The cost is not crazy high. What’s included in the contract? I wouldn’t angle the tub as it will be difficult to clean back there. As for getting your return when you sell, it depends on your neighborhood and how much longer you plan on living there.

Unless you take a lot of baths and don't have another tub in the house, I wouldn't add a separate tub. A lot of people these days are taking tubs out of master baths in favor of large walk-in showers. As PP mentioned, this may be region-specific. Our custom build plan doesn't have a tub in the master bath.

Secondly, your remodel doesn't address lack of storage. If you do go through with it, I would do one sink in a larger vanity to give more bathroom storage space. If this were my bath, I'd convert the tub to a walk-in shower and maybe steal some closet space for a linen closet and that's it.

Gerry, the 30K estimate includes about 11K material and include all work I asked for in the OP. I plan to live there for a long time. We have saved for a long time. The neighborhood gears towards families with school-age children as it offers the top elementary/middle/high school. Thank you for the point on cleaning the angled tub; didn't think of that.

Hi anj_p, all good points here, I didn't think of storage...this is our 2nd house and we plan to stay for a long time. Our first house has a tiny master bath with a super skinny shower. Instinctively, I just want a big MB. Currently, if I bent to open the cabinet under the sink, I would be like sitting on the toilet already...I do need to consider other points you mentioned for practical reasons.

Quick question - what things and what quantity of things would you need to store in your en-suite?

Hi Sharon, storage is for personal items, not much linen. My husband has very few, I have hair products, make-up, hair dryer..etc.

following

If I do above-vanity sinks, would that give me more space down below in the cabinet? What are the cons for those above -vanity sinks?

It all depends on the plumbing - I’ll take a look at your floor plan tomorrow- a well designed en-suite is usually a good return on investment, especially if you plan to stay in the house for a while.

Morning, A Green! Do you have a plan with room dimensions vs. square footage?

IMO sq footage means nothing, post the actual measurements of all the walls and sizes of vanity and tub. A freestanding tub needs a min. of 12” all around it and IMO a lot more visually. I find the best solution usually is to either forget a tub or use a nice deep soaker/ shower .There is no way IMO to have 2 sinks and no counter it makes no sense .

Hi A Green: with the overall size of your new bathroom, you have enough room to get everything on your wish list. Wall dimensions and the location and size of the windows is important. Looking forward to receiving more details.

One more question - is there a view from the spot you’ve placed the freestanding tub that you’re trying to capture from the window?

Vessel sinks don't give more storage, because the vanity has to be lower to keep the sink at a usable level. They can give a bit more counter.

I think I would just steal two feet of closet depth behind the current vanity, so that you have more feeling of space in there and can have a real double vanity on the same wall with lots of drawers and cabinets. Then make the tub/shower into a more luxurious feeling shower (a couple inches wider, more luxe plumbing) and a glass enclosure, and the room will feel double the size without getting you into a host of unnecessary headaches.

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Unfortunately, the price won't change a lot with a simpler ambition, because a lot of it is the labor for taking up and putting down tile and all the fussy bits. But $1000-2000 less for the tub, and again for the plumbing you don't have to do over there, and the rest will about break even.

Like so:

Hi Sharon, here’s the dimensions

Can you give the dimensions of the existing closets too please.

The closet is 90” wide and 81” deep

Is this the part you wish to add to the en-suite?

Yes, it’s the walk-in closet’s top portion on the picture. here’s the complete measurements.

the walk-in closet is huge. they only have shelves in the top portion of the closet. the previous owner carved out a chunk from the bedroom, which is the bottom portion of the closet.

When giving measurements for comments, length and width in feet and inches is much more useful....square footage is interesting but not helpful.

For re-sale a bigger bath is a good investment...and if you sell in the future a bit ......that is years of a more comfortable use of the bath...but if the money can be used better elsewhere you could assign another bath for one of you to use regularly...we have done this for years as my husband likes his own bath and many times is up earlier to get ready for golf....i like it because i like my bath spotless and pretty...whenever I use it...it is easy for me to keep his bath clean after he is done...without facing it in the morning before i can use the bath myself...

How often would the soaking tub get used. I put one in about 10 years ago and have used it twice. Your best bet might be to steal some room from the closet for a 72 inch vanity with two sinks and a nice large shower.

Hi btydrvn, the thought of having my own bath did cross my mind. It would be SOOO nice. However, there are only two bathroom on the upper level. My tween daughter has the 2nd bath, which is enormous, almost double the size of the MB. The 2nd bath shares a plumbing wall with the MB and has vanity on one end and the toilet + shower/tub on this other end (this is the end next to the MB).

At one point, I thought about maybe steal some space from the 2nd bath, but was told that's a bad idea, cost-wise. I would be facing the expenses of two bathroom remodels...

How about switching bedrooms?

Or posting the layout of the adjoining baths and rooms...there may be an unexpected combo possible.?

Hi Design Girl, if I put in a nice freestanding bath, I probably will use it at least once a month. I just thought since I am going to remodel, I might as well have a 5-piece bath, I will enjoy and add value to the house.

I guess all the comments thinking the $30K remodel is reasonable for the scope of the work. Thank you all for that feedback.

Gotta think outside the box

Some notes:

• small linen cabinet to the left of the entrance
• shower is 4’ x 3’
• left toilet in the same spot (if you want to go to the expense of moving sewer pipe, a whole new world of design opens up
• short stub wall mid-way between windows for back-to-back vanities (I’ve seen similar walls made of tempered glass at counter height templates to attach mirrors which lets more natural light into the room but is expensive)
• fantastic storage options for the remainder of your closet with IKEA

Would you consider entering the bathroom via the closet? This too would open up more design opportunities.

Here’s an example of a tub that looks like it is freestanding but is attached to the wall:

http://www.acritec.com/product/rochelle-67-semi-freestanding-bathtubs/

Wow, Sharon! This is beautiful! The back-to-back single sinks are very refreshing! Quick question, can I make the wall between the toilet and shower all glass or maybe half-glass?

Sharon, I did think about entering bathroom from the closet. I didn't know how to pull it off. I need two complete walls for hanging the clothes. Out of four walls, one has a window, one (directly opposite the window) has a entryway...

Hi A Green: yes, you can have a full glass or half glass shower - it just means moving the existing water lines water lines - to save on budget try to keep the drain in more or less the same spot. Do check out ikea for closet organization - my closet worked out very well (put it together myself) and it is only 7’ x 5’ with tons of organized storage:

IKEA will help you with the design - take accurate measurements with you (including where the window is on the wall (how high) or you can go to their website and download their planner software.

Thank you for the tips. I will check IKEA.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond! I've picked many great points here. As you might tell, I am quite overwhelmed by what's ahead of me. I am eager to move in due to two mortgages, but I obviously don't know much about design and remodeling in general.

A new question: Should I tile the wall first, and then drill holes to put on floating shelves, or shelves first and tile around it?

Tile first but be careful - need to use the correct drill & drill bit to go through tile without cracking - suggest getting your contractor or cabinet maker to install

Renewing this post due to the change of remodeling plan. Thank you very much for Sharon's design. Truly appreciate! However, I have realized expanding the MB probably not wise given cost involved ($30K) and our local market. The neighborhood was built in the 60's, so there are plenty of houses with small MB.

I've decided to keep the existing floor plan and just refresh with a nice 4.5' (or 4') x 3' walk-in shower, new fixture, new tiles. I welcome all the feedback.

A few notes:

1) shower will have frameless glass, low threshold, floor to ceiling tiles (light color)

2) toilet will be floor mount (half-wall tile behind the toilet and 2 floating shelves above the toilet)

3) Vanity will be floating (I think it makes the small bath look bigger)

4) Storage will be this linen closet next to the shower. I think it's about 12" wide and 3' deep. I am thinking to make it a slide-out shelf with door. (attached inspiration picture). Not sure how much this one is going to cost. Ideas?

5) I am still not sure where to put the towel rack. Its current position is right next to the door. Untidy towels will be the first thing you see...but I don't where else to put it.

Pictures:

1) Current layout

2) Design - DH did it.

3) Pull-out cabinet inspiration

4) Vanity inspiration

5) Tile inspiration

If seeing the towels is a worry for you, have the door swing the other way, then your new, beautifully tiled, frameless shower will be the first thing you see (or always rehang the towels neatly after use 😁 - our towel racks are the handles on our frameless glass doors into the shower & toilet enclosures and untidiness isn’t an issue). For a more casual look, you could have towel hooks on that wall ....

As soon as you come in why not make that your closet and the closet your bathroom? Not in the budget because it doesn’t cost much to the plumbing lines.