Wow - I remember when I was getting started researching what I needed to buy for my bathroom and being completely confused and overwhelmed! But by the end, I showed up at the plumbing supply store with a list that was surprisingly complete. :-) My situation was slightly different from yours in that I have a combined shower/tub. But I do have two showerheads - a fixed (not rain head) and a handheld on a slidebar. The shower controls can get complicated - you need to control temperature, volume of water, and which showerhead the water comes out of. Depending on the brand, these might be separate controls or one integrated control. I went with Hansgrohe which gave me a single integrated control - fewer knobs on the wall, and I think lower plumbing costs. This is what my list looked like: Toilet (includes flush lever, but might not include seat!) Tub Wall-mount sink (for me - for you, you'll need a vanity, a sink, and possibly a countertop for the vanity if it doesn't include one) P-trap (the pipe under the sink - mine was exposed so I bought a pretty one - if yours is hidden inside the vanity, your contractor will probably supply it, but check) Sink faucet (usually includes drain & thingy to operate drain) Thermostatic valve rough-in (this is the part that goes in the wall - I got a thermostatic one which lets me set the water temperature once and then always keeps the water at that temperature - it's my favorite part of the new bathroom!) Thermostatic valve trim (this is the pretty control that you see - it has to match the rough-in) Fixed showerhead Shower arm (for fixed showerhead) Hand shower Slide bar Hose for hand shower (might be included with slide bar) Wall union (this connects the hose to the wall) Tub spout Tub drain Since you have a separate tub and shower, your list will be a little different (for example, you'll also need temperature and volume control for the tub), but I hope this helps get you started.

Well, here are a few ideas to consider. - stacked washer/dryer - if there is not another tub in the house, just replace the shower with a standard 30x60 tub - turn that old shower area into a step-in linen closet (my favorite at the moment) - off season linen/coat/etc storage - if you have pets, what about a tiled, raised "shower" at waist height for pet bathing? I think beaglesdoitbetter has a dedicated pet bathing area if I remember right. - second toilet! Or urinal? Someone brought that up in another thread and it sounds interesting. I might add that to my list for our next house. - put a vanity on each side of the window along the short walls. Use one of the closets for the shower. The current vanity space can be dressers, or hanging space, or makuo area, or linen storage, or cabinets with hampers inside, or small seating area.

Well, phooey. I taped it out in the bathroom with blue tape last night and it looked like it would fit, but with too many nos, I'm back to the drawing board. Interesting thought, Vix. Right now we don't actually have a toilet room, so much as a separate toilet "area" (there's no door, and the closet takes up too much room to add a door), but it's on my agenda to create one. In our house, it's very necessary. I generally use that bathroom to try to FIND privacy, only to have 3 people (and sometimes the dog) follow me into the bathroom. I'm looking forward to having a door that locks and a fan so that I don't have two little people handing me the TP and asking whether I'm doing number 1 or 2 (oh, and the 1 year old likes to flush while I'm ON the pot; so I've got my own special cold water washlet), while DH decides that he absolutely has to shave and brush his teeth at that exact moment. Now if I take a hike to the guest bath on the other side of the house, all three just follow me AGAIN. Sometimes when I have insisted on locking the door in the guest bath (no way to do that with our LOUVERED -- why??? -- pocket door in the master), my one year old plopped down prostrate outside the door and cried until I open the door. For my W/C, I want to put in a LOUD fan; no whisper quiet for me. Maybe I'll even add a radio. :) The way I'm seeing it, I can either get rid of the long vanity altogether and live with a fairly small vanity, plus a tub and shower, I can skip the tub and live with the kids' bathroom on the third level as the only room with a tub, or we can bump out that weird corner jog, which would give us an additional 49'' X 27'' space -- enough to fit a 5X3 tub, 5X3 shower and keep the two vanities. But that sounds very expensive and will require carefully removing and replacing the siding to match the existing. DH's response to all this was "why do we need a tub?"

I think a large family room is a good idea. I like that you are doing a larger shower instead of a shower and tub. We recently moved from the snow belt where we lived over 30 years. The newer houses had 3 car garages, but in almost every garage, there were only two cars and sometimes one. People tend to store "stuff" in the garage. (We are guilty too). In our house we built 15 years ago, we did a 2 1/2 car garage with extra space in the rear. I would choose more room in the house and do a oversized two car garage, but make the garage extra wide and deep. Some of the 3 car garages have no storage on the sides or in the back. Therefore the 3rd stall is all storage. I think you would be wise to have a mudroom/ laundry room between the garage and house. It would also be nice to try and change the living room to where the kitchen/dining area is and move the kitchen/dining area to where the LR is now.