You may wish to consider building a full wall at the end of the shower (best to support the hinges for the shower door and allows you to capture some usable space between that and the closet). 36” is best for toilet area and one sink is fine in order to maximize counter space. If you do a 24” wide door to the closet you could have a 30” wide x 18” deep dresser or cabinet in the space I was referring to. With an outlet below the mirror it would be a good place for someone to do makeup/blow dry hair or just have a lamp there for mood lighting. And definitely tile to the ceiling and the tile doesn’t necessarily have to match the other bathroom.

Can the closet (existing shower) be accessed from the other side of the wall (bedroom?) Is there any way to get rid of the step up? Truly terrible and no longer code compliant (wasn't then...) 30" minimum alcove width allowed for toilets, 36" is ada, so at 35 you are fine but I would stick with a single sink and have more drawers.

This is the bedroom side of the shower. The access to the existing shower/proposed closet would be that wall where the handrail is.

The problem is the lower two feet or so is a knee wall/floor joists. The upper portion where the shower is from the bathroom is the space that would be available.

RE STEPS: Unfortunately there's no way at all to eliminate the stairs. The whole house is built on a concrete slab so the center of the house is actually raised to accommodate plumbing to the two bathrooms, laundry and kitchen.

thinkdesignlive: I see what you mean! Narrow the closer door to 24" vs 36 to allow an 18" cabinet/dresser! Thanks for that idea! (& sketch!)

The outer corner of the proposed shower will be right in front of you as you enter the bathroom from the pocket door. I am worried a wall/even a half wall w/glass on the top will feel like an obstruction? Opinions on this aspect is most appreciated!!

Cardboard to similate a wall on the end wall of shower

* We are not married to the "Proposed" idea. We even considered putting the toilet where the existing shower is. We decided the proposed idea made sense considering the length of a new shower might fit best while just turning the toilet to the right.

Whole new idea for the space is also welcome. (THANKS!)

If we can indeed move the toilet to the old shower spot and follow this new floorplan...

Definitely new counter but...Do you think the existing vanity wood/style/color is dated? Could be improved by staining or painting another color? Or just replacing?

The current mirror is a built in medicine cabinet (opens on left and right, center fixed). Any chance that's smart to reuse or just get full wall mirror behind vanity wall?

You can reuse the vanity if you want but it’s lower than standard and doesn’t have soft close drawers. If you are putting in a new bathroom it could actually be all new

Thanks, had no idea how it looked to the real world! It was custom made back in 1985, oak.

I can hear the drawer slides from here

Yup, You're not wrong! it's true ; )

Let me ask this? Would the end wall of shower (facing the old shower/new toilet area) look better either all glass... bench high glass ...or pony wall/half glass? Or is the full end wall being solid/tiled be for privacy sake?

Will that end wall being solid feel like a wall in your face as you enter the room from the pocket door or is it basically a normal look/feel?

Major upvote for HALLET & Co's proposed layout. A nice spacious toilet closet is a wonderful thing to have in a master bathroom. The view into the bathroom improves this way as well, and you have more privacy when using the toilet. I just move from a toilet closet to not toilet closet and I miss it.

Does this make more sense? Water closet, shower open on long side only. You want the shower valve on the wall opposite the shower head. You want the shower door in the middle of the space so it’s not hitting towel bars.

Thanks so much ppc!

Question about vanity width...if I put the toilet where the old shower is that will eliminate the spot I was going to put the hamper. I'm also seeing vanities (freestanding/hanging) up to 84" not 95 I'd need wall to wall. I'm seeing photo's of vanities with space left open on either side of the vanity. Is there a nice width size to leave on each side that would make it usable for trash can's, standing plant or ???

(I will need to use the vanity for towell storage too now)

The first thought I had when I saw the existing layout with respect to moving the toilet (I hate when a toilet is the first thing you see when you open the door to the bathroom). However, the proposed layout shortens the vanity quite a few inches - and while you and your husband don't need a second sink, I would have one if it doesn't create an issue . It seems like most people want/expect a second sink in a primary bathroom (at least where I reside).

I also would rather have a half wall with glass on the side facing the door to the bedroom + glass along the other wall. You can "hide" your niche on the inside of the half wall - nice to have it hidden away since most people have messy niches.

Are you trying to not need a door? Cleaning glass isn't the most fun job - but if you have it treated, it's a lot easier for someone to take care of it.

This person on Houzz had basically the same exact dimensions for his/her shower - and it was a doorless one:

Here is the comment he/she made on someone else's post awhile ago:

Also, if you have a half wall on the outside, you can attache a floating bench to it - that's the only type of bench I'd want in a shower.

If you decide to make the wall facing the bedroom into a solid wall, you could add between the studs storage for quite a bit of stuff.

You do something like this in order to have a place to hang all of your towels (wouldn't need to be this wide):

IMPORTANT - I would not replace your medicine cabinets with a plain mirror that is the full length of your vanity. It would be better to have wall sconces on each side of a mirror -or if you do a longer vanity with two sinks - do two mirrors with either four sconces or three sconces - depending on the length of your vanity).

HALLET & dani & ppc: Thanks so much for the input and visuals, some great ideas I never thought of. (My daughter was also urging me to have two sinks.)

I can't thank you all enough for helping me think outside the box. Still at the drawing board but I feel a lot happier about this now and sketches/photos help me relay it all to my husband!

I welcome more suggestions if there are any! Thanks!!