Trying the images again, about 2 seconds after we posted, my electricity went out -- we're having quite a windy stretch here in Maine.

Still hoping for some advice.... My DH's latest idea was to angle the left corner of the shower wall to give more room to the linen closet. I really want a larger shower but am worried this will be cramped. Comments?

Yes. Any angle. Don't limit yourself to a 45 degree angle. It could be 30 or 60 degrees or any angle.

You don't say where your current drains and vents are, so it's hard to say how much work it would be. But to me that seems like a whole lot of plumbing rerouting because of the window placement. Have you considered moving the window instead?

Thanks, Weedy for your response. I've updated the floor plans to better illustrate the question, and included a link to the current hideous bath.

The windows are on the front of the house so moving/removing would really change the look of the house, and not for the better.

The bathroom is on the first floor and all the plumbing is accessible from the basement. We have to gut the rooms to correct some rot in the subfloor and remove moldy areas in the drywall, so we feel like this gives us an option to move plumbing to improve the layout and increase the shower size with an eye to future accessibility.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Hideous bath

apologies for my image sourcing ineptitude! Here are the floor plan ideas, and the link to more photos on Flickr

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom renovation pics

You said the bath was 7' x 7' so those grey squares on your images each represents a 1' x 1' space. Right?

If so, neither of the two designs you just posted is going to work. First, you aren't leaving enough room in front of the toilet or in front of the sink to actually use them.

You HAVE to have room to stand in front of the sink and knee room in front of the toilet. (Men need standing room there also!) The 18' or so that you have just is NOT enough space. Building codes require a minimum of 21' of space. But, anything less than about 26' is going to feel decidedly cramped.

Second, you cannot use a pocket door in the location you show it because that wall will have plumbing pipes for your vanity sink in it. A pocket door simply cannot go into a wall in the same spot where plumbing needs to be.

I know you want a larger shower so I hate to say it but I really don't think a 3' wide x 5' long shower with a 4' wall around it will ever fit into the space you have available.

If you went with a totally glass-walled shower and forgot about the half-height walls, the shower would take up less floor space. You might be able to manage a 30' wide shower. You might also consider a neo-angle shower that would fit into a corner of the room.

Since both windows can't possibly be on the front of the house, maybe you could move or eliminate whichever one does not actually face front. Or, turn it into a glass block window and incorporate the window into your shower.

A wall- mounted toilets with the tank (water cistern) built INTO the wall would also take up less floor space. If you put your toilet against an interior wall, that might be an option. And, while they don't provide under-sink storage, pedestal sinks make small bathrooms look and feel larger by freeing up floor space.

Here is a link that might be useful: NKBA planning guides (clear space in bathrooms)

Yikes, thanks for the feedback. It sounds like we need to scale down the shower a bit, and opt for a sink that is a bit less deep. That is an interior wall backing onto our entryway/coatroom, so we do have some wiggle room to add the pocket door. Unfortunately, removing the larger window is not an option.

Yikes, thanks for the feedback. That is an interior wall backing onto our entryway/coatroom, so we do have some wiggle room to add the pocket door. Unfortunately, removing the larger window is not an option.

Does anyone have ideas for making this work? Maybe a glass wall on the left, and abandon my beautifully tiles niche? (Living in Maine I am hoping to entice Bill V to do the tile work!)

Since you're doing all this work anyway, including moving the toilet (which seems like it would be a bigger job), I'd recommend moving the vent stack. It limits that corner considerably.

I wish we could move the vent stack, but it would require considerably more work on the second floor, where it is behind the wall, and to the roof, which is fairly new. We are stuck with it I'm afraid.

I'd move it. Period. It can't cost all that much. I'd move it, and I'd put the toilet far to the left and a big sink cab. You're going to have to tear it down to the studs, anyway--it's probably going to be trivial to move it, really.

If you CAN'T do that, you can put the shower to the far left, against the wall, and enclose the vent in dead space. Then the toilet by the door and the sink cab across from it.