How big is yours?

12 years ago

I 'm not building, but planning a master bath remodel, and possibly other changes to our second floor layout. I'm posting here because this seems to be a very active board where general space planning and layout issues are frequently discussed. I'm considering making our master suite smaller and eliminating the dual closets to give us a 4th bedroom. The reason for this is that all of the other homes in our area all have at least 4 bedrooms, I feel like our master is too large with much wasted space, and I could make better use of the space if it was a separate room.. But DH has concerns about losing "his" separate walk in closet. So what I would like to know is how big is big enough for a shared walk-in closet?

Some more background - our home is 3200 sq ft and the master bedroom is currently 17 x 21. Our current closets are poorly organized with a single pole and shelf on the long wall and some shelving on one side wall. His is 8-7 by 5-11, mine is 10-8 by 6-10.

The new layout I'm considering gives us a master bedroom that is 15-7 by 17-4. The shared closet will be 12-3 by 7-6 and will have mostly double rods (upper & lower), plus a linen storage area and shoe shelving. The hanging space will be 7-8 on one side and 9-0 on the other. The closet will open to the master and also to the master bath. I should also mention that the proposed layout would give us a hall closet (part of his old closet), just outside of our room that would be 5-8 by 5-11. It would be a great place to store the vacuum, suitcases, and off season clothing.

FYI, DH is retired and I am still working but not a clothes horse. It's safe to say, we could both get rid of 90% of the stuff hanging in our closets and because we just don't dress that way. BUT, I wonder about resale - is the shared master closet size adequate? How big is your master closet - and do you have a shared closet or his/hers?

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Comments (10)

amberm145_gw
12 years ago
In the new house, the bedroom will be 12x13, with an additional 11'x7.5' closet. The bedroom is smaller than our current one. But we have a lot of wasted space in our room that we wanted to use more efficiently in the new house.

The closet will be bigger than our current one. But again, better use of space.

As long as you have room for a king size bed, 2 side tables and a dresser in addition to a comfortable WIC, and room to walk around the furniture, I think anything else is just a waste.
kirkhall
12 years ago
Personally, I think your plan sounds very, very doable. An additional bedroom (if truly bedroom sized) would be great for resale. But, are you planning to sell? If not, what works best for you?

Honestly, I have to say, at 17x21, your MB is larger than my family room; or my LR...

And, your "remodeled" space is still much larger than my master bedroom.

My master closet is 6x13 (I'd have gone a bit wider if possible, so your 7' sounds about right). DH said to me, it was too large. But, I like it. It seems right for our smaller home (only about 2100sqft, but we do have 4 real bedrooms).
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chiefneil
12 years ago
It does sound like you have a lot of space devoted to the master bedroom disproportionate to the overall size of the house. My previous house was around 3600 sq ft and had a shared closet in the master. I can't recall how big it was, 12x7 sounds like a good size especially if you put a decent closet organization system in place.
jkliveng
12 years ago
Sounds doable -

My planned master bedroom is 13x15, but it will not have dressers in it at all. Only nightstands, and maybe a chair somewhere.

planned master closet is 11'9x9 for two. It's one room, but with a bench to one side it's somewhat split. Imagine doors on the north and south side, to the west is hanging clothes and shoes and to the right is dressers/shelves.

I would play around with the layout if you are planning to include dressers. Otherwise browse maybe ikea and look at their closet ideas and options for storage. Room sounds like a good size, but it all comes down to how it's arranged.
Oaktown
12 years ago
Master bedroom = ~14'x16'
Shared closet (walk through) =~8'x8'

This post was edited by Oaktown on Wed, Oct 1, 14 at 15:54
numbersjunkie
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you all! It sounds like we should be fine with the master room sizes we will have after the changes I want to make. The only thing I am still concerned about are the other bedrooms. One is nice sized with a valulted ceiling, but the other exisitng room is 10 x 12 - a bit narrow, and the new room will be also be 10 x 12, maybe a less less than 10 ft. It seems to me that most people use the 4th bedroom for something other - a guest room, office, etc so it might not be a problem. Thoughts?
jkliveng
12 years ago
Would make a nice size office, guest, nursery type room so I wouldn't see it being an issue.

Do you have room size restriction codes? Will there be a closet in it?
numbersjunkie
Original Author
12 years ago
I dont know about restrictions but will check into that. My plan is to have a very small closet only 2 ft wide, but the room will share a wall with a 5 x 5 closet that will open to the hall so that could easily be modified to open into the room also.
autumn.4
12 years ago
Our new build sounds similar to oaktowns. I feel like it's just right for us and could even slim down the bedroom a bit more and it would be fine.

Our master closet is a walk through with 10'4 on one side but includes shelving for linens and the other side is about 7' or so. Both have double rods and some shelving with drawers. We have all of our clothes - multi-season in there. I am also not a clothes hog though. All shoes are kept in a closet by the garage entry.
Kiwigem
12 years ago
MBR 15 X16'6"
Closet 9 X 8