scwwren, I suffered the window placement nightmare. First of all I wanted a kitchen window, had to have it. Now we're making ourselves crazy trying to get the stove positioned on the small island as there is no other place for it. The architect had 2 windows that met up in a corner in the master bedroom. I had to have a door in the master bedroom so I had my DH just put one window. Problem was, it couldn't be centered on the wall because there was the extension from the bath that wraps around the back of the house so the windown ended up off center. My solution, take out all the windows and just leave the glass door out to the back porch. Rather than waste the window, (it was custom), I had DH put it in the office which limits my design options because of having 3 windows in the room!!! It's just something I have to live with now!! If I knew then what I know now, I would have realized looking at something on paper is an entirely different story than looking at it in person. That bedroom window ordeal really messed things up and I wish I had more natural light in the bedroom, but I don't. So I have to be creative with fabric, paint color and lighting. That kitchen window I had to have, big deal, it looks out to the side of the garage. HA! I can see who is coming up to the side door though so I guess that's a plus.

I am facing the same design dilemma now for a new build. This was supposed to be a private bath for our daughter, but thought it would be good idea to put a door from the hallway as well, so that it is accessible from the hallway. One end of the hallway is a bonus - hangout room, where kids might have friends. Originally, we had it planned for the door to swing inside the bathroom (right hand in-swing). But, the builder said that, the in-swing direction would interfere with the ability to reach the switch (red box), so is recommending it to make it out-swing door. Even though this door will rarely be used, it would interfere with hallway traffic. Door is already ordered. Need to decide quickly. I guess the main problem is that I have a biased for bathroom doors to swing inwards. There is a possibility to get a new left-hand in swing door, but could hit the vanity, but would work. Unrelated note, my wife is leaning towards not putting the door there, keep the bathroom private for daughter and open son's bathroom from the hallway (too late for that due to plumbing)

No, this is not a particularly usable plan: - Imagine you walk in that door. Where do you stand to close it? The only answer is, Scoot yourself between the sink and toilet to allow for the door to swing shut. If you have a walker, it can't fit in at all. A pocket door, as discussed, is one option, but if this elderly person has any problems with arthritus in the hands, pocket door hardware -- even good hardware -- can be problematic. The best choice is an outswing door. - I'd look at flip-flopping the shower and the sink. I think you might get a slightly larger shower if you do that. You could also go with a shower with solid walls half-way up, which would mean you could have good grab bars on BOTH SIDES of the toilet -- a very good thing for an elderly person. Don't neglect the grab bars on the inside of the shower as well, though they will cut into your usable shower space. I'd also look into the possibility of a small fold-down seat in this shower. - I don't love the idea of an all-wet room /open shower. In a room this size, you'll wet the door, toilet paper, towels, and everything else in the course of taking a shower. I think you'd create as many issues as you'd solve. - In this small space, I'm tempted to suggest a pedestal sink because it would require less space, and it would allow for more "visual space". However, that would take away the only storage you have in this bathroom. To gain more storage, I suggest a cabinet above the toilet AND some shallow between-studs shelving behind the door AND a small glass shelf above the pedestal sink. - You might alleviate some of the storage issues by providing a spot in this person's bedroom . . . a spot to sit down and dry her hair, take her medicines, etc. What I'm saying is use the bathroom ONLY for showering, toileting, and other necessities -- plan to use a bedroom spot for make up, hair, etc. - Where are you going to hang bath towels? I'm guessing the back of the door. Not ideal, but reachable from this small shower. For an elderly person with mobility issues, this bathroom is far from ideal. If you have any option to open it up and add more square footage, I'd try hard to do it. I've read all I can on this subject, and an age-friendly bathroom is at the top of our list for our retirement home; I've read that the ability to bathe oneself is usually the first thing people "lose", and a good bathroom will forestall that possibility.

The closet plan needs to be drawn accurately to be able to see that the door should open inward. Hanging clothes require 24" of depth instead of the approx. 18" shown in the posted diagram. Clothes rods that turn corners create dead storage. The clear space in the middle should be at least 3 ft wide. If the hanging storage on the left side wall (as you enter) was shown as 24", then the storage on the right side would need to be no deeper than 12" to allow a 3 ft open space. But even with that configuration the storage immediately to the left as you enter would need to be removed to allow enough width for comfortable entering and to allow access to the storage in the corner. Using an in-swing door might reduce the shelving length by a foot but IMO that is not enough storage to justify opening the door out into the bathroom where it would be in the way. As for whether the door swings to the right or left, you should avoid putting a door knob in a corner especially when there is an obsticle on the adjacent wall. Which way did it get built? There is really only one good way to swing this door and fortunately the contractor realized it in time to correct the designer's mistake.