpoint. But, really you do what works best for the space.

Having a 1/2 bath already accessible for guests, you probably don't need to make one of these accessible.

I would like to caution you against deep linen closets. Too deep, and things just get lost in the back.

Next, let's try this:

Go back to your first design except with this described change (I don't have a good way to get it to you as a drawing like mydreamhome):

take out your linen/hall closets. Turn the toilet 90* and enclose it in its own 3x5' room with a pocket door opposite the tub/shower. Then, on the backside of that, put in a longer, less deep linen closet in the hallway.

Make sure to use real vanities on each side for towel storage. And, use a hook or 2 on part of the pocket wall (not a towel bar, and do not screw anything into your pocket door!), for hanging towels when the kids are done showering.

I think the half bath is close enough for guest to use that and not need an entrance to the kids bathrooms.

Would it be strange to have a pocket door from the hall to the bathroom to eliminate the swing problem?

Having a pocket door would not be weird, but won't solve the "butt-to-butt" issue. Mock up 2 sinks back to back like you have drawn and get your DH/DW to stand at your opposite "sink" and try to get anything done. Bend down to "brush teeth" or "wash faces" then reach up and brush hair, etc. There will be a lot of "you are in my space" issues there if the space isn't wide/deep enough. You don't really have the size to stagger the sinks in the vanities to solve that problem either.

As far as closets go, we've had both the 5' long reach ins and the walk-ins. IMO, walk-ins win hands down. There's more room to maneuver, more accessible storage space for toys/extra blankets/etc, and they allow for more usable wall space on the bedroom side.

Before making the kids' bath(s) a public access bath, think about what your kids' baths look like now. Also, will your kids keep the bath sparkling clean enough for guests who may drop in anytime? Or the friends who come over after school? I'm a big fan of keeping private areas private (bedrooms, closets, baths) and the public areas public (family room, kitchen, powder room/dedicated guest bath). You already have a powder room on this level and guest space with full baths in the basement for overnight guests, so I would lean towards keeping the kids' bath(s) just for them to use.

On the layout, making one (or both) of the tubs a shower will indeed fix the issue. Another option is to use shorter tubs in one or both bathrooms. Many garden style tubs are available in slightly shorter lengths. As kids get older, they tend to take more showers than baths, anyway.

I came up with another couple options to allow 5' tubs in each bath as well...

Here's a mock up of what kirkhall last suggested. I oculdn't make a linen closet work in this layout as there is only ~3'9" to work with. You really don't want to go below 3' in width for an enclosed toilet room. So that left 9" in which to get a 4" wall + shelving. I didn't think a 5" deep linen closet would do the trick. However, since your vanities are so wide, you could do a 12" linen tower at each one leaving 36" for the vanity top. That should certainly take care of the storage issue.

Hope these help!

Thanks mydreamhome. The advantage to having the dimensions on computer/paper is seeing just how much/little space there really is.

One thing that having that much space for the toilet room provides is a nice place to have your towel bars. You can make your pocket wall substantial enough to have the pocket and some depth for screwing towel bars and the like into that wall.

Though, I will say I like one of the other options presented by mydreamhome better where you get 2 full baths out of the deal.

OK, my head hurts now. I've been looking at this way too much. I think I found a way to keep the walk in closets and create more usable space. It gets rid of the jack & jill but still has a double vanity and a private toilet. There is also still a linen closet and a hall storage closet. Let me know what you think. I appreciate everyone who has given there input. Sorry for the picture quality. It is hand drawn and picture is from my phone. Scale is not perfect but pretty close.

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It works, but it just seems like a lot of wasted floor space.

I think my favorite option is the 2nd out of the three posted by lavender. If you want one bath accessible from the hall you could move the bedroom door back a bit on that bedroom so that you would be leaving the bedroom to go to the bathroom, or even have two pocket doors one before and one after the bathroom.

I think 24" doors for the toilet rooms and closets are too narrow.

You get the most closet and bathroom bang for your buck with this layout from mydreamhome, imo.

Here is a link that might be useful:

We have decided that we don't need to have a bathroom for each room. We like this plan to have decent size closets and a good shared bathroom. Thanks everyone for your input.

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our new build is incorporating a J&J for the kids also. Here's the space from our drawings I don't know how it translates to the space you have, but hopefully it helps. I wanted the kids to have the ability to go to the bathroom/brush their teeth/get ready if someone else was in the shower. Plus the privacy, etc. etc. We had the ability to accommodate two full baths, but found the extra cost to be unnecessary (it was a few thousand in extra plumbing, fixtures, materials). It also meant that each would be a smaller bathroom, versus a nice size J&J. I'm really happy with the decision so far!

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I am not sure you have allotted enough space in front of your toilet room in your "final plan", mebke33...

Code requires a minimum of 24" infront of the toilet bowl (sometimes more depending on your location). If the closet is only 4' deep, it is unlikely you have enough space infront of the toilet before the pocket door. You should check on that in advance.

Also, keep in mind that you will not be able (unless the wall is a double wall) to hang any towel bars, or screw anything into the vanity facing wall of the bathroom since you have made 2.5 feet of that a pocket door. So, towels for the shower will need to be hung to the far left on that wall (which is totally doable--just be aware).