Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

13 years ago

I am soon to be an empty nester. It will be just me and my 80 lb labrador in the house most of the time. I already have a main floor bath with a shower/tub combination, and another bath in the basement with a shower. There are 2 good size bedrooms near the main floor bath. I'm thinking about converting the 2 rooms upstairs into a master suite. Rooms are 12' X 12' and 12' X 11' currently with a hallway off of the smaller room near the stairs that leads out to a deck. Currently you have to walk through the slightly smaller room to get to the bigger room. I would like to expand the size of the bedroom to maybe 12 X 14 or 12 X 15, and include a master bath and walk-in closet. I'm torn about how big to go with the bathroom as it's just me. 2 sinks, a tub and seperate shower seem like overkill for 1 person. I plan to stay in the house for as long as possible. Any advice or experience welcome.

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Comments (5)

suero
12 years ago
I don't see how you can get a tub, two sinks, a separate shower and a toilet, have a walk-in closet, and still have room left over for the bedroom. What does the current layout look like, and can you change the location of any windows and doors?
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User
12 years ago
Being an empty nester, I would think you would want a master downstairs. That is what the future will hold if you want to stay in this home and age in place.
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Sorry it took so long to get back...busy week at work and gardening all weekend :) I appreciate all your input and I know I need a visual aid, but all I have is my graph paper with my pen sketch LOL. I need to go high tech! After careful thought, I am considering swapping the porch and the laundry room. The house faces southeast, so the laundry room is currently on the southwest side and the porch is in the back, or the northwest side. Both are going to have to be rebuilt, so it's an easy swap at this stage. If I open up the room on the southwest side, I can have it open to the kitchen and get better light into both rooms. The laundry/pantry/mudroom can be on the back, with less light. This would allow me to put in a second door, from the hall bath to the laundry area, eliminating the need for the half bath (and saving some money!) :) The load bearing wall is between the two bathrooms, which means the master bath is not getting any bigger (without a lot of expense) and is staying about 6' x 10'. The hall bath is a much more flexible space. I can make this larger and have the claw foot tub and toilet on one wall (on the back) with a window over the tub. The hall door would be opposite the tub, the sink (now the counter could be 6' instead of 4') would be next to the hall door. The door to the laundry room would be on the left wall, between the sink vanity and the toilet. The shower in the master bath is more practical and although I wear make-up, it takes me all of five minutes to put it on in the morning, so no big mess in the bathroom. I work from home (and live on a farm) so a little eyeshadow, liner and mascara and I'm good to go! LOL Oh, I should mention the master bedroom is on the northeast corner of the house. As you come in the front door, the stairs are straight ahead. As you walk along the stairs, to the back of the house, the hall bathroom door is straight ahead (but all you'll see is the tub) to the right is the door to the master bedroom. You walk by the master bath, as you enter the bedroom "suite" if that's not too fancy a word for a fairly small bedroom. I am hoping to have a small screened porch off the back of the bedroom area. French doors off the back of the bedroom will lead to the porch, with just enough room for a few chairs and a small hot tub. That is the one thing my husband wants in the new house...besides dibs on the basement! Thanks again for all your help :)
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Ok, thanks for the suggestions, will go back to benjamin moore tomorrow and pick up some color strips so can narrow down the actual samples I get. Has anyone seen benjamin moore Silver Grey in same room with Carrara? I saved a picture of a master bedroom on Houzz painted in BM Silver Grey and stare at it all the time thinking how much I like it and wonder if it will work. Have to go back by fabricators to see marble next to colors.
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katmu
Original Author
12 years ago
There are currently 3 walk-in closets between the 2 BRs upstairs, plus an attic space accessible by a door at the back of the closet in the front room. If I really needed to I could also expand out over the deck. But the core issue is I'm just not sure if a huge master bath is neccessary for just me.

I am currently in my early 40s so at this point I don't have an issue with stairs. There will still be 2 BRs downstairs with a full bath if it gets to the point where stairs are an issue. I had considered adding on to the back of the rear bedroom on the 1st floor, but that would mean tearing down the existing sunroom to make that work. There is certainly room on the lot. I'm just thinking that will greatly expand the scope of my proect.
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catbuilder
12 years ago
If I were you, I would do one sink, a tub, and a separate shower. Unless you don't think you'll use the tub. Then I'd just do a really nice shower. It's not overkill for one person to do a separate tub and shower any more than it is to do it if there are two people using the bathroom. It's not like one person would be using the tub while the other one used the shower. If you can afford it, you should treat yourself to the same things you would if you had a partner.
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aa62579
12 years ago
So are you saying that the new space will be 12' x 23', and you want to divide it into bedroom and bath with either the bedroom 12' x 15' and a bathroom 12' x 8', or the bedroom 12' x 14' and the bathroom 12' x 9'?

Is this the space you are working with? Sketches of the outside walls with doorways and windows marked would really help.

As to a just a simple comment about it being overkill - although it might seem like overkill to you, the next owner may have different feelings. If the layout works well to include all those pieces, I would go for it. Seems like even if it is rarely going to get used, people seem to be excited about a separate tub and shower in the master bath and disappointed when there isn't a separate tub. I think double sinks would be the one area I would skip if I had to. As long as you make the vanity at least 5' wide, someone could come in later and change it out into double sinks if they wanted by just changing out the vanity and some simple plumbing changes to use the existing lines and drain.
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Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

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suero

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Considering adding a master bath- how big to go?

Comments (5)

suero

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katmuOriginal Author

catbuilder

aa62579

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katmu
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