My children shared a Jack-n-Jill bath while growing up. The tub and toilet were together and they had separate vanities. As they grew into teenagers, it would've been nice to have the tub and toilet separate with their own doors. Standing at the vanity to wash your face and brush your teeth doesn't require the same amount of privacy as taking a shower or using the toilet. It never failed that one would want to take a shower at the same time the other wanted to used the toilet!! I heard a lot of door pounding and "hurry up". Lol.

Provide a door from one bedroom into its own bathroom. Provide a door from the other bedroom into its own bathroom. You will have space left over, increace resale value, have happier kids, have happier overnight guests in the future, and you will be happier.

While I do think a jack and jill can be an excellent solution in some situations, I also wonder whether you have enough room to divide that space into two separate bathrooms? It would probably increase construction/plumbing costs a bit, but the utility and additional bathroom should certainly make up for it.

Learning to share and be considerate of others is a skill that should be nurtured more, IMO.

Yes, there is enough space for two baths there. Which would probably be the solution if you feel that sharing any space is not possible.

Personally I'd change it to a hall bathroom and make the bedrooms just a bit larger. I note there is a powder room just across the hallway so if one kids is hogging the bathroom, at least there's a powder room if needed.

lots of possibilities, depends on other things -

IMHO I would take advantage of the exterior wall and have a window whether you decide to do 1 large bath or two small ones. If you do one “grand” shared bath with windows then can you make the Hall Bath into the 2nd bath by adding a tub/shower?

Some things are hard to anticipate, kids get “favorite spots” that aren’t planned on they just happen. Here despite each bedroom having its own full bath, one kid loves to brush teeth in the powder room, one kid loves our master bath for everything. The powder room kid loves to shower in another bathroom meant for the pool. They can’t verbalize why they don’t use their own bathrooms, I can only guess (smaller size & no windows? Tub not big enough? Too far away from parents?)

While two complete full bathrooms would be the best situation it just isn’t in the cards for this build. What about the possibility of each room having its own vanity and toilet and then a shared shower? I feel like that arrangement could possibly exist in the same space?

I'd do a hall "family bath". Children need to learn to share. And all this using other bathrooms all over the house? Not in my house! Other bathrooms were only used by them for a toilet "emergency". I was not about to have all my bathrooms turned into messy "kid's bathrooms". And yes, even well-trained children can be messy where toothpaste, towels and flushing are concerned, particularly boys.

so here's what I don't understand about the whole jack and Jill thing....

I have NO ISSUE putting on makeup or brushing my teeth next to my husband, sister, mother, brother, etc.

I DO have an issue using the toilet while any of the above would be showering.

WHY is the shared space the one where you generally want privacy, and the private space one where it's perfectly fine to share?

Why not share a longer counter / vanity and have 2 separate rooms - one for the shower and one for the toilet?

This layout (and most J&Js) are no better than one fully open bath.

(and really - my preference would be to so 2 separate baths for a little more cost / space here or a hall bath - but I am exploring J&J as a whole instead)

What is the closet situation like in each of the bedrooms?

I am curious as to why two toilets and two sinks are in the cards but not two separate tubs/showers? It wouldn’t cost that much more. I certainly wouldn’t put two toilets if you’re not doing two completely separate baths.

I would do one vanity 6 ft wide with one sink off to the side (not centered) that is accessible from both bedrooms. Then I’d move the toilet to in front of the tub in an enclosed room with one door. That way there are no lockouts but privacy is maintained for bathing and toileting. This should give each bedroom more space or give one bedroom a couple of feet. I don’t have access to photoshop right now to show you what I mean but hopefully you can envision it.

My opinion on Jack and Jill is that I've never bought a house that has two entries into a washroom. I want privacy in the washroom, no matter what I'm doing in there, and I assume other people feel the same. Two doors, if they both have locks (which they should) would mean someone can constantly forget to unlock the opposing door. It is just a setting for constant battles and adds to everyone's stress. Who needs that??

Put in two small washrooms, one for each bedroom or one large bath off the hall and forget about the Jack and Jill setting. With two washrooms, each can have a smaller vanity, toilet and shower stall rather than tub. I think you could easily fit two into that space, especially with all the door swing allowances in the current drawing.

Normally I would say to have them each have their own vanity. But with this design, I would say you are better off having the vanities in one "room" and having the toilet accessed through one door and the tub accessed through another. That way when one is taking an hour long bath, the other can still use the toilet. In my design, I only have 7 feet length versus your 8+ feet length for the tub/toilet/ So I am left with the tub/toilet space together. If I had one more foot, I would have loved for them to have the tub and toilet separate.

I'm also doing on the vanity side (7 feet long) one sink and one makeup counter. One of my daughters does have a huge glam closet that will have a separate makeup counter. If she didn't, I still feel they would have been better off with just one sink and a shared makeup space. My girls are 4.5 years apart. They will be 13.5 and 9 in 2 weeks. They are now doing each other's hair, etc. So I think they will both still use the combined makeup counter for hair.

I like your idea - remove the wall between the vanities to combine those spaces and extend the wall between the tub & toilet to separate them.

What about flipping the room? Something like below:

- you could had two small, high windows, 1 in the water closet and 1 in the tub room

If you do the above you will need a door or pocket door on each of the entries from the rooms because if one gets up and turns the light in the middle of the night it's going to be bright for the other. I have a 17 yr old and 8 yr old who share a jack and jill. The 8 yr old boy likes walking through the jack and jill naked when the 17yr old has friends over. I am all for 2 separate bathrooms since size wise you have the space. I would sacrifice elsewhere.

Mark is right. You have more than enough room for two separate bathrooms. Divide the space in two horizontally and locate the plumbing wall in the middle. You will buy more fixtures but the increased resale value will much more than offset this cost. The only difference in the baths will be that one has a window. Perhaps the interior bath could be lit from above by a skylight or sun tube.

If something isn't in the cards, get a different deck. You can quote me on that.

Here you go, two separate bathrooms each with about a 48" vanity.

Two bathrooms with bad layouts is better than a Jack & Jill bathroom with a good layout.

I feel that since you’re having a hall bath right across from one of the bedrooms that two separate baths is overkill. If there’s ever a toilet emergency while one is in the shower, it’s a quick jaunt across the hall to another toilet.

Condensing the spaces to one vanity and one tub/toilet area would leave enough room for a nice larger closet for one of the rooms.

Provide a door from one bedroom into its own bathroom. Provide a door from the other bedroom into its own bathroom.

This means paying for an extra tub and toilet. Worse, it leaves Mom cleaning an extra bathroom every week. None of this would make me happier.

Learning to share and be considerate of others is a skill that should be nurtured more, IMO.

Agree. Give them ONE nice-sized three-piece bathroom that opens to the hall.

Very few people know this fact, but Jack and Jill did not like each other because of the bathroom they had to share between their rooms.

Yeah, I heard it drove them right up the hill.

I would say you are better off having the vanities in one "room" and having the toilet accessed through one door and the tub accessed through another.

A separate room for each bathroom item? This plan gets worse and worse. More walls, more doors = a choppy space that's expensive to build and more difficult to clean.

"Learning to share and be considerate of others is a skill that should be nurtured more, IMO."

I agree too, but lets do it with candy bars and the common cold and not spaces that require privacy.

"....and not spaces that require privacy."

With all due respect, each child would have privacy with just one bathroom, just not their own dedicated space. My four kids currently share one bathroom and they all get their [albeit short amount of] privacy when needed ;-) Yes, it's often inconvenient but after one year of the current situation, their patience with each other and planning skills ARE improving :)

Like i said, there’s a powder room across the halll. Make one bathroom with HALL access with lots of storage, and enlarge the bedrooms.

In fact we adults share a bath with our spouses, so why can’t the kids?

With all due respect, each child would have privacy with just one bathroom, just not their own dedicated space.

There ya go ... bringing common sense into the equation.

My four kids currently share one bathroom

I was one of five kids, and I have LOTS of memories of "not enough" ... but none of them revolve around our single shared bathroom.

In fact we adults share a bath with our spouses, so why can’t the kids?

Again, common sense. Consider, too, that one day you're going to pay big bucks for these kids to live in a college dorm, where they'll share a bathroom (happily) with about a dozen people.

OMG you really want to hear the battles about who didn’t lock the door I hate J&J bathrooms my sister and i shared a bathroom until my Dad could not deal with the battles and made 2 bathrooms and I suggest you do the same you have the space use it wisely.

Mrs Pete, that is exactly what I was thinking.

At my daughter’s orientation they asked all the students who shared a bedroom with a sibling to stand up. A handful stood. Then they told everyone that those were the ones that people wanted for roommates.

The kids will have plenty of privacy. In their separate bedrooms. Generally a shared bathroom does not mean there are two people using the bathroom at the same time. One is using it with the door shut (and probably locked) and learning to be considerate of time spent in there as the other is telling them to hurry up.

I like the idea of one bigger bathroom with hall access. And I know all new plans show two sinks, but I'd much rather have 1 sink and more drawers. Girls have stuff to store, especially as they get older, and I'd rather have it in a drawer than on a counter. And how often will two people be using the sinks next to each other at the same time? (Not often is my bet.) Going with one sink will add much needed storage to your bathroom.

My favorite bathroom layout was in a vacation rental home near WDW. It was between bedrooms with hall access. you walked in to a large vanity with 2 sinks. Door to the left of the vanity was tub/shower, door the right was the toilet. It was so functional!

Sorry for the hasty Photoshopping but here are three possible layouts:

Personally, I like Option 3 the best because there is more vanity storage.

If you are making it into two separate bathrooms, I don't see the need for doors or partitions within each bathroom.

Bite the bullet and make two, separate baths. That will stop the fighting and the "hurry up" comments.