Software
Houzz Logo Print
klab2424

calling all Space planners

20 days ago

Adding a second story to our small house and I love this floor plan we have landed on. I'm wondering about the master bathroom though. it is a little long but it seems to be the way the architecture works out for the best ? !

Comments (33)

  • 20 days ago

    Label your drawing. Which is the master bathroom? Does it have a tub? Shower?

  • PRO
    20 days ago
    last modified: 20 days ago

    ^^

    The primary bedroom/bath suite is low left corner. Not the best bath to my mind.



    What is the question, is the bigger question, "too long" for what? It's as you have it, roughly a 9 x 12 primary bath and wasted length

    . Depth same below @ 108" and needs only 10' vs. your 12'. I'm assuming you can change the window, which would be a much nicer view on entry! and some open shelving that can hide behind the entry door.



    Your 12' length on left,,,,,,,,10' on right below



    We have no context for the rest, to make a judgement. Who belongs to the other two beds, what is the purpose of the family hang out, especially 2 48" "sofas: which are space hogs only one will inhabit?

    You have another thread............!! Oy

    The first plan was ditched, morphed to adding a second floor.

    When you get the entire thing together, both floors, elevations, Stay in this thread.,

    OR delete this one and go back to last month!

    I will link this one to that.

    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6532193/addition-remodel-interior-layout

  • 20 days ago

    Jan’s primary bathroom layout is better imo and the 10’ length gives you an extra 2’ for the family lounge area. Consider using that extra space for a closet in the lounge instead of a bookcase so the lounge area could become a 4th bedroom for the next owner.

    If there will be a TV, music or conversation in the doorless lounge area, that noise may intrude into the bedroom areas. I personally would not like that. Consider narrowing the lounge’s doorway to allow pocket doors. Use all solid wood doors on this level to reduce sound transmission.

  • 20 days ago

    Thank you for the drawing ! It looks great and I do like it much better, although I'm stuck on wanting the window in the toilet closet . I thought of just putting the toilet where the shower is now but then but then it gets so close to the bed 😳 , so your plan does work out very nicely that way plus who doesn't like a long vanity run
    with a beautiful window at the end Regarding the "family lounge" or whatever it is I can't figure out if I should open that staircase to have it loft like or keep it closed... I had it drawn all closed in with a pocket door for that lounge room but it is so hard to know if it will feel tight and dark in that hallway or if the open loft doorless room looks better with easy flow 🤷‍♀️ I will work on this upstairs for a while to see if I can arrive at a comfortable decision
    The other two bedrooms are for my 2 little daughters. There is a flex room downstairs with an en-suite that can resale as a downstairs master suite if necessary. Having said that there has been some discussion of not adding on the side upstairs with the master and family lounge and just putting the girls rooms up there, but my husband seems to like the idea of using the entire footprint for the upstairs and having the large upstairs suite so who knows. Decisions have to be made so we can move forward that's for sure !! Thanks ladies

  • 20 days ago

    Seems like you have gotten some good advice on the master bath. I have one input on the bath for the girls. 2 daughters will need storage for make up and hair stuff. A 5' vanity with 2 sinks requires them to share the drawers. One sink (only needed for a few minutes to wash their face and brush their teeth) can be shared. Long mirror and 2 sets of drawers allows them to stand side by side while doing makeup and hair.


  • 20 days ago

    Good point. There will be so much makeup and skincare😆 going on in there I should definitely consider that carefully for the design. I was thinking of my oldest daughter in that she is neat as a pin and can't stand the way my youngest gets toothpaste every where around the sink. I always hear her complaining about it in the morning when they are getting ready haha but I guess a better remedy for that is teaching her to clean up her area after she's done 🤣plus knowing her she will have both sinks a hot mess anyway

  • PRO
    20 days ago
    last modified: 20 days ago

    ^^

    " like it much better, although I'm stuck on wanting the window in the toilet closet".......

    Just put a really good fan in the poo closet, Keep a bottle of Zero Odor" and get on with it. Flush as you "go"

    It's really just that easy....and this stuff is great, no cloying masking crappy cheap scent that masks ....nothing at all, and just add to the stink.

    The window near vanity far outweighs the issue., jmo : )



  • 20 days ago

    Look into recessed medicine cabinets as your mirror(s). You can store so much everyday stuff in them and makes it easily accessible. Also it leaves space in the drawers for the bigger stuff.

  • 20 days ago

    @Katie Mapes - my sister did the unthinkable - created a jack and jill bathroom for her two daughters. Like yours, one was neat as a pin, the other messy. How she solved the fussing and fighting - she had the two bedrooms on either side of the top of the staircase. Each bedroom had a hallway with a closet on one side and a 5' vanity on the other side - door at the end of the hallway was a door to the bathroom which had just the toilet, bath/shower and small vanity for washing hands.


    The design still works well with both daughters grown up and married. They come home for holidays and both couples can share one bathroom without stepping all over each other.



  • 20 days ago
    last modified: 20 days ago

    It looks like your plan may have a pocket door on the primary en-suite. If true, consider switching it to a solid wood swing door with privacy lock on the knob.

    It looks like the family lounge has windows. Closing the room in with 4 walls and a door shouldn't make it dark if it has windows and good lighting. Closing it in imo makes it more functional to use as a lounge or occasional guest room (look at murphy bed wall units) and improves resale if it meets code for a 4th bedroom.

    Adding to Jan’s comment about bathroom fans - get a quiet fan model and add a wall timer switch or humidity sensor.

  • 20 days ago

    A friend’s house (not her design) has french doors on the room at the top of the stairs. As life has progressed, it has been a den, a ”classroom” during Covid, tv room, gameroom. The french doors make it quiet when needed, but still open visually.

  • PRO
    20 days ago

    Stink solve......./reverse my earlier - Still a very decent shower






  • PRO
    20 days ago
    last modified: 19 days ago

    Here is the plan cleaned up a bit so it can be more easily seen.

    I don't mind the master bath plan. Separate vanities is always a plus.

  • 20 days ago

    Hey Pbath ... the room at the top of the stairs? Where the hall bath is currently located on mine ? That could work
    Yes to recessed medicine cabinets I never planned for those on the new build we did and regretted it for sure.
    Yes to the QUIET exhaust fan and def the bottle of odor spray 🤣
    I am working on a new drawing here keeping all your suggestions in mind. I see where an enclosed bonus room would be more usable

  • 20 days ago

    Jan I wondered if that would be okay to move the shower as you walk in to the bathroom like that ... it looks good on paper. Maybe someday I'll get to see it come to life !

  • 20 days ago

    Oh my ! I didn't notice you have the windows labeled ... 🤣 one for view and one for for my husband's c constant upset tummy my

  • PRO
    20 days ago
    last modified: 20 days ago

    It isn't that your posted bath was horrible, btw .......but 2 60" vanities? He needs that much storage and counter? Nine feet of grooming for two is plenty of everything and why on earth not have a little natural light? How long are you in a shower?! Fifteen minutes?

    Sure as heck would rather walk in and see a window, than a chunk of wall : )

  • 20 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago

    Random thoughts:

    - I don't think you have space for a window seat on the staircase. If I'm reading correctly, you'd only have 2 1/2 space of walking /turning space on the landing.

    - The girls' bedrooms are very full -- large beds, chairs, duplicate night stands -- in addition to plenty of closet space for a single person. Personally, I'd count on them having single beds as small children and maybe switch them to larger beds when they're teens. As small girls, I think they'd value the easier-to-make single beds and the floor space. Especially since they'll have the upstairs den only steps away, I'd lose the overstuffed chairs. For both bedrooms, I'd consider something like you have for the master: Two smaller closets flanking a built-in dresser. The upper right bedroom closet is really crowded by the chair -- it'll be hard to open.

    - I wish the girls' closets could be placed between their rooms for acoustical privacy.

    - I'd remove the division in the girls' bathroom. Kids never use the bathroom at the same time anyway, and that wall creates an obstacle when cleaning and requries a second trash can to be emptied every week. The wall also cuts off natural light to the outer bathroom space. Definitely switch to a single sink flanked by a good-sized bank of drawers so the girls will have storage AT the sink -- they may not appreciate it yet, but they will like having drawers for skin care /make up /hair care as they grow older. Be sure you have an electrical outlet on each side; I say that because my girls' bathroom only had one outlet, but my house is old. Where will the girls hang their shower towels? That's not a pocket door on the girls' bathroom, is it? Pocket doors, especially in damp areas, especially used by children will break -- it's not a question of if; rather, it's a question of when.

    - I like the privacy in the master. Good closet space too, but I agree with others about the wasted space in the bathroom. I'd go with a sensible single sink /a bank of drawers for each spouse's storage. I'd place the vanity and the toilet on one wall ... the shower and a linen closet across a walking aisle. And, as others have said, this will give you about 2' more in the upstairs den.

    - Think through whether you'll be able to get large furniture (or a tub one day) up the stairs /around the corners. This is especially true for the master, where you'd have to make a 90 degree turn.

    - With the bedrooms all upstairs, I'd like to see laundry upstairs too.

    - All the rooms have nice windows.

  • PRO
    20 days ago

    As the ensuite bath is here there is no natural light to the vanity and shower area. It will be like a tomb walkng in there. Storage is questionable as well. Where are your linens/towels being stored?


    light is also a concern in the upper right bedroom with two small windows on either side of the bed. I would consider moving the closet to the opposite wall so you can get a larger window one wall and one to two windows on the other outside wall.


    In the hall bathroom much the same concern, no natural light to the tub and vanity area. I would eliminate the capartmentalized toilet so the window can be larger and provide light and air flow to the entire bathroom. Center the vanity and do linen closet storage on either side.


    As far as the lounge area......furniture wise two 48" sofas are a waste. Get a standard size sofa in there and an additional occasional chair. "lounge" -people like to lie down and relax. A chair and half which is what a 48" piece is, is really not practical.

  • 20 days ago

    Jan has adjusted the "master" bath to function more ergonomically.
    My initial qualm was that the toilet seemed far away from the bedroom; user must negotiate a hallway,then bathroom entrance ,then thunder closet door before they can access the commode.
    Prepping yourself to trek to the toilet may seem doable now, but in times of urgency or sudden digestive onslaughts,you will not be happy.
    Consider situating the toilet closer to the bedroom...proper wall insulation and a fan system should obviate any audio or olfactory discomfort.

  • 20 days ago

    I like Jan’s latest plan; you can hang the bath towel on the back of the bathroom door so it’s there when you need it.

  • PRO
    19 days ago

    As to a laundry upstairs? They work, and they don't work

    If you love doing laundry in daytime hours, while in the kitchen? or out in the garden? An Upstairs laundry can become a forgotten disaster of more steps, more work n short order, If you want real efficiency? Double UP! Get past the puritanical notion any household is only allowed a single set-. Make a big laundry on the first floor. Stack the front loaders, and shorten the process, Commit kids to taking their own both up and down . While you're at it? Teach them to do their own.

    We have far, far. more clothing than the past decades ever imagined, more kids sports, more work out stuff and more , more more. You will thank me a thousand times.

  • 17 days ago

    As the ensuite bath is here there is no natural light

    Throughout this plan, natural light could be improved. And that's not a small thing.

    Prepping yourself to trek to the toilet may seem doable now, but in times of urgency or sudden digestive onslaughts,you will not be happy.

    This seems a bit extreme, as it's not that far.

    As to a laundry upstairs? They work, and they don't work
    If you love doing laundry in daytime hours, while in the kitchen? or out in the garden? An Upstairs laundry can become a forgotten disaster of more steps, more work n short order,

    Could not disagree more. Laundry is most efficient near the bedrooms, where the dirty clothes will originate /then be stored once cleaned. Yes, you'll have to walk up and down the steps to switch loads over, BUT if you have the machines downstairs, you'll have to tote the baskets up and down the stairs. Either way, you're walking -- the question is whether you want to make the walk with or without baskets of laundry.

  • 17 days ago

    I would never want laundry on bedroom level. I despise folding upstairs and see no value in how my family deals with laundry. Main floor in mudroom is best for us.

    My teen girls share a bathroom and two sinks is a must. They have six drawers I believe so each get three. They also have a cabinet each and one other drawer below. They do a lot of makeup in their rooms though with a vanity mirror and desk.

  • 17 days ago

    Mrs Pete it does sound a little extreme haha but I understand as this is our current bathroom layout at our rental home ... I would not design it this way but I have to admit there is something to be said about having the toilet ready to go right as you walk through the door 🤔😁 personally I have grown to love the laundry closet in this bathroom but we are in a one story ranch house with this bathroom located in the center of the plan so it is perfect for laundry.

  • 17 days ago

    G

  • PRO
    17 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago

    "BUT if you have the machines downstairs, you'll have to tote the baskets up and down the stairs. Either way , you're walking -- the question is whether you want to make the walk with or without baskets of laundry."

    To all of this, I will only note: In this business, you see a whole lot of REAL LIFE.

    Laundry in particular is a fascinating topic. You either love the task, or view it as a necessary function , efficiently attack and be done with it , rendering beginning to end process and location irrelevant...........OR..

    You are in the epidemic group. One of those who simply can not grasp the fact that laundry has a step by step process and by delaying, ignoring this will lead to more laundry, more steps, in a truly vicious cycle that will be never ending. Often, this is the group that "solves" their problem with an upstairs locale that ends as P.U.R.E F..A I .L.

    LOL.......either way, you're walking. says Mrs. Pete : ) hahahahhaahhaaha!!!!!!

    I wish. I have watched this upstairs room become nothing more than an abysmally disorganized closet. It all goes in there in no particular order, and it sometimes finds the machine with the soap and water. It then takes a full day or more, for it to migrate to the machine that will dry, Where it shall remain.........how long? A full day, possibly two. UH oH. What about the still wet? Still stalled at step one, forgotten. Now the other baskets fill up with dirty, someone finally HAS unloaded the dryer, no folding, now return to the bedrooms, and after a couple days, no one is quite sure which is clean or dirty.. Kids find their needed clothes in there and even when returned to a bedroom? It does not get stowed , thus migrating to bedroom or closet floor, and now we're really baffled as to clean or dirty.......and back into the wash it goes.

    Mrs Pete thinks I made this up......no.

    These are the folks who need laundry near the kitchen and where most of their day is spent. Even then, huge challenges remain, but the process is not multiple trips UP/DOWN.

    Does this improve the situation? Not a whole lot, but it provides a fighting chance.

    Never in my lifetime could I imagine how one room with two huge steel boxes operating at the touch of a button................could become akin to having to lug the offensive dirties to a rocky stream a hundred steps out in the back forty .

    Everyone thinks I made this up. You wish.

  • 17 days ago

    Came across this bathroom photo and now im obsessed. Wish I could see the rest of the layout. All Pinterest home photos should come with floor plan drawings attached 🤣I didn't plan to have a tub in this bathroom, but I do love to take baths so I was planning to use the girls bathroom for that. Getting the extra space for the family lounge is okay with me,but im also still considering keeping the whole thing for just the bathroom. I do understand the appeal to a smaller well designed bathroom as well. Regarding laundry I have a very small stackable we love and it is 24 by 24 so would be nice to fit it in up there... I imagine my husband sitting in the family lounge with our daughters in the evening with me throwing clean clothes at them to fold while they watch tv. That is our current system anyways 🤓 I will also keep the laundry off the kitchen. I could probably manage to put a laundry shoot in for getting laundry down, but the idea of walking up with the baskets of clean laundry doesn't sound appealing with how much laundry we do. I used to have a basement laundry and I loved that too ! I don't even remember being inconvenienced to carry the clothes back up the stairs but like I said I have grown to love it in our only bathroom. It's where the clothes come off and they are sorted for wash right then and there. Also grab warm towels right out of the dryer. We are all definitely ready for more than one bathroom tho !

  • 17 days ago

    When combing through this architect's website this is the one that caught my husband's eye. He doesn't get too excited for the antique grandma style like I do 😬

  • PRO
    17 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago

    All the detail hand wringing is pointless. This type of project's layout directly depends on the support given by the first floor. The first floo's engineering (and costly re-engineering) controls all of the layout possibilties of the second. And that's if such an invasive year long move out project even moves forward at all. The costs to do a full second floor are that of building a new house of the same square footage as the entire two floors, but with far more limited and poor end results forced onto it because it's a remodel. This is why people do teardowns. Or move. You spend the same, but end up with a far better result.

  • PRO
    17 days ago

    You are 100% non clarified as what you want, how you want to live.

    You went from one story, to two.

    You want laundry near beds, but there is NO need to toss laundry at kids sitting on an ass watching tv. Invite them to come get it, take it to their rooms, fold and stow. ( I don't really get this, I fold AS I remove from the dryer )

    Whatever?

    Take this whole thing below, realize you don't NEED an up the stair living room, and make better closets for primary, a nice laundry, get yourself a tub.

    Get off pinterest, Instagram, finalize a must have list for the architect you need involved.

    Take the whole thing...Tv and family gathering are first floor......Sleep and laundry are on the second floor,

    Change the windows,,,, close the stair wall......

    In other words.... don't ask us, ask Y.O. U : )





  • PRO
    17 days ago

    At some point, you are going to have to move past the entertainment value of the impossible to do mental puzzle here and into the harsh reality of needing professionals. If you aren't willing to plonk down a 5K-10K retainer for an architect's services to do an As Built, and then have an engineer's report on what it will take to add a second floor. Or this will always remain fantasy. As it probably should. Because the reality is that you would be better off financially moving to the larger house that you want than trying to over spend to over modify this one.

Sponsored
Virginia Kitchen & Bath
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars155 Reviews
Virginia's Award Winning One Stop Kitchen & Bath Remodeling Resource