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queeni1951

Help! Which arrangement?

queeni1951
7 years ago
Two drawings for guest bedrooms. Pros and cons to each and cannot seem to determine what we like better. Retired couple and guest rooms for visiting company and/or grown daughters.
1. Hallway bathroom allowing for little privacy, having to leave room, etc.
2. Jack and Jill bathroom with no doors to sinks...like a hotel room?!
I need comments on these and suggestions on another way, perhaps?
Help....

Comments (79)

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Personally, because, the bedroom is long, I think you would be fine. Imo, it would not look small. Maybe you have an area in your house where you can draw these dimensions on the floor with masking tape and see how you feel about it.

    In the layout below, I enlarged the bedroom 2 by 3 in. I think you still have a good size bathroom where you can have a nice cabinet and having the toilet not too close to the tub and still have a place to hide toilet brush.

    EDIT: With the bed placed in this location, it will make a visual break on the length of the bedroom which will make it look not as much narrow.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Off with my roll of masking tape to try it!
    Thank you.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    If you don't feel comfortable with a 10'9" wide bedroom, is there a way you can steal 6 in. from the room located at the bottom and move your bathroom 6 in. South? This way, your bathroom will stay the same size and your bedroom will be 11 ft 3 in. wide.

  • User
    7 years ago
    Do you really want to share the master bathroom with your guest?
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Claire,

    These are two guest rooms and not a master.


    Suzanne,

    I am going to go look at moving the bathroom wall 6" and see how it affects the family room.
  • User
    7 years ago
    I asked because you said if it was ok to see your husband brushing his teeth without a door so I thought it was the master bedroom unless it was just an example.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Claire,

    I meant a couple sleeping as guests with one getting up earlier than the other and not being able to close a door while brushing teeth, running water, etc. would wake spouse. ;) Spouse may wish to sleep.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    While you are looking at stealing the 6 in. from the family room, I am also wondering about having your built-ins (?) on each side of the fireplace being 3 in. shorter. This way your bedroom 3 could be 6 in. wider.

    On the layout below, you can have an idea of the impact it will do if you move the bathroom 6 in. to the right (green walls) and 6 in. towards the bottom (purple walls). All the measurements affected by these changes are shown in green and purple. I did not actually draw a new vanity etc. I just wrote what size they would be if the walls were moved.

    Sometimes taking 6 in. off from a big room does not make as big of a difference as adding 6 in. to a small room.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,
    You've been busy! I love the possibilities! Amazing!!
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    I see a little part of your master bathroom from the first layout you posted in your discussion. I was wondering is there a reason why your vanity is on the South wall instead of the West wall? It looks that you would get a longer vanity if it were on the West wall.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    Actually, the master bathroom has been modified (many times as you know me!). It allows for his and hers closets which the original did not have. We only wanted a walk-in shower and removed the tub. One closet wall (opening one) has been moved to allow entering bathroom and seeing vanities centered. No space between vanities. All one countertop; two sinks.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    Working on where I should place my kitchen appliances. Interested in giving your dime's worth?
    I may go ahead and post under kitchen or appliances somewhere.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    The layout of your master bathroom is very nice. I have few comments:

    With your very big vanity, you have enough space to store everything you need. However, sometimes people like to have vertical storage as well. Think about your kitchen, how functional it is to get things from eye level instead of bending or getting them from a drawer.

    You have 2 options where you could have vertical space in your bathroom, the first one can give you a full height cabinet that is 2 ft deep:

    The cabinet could be built where you have a rectangle drawn inside the closet beside the toilet. The cabinet would be accessed from the bathroom. The closet would become smaller in term of hanging space but it could be your husband closet (usually men have less clothes than women).

    The second option would be to have a 12 to 18 in. deep tower sitting on your counter top with an electric outlet inside.

    Regardless if you opt to have a full height cabinet recessed in one closet or not, I would build a tower on your counter top because I like to hide my electric toothbrush.

    What are the 2 small white rectangles recessed on the wall on each side of the vanity?

    Also, your closets are quite wide. Depending on the size of your bedroom, you have the option of making your closet 7 ft wide and giving the extra 3 in. to your bedroom.

    Please make sure that every suggestion I gave you is verified by a professional. I am not a professional, I am just creative when it comes to floor space and I tend to give priority to functionality as opposed to aesthetics. I guided 2 houzzers for their bathrooms/closets from the drawing of the layout to its completion. It gave me a very good experience about the difficulties they encountered while doing their renovations but I am sure a professional can give you more or better advice for your specific needs and the possibilities.

    If you post the link of your discussion about the kitchen, I can look at it.

    Sorry for the long post, I am a francophone and my vocabulary is limited so sometimes I need to use more words than necessary to explain what I want to say.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    Just modified on your suggestion. The recessed space is perfect for a freestanding linen closet we had built for our last home!
    Hubby doesn't mind losing the closet space. ;)

    The small boxes were medicine cabinets which I am removing. Will plan on tall tower between sinks AND love outlet inside! Perfect! I made note for electrician.

    Posted kitchen plan and questions but not sure how to tell you where to locate it.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    Back to guest rooms-
    Closets have total space as drawn:
    10'-4 1/2" depth total. That includes the wall between the two.

    With your suggestion, one is 6'-9" x 3'-9" which is doable, but it leaves larger one with space of 6'-9" x 6'-7 1/2". The 6'-7 1/2" has to include the wall depth so that closet becomes to small to have hanging clothes on both sides, I believe.
    I could possibly do hanging on one wall and 12" shelving on other?
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I see that you like symmetry. I like it too. Instead of having one cabinet in one closet, you can have 2, one in each closet. See picture below.

    Also the orange rectangle on the tower is for a hidden make-up mirror. One houzzer, I helped did it. I must tell you that she regretted mounting a sconce on the side of the tower because it was in the way to see the back of her head from the mirror on the vanity. She said she can see the back of her head but just barely. I can ask her if she thinks she would see it clearly if the sconce weren't there.

    You can see pictures of her completed bathroom/closets if you go to this link:

    [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/master-suite-remodel-dsvw-vd~2887761[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/master-suite-remodel-dsvw-vd~2887761)

    You can see the layout in the link below. You need to scroll down until the end of the discussion. The layout is posted at the one before last comment:

    [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/i-need-help-picking-materials-for-my-master-bath-remodel-dsvw-vd~669481[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/i-need-help-picking-materials-for-my-master-bath-remodel-dsvw-vd~669481)


    In regard to the link of your discussion, you can just copy/paste the url of your discussion.

    EDIT: BTW, you can have 2 towers, one on each side, just like in the pictures of the bathroom you see in the link above. In that case, your vanity would be 6'1" long and each tower would be 1'6" wide.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    In regard to your guest closet, you have 2 options:

    1- Have your bedroom 3's closet 3'3" deep. This would allow you to have 2 parallel rows of hanging space in your bedroom 2's closet while keeping a reasonable width in it.

    2- Keep the bedroom 3's closet as is and put shelves in bedroom 2's closet on the wall common to the other closet. Just like you suggested. You can then have hanging space at the back. I must tell you, I don't like corners in closet because the clothes are not that easy to reach but it is an option. Personally, I would choose option 1.

  • kathleenandellis
    7 years ago
    Not sure where things stand on the Jack and Jill. My view....no, with mention of the yuck factor. All things that happen in bathrooms are very private for many people...washing hands, creams and prescription medications, bodily sounds and functions, trash can contents, exhaust fan noise and lights. If you have enough room for total self contained, private bathrooms with good doors and locks, do that. Your guests will be ever thankful.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Yes, I agree. We have decided not to move forward with Jack and Jill.
    Decisions made are good as they are decided. Bad for me who continually thinks everything can be better and always second guessing.
    For this point in our life and after the helpful comments on here, the hallway bathroom wins!
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    Going back to Kroze's layout, she has a 6'6" wide closet. I think she manages well enough with that width. I could ask that too if you like. I could certainly ask her to participate in your discussion. She has a lot of information she can give you.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    I just revised the measurements of my drawing with the measurements you wrote on your post. I made a mistake. The total space of the 2 closets I used is 4 1/2 longer than it should be. I must have added the thickness of the wall twice.

    I will make the correction. I think, to keep the last layout, you will need to have the bedroom's 2 closet 6'6" wide and the bedroom's 3 closet 3'6" deep. Let's see what Kroze thinks about her 6'6" wide closet.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    I have other comments about your master bathroom but I am hesitant to give them in this discussion because it might confuse everyone if we start talking about 2 bathrooms and 4 closets at the same time. Sorry, I started something I should not have.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m
    Would you like me email address OR I can post in forum elsewhere?
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    It is really up to you. But I think having suggestions from others is always good.

    Can you confirm that the total length of your bedroom's 2 with bathroom and the wall between is 17'5"? I don't want to make a mistake again.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I hope I have the measurements correct. I made the walls 4 1/2 thick. The measurements inside each room is more precise.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Actually, I recommend that you start a new discussion since I think Kroze will have advice to give you on your master bathroom.

    If you start a new discussion, I will copy my comments referring to your master bathroom in your new discussion and delete them in this discussion.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    With the changes in your master bathroom, is the width of the bedroom 3, hallway and bathroom 27'1 1/2" altogether? That would be nice since your vanity could be 5'6" wide, the space around the toilet would be 3' and the hallway would be 3'11 1/2" wide.

  • Cheryl Smith
    7 years ago
    Love jack and Jill's
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    Bedroom 2non original plan is 15'-4" x 11'-8". That does not include the drywall.
    The hall bathroom originally: 9'-7" x 5'-4 1/2".
    From north wall of bedroom to south wall of hall bath would be 17' plus the 4 1/2 for drywall.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,

    I posted in kitchen forum!
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    Do you mind showing me the other side of the East wall of bedroom 2 and bathroom. I would like to see where is your master bathroom in relation to the guests' bathroom and bedroom 2.

    I am not the best at kitchen's layout but I did added a comment on your kitchen's post. Did you see it?

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    I did see your comment. :)
    Here is layout of bedrooms. I sketched in our linen closet per your suggestion. It isn't location you shared later. We only want the one as it is an actual hand built wooden linen closet we are going to use.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Thanks queeni1951. I see that the East wall of the guests' bathroom is not aligned with the West wall of your master bathroom. This means the dimensions of the guests' bathroom should stay the same as shown in the last layout I posted.

  • auntthelma
    7 years ago

    I had that Jack and Jill configuration in my first house. Hated it. I didn't mind the sink in the room, but I hated that the toilet room had two doors. You never felt like you had true privacy.

    The hallway bath is fine. No one minds walking two steps to the bathroom and when you close the door, everyone knows the room is in use.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Auntthelma,

    First, I have to tell you how much I love your username,

    Second, thank you for making me a bit more assured. I think if we had our two daughters at home growing up again, it would be ideal for Jack and Jill (or Jill and Jill!).
  • auntthelma
    7 years ago

    Never had my own kids, so I go by Aunt. Thelma was my cat's name!

    For kids who share everything, it would work, for adult guests, it's just not the same.

  • Christine Hillmann
    7 years ago

    I definitely prefer choice #1. I grew up with Jack and Jill rooms with my sister and I would have much preferred sharing one separate bathroom that felt more private than having to be unlocking and locking multiple doors in the Jack and Jill. Since these are guest rooms, I don't see much of an issue with having to leave the room to use the bathroom. Also, this way the bathroom is accessible to other guests who may not be staying the rooms, while the Jack and Jill bathroom would require walking through a bedroom in order to access.

  • auntthelma
    7 years ago

    What Christine said. What if you have so many grandkids that some of them are sleeping on the couches or in the den? they need a bathroom too!

  • felizlady
    7 years ago
    I prefer the first design because both bedrooms use the same door for the bathroom. If two bedrooms have private entrances, and the first person in forgets to unlock the second door (for privacy), the second person will have to go through the other bedroom to get into the bathroom. My daughters have a jack-and-jill bathroom (Jill-and-Jill) and I solved the problem by hanging a key inside each bedroom's bathroom door so nobody gets locked out.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    Do you live in an area where your house can be appealing for young families?

    I am just asking in case you are interested in seeing a Jack and Jill that gives about 7 ft (or a bit more) of walking closet in bedroom 3. However, both bedrooms would be around 12 ft x 11 ft 9 in.

    If you think that your house can appeal for young families then you would have to decide if you want a house that is closer to your needs (one bathroom in a hallway) or one that is closer to potential buyers who have kids living at home (Jack and Jill). Note that one bathroom can appeal for families with young kids except that is a bit unfair for the kid who has the small bedroom.

    Let me know if you are interested to see that layout ... In don't want you to confuse you after you have taken a decision.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Suzanne_m,
    Please post.
    One aspect of the plan right now could allow in-laws/aging parent to have bedroom and use smaller for tv room, etc. That was commented to me by a friend this morning. I never thought about it.
    Young families always looking. Our home we just sold had two bedrooms identical and the one hall bathroom.
  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    Nothing is perfect. Bedroom 3 has her vanity inside the shared bathroom in order to get a bigger closet and needs to walk through closet to get to the bathroom. Both bedrooms are close in dimensions. The West wall of bedroom 3 has been moved 3 in. to the right.

    Personally, I prefer the layout with the bathroom in the hallway but I thought it was worth showing it to you.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Yes, I like the hallway bathroom and decision made on it. Thank you, suzanne_m! I posted kitchen under Design Dilemma titled, "

    Ideas for kitchen appliance layout"


  • kroze
    7 years ago

    I'm new to your thread but I have a comment for Suzanne. The layout you have done above is almost the same as two of my upstairs bedrooms. However, the doorway for the SW bedroom to the bathroom goes directly into the bathroom (near the toilet). That gives more room in the closet area. I see no reason for the SW bathroom door to be entering the bath through the vanity of the adjoining bedroom. (loss of privacy) I would reverse the bathroom layout by putting the vanity next to the SW bedroom and the toilet next to the tub. Mine even has a door between both vanities and toilet/tub area. Does that make sense? Pocket doors work great between the bedrooms and the vanity areas. I think that utilizes the space better and gives both bedrooms more privacy.

  • Vicki B
    7 years ago

    I have not read this entire thread, but having looked at the initial scenarios, I personally always prefer the hallway bath, rather than the awkwardness of the Jack and Jill with other guests (as opposed to a J&J between two children's bedrooms, etc.). However, I would suggest an optional door (pocket door maybe?) that would close the line-of-sight as you enter the bath/bedrooms area so that, if only one person or couple is visiting or one family ... children in one bedroom, parents in the other ... you could make it a private suite from the main living area.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Kroze, I think your explanation above concern the Jack and Jill's layout I posted on Monday at 8:47PM?

    queeni1951 is going with the layout I posted on Sunday at 11:31AM which I like a lot better. I was trying to draw a Jack and Jill with the bedrooms being about the same size in case it appeals more for young families who want the 2 bedrooms being more fair for each child.

    Also, in the Jack and Jill, I was trying to avoid to have to lock or unlock 2 doors when you are in the toilet area to avoid embarrassment when one guest forgets to lock a door or to avoid having one door locked when it should not. In theory, it is possible that the Jack and Jill is being shared by 2 distinct families.

    BTW, your closet is very similar in size to the bedroom 2's closet in queeni1951's discussion. Do you find the 3 ft walkway space you have between the two 21" deep rows works well? Do you feel cramped in it?

  • kroze
    7 years ago

    Suzanne, my closet is not cramped at all. Actually it would work fine with a smaller walkway between the hanging rods. The extra space is nice, but not essential…. for those with less space available.

    I like the layout of the above drawings! Good work.

  • suzanne_m
    7 years ago

    Thank you Kroze. The pictures of your closet seem to me that it felt spacious but I wanted you to tell your own experience to queeni1951.

  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Vicki B,

    Yes! I think we are putting in a pocket door from family room to hall so privacy can be for folks on both sides; family room and bedrooms.
  • queeni1951
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    Kroze,

    Thank you for the reassurance and sharing with me!