Get a designer for sure and probably a KD too.

I like your plan. Except, in Bath 1, you’ve turned a 4 piece bath into a 3 piece bath, but the 3 piece is taking up more space. I don’t think it’s worth losing the closet space.

Also- is the stove wall in the kitchen load bearing?

Thanks, Tatts. The pocket door advice is useful. Regarding the stove, is your recommendation based on aesthetics, kitchen usability, or safety/code? I really appreciate the feedback.

Thanks, Emilyam819. I've thought about this a lot, but I can't figure out where to put the bed (queen sized) in the "master" bedroom without taking out that closet door. I know that many folks might just put their bed under the windows, but that gives me the heebie jeebies, so I'd like to preserve a wall. I realize that I could move the window on the east wall, but I'm not sure it's worth it (given the permitting process for external changes.... and cost of course).

Since we're not worried about resale (we hope to stay here a looooong time), how important do you think a separate shower is in Bath 1? Our kid is young and she'll be taking baths for at least 4 more years, so the tub is a must.

Ah, and the N/S bedroom wall is a load bearing wall (there is also a significant one not pictured in the southern part of the house). The stove wall *could* be load bearing, but we're not sure it actually is (if it isn't, it should be, which is something we're looking into).

Since the Master Bath is private, would you feel comfortable with a bi-fold door into that room. Honestly, that door will need to be at least a 30 or 32 inch opening...If not a bi fold door, than perhaps a pair of doors that will swing in or out as one is coming thru them? A bi-fold door has a hinge at the center..., or 2 doors each 15 inches wide that have bar room hinges to open in or out. I think that would work fine, and they could be solid or they could be louvered design doors.. A pair of doors works nice for closets and for Master Bedroom entry also...Closet doors do not have to be full length. They could be from the 3 feet to the 5.6 ft height... Small children can bath in farmhouse style or utility rectangular size sinks. After they stand and sit, they can bathed in a shower with a hand held shower head on a hose that extends down to their height, using small plastic child's chair if need be or even an infants bath tub or a child's small pool in the shower...Just a thought if you want a shower enough to consider it.

Check your math. Bath #1 is not adding up to the 9-6 you have on the bed wall.

A tub-shower is acceptable, but a separate tub and shower would be better for a master bathroom. A standard wall-mounted shower head is better than an overhead rain shower head. A separate hand-held wand is great for rinsing shampoo and rinsing the shower when cleaning. If you cannot fit a two-sink vanity, be sure to have a separate bank of FOUR or FIVE drawers for each of you. (3-drawer units have drawers that are too deep for the most convenient storage of your personal supplies). A recessed medicine cabinet is better than a wall-mounted medicine cabinet, but may require some alteration to the wall. You show a separate storage cabinet which will suffice for towels and extra supplies.

Thanks, Scottie Mom. You're right, the interior of Bath 1 is 9', not 9'6".

Thanks, FelizLady. I'm not sure if you're referring to Bath 1 or Bath 2--Bath 1 is the main bathroom in the house (currently, it's the only bathroom), and will be used by kid, visitors, and probably by my husband and me since it's more convenient. While bath 2 is the "master" bath, we're not willing to sacrifice entry space from the back door to make it larger to accommodate tub/shower or double vanity. We're pretty minimalist (currently, all of our toiletries fit into a recessed medicine cabinet and the few bottles in the bathtub), so this will work for us. The advice regarding drawers is helpful. What depth is most useful?

Have you thought about putting your master bathroom right next to the main bathroom?

My two bathrooms are back to back...saves expense of running new water lines. just a thought.

If you move the closet door for the linen closet into the master bath, it will make your hallway less congested. My final thought is to take the proposed master closet, and the area you have earmarked for a desk and turn it into one long closet with 2 sets of closet doors.

By moving location of the master bath, your bedroom becomes more of a rectangle and gives you the option of two inside walls on which to place your bed.

And really, no matter what I just wrote, I agree with Patricia Colwell Consulting. It is important to hire a professional for advice. Good Luck

I have pocket doors in my 1948 house, but they were put in during the remodel we did in 1985. The doors are the old solid wood, 6 panel doors that were regular higher doors originally. They are not noisy but they don't latch as well as I would prefer.

Two years ago, we rented a mews house in London - S Kensington area. It had lots of pocket doors due to its small size. The finishes in this house were exceptional and so were those pocket doors! They were VERY thick doors - slabs and solid. They were thicker than my 1948 solid wood doors by at least 1/4 inch. The glides were virtually silent. And they fitted into a deep opening and latched nicely and securely.

I have no idea how to achieve this in the US, but it IS doable! And boy, what a difference. But I still love my pocket doors (I have 4 sets). My house has very nice sized rooms but the halls are very narrow, plus I wanted to be able to close off the hall from the entrance hall into the library at both ends - there is a hall closet and powder room, opposite one another, in between. Sometimes, I want these attached to the library, sometimes to the front hall. There is no room for doors so pocket doors was the solution and it was an excellent one.

I'm a big fan of sliding doors....Putting in a hinged door (in lieu of the sliding door for Bath 2) will take up a lot of precious space.

But a hinged solid door blocks all of that objectionable noise, light, and odor. Unless you want to do 12” thick walls with 2” thick solid pocket doors, there is no way to get either a pocket door or a bypass door to ever perform half as well as a standard swinging door.

Barn doors take up more wall space than do hinged doors floor space. Pocket doors require more structural work with headers 2.2x as wide as the actual opening.

And none of this is really doable without hiring an architect first. And increasing the budget substantially. Old homes in that area require seismic retrofitting, in addition to all of the plumbing and electrical updates that will be required before you spend a dime on anything decorative.

You have a nice budget. I would suggest you use a small part of it for a professional architect to design your changes. Moving plumbing around and adding additional plumbing can be complicated and expensive. Plus, a pro will have ideas you have not thought of. You can never go wrong adding a bathroom: even a small one adds value.