If you could do one bath with a separate toilet compartment, or toiler & shower separate from the sink area it could be used by more than one person at a time, and be much more functional for your family.

I suspect that two smaller baths would be best in terms of resale. But if your daughter is off to college soon, for your own lifestyle one luxurious bath with upstairs laundry would probably improve your quality of life the most.

Our house originally had only one bathroom (about 5.5 x 9') on the bedroom level and a tiny powder room (3x8') on the main living level. When our two girls were about 9 and 12, we decided that sharing the one small bathroom was not cutting the mustard and it would only get worse when the girls got older. We also couldn't carve out any space for another bathroom on the bedroom level, and I personally find full bathrooms that are on floors without bedrooms to be rather useless. So even though we didn't actually need another bedroom (our fourth bedroom has essentially become a storage room), we added a master bedroom/bath and laundry room a half-flight up. This addition cost almost as much as the house, so this may be the most expensive bathroom ever (even though the bathroom itself isn't particularly fancy). But having that extra bathroom is wonderful! Another thing I love is having the laundry upstairs. It's more of a laundry closet than a laundry room (no sink), but I LOVE not having to lug laundry up and down from the garden level. Truly, I think about how wonderful it is every time I do a load of laundry.

If you're planning to stay in the house for awhile, I'd probably go for the upstairs laundry room and bathroom upgrade. You'll be able to fit in two sinks, and even though I thought that was a rather frivolous idea I find that there are many times when my husband and I both brush our teeth in our individual sinks at the same time so it's actually rather handy. If you're planning to sell soon or will have more than one other person living with you and your husband, add a second bathroom.

And if you stick with one large bathroom, I highly recommend a small separate room (with fan) in one corner for the toilet.

This is all just one person's opinion, of course!

I think separating it into two bathrooms would make each space incredibly small and definitely not something most people would enjoy being in.

While two is a magic number, sometimes it's better to have one fully functional, well laid out bathroom than two that are so small and cramped they are almost dysfunctional.

I think that one large, well-appointed bathroom (bathtub and separate shower and double vanity and toilet room) that allows the convenience of upstairs laundry is better than two tiny bathrooms and lugging laundry up and down stairs.

I vote for one large bathroom with LAUNDRY (best idea ever!) I moved my laundry upstairs, into the bathroom, and never regretted it for one minute.

I vote for splitting it into 2 baths. I would rather have 2 5x9 baths, than one 11x9.

along the lines of lazygardens bath "room": i designed our kids jack & jill so they each have their own vanity and toilet off of their rooms. the bath is split into three sections, offering complete privacy. the tub/shower combo is in the middle in a "room" of it's own.

1.) Go with two bathrooms. No waiting and privacy for everyone is the ultimate luxury

2.) Get one of the laundry machines linked to below. Fits under a countertop, only two feet wide, and washes and dries a decent amount of clothes in about an hour, thanks to 240v power. A cinch to install because you don't need a dryer exhaust vent - condensed water goes down the drain. No need to allocate alot of space to a "laundry room".

3.) There are some nicely designed combined tub/showers out there now - roomy, with steps inside and out for ease of use as a shower, plus you have a tub when you want one. I like being able to quickly shower down with clean water after a bath - easier with a combined tub/shower. I don't get the current fascination with separate showers and trendy-but-you'll-be-sick-of-them-by-next-year clawfoot tubs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Combination washer/dryer

Can you post a layout of that floor, or at least of the existing bathroom with indications of what directions the adjacent bedrooms are in? I think that would help people brainstorm more.

Also, before you consider a combination washer/dryer, check out the laundry forum. Those machines seem to be hated with a passion over there, and I've heard similar sentiments from others. Maybe the Fagor is different but the common complaints about the brands I've seen discussed are that the cycle takes much longer than it would normally take to wash and dry a load, you can't have one load drying while another is washing (which cuts down on efficiency), and the condenser dryer part of it significantly heats up the surrounding room.

The Fagor is different because it runs on 240 volt power whereas most of the other combination washer/dryers run on 120 volts, which results in a long time to heat the water in the wash cycle, and an even longer time to dry the clothes. But yes, you can't put as much laundry in them at one time, or wash and dry at the same time. I'm also not familiar with that particular machine or the Fagor brand in general. I just know LG's otherwise impressive combo W/D's are all but ruined by settling for 120V/15A power. They can take several hours to clean and dry each load.

I vote two bathrooms.

Thanks to everyone! I appreciate all the ideas!

After re-measuring, I realized that the window doesn't sit in half the room, more like 60%, so the whole idea of spliting the room in half doesn't work. So yay! It's the one big room & laundry* idea. ;-)

I LOVE our clawfoot tub - it's original to the house (or at least the bathroom). Great soaking tub. Not so great shower, hence the desire for a separate shower. I have room for a 4.5x5ft shower in the closet space.

* I have an Asko laundry pair so 240v and stackable. I actually have a condensing dryer, and I'll admit, it has been troublesome and I recomend a vented system to anyone who's thinking about dryers. That's one advantage to moving the laundry to the 2nd floor - I have a totally below grade basement and solid masonry exterior walls (no studs anywhere on the exterior walls) so there's no way to vent a dryer in the basement. Above grade, I can at least chisel out a hole for a vent pipe in the 14in thick wall.

Thanks again! It was worth thinking about.

Always ;-)
Hunzi

A layout would be great.

We lived in a temporary apartment between houses that had a toilet and sink comected to a full bath. It was brilliant because you could have full use of the bathroom except for the shower/tub which you usually only need once a day. My opinion for what it is worth is that with older kids you will want additional sink/toilets. Another thought would be to have a door separating the sink(s) from the toilet/tub area.

Post a layout! I vote for two baths, for sure!!! And if you post a floorplan, maybe we can help you find a way to do a laundry somewhere as well....

gmp3--
Interesting ideas. Can you talk about the advantages of a door separating the sink(s) from the toilet/tub area? I'm not the OP, but I am intrigued.

Can you talk about the advantages of a door separating the sink(s) from the toilet/tub area?

Obviously it's an advantage when someone can be using the toilet or showering while another person uses the sink/vanity. Anyone with children or a spouse can attest to this.

I would always prefer 2 standard sized baths to one large bathroom. I have three boys two are teens. For resale I would guess having two standard sized baths (I think 5 x 9 is a pretty standard sized bath with sink, toilet and shower or tub), would be a selling feature. That said some people might like one luxe bathroom instead.

My friend's home has a kids bath that has double sinks and a door separating that area from the toilet and tub. That way one or two kids can brush teeth, and use the mirror if one is showering or using the toilet.