It shouldn't hit anybody's knees -- there will be a limit to how far it will swing...

How about a pocket door?

Have the door swing left. Then you can put a storage furniture piece for linens, etc. on the wall in front of the toilet.

I would have it swing left so the door doesn't have to be completely open for you to walk into the room. Also, if hung as in the pic, it would be awkward to exit the room, having to step back or press against the wall in order to swing open the door. Don't have the door open into the hall (out).

Where is the light switch? If the switch is on the right, the door should be a Left hand door and vise versa.

I would recommend you also consider where the bathroom is placed in your home. If it is placed centrally in the home or near bedrooms the door opening toward the toilet may not be as great a problem as if the door is directly off the foyer and toilet is exposed when door is open. You also might want to check your local code. Door swinging out into hallway is against code here because of fire egress.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I realize now though that I should have posted my floorplan as is and not the suggested floorplan given above to give some context to what Im trying to accomplish. So as shown below the issue is how best to enter the bathroom without blocking the window.

Acm and janedoe, maybe hitting someone on the knees is not
the issue but rather the awkwardness of having the door swinging in the middle
of the bathroom. I guess I’m not used to that.

Einporlandor, I really don’t like pocket doors

Hatetoshop, swinging left as in the above photo (or swinging
tpo the right in my floor plan) would block the window.

Design alternatives, the floorplan below gives the proper
context.

GN Builders This is for new construction so light switch placement is not an issue.

Please let me know if this changes any of your suggestions.

thanks Mary

Ironically, I have the same bedroom/bathroom set up. Our door opens/swings out into the bedroom. We considered a pocket door but it wouldn't work for us due to electrical/plumbing. We also considered a sliding door that hangs from a track on the outside/bedroom wall.

Hope this helps.

how would you feel about a door with an obscured glass top panel so the day light would shine through it when the door was opened in against the window. seems a shame to have to have the door open against a night stand all the time.

your layout seems to give plenty of privacy if you just have the frosted top. you could even put a shade on the inside for light blockage into the bedroom at night.

Tough -- you have to choose between swing in, in front of window, or out, constraining nightstand space. I think I'd go with in -- nnigrt's suggestion about a window is inspired. Even a modern door with narrower frosted lights could do the job.

Keep in mind that the toilet is offset from the door...

I have a similar set up, mine is a pocket door and it works great.

I'd keep it as is if there's enough room for a bedside table - which it looks like there is. Or, have it swing in and cover the window. Why is it necessary for the light from the bathroom window to filter into the bedroom? Usually I think the door should always remain closed. But, I also like the idea of a frosted window into the bathroom if you really do need the light filtering in.

with no other windows on that wall, i do like to bring in natural light when possible.

thanks again all,

The windowed door is intriguing but still blocks the window in my mind. I've attached a modified version that doesn't seem as awkward. Please let me know what you think.

thanks

Put a transom style window high across the width of the bathroom and swing the door in.

We have a pocket door between MBR and master bath for exactly this reason. 2 large windows on the bath bring a great deal of light into the bedroom and I didn't want to take up valuable real estate in either room with a swinging door. Works fine. Just wondering why are you against installing pocket door?

People have suggested a left-opening door, a right-opening door, an outward-opening door, a pocket door and a door with a window and none seem to appeal to you. I don't think there's really many more choices except perhaps a door that slides up into the attic and I don't think they've been invented yet.

My suggestion would be that, since this is new construction, have the builder move the placement of the window.

your modified version could work, but I don't see that it solves the issue as you state it. if I've got something wrong, kindly clarify, but here's what I make of it:
seeing that the bedroom has two windows, leaving the bathroom window unobstructed is not for more light. as the bathroom has its own window, light is presumably not intended to pass the other way either. therefore, the window-door doesn't make much of a difference.
the bathroom window provides light/view to an occupant of the bathroom. would that not be accomplished by having the door closed while in the bathroom? in which case it would not matter whether the opening and closing of the door blocked the view for a second...

if you were intending to have the bedroom door open, with a view of the window (keep in mind that will include a view of the toilet) that will not be achieved by the second version you posted either

If you still don't, for whatever reason, want to block the window, id recommend a sliding door

Pocket door is the ONLY answer !!!

Several others have also suggested a pocket door, take their advice. Why deal with a swinging door ??

Pocket door.

Organised Sarah, are you sure you didn't leave out one kind of door?

Click on them

ok, well, i'm confused.

i had thought you wanted the daylight from the window to enter your bedroom to prevent a dark corner during the day.

as the layout you just suggest is blocking the window, and you need to dance a jig around the door to use the toilet.... i realize i dont understand your initial dilemma.

sorry.

Thanks everyone,

I appreciate all the input which helps to think through the problem. Obviously every solution has its issues (aka a design dilemma) so it wasn't that I didn't like any of the solutions but it was that I wanted to fully flesh out potential problems with each. For now, I think I'm going to go with the middle entry door. The blocking of the toilet if the door is left half open can be viewed as a plus as it creates a little water closet. Also the door is far enough away from the window that it doesn't fully block it even if half open.

nnigrt, the main reason I wish to not have the door block the window is that my daughters typically leave the bathroom door open when just using the sink. The door placed in the middle allows for the light to come in even if the door is half open. The door can be fully opened against the wall to get to the toilet. It just seems less awkward than the having the door on the far right and opening in.

thanks, more info is always helpful when solving dilemmas.

i think i stand by my idea of the half glassed door tho! (but you dont need to). trying to use the bathroom at night, getting around the door, would make me nutz. unless you want to use the toilet with the door full open, it has to swing by past you.

If you are not familiar with pocket doors I suggest you talk with your builder. They require a wider wall to accommodate the sliding door. I'm sure your contractor would be happy to explain. I am surprised the builder did not suggest a pocket door. Slides into wall, totally invisible with no space issues !! Good luck !!

A standard door thickness of 1-3/8", and up to 1-3/4" will fit just fine in a standard 2×4 wall for a pocket door.

http://www.johnsonhardware.com/pdindex.htm

And there is no code for door swing direction in a residential dwelling unit (except for exterior doors where the outside landing is lower, and tops of stairways). Think of all the hallway linen closets. In public places, egress doors MUST swing in the direction of egress even if an alcove is needed to keep it from swinging into an exit corridor.

1005.7.1 Doors.

Doors, when fully opened, shall not reduce the required width by more than 7 inches (178 mm). Doors in any position shall not reduce the required width by more than one-half.

Exceptions:

2. The restrictions on door swing shall not apply to doors within individual dwelling units and sleeping units of Group R-2 occupancies and dwelling units of Group R-3 occupancies.

We retrofitted a pocket door into a standard-depth wall in our rental, and it fits just fine. There was no need for a wider-width wall.

That's an amazing idea pocket door sliding up. Something to tinker with.

preteinteriors...Check out Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. The windows on the main floor were the size of doors and opened UP. The ones I remember from my years-ago tour was in Jefferson's bedroom. The docent said they were used as doors and for ventilation...they opened right at the floor level from inside as I remember, but looking at pics online (like below), it looks like they were a bit high off the ground to work well as doors. I thought windows sliding up and turning into doors was a pretty cool idea... if we only had ceilings high enough in our houses to accommodate that!

We are adding a barn door to our home, but we do have a separate water closet for the toilet inside our master bathroom. Previously we had two doors that opened in, which was an issue for the light switch and the shower door.

Pocket door is more private than a barn door.