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Primary Bathroom Layout

9 days ago

I'm looking to reconfigure our primary bathroom. It is smaller (8'x9'3") and awkardly set up. We would like to remove the bathtub to allow more room for a shower and the toilet. We are also wanting to downsize the double vanity to a single. Please offer any suggestions you have!


Comments (22)

  • 9 days ago

    Do you need any linen storage in the bathroom? Why do you want to downsize the vanity? Maybe stay with the same size but just add a single sink so you have more counter space. Other than that, I would expand the shower toward the window wall, eliminate the tub, and flip the toilet over to where the tub is now.

  • 9 days ago

    We don’t ever use the second side of the vanity and decided we’d rather have more space dedicated to linen storage for example. Are you suggesting the shower’s length is against the window wall? Here is a picture of our bathroom.

  • 8 days ago

    Building on the ideas above, you could install a 5 foot vanity and a five foot shower .

    Then add about a foot to the closet.

    Depends if you need more counters or clothes storage.

    I had a 5 foot vanity with one sink and drawers on either side. I think it held a lot.

  • 8 days ago

    Moving the toilet would be quite an adventure. Toilet drain pipe is 3". Tub/shower drain is 2". Is the bathroom on a slab? Is there another bathroom available?

  • 8 days ago

    Thanks @simplynatural! That's exactly what I was thinking. And if OP is looking for additional linen storage, they could shorten the vanity and add a linen cabinet to match the vanity.

  • 8 days ago

    @Carolyn Hazen, simplynatural drew out what I was suggesting. If you need more linen storage, simply shorten the vanity and add a linen cabinet along the wall to get exactly that. Hopefully, the toilet can be moved without too much trouble.

  • 8 days ago

    I'll assume that the house is on a slab. Drainage piping is underneath the slab. An area of the slab would need to be removed in order to access/reconfigure piping. If pre/post tension members are embedded in the concrete, slab cutting would be impossible.


    There is also the little matter of access. Bathroom appears to be far from exterior doors.


    Hey! Who hid the easy button?

  • 8 days ago

    Hi, it’s actually not on a slab! It sits on a second level so we are open to moving things around if needed. @katinparadise, thank you for the idea and @simplynatural for the drawing. I do like the concept but forgot to mention we would love to expand the window and have it within the shower if possible. Picture for inspo

  • PRO
    8 days ago

    If you keep everything but simply upgrade it significatly you can really improve the appearance of the bathroom.






  • 8 days ago

    Yep. I had considered an upper floor location. Now it's 3" pipe going through floor joists. A bit nerve-wracking, but that's just me.

  • 8 days ago
    last modified: 8 days ago

    What's the budget for this? Once you start moving plumbing around in a second floor bathroom, the cost is not just the bathroom but all the changes you'll have to make to spaces below to accommodate the new pipe locations.

    Removing the tub, expanding the shower into some of the tub space, using glass walls as Beverly shows above, adding a window to the newly lengthened shower, putting a wall of cabinets in the remaining tub space and making it a one sink counter will make that room look and feel huge.

    By having the less deep cabinets instead of the tub, there will be much more space around the toilet. Since you're going to have to do exterior work for the shower window, go ahead and expand the window over the toilet in a way that feels balanced to the newly designed room.

    I would also make the entry door a slider so it's not taking up space physically and visually and not blocking the closet entry.

    Here's the cabinet idea. Not the layout, just the floor to ceiling cabinets.

    Tall bathroom with floor-to-ceiling cabinets and a console bathtub · More Info


  • 8 days ago

    If you are gutting everything install a pocket door to create more space by eliminating the door swing. The toys suggest younger residents so reconsider eliminating a sink. Two under counter sinks may free up counter space.

  • 8 days ago

    The toilet moving is key to the bathroom. Verify what it does to the ceiling below. A 3" waste pipe cannot go through nominal floor joists that are typically 2x10.

    Seeing the existing vinyl slider, not sure if the inspo pic of the full window in a shower will happen here. A window with direct water spray should be storefront, it should not be the same frame extrusion you have for residential windows (they are not designed to deal with water from the inside, only the outside). Sealing the jamb/sill has nothing to do with water getting in the window unit.

    If plumbing can move, and to get a shower nearer the exterior wall to get something close to your inspo pic, I would suggest the concept of this layout that provides many opportunities:



    The shared bathroom/closet wall can be shifted depending on how much room you want for the toilet/have a pony wall or vanity length; up to a 80" vanity; full height window next to shower, doors can slide around (even separate door to closet from bedroom); opportunity for linen in a few ways.

  • 7 days ago

    Rambling thoughts:

    - The toilet in the middle of the walkway is a big mis-step. It prevents use of one sink and crowds the tub. 100% you should pull the toilet over to one side -- you need the unimpeded walkway.

    - Be sure you don't place the toilet in such a way that you'll have a view of yourself "sitting on the can" in the mirror.

    - Choosing a tub OR a shower seems to be a necessity in this bathroom.

    - I wish you had a tall linen tower for storage. Even a 16" tower can hold a load of stuff.

    - I'd downsize this vanity to a single well-done sink flanked by a set of drawers for each spouse. Duplicate sinks are of questionable value in any bathroom -- storage is better 100% of the time, especially since you have no other storage in this bathroom.

  • 7 days ago

    I presume there's a view from the window that makes it worth enlarging. If that's the case, I think you would either need to look at moving the window closer to one corner or another or you're going to either have a shower that's way larger than necessary or you'll want to change the shower to run parallel to the window wall. If you run it parallel, I don't think you'll have enough room for a comfortable layout for the toilet and vanity.

  • 4 days ago

    Thank you everyone for the valuable input! I am working on a rough layout after reading through all the comments and we landed on this. With the linen cabinet we should end up with more storage than we current have with our double vanity, making it totally worth downsizing!

  • 4 days ago

    So you're moving the window? Because if the original floor plan is accurate, a shower of the existing size would split the window like this:


  • 4 days ago

    Yes we are going to move it and make it taller.

  • 3 days ago

    Looks like your plan will do everything you're hoping. I would only suggest you lose about 2-3 inches in window width to add to your shower. 37" minus the curb width will only give you about 34" inside the shower. Mine is 42" and is generous but I think I'd feel slightly squeezed in at 34". 36-37" might feel a bit more comfortable. I would suggest you place the linen cabinet right up agains the vanity to give you a few more inches around the toilet and keep you from having a small space to have to clean in between the two.

  • 3 days ago

    I'd be inclined to putting the linen cabinet next to the closet to allow more light into the bathroom and make the room feel more open.

    I would also look into putting a good pocket door in the middle of the wall between the bathroom and closet and keep the bath entry as is.

  • 2 days ago

    @Karenseb, I absolutely agree with you. I always prefer an entry door to open against a wall versus the other direction. I was also going to suggest moving the linen cabinet to the other side of the vanity. It will break up the space too much the other way.