Too much for me... but one: reduce primary's french doors [2?] so that existing bathroom's plumbing could be extended [through the wall] to at least a powder room?

Verbo - no thanks, this house suits us just fine. The addition of the ensuite in bedroom 2 will happen anyway and it won’t be a couple hundred thousand. However, a home’s desirabilty can make that big of a difference in price in our area when it’s time to sell. I am just seeing how we can optimize the floor plan if we are going to do the much needed updates anyway.

Give the shared bath to the second largest bedroom and use the middle bedroom for another shared bath/ laundry space. You lose a bedroom in the process but the smallest bedroom can gain some additional floor space and the window placement works and won't need to be changed.

No dice if you really need 5 bedrooms, though.

Four baths for five bedroom seems like overkill. I think you have room to add a third bathroom on the right side by taking space from the two largest bedrooms, and incorporate a laundry "closet" off the hall. The two smaller bedrooms would remain as is. I'd be relectant to do a Jack and Jill, so the three smallest bedrooms would share one bath accessible from the hall.

3onthetree, thank you so much for taking the time to draw those up! So helpful to visualize! And thank you all for providing ideas so far, I really appreciate it.

I wanted to add, we will also be updating the primary bathroom and so that side of the house is fair game as well if you have any ideas for optimizing the space. Our kitchen is actually right below the primary bedroom. Our current laundry is below the bottom half of the primary bath. I considered what our options might be to move the primary bathroom window further up the floor plan (currently the window has a built-in tub next to it; we'd replace it with a freestanding tub and reconfigure the space). Would that leave enough space next to bedroom 5 for laundry room or bathroom?

Is PB [primary bathroom] rectangular box a shower? if removed -- add the new wall, new plumbing - can it be part of "french door" bathroom?

Earlier, I had meant by removing one of the doors....

everdebz - that box is indeed the shower.

I'm attaching here a mock-up of another variation for losing a bedroom in place of a bathroom and laundry room. Does this look workable? The fixtures in the primary bathroom are shown as they are in their current location and would change in the final layout (e.g. I want to straighten out the tub and make it freestanding instead of built-in and am also considering moving the shower deeper into the room in order to make the primary WIC bigger). The toilet for BR 3's ensuite is in its same location as in the existing hall bath, as I've been told that's the most difficult plumbing change to make. The rest of the fixtures are just where they might potentially go with renovations

Would love some more feedback on whether this is a good idea.

In our area detached housing is in very short supply and an updated vs unupdated house can make a difference of several hundred thousand when it comes time to sell. We are planning on renovating anyway because 1) the house is in dire need of updating and 2) we want another bathroom at the least, so I don’t want to move forward with major changes without considering all options. We don’t plan on moving anytime soon.

Here are options we’re considering from least to most involved… Option 1 is what we plan on doing at a minimum but again I would like to optimize both access and comfort. Any further feedback would be very much appreciated!

Laundry here(in orange)?

Yours is now a real estate and value question, and at that it is hard to compare 5bd/3.5ba vs 5bd/4.5ba vs 4bd/4.5ba, as comparables in non-tract neighborhoods are never apples to apples - at best more like squash to zucchini. All of your schemes function at a basic level, however some probably fit the "level" of the entire house better (e.g. understand the entirety of house and yard - is every floor and lot stuffed with 6.75lbs of potatoes in a 5lb sack?), and some could have a better quality of space with windows, size, etc. I would say the Laundry can't be isolated in terms of value of whether a 1st or 2nd floor is better, it probably depends moreso on size and quality of space. The only constant that I see from available information, is that the Primary Ensuite should at minimum remain the same size if not made larger/combination of a better layout, and that would be well represented to keep up with the Joneses.

I notice that none of the bedrooms have windows along the sides. Not sure why that is, but it is a waste of the opportunity for light and air coming from two sides of the corner bedrooms. And three of your four options show the walk-in closet at the corner of the house, which is never ideal for the reason mentioned above. I'd like to see a fifth option with two back-to-back bathrooms between the bedrooms along the right, stealing a little bit of space from each. The washer/dryer could be part of that arrangement and accessible from the hall.

RappArchitecture - which way should the bathrooms be oriented / from where would they be accessed? What you’re describing sounds similar to option 4 but with the 2 bathrooms shifted down a bit? The problem would then be to provide a bathroom for the remaining 2 bedrooms which would likely compromise their size or the size of the primary bathroom. I do agree with 3onthetree that such changes wouldn’t be ideal.

I think you are trying to carve a square hole for a round peg. It will be significantly more disruptive and expensive than you are thinking it will. Have you consulted a real estate agent about the difference in value result of the options? About moving to a different house with the money that this would cost?

Moving isn’t a consideration as previously stated, and cost is not a concern at this time. Our realtor said option 3 may have greater resale value but I’m still reluctant to give up a bedroom given what I’ve encountered as “conventional wisdom”. I’m just looking for feedback about things that would optimize our reno or potential pitfalls re: plumbing / room size / etc. At the very least option 1 is not that involved of an idea. We have effectively ruled out option 4.

None of the above. All are poor use of space . Listen to Rapp Architecture

cpartist - can you please elaborate on what makes them a poor use of space? That feedback is too vague to be constructive.

We live in a city where real estate prices approach those cities you listed (I'm not in the US). I get that a couple of you are homing in on improving the floor plan as a whole, which is fine, but not really what I'm asking for. I'm wanting to find the best way to add bathrooms (plus or minus laundry room) to the existing floor plan. I'm not looking to improve the bedrooms or change their windows. We have by-laws here that restrict number and placement of windows facing neighbouring houses so most people undertaking renovations will try to limit adjustments to the external structure unless they really have to. Ensuites without windows are not unusual here. In option 1, only the new bathroom wouldn't have a window and that wouldn't bother us.

I've already reached out to professionals who will give their input. I'm posting here because I was hoping to get more ideas while we are still in the planning phase.

Could you show us the current layout of your hall bathroom?

This is a slight modification of one onthetree's layouts:

Thanks Suzanne. The location of fixtures for hall bath and primary bath as shown in option 1 are as they exist currently.

There are times for brainstorming, and this is it. I'd rather ask around for ideas, just as I would for a medical condition- before and after visiting the doctor.

Why is decorating any different?

It appears that in one of your options you are willing to let go of one bedroom in order to get 3 bathrooms and a laundry room. If you were to do that I think it is worth considering this layout. All bathrooms, closets and laundry room are bigger:

- Bathrooms (red)

- Closets (green)

- Laundry room (orange)

I also re-organized your ensuite. If you prefer one double-sink vanity, you can move the cabinet where the second vanity is. Also, have you considered moving the wall in your bedroom to make it more rectangle (see dotten line)?

The OP has stated reluctance to give up a bedroom for more baths, and I agree. I wouldn't suggest that even if resale wasn't a factor. Which in the long run it will be. The space is available for a third bath and laundry without making any of the bedrooms too small.

RappArchitecture, the bathroom below the ensuite in the layout with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and a laundry does not seem to work. I don't think there is enough clearance between the toilet and the shower. However, maybe it is possible to switch the laundry room with the small bathroom.

I find the vanity in the ensuite is too small for a double sink.

If the laundry wasn't a room but just a closet off the hall with double doors for access, there would be more than enough room for a functional lower bath.

IMO 2nd floor laundry is my last choice right next to basement. Either one requires many trips un and down forlaundry so I would do a main floor laundry and then probably the best is to leave as is and spend the money on the master if that is needed. All this plumbing moved all over is a huge job and I am glad you have lots of money but really the actual mess and work IMO would not be worth it. So at best option #1 from OPs drawings.

Maybe this layout with 3 bathrooms and a laundry room could work:

It is all a moot point until someone wants to pay the 20K retainer fee to an architect to get started.