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onelady1dog2girls

Layout Advice Needed in New Year!!

onelady1dog2girls
12 years ago

Happy New Year everyone -

We are finally staring down our masterbath remodel. As you can see in the photo I've included, our existing master bathroom has a relatively small closet. After much hand wringing, I think we've decided to forgo a tub in our master and include a nice tub in our guest bath. As a result, we have good space for a master shower and have increased our closet space by two feet. Can all of you please take a look and provide any feedback - pros and cons - for this particular layout?

It looks like we would have about 38 inch walkway. Not sure if this is adequate? We don't have much leeway, as it is a galley configuration. The other item of note I am questioning, is the entrance with a "hard rectangle" frameless glass shower, should this be angled in some way? I have no idea of proper layout when walking into the space.

Thank you all for any and all advice!!

Comments (9)

  • kirkhall
    12 years ago

    Wow. You have a lot of space. And, a very long vanity (still).

    How do you use your bathroom? Do you care if your DH sees you when using the toilet, for example?

    Which direction are you planning to send your pocket door? If into the closet direction, just know you will not be able to attach any of your closet bars/shelves with nails/screws into the bedroom side wall (where the pocket door will slide).

    Also, pocket doors are really meant to be used on a super regular basis, which I assume this one will as it is the only separation between toilet and bedroom. It might work, depending on how frequently you use this bathroom.

    Will your shower have a full enclosure (or, how do you plan to limit steam/moisture/wet air to the bathroom)?

    Would you really prefer a tub, but not sure how to get it at this point?

    Can the door to the bathroom move at all?

    I have some ideas for you, but need more info.

  • User
    12 years ago

    7' is much too long for a shower, even if you would be having two occupants. That's more like a high school gym shower! A more proportionate and still usable size would be 42" x 48". And you can find shower pans in that size, including the very durable Kohler cast iron ones. This will eliminate custom building the pan, which can alleviate a lot of issues. You can add a 15" bench across one end, making it 63" overall. Use the rest of the space for a shallow linen closet in the bath facing the door.

    I'd also personally steal a bit of space from the vanity and give to the toilet enclosure. Perhaps do a recessed niche in that wall to hold tissue or other personal items.

  • onelady1dog2girls
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    All great points. Thanks for being active participants and helping me look at all avenues.

    Let's see - the toilet currently has a pony wall, and I am fine with that. Maybe I could recess it out as was suggested and make it more usable.

    After having a 3' shower box, I find myself wanting to go much larger. Perhaps I could add a 35" or 43" japanese tub at the one end as seen in the link? It would technically be a wet room then, b/c it would all be behind glass. It would look something like this:


    Alternatively, I could switch the sides up...not sure the horrific realities of plumbing and labor costs, but here is something that might work:

    What do you think of these two new layouts?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Soaker

  • User
    12 years ago

    I would find it incredibly awkward to walk all the way to the end of the bath and through a shower to be able to use a tub located like your diagram. And that's about 10K worth of glass you're talking about. If you would prefer to keep a smaller tub in the bath, then using a half height wall with glass above for the wall between it and the shower would be a much more functional way of doing it. It won't be cheap either, but it would be more like 3K than 10K.

    Moving the plumbing can certainly be done, but you'd better have DEEEEEP pockets. Especially if you are on slab.

    And frankly, I'm not that enamored with pocket doors, including the ones in the locations you are thinking about. A plain swinging door will be just fine and be cheaper and more functional. Pockets can work for a seldom used door that is mostly left open, but when you put them in locations of high use, they don't tend to have longevity, and they can be a bit gimmicky and awkward. Plus the issues of having to add width to the walls or else giving up using those walls for anything but blank space.

  • onelady1dog2girls
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, live wire oak. I didn't realize the frameless glass cost was that high. Although, I should have with some of the other costs incurred during remodeling!!:-)

    Your experience with the pocket doors Is helpful. We've used them in a laundry room and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread bc a door left open and taking up space bugs me and takes up traffic space. I really like less cluttered looks. Perhaps it is bc the rest of the room tends to find it's way back to chaos! I'll have to think about this one a little longer.

  • kirkhall
    12 years ago

    Still, 2 questions from me:
    Do you need a really long vanity?
    Can you move the bathroom door opening further left on the wall?

    What I am envisioning is potentially toilet and shower on left (smaller than your first post), door to bathroom with vanities straight ahead and shorter, and tub on the right running "N-S" along the closet wall.

    Does that float your boat?

  • suero
    12 years ago

    If you want a two person shower, I'd say that 42" by 60" is the minimum size to keep from bumping into each other. As for a counter top, I like my 90" dual sink arrangement just fine. Maybe 6" shorter would work. If you're going for a luxe bathroom, space is, to me, the ultimate luxury.

  • Fori
    12 years ago

    There ARE good pocket doors out there. Just don't go cheap on it.

  • Katie S
    12 years ago

    Johnson hardware for your pocket door, it will be just fine even with extensive use!!!! Don't cheap out on the hardware! It makes a huuuuuuuuuge difference.

    I would seriously consider putting the toilet in its one little room at the end!