Hi folks.

We are remodeling our 3/2, 2 story home and are considering removing a hallway to increase the size of the master suite. This would result in having to access the master suite from the kitchen. I think I'm ok with this concept because the door from the kitchen would lead to a new vestibule rather than directly to the master bedroom or bath. The house will be occupied only by H&W for the foreseeable future.

Below is the proposed 2nd story floor plan. I will post the existing floor plan next. Downstairs are two bedrooms and a bathroom, a living room and a converted garage bonus room in which a third full bath will likely be added.

A different alternative would be to use the additional space taken from the hallway to create a powder room upstairs. Otherwise, guests being entertained on the 2nd floor (which will be all dinner guests and maybe 1/2 of other entertaining situations) would have to use either the master bath or, preferably, the new bath being planned for the bonus room, which is accessed by descending the stairs, going through a lovely utility room (as lovely as a utility room can really be, with a large window and 12' tall ceiling) and into the bonus room.

A third option would be to leave the hallway intact, mainly for a slightly more private master entry and to save expense of moving walls and plumbing. I say it's more private, but I'm not sure that is actually the case since an open bedroom door in the current configuration would permit a direct view into the bedroom from the great room, whereas in the access-through-the-kitchen plan, an open bedroom door would only permit a view into a vestibule.

In any event, I would love to hear any thoughts from others about these floor plan options or any others that you think we should consider for this space. Thanks!

WP