It closes into a recess that has the same effect as a door jamb. Sounds awesome to me! My builder-grade hollow-core doors all permit light and noise to come through. I never really noticed until my daughter complained of light penetration into her bedroom (from the hall) at nighttime. Sure enough, I go in there when everything's dark, shut the door, and it glows. Maybe you have better trim/jambs/doors than I do? lol I've never lived with pocket doors -- doubt I ever will because I hate doors on tracks -- and the ones I've seen are from a few decades ago, but are your tracks on the ceiling or the floor? If on the floor, are they a pain to clean? Tracks on the floor would be another reason for me to dislike pockets. ;-)

Thanks all for the feedback. I can see there are some strong feelings regarding Jack and Jill baths. I personally don’t think of the privacy issue as much of a concern because of the two powder rooms each with their own toilet. The Jack and Jill design still appeals to me because it would require less work and money. But for resale, I could see this being an issue. I am going to ask my contractor to take a look at the two separate bathrooms idea to see if it’s feasible (from a budget and space perspective). I think it will be tight, but possible. Patricia- i totally agree that the concern over having only one bath, or hallway access is overblown. I’ve lived in many old homes without issue. But if I’m going to put money into a bathroom remodel, I want to make sure I get the most value out of it. Did you like the original idea to keep the single full bathroom? Or the full bathroom with a separate half bathroom off the master (no Jack and Jill)?

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate you asking your family what they would prefer! I do think once my son is a little older he will probably want to move to another bedroom that has its own smaller bathroom attached to it so then our daughter would have this bathroom to herself. At first, I was really unsure of the hall bath idea but I am really warming up to it and so is my husband! We are going to measure to see how much space we would have for the length of the vanity if we moved it tot he wall next tot he toilet right now. I loved the idea of the jack and Jill originally but I think it works out better when laid out differently than ours is. A more open space (like we would get if we made this a hall bath) would be really nice. We plan on being in this house for the long term so whatever works for our family best is our priority for now. I would love more hanging space in the bathroom and more space I. The kids rooms without the extra door heading into the bathroom. The linen closet is also in the hallway so they would have to head into the hallway to get towels for a bath anyway. Thanks so much for your and everyone elses input as well!

Given that it's not actually a jack-and-jill then I'd just pick one of the two door options and ditch the other. (I'd choose the one opening to the bedroom, but either works.) Agreed that 24" isn't enough space between the shower and vanity even if it's technically to code--we will have 30" and even that feels tight. And would definitely try to get the laundry out of there if this is part of a larger living space. Depending on what's happening on the other side of the wall on the right, you might be able to open the laundry space up to that room in a closet, or otherwise place it somewhere that's not right next to the toilet. It would probably help to see the whole floor plan (and maybe what is there now, too).