Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
mary8153

Master Bedroom Floorplan Review

mary8153
9 years ago

Hello, I am currently working on building a new house with my husband and would love to get some feedback on the two Master Bedroom designs we are considering.

My husband and I cant decide on which one we like better and would appreciate any and all feedback. Which design do you think is better and also what improvements would you suggest.

We really appreciate and help you could offer. For our background we are in our forties and have three early teenagers.

thanks so much for your help

Mary



Mary

Comments (58)

  • Butternut
    9 years ago

    I like option 1. I agree with the others that there are too many doors. You don't need to close off the closet hallway from either end. I also don't understand why there is a door to the hallway from the ?living area and then another double door to the bedroom. Seems like you could eliminate that one too.

    mary8153 thanked Butternut
  • Katie S.
    9 years ago

    Someone has to stand up for option 2! I think the sight lines as you enter the bedroom and bathroom will be prettier. I also like the split vanities and totally separate closets. If you could make both closets accessible directly from the bathroom and close off the closet doors that you see as you enter the vestibule, I would like it even better.

    mary8153 thanked Katie S.
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks everyone for so much valuable feedback. It seems that
    option 1 is the winner. (though cas I do appreciate the contrarian vote:)

    Brian, butternut and others I agree that some of the doors
    need to go. At a minimum I plan to
    remove the first door to the hallway. I think the bathroom needs a door though. Also should I just use a single door to the Master?

    Michelle as suggested I’ve attached the whole floor plan for
    option 1. Any other feedback on the rest
    of the rooms are very much welcome.



  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago

    We have a similar bedroom, closet hallway, bathroom set up and we only have the door from the bathroom to the hallway. No closet doors and no door on the bathroom as the hallway door serves to close off the bedroom from the closets and bathroom. Also, be sure to swing the toilet room door out for safety.

    mary8153 thanked dekeoboe
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    dekeoboe, thanks for the feedback! I like your suggestions on reducing the number of doors however two things come to mind and I was wondering if these are issues for you. 1) seeing a messy closet (at least with my husband) every time walk by 2) humidity from bathroom getting in closet and reduced privacy when in bathroom due to no door. What are your thoughts on removing the door at the hallway entry and having one at the bathroom entry?


  • bry911
    9 years ago

    I would actually pocket the toilet door instead of swinging it out. Swinging out the toilet door will interfere with someone at the sink. Pocketing achieves the same safety without bopping someone in the head while they are shaving.

    I had a double entrance to my bedroom on the first house we built. It was fabulous two times, when we moved in, and when we moved out. The rest of the time it was...meh. They don't secure as easily so if you need a private moment, it takes a bit more effort. Sound also travels around and under doors better so if you need a really private moment, well lets just leave it there. But they are cool looking.

    mary8153 thanked bry911
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    bry, thanks for the feedback and the laugh lol:) I will have to rethink the privacy issues related to the double door. The pocket door may be the way to go in the commode. Any thoughts on having an open hallway with no door?


  • Butternut
    9 years ago

    I think the open hallway with no door, but retain the door to the bathroom and the pockets to the closets makes the most sense. That way you can block off your messy closets if you want, and block them off from the humidity, but there's no real reason to block off the hallway from your bedroom.

    We have double doors to our MBR now, and it's sort of meh. We rarely have more than one open.

    mary8153 thanked Butternut
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Butternut, I think that is what we will do as far as the closet doors go. My DH still wants a double door for the entrance wheeras I agree with the meh comments.


  • autumn.4
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What about having a pocket on the door from the bedroom to the closet - no door on the separate closets then you can have a dressing area there of sorts and then a door on the bathroom? Not sure I'd keep the door on the toilet room either since it seems recessed enough for privacy. I can't tell your closet dimensions but ours is kind of open like that and I really like being able to dress in there. Plus you can have a linen closet close on the vanity wall or master bath wall if you need to without going through a couple of doors. Just an idea. I like blocking off the highway in case you are trying to get dressed and the spouse is sleeping yet. AND, added buffer from bathroom sound like hair dryers and the like. Sorry - remember my disclaimer from above with the opposite shift thing. :O

    Something like this:

    mary8153 thanked autumn.4
  • bpath
    9 years ago

    You know, since you come down the hall to one side of the double doors, the double-ness is somewhat lost on you. A nice single door, and it could be an inch or two wider than normal if you want, makes more sense.

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Autumn, removing the closet doors and walls would definitely be more efficient but I guess I wonder how disconcerting it would be to walk by a sometime messy closet every time I go powder my nose. I am however very tempted by this idea since it gives us so much usable space.

    bpathome, I will point that out to DH. Would you place the single door centered to the hallway or shift it to the left?


  • amoopen1
    9 years ago

    I agree that option 1 is much better use of space (especially after removing some doors in the bathroom), but I couldn't help but notice a couple of things: 1) bath 2 shows a wall between the sinks and the tub/toilet, is that correct? 2) bedroom 2's closet should be moved so you're not looking straight at a wall when you open the door.

    mary8153 thanked amoopen1
  • autumn.4
    9 years ago

    mary-we never had closet organizers before this build. It was one of the BEST decisions we made. We don't have a need for dressers. We have double rods, a single rod, some shelves and drawers. I actually like walking by it because it's so TIDY and open and not dark and closed in. I wasn't sure how I'd feel while it was going up but after I can say I love it. BUT, it's not for everyone. We actually can walk from our master bath to the closet and around the corner through our laundry. I needed access to the closet/bathroom without going through the bedroom when someone is sleeping.

    Your space looks much larger - we have no corners in our closet. Straight along the wall on both sides. I believe we have an 8' or 10' wall. How quickly you forget, ha! We have his and hers sides but you could do all drawers and a bench on one side and all hanging on the other or whatever you want. You have plenty of room to configure something really functional.

    Do you need space for linens? Maybe by your sinks you could use that space there to have open shelves for towels in the bathroom (that bumps IN to the closet) and on the opposite side have a full length mirror hanging or a place to hang belts, ties, what have you. There are others here that are much better than I regarding these sorts of layouts. That was just a random idea.


    mary8153 thanked autumn.4
  • collfoster
    9 years ago

    love option one! you could create a window bench seat for storage and use as your linen drawers (extra sheets and towels). option 2 is too chopped up.

    mary8153 thanked collfoster
  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago

    Mary - To answer your questions, we have closet organizers and the closets do not really get too messy. Yes, there can be stuff on the floor, but it doesn't really bother me too much. The key for me was having separate closets. I could not handle it if we had to share. And we have no problems with humidity in the closets.

    At the very least, I do think you can omit one of the hallway doors.

    mary8153 thanked dekeoboe
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Amoopen, thanks for
    the feedback:) The wall in bath 2 is
    supposed to have a door in it for privacy reasons. Yes I
    agree the walking into the wall for bedroom 2 is an issue.

    Autumn, I can see that having a well designed closet would
    actually be something nice to look at.
    Something to think about. I put a linen closet in the latest version though I'm not sure if I'm getting warmer or not,.

    Collfoster, thank you for the feedback as well:). I agree that having
    the door open into a wall is a problem. Is it a huge architectural sin?

    I’ve attached a modified floor plan. Major change was moving
    bedroom 2’s closet down and stretching the master bath by 2 feet. I still need to decide on the WIC walls but in
    general is this an improvement or not really.

    Thanks Mary


  • collfoster
    9 years ago

    love it! If you really like something, then there are no architectural sins. I probably have quite a few in our home that I designed. In fact, I was scared to put it on the forum as I know many folks would not like several things I did - but I liked them and I am happy with the way things turned out. Good luck my friend!!

    mary8153 thanked collfoster
  • bpath
    9 years ago

    Mary, I think the door should be directly in line of the hallway, for ease of moving things in and out and so it's not RIGHT next to the other bedroom door.

    You know, the bathroom is really big. I like the two closet sizes, and am thinking...if you swap the big and small closets, that would move the bathroom door, and you could slide the vanity into the bathroom a foot or two, so you have less floor to wash, and the upstairs hall could be a bit wider for ease of moving around, schlepping stuff like furniture, suitcases, and backpacks, protect artwork from being jostled, and just a bit more grace.

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • autumn.4
    9 years ago

    Is 2 sinks for your full bath a deal breaker? Or would a larger space be better with more space to either side of the sink? Still have privacy? Just an alternate, opposite the toilet is the linen area. Drawer on either side of the sink, plenty of standing room. Not sure if you boys/girls or a mix but for us the sink is least used, it's the counter space that can be a tight spot. Door swing will not bother anyone standing at the sink so you could do an inswing, keep the door open and the window light will reach the hall area there.

    Just an option:




    mary8153 thanked autumn.4
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks Coli, I totally agree. I guess my concern is that something may look good on paper to me but then in reality doesn't quite work once built. That's why I love this site because so many people have that real world experience with just about any design option.

    bpathome, good point on the main door and on widening the hallway. Though I don't mind a smaller bathroom, I'm not sure the WICs can be any more narrow. One is only 3'8" and the other 5' deep. I am assuming that the main hallway wall would need to be the same width all along its length or were you suggesting only narrowing the bathroom and leaving the WIC's total width the same?

  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    autumn,
    Thanks for the suggestion. I had modified the floor-plan a bit and reduced the size of bathroom 2. (see above). However now that you mention your experience, I may remove one of the sinks to give the kids more counter space.


  • autumn.4
    9 years ago

    More side space gave them their own drawers which has been helpful for toothbrushes and paste, deodorant and the like. As they grow they are enjoying more privacy for their toiletries and mine are boys. Who'd have thought that? For girls I'd think the more counter space would be invaluable for hair dryer, curling irons and not having the cords dangling through or in the sink. If you have 2 sinks that would be tough to avoid.

    For your modification above I'd definitely want only one sink. Otherwise the door swing will hit the person at the sink and the counter space is really tight. Can you recess the vanity more to make it so there is a foot past the vanity for standing room. Then no matter what the person is not obstructing the door. So you'd need a ~3 foot depth space there.


    mary8153 thanked autumn.4
  • autumn.4
    9 years ago

    This is what our children share but we opted not to do a door to the toilet tub area and have had no issues there. The other difference IRL is the linen is actually by the toilet wall instead of by the entry wall, we just reversed that layout. The vanity space is great, hard to tell in the drawing but they each have 3 - 12' width drawers on either side plus a linen tower for towels. Plenty of elbow room. BUT, hindsight I would have moved the tub like I drew above so we could have a nice window in there where our tub is now. :) The bath is 6' 10 1/2" x 12' 4". Just to give a visual of space. That extra wall length from the vanity to the door swing is great for avoiding door wars when someone is at the sink. We had that constantly at the old house so it was one of my obsessions with the new one.


    mary8153 thanked autumn.4
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very helpful insights, especially on the "door war" drama. I can definitely see that being a problem and will need to address that. The kids do not need any more reasons to "war."

    thanks again

    Mary

  • Lavender Lass
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not to throw a wrench in anything...but I like option 2. More closet space, no tight hallway between them...and much better privacy from all the other bedrooms.

    Plus, the toilet is closer to bed. I've read on this forum that a shorter walk in the middle of the night is not a bad thing :)

    Maybe something like this?

    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • bpath
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Someone had made the "lower" master closet small, so I just flipped it to make the "upper" one smaller, which moved the door. Then I moved the vanity in a bit. It could move in more, but I thought you might like more than 3.5' between the vanity and shower, but 3.5' is certainly doable. Now the hall has a wider point for artwork, or a console table, or shallow shelves, or a combination of those. Or, just open for more elbow room when carrying a laundry basket. Oh, and i moved Bedroom 2's door, too, because I could, and it might make for better flow there.


    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • bpath
    9 years ago

    Here it is with the vanity moved further into the bathroom. I don't like too much floor space in my bathroom, but I really like a wider hallway :)


    In my bathroomI have towel bars and towel hooks in handy places. Where will yours be, especially when you step out of the shower?

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    LL, not quite a wrench but definitely slows down the works a bit. I agree that option 2 does solve a lot of issues. I am going to have to give this some more thought.

    bpathome, I like the changes especially the wider hallway and the better entry to BR#2.

    now I just have to finalize my choice on floor plans. LL has given me a case of small closet envy:) Any thoughts on what LL had to say?

  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago

    I think option 2 has too much wasted space in the middle of the bathroom. But, really need to see what it does to the rest of the second floor. What happens to bedroom 4?

    mary8153 thanked dekeoboe
  • Lavender Lass
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have to say, we have a larger master bathroom....with a lot of floor space in the middle.

    Not by choice....but it has been incredibly good for husband's recovery. It made it VERY easy to add handicap accessibility. And that doesn't have to mean in a wheel chair...just grab bars and walker, etc.

    It's also nice to have some room! This is a large house...and I really think option 1 is going to feel very cramped, with two people trying to get ready in the morning and dealing with that narrow closet/hall to get dressed, get to the bathroom, etc.

    Deke- I think bedroom 4 would be located in the master bathroom of option 1. That little bath behind the second master closet is probably accessed through bedroom 4.

    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ive attached the full option 2 as suggested. Bathroom 2 and the two top bed rooms need a little more work but it gives the general idea of what the whole floor would look like,

    LL I hope hubby is doing much better... much love and prayers to you both.



  • bpath
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's nice, too. Keeps the kids on their side. Take out the double doors so it's nice and open (with this layout you just would never, ever, ever close the double doors and the tray ceiling is all you need to set off the bedroom area) and maybe the closet on the right could be accessed from the bathroom? I'd probably like my closet like that, DH would be just as happy to have it off the bedroom. Just thinking of how to get all those doors out of there.

    And, then the bedroom door could hinge on the right side, same as the closet door. (Imagine coming in with a basket of laundry headed to that closet, if you have to open the bedroom door, you then have to shift the basket to the other hip-and-hand to open the closet door)

    Or, move the closet door down a little so that when you walk in the bedroom door, you have a wall with a nice painting in front of you, and the closet door is to the left.

    In the hall bath, if you move the door closer to the vanity (one sink), you'd have room for a shallow linen closet or cabinetry and the bathroom wouldn't be right at the end of the hallway (I don't like the bathroom door straight-on view)


    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • Lavender Lass
    9 years ago

    Thank you :)


    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • dekeoboe
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    LL - I agree than maneuvering space is good, but that bathroom has an open 8 ft square area in the middle. That seems excessive to me.

    With option 2, the bed in bedroom 4 has to go under the window. Personally, I find it difficult to operate window treatments when they are under the window. In addition, the window size will need to meet code for height off the floor in order to be used as an emergency exit. That probably means the headboard will be covering the window.

    Try placing furniture in the rooms to see which works better.

    For option 1, I can't quite make out the size of the closet. If it is wide enough, I would change the location of the door so that you could have shelves on one side of the closet and a rod on the opposite side.

    mary8153 thanked dekeoboe
  • Lavender Lass
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I guess we'll agree to disagree :)

    Having a larger space in the bathroom really worked well for us. And with two people using it at the same time, I dislike small spaces. As I said, we didn't design the large bathroom, but it's been very helpful.

    Here's an idea...moving a closet, changing the office entrance to french doors and adding a wall on part of the stairwell. Again, just feels a little more roomy.


    Also, would you want to flip the bedroom 4 bathroom? Being in Boston (right?) it might be nice to have the plumbing on an inside wall.


  • Katie S.
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Still pulling for option 2, particularly now that I see there can't be a window in the toilet room in option 1. Windowless toilet rooms give me the creeps...but I know many people aren't bothered by this at all. As far as the "wasted space" argument...It is space that works within your footprint and doesn't take away from something else you need. Its not as if option 1 is any smaller, so not sure I see the problem. I really like the house either way.

    mary8153 thanked Katie S.
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks everyone for all the additional input and help.

    Bpa, I like the reworked entryway which solves the fun-house door problems. I just have to figure out what to do with all that open
    space.

    Dekeoboe, bedroom 4
    needs some attention in that the bed needs a better place to go. For option 1 the closets are 7’6” x 5’2” and
    7’6” by 3’10”.

    Lavender, great catch on flipping bathroom 4... frozen pipes
    are definitely not a good thing. I like the office entry way but need
    to decide if I want to give up my open rectangle to the foyer below. It is like a pseudo two story foyer without the cost.

    Cass, thanks again for sticking with option 2 and more
    importantly the words of encouragement for either option.

    I am trying to incorporate as many of the excellent
    suggestions in each option so I can make a final decision based on the best
    versions of each of the two options. (will post as soon as finished). I just need to remember to breathe deeply
    and not get too stressed though it might be too late for that:)

    thanks again, Mary

  • bpath
    9 years ago

    Well, the answer is probably one boy, two girls, but does Bedroom 4 have to have its own bathroom? Can the kids share? How old are they?

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • bpath
    9 years ago

    btw, from your Saturday morning about 8:53with a change to Bathroom option 1 "Though I don't mind a smaller bathroom, I'm not sure the WICs can be any more narrow. One is only 3'8" and the other 5' deep. I am assuming that the main hallway wall would need to be the same width all along its length or were you suggesting only narrowing the bathroom and leaving the WIC's total width the same?" Rest easy :) I didn't change anything in the size of the closets when I flipped them and made the bathroom a little smaller. I think i had thought that someone else changed the sizes, but they were always different.

    And, I like LL's office/landing. The little space outside it makes a really nice landing. You could have railings out there so the landing is open to the stairs. I know my kids liked playing quietly together or just sprawling with a book in a similar area, was cozy and out of the way but not isolated.

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • Lavender Lass
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Two story foyer vs. cozy reading spot and place to look over stairs. I think I'd pick the second...especially if we could squeeze in a floor pillow and maybe a small bookcase :)

    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    bpa, great guess... I have an older boy who is 15 and two
    daughters 13 and 11. I'm sure my son could deal with sharing the
    bathroom (he does now) but I think giving him his own bathroom would lower the
    stress level in the mornings and I’m sure help out with resale value down the
    road.

    And I do
    like the wider hallway but just need to warm up to a hallway with two different
    widths. Is that done more often than I know?

    LL and bpa, great points on the hang out space... something to
    think about... maybe get some input from the girls


  • mary8153
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Hello everyone,

    First off I would like to thank all of you for so much of your valuable time
    and great insights. I have attached the latest version of my second floor based
    on option one (the master bed room in the back). I liked a lot of the
    changes and input from those who preferred option 2 but just felt that option 1
    was a little more to my liking especially since I added a separate WIC for
    hubby to address the concerns of the small WICs. (I basically stole some
    real estate from the master bed room (shrunk it from 19' to 16'.) So now
    the bed room is 15' x 16' with a bow window.

    This change also forced the removal of the double entry door which many were
    not that into anyway. I think the word meh came up a few times.

    I widened the halls by 5" which gives about 42". My current halls
    are only 36" so I think they will feel very big. I'm still thinking about
    the office entryway to remove the open area per LL's comment. My husband is
    pushing for the open area but we shall see.

    I also added a separate wet area to the bathtub and open shower which I
    stole from a pic I found online…

    Please let me know your thoughts. As a newbie I really love, appreciate and
    respect your talents :)



  • Lavender Lass
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Is there going to be one child in bedroom 4? That's not going to give you very much privacy....

    I do like the extra closet! Is the small one now for linen?

    Oh, and don't forget about plumbing in small bathroom...do you want to put that on inside wall?

    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • bpath
    8 years ago

    Gosh, LL, there's a couple of closets and doors; after 3 kids, how much more privacy does one need lol!

    The shower/bath arrangement is cool! Will it bug you that the tub gets wet when you use the shower? If you don't use the bathtub that much (and with 3 kids, well, who has time?) it might accumulate a bit of dust, and when it gets watere drops doesn't look so nice. Only thinking of this because our boys have two sinks in the bathroom and only one gets used; the other has exactly the problem I described.

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • Lavender Lass
    8 years ago

    LOL! I meant there will be a bit of a bottleneck, where master and bedroom 4 doors open to hall :)




    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • bpath
    8 years ago

    (Blushing...)

    Move bedroom 4 door in, so the little entry way is in the hall, not the bedroom.

    Actually, I'd suggest the same for bedroom 3, so if kiddos are coming out of the bathroom and the bedroom at the same time they don't knock noggins.

    mary8153 thanked bpath
  • Lavender Lass
    8 years ago

    Those are good ideas!

    I just noticed that master toilet door opens in...that might be better/safer as a pocket door...or opening out.


    mary8153 thanked Lavender Lass
  • mary8153
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Ll, yes bedroom 4 will be for one of my children. Certainly some less privacy…I know you were
    kidding but you now have me thinking. (bpa no need to blush…even three kids
    later… lol…) I wonder how unusual it is to not have the
    master suite on its own. Most floor plans I’m looking at do have a
    separate adult’s only section.

    I'm not sure what to do with that small closet. Linens, winter clothes, probably stuff I don't need every day.

    As for the plumbing on the outside wall I wasn’t sure how to
    place all the plumbing on the inside wall and have room for a door. After reading
    your comment though, I searched online and found a workable solution namely, placing the
    toilet and sink on the top wall and the bath tub on the bottom wall. Thanks for
    catching that, (again). And good catch on the knee breaker WC door:)

    Bpa, good point on
    the dust issues… I think the shower is far enough away from the tub so that
    only the lower right side of the tub would get wet. If not, there is always the
    hand held sprayer for a quick hose down. I think I like the look of that open shower and curbing plus the dry floor elsewhere that I will hopefully learn to get along with the dust bunnies.

    As for doors in bed room 3 and 4, great suggestion...less congestion in the hallways is a plus but it does move a swinging door into some valuable real estate. I need to give that some thought.

    Thanks again for the help:) xoxoxo

    Mary

Sponsored
EA Home Design
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars69 Reviews
Loudoun County's Trusted Kitchen & Bath Designers | Best of Houzz