Cannot read a thing on your drawings. Even "blown up" way to light, if fact they get smaller when you click on them.

Sorry, I've reposted with drawings that should be easier to read.

The plans still don't tell us where the hallway for the guests will be.

Can you try putting the "guest" door and bedroom door side by side in the wall perpendicular to the vanity (the wall with the range)? Then you might not need to carve out that hallway out of your bedroom.

A 4' closet would not be enough for me especially if it's shared!

yvonnecmartin not sure what you mean by hallway for guests. As designed, there is a vestibule with doors on opposite sides, one into the bathroom and one into the bedroom.

rebasheba Like the below? The thing I don't love about this is the door to the bathroom would be directly next to a dining table. Doesn't give guests any privacy. Having the little alcove and a door not opening right into the kitchen/dining area feels a bit more private.

There would be less closet space - right now the bedroom has about 32sf of closet space where this would be ~16-20sf. But about half the existing closet space is contained in two old-fashioned reach in closets with only hanging storage. The larger closet is not ideally laid out, with some wasted space. I think if I had this fitted out by a closet company, I could get the functional equivalent of what I'm currently using (maybe). Also would have room for a dresser against the closet wall which in the current configuration I don't have, just a storage bench for linens.

Do you not think the view from the bed is odd? Can't say I want to look at the toilet all the time.

After looking at things again, all this does is cost money. The guests can still look in your bedroom. You have lessened storage space , made the master smaller and less private. How often do you have guests?

RNmomof2 zone 5 There's a pocket door there. I would probably not close it regularly though, so point taken. The view now is of a wall with windows that have shades drawn 24/7, so the bar is low.

The bed could also go on the far wall, with a view of... a wall. But not of a toilet, so I guess an improvement! Thanks for that feedback.

I'm not worried about guests snooping in my bedroom. But that's very different than having guests open a door directly from your kitchen into your bedroom to use the bathroom. I do not have huge formal parties, but I do have guests pretty frequently and also have workers, clients, etc. here who need to use the bathroom. When I have elderly folks here, I'd rather not send them up a flight of stairs to use the bathroom. But in addition to having a guest bath, this also gets me a nicer master bath which while still very small, is larger than the current ~40sf.

Obviously, I'm aware that this costs money - I recently renovated the rest of the first floor. But the alternatives also cost a lot of money: (1) an addition to the house which would require a crawlspace for plumbing, new HVAC brought in, etc. (estimated at about $100k for a roughly 100sf addition a couple of years ago, so would be higher now), which still leaves me with a tiny, tired master bath, or (2) expanding the second floor over this bedroom to convert an existing bedroom into a master suite, then turning this bedroom into an office, wihch gives me a guest bath but one that is tired. Option 2 would likely require replacing an existing dormer with a taller one because the second floor ceiling heights are very low, and therefore completely gutting the upstairs. No estimate on that but I would put it at $250k conservatively. And I would still eventually want to fix up the tired existing master bath.

This is probably more of a $75k project, with plumbing staying in the same general area, no new HVAC required, no zoning approvals, no structural changes. By renovating, I can also add insulation (this is an antique house) which would improve the comfort of this room (which currently runs 5-10 degrees hotter in the summer and cooler in the winter than the rest of the house).

Also regarding cost, this is a small house but I live in the NYC metro area, so property values are high enough to support these improvements.

Any chance of posting the entire first floor? lots of creative ideas on here for guest/powder baths - we live in an old house so I get wanting one

I need to see the layout of the whole first floor of the house . I see this option as expensive ans still allows access to the bedroom. Maybe new eyes can see a better solution these things are best when planned in a whole

Yep, here is the full first floor. It's not dimensioned because it's a scale drawing.

My architect looked at this extensively while designing the reno, and the only real way to add a separate power room was to do ~100sf addition off the front. This would give me a larger entry and more storage, but I elected not to do it for cost reasons and with time I like that idea less and less. I may someday just do a small ~5x5 extension for a larger entry that would not have a bathroom and therefore could be done on a slab for far less money.

Also relevant, the setback line cuts through the current master bath, so while it's theoretically possible to bump it out, that would require zoning approvals.

If you decide to update, I would rather not share the bathroom as a Jack and Jill. Usually, one of the doors is locked and forgotten. If you share the vestibule going into the bathroom, you could have hanging clothes on both sides of the closet.

I think I might put in a 5 foot vanity with one sink and drawers on both side, move the toilet and window closer to the tub.

Karenseb Thanks! That is a good idea and makes the closet probably more functional than what I currently have. Don't love the idea of not having direct access to the bathroom from the bedroom, but something's gotta give! Your layout of the fixtures is definitely superior.

Agree - I would give up an en suite for a more functional bath and closet - tradeoffs for sure :)

sometimes a little more privacy between the bathroom and bedroom is nice

Looks like there's plenty of wasted space in the Living Room. Right at the bottom of stairs could be a Powder Room. Beats having a 12'x12.5' Master and shared bath that will detract from value.

I don't see how a shared bath will detract from value. The house currently has *no* guest bath, shared or not, on the first floor. A shared guest bath is an improvement. Of course, best would be to have a great master bath and a great powder room, but in a small house in a VHCOL area, that may or may not be doable nor is it an expectation from buyers. 3 bed, 2 full bath is not unusual for a small house.

I'll think about the bottom of stairs location, though it would really interfere with the flow from the kitchen to the family room and would be <4'x4'.

Karen's is the only reasonable layout, the others presented were poor. But even at that, it makes the Master into a Guest Room. You may not see it, but that reduces value of your house by not having a Master Suite when it had one prior.

I really do appreciate the constructive feedback, but I’m not renovating for resale value nor do I think it’s as cut and dry as, say, eliminating a bedroom. Again, the house now has one teeny tiny, tired “master bath” in a very poorly configured master bedroom that cannot fit a king bed, and an even smaller, and more outdated upstairs hall bath. It’s hard for me to see how the benefits of a larger, newer, guest-accessible bathroom, better closet, and reworked bedroom that can fit a king bed and two nightstands are completely outweighed by having a shared bath. Long, long term (10 years?) this might ultimately become a guest room anyway - if I ever spend the $250k+ to gut and expand my second story.

In using some closet modeling tools, it seems that I’d have enough space to have hanging storage on both long sides of the closet if the pocket door(s) are centered. (24” space for hangers on either side leaves >40” aisle.) This allows it to remain a “suite.”

Realist here. How are you going to mount hanging rods into the wall when there is a pocket door behind the wall? Which ever side has the door will have to have a free standing storage unit.

Something like this with the shelving unit next to the pocket door would work.

You are parsing the "value" comment too much. The proposed were just poor solutions. A 1 bedroom studio would be expected to share a Master Bath. A 3BR Cape Cod, with a new expensive island'd kitchen and Family Room addition, does not match having a small 11'-10"x12' Master with a shared bath. You have another opportunity to group a Powder Room with a circulation adjacency. I can't help it wasn't thought of with the prior Family Room/Kitchen remodel.

Sorry, but putting the powder room at the bottom of the stairs doesn’t work. It creates a pinch point with living room furniture and ruins the first floor flow from kitchen to family room. Thank you for your input, but this is an inferior option. And the family room wasn’t an addition, FWIW.

With respect to a closet, yes, would probably need to put shelves directly next to the walls on the side where the pocket door stows.

This is a ~1700sf house. Very common in my expensive area to have a 3bed/2bath. A neighbor 3 doors down just sold their 1,300sf house for $1.05m. It had one shared bathroom for three second floor bedrooms and a second full bath on the first floor.

A powder room is a ”nice to have” at this price point and size. Not worth $100k to me and still be stuck with a subpar master bath.

Can the powder room go where I have put the red square. Looks like wasted space anyways? It is opposite the stairs so would make a good location.

Thanks Lorraine, but if you look at the photo I posted, it would really disrupt the first-floor flow.

This last one is really looking good. With one more change, you can double yor closet storage.

In the vestibule between the bath and bedroom, place two opposing doors. This allows for pocket door accesses the bath across from the vanity, and a standard door or another pocket door into the bedroom.

Now you can have a full wall in the closet and double the storage space.

^i really like that option - preserves the ensuite feel but doesn't require guests to trapse through a bedroom -

also less bathroom noise in the bedroom which can be nice if one person has to get up in the middle of the night

can the bedroom door open the other way so it lays against the wall?

Sure. The way it opens on the drawing is backwards in my mind.