Roarah,

The BA should be central for reasons of flow, plumbing, and maximizing ceiling height

Just wondering if any of these "bunk room" bedroom ideas would work ......

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- pin board for bunk room bedroom

Could the bathroom be put almost entirely to the LEFT of the fireplace?

Hi tea cats ,

No ... Not enough ceiling height .

Hi ineffable ,

We are actually headed out but I might fiddle with that later

Re light in interior spaces, we love our sola tubes...nice and bright and more energy efficient and less likely to leak than skylights.

Growing up we had a large MB on the upper floor with a sink in it. It was kind of cool, especially when my parents put a pool table in there and turned it into a game room.

Do you really need two baths up there? As far as no window, our hall bath has no window and it doesn't bother me (except when I want to open a window!) because we have good lighting. I don't spend a lot of time in there so it doesn't matter.

I have two ideas. First of all, what about pulling the door into the larger area back even with the bathroom wall. This gives the corner back to the larger room opening it up more.

Next, do you really need the two sinks in the main bath? Maybe my girls are the odd-balls, but they rarely shared the bathroom. We did one sink on a longer counter and that area became the "drop" zone for primping with hair dryer, chi, makeup, etc. I am a big fan of counter space and feel that you can't have enough. YMMV on that.

It's exciting to vicariously see this house evolve.

I'm assuming the wall in the middle has to stay where it is for structural reasons. Otherwise, I like rnmomof2's idea.

As for light in the bathrooms, use transom windows. I would put them over the doors and, in the main bath, I would put a large one above the vanity. It would get the light directly from the big windows in the main room.

As far as bathroom layouts: In the main bath, I would consider creating a toilet room so that the bathroom is more usable for multiple teenagers. I'd take the wall that is to the right of the toilet (the one it shares with the linen closet) and continue that across to the vanity wall. Add a storage closet directly across from the toilet and a pocket door to access the main bath. The linen closet next to the shower could be more decorative and store towels and such and the closet in the toilet room can store cleaning supplies, extra toilet paper, extra toiletries, etc. I hope that explanation is clear. I don't have access to ms paint to show you on your floor plan. We have this set-up in our guest bedroom suite and guests have commented how much they like it.

Hi Annie,
I worry that might feel a little modern? I want to see what we can do with transoms, etc. Curious, why do they leak less?

Oakley, So how was the sink used when it was a game room ...,hmm , cooler of sorts?! We don't need two baths, but now is the time to do it,and in the scheme of things it doesn't cost much, and our kids are spoiled, they all have captive baths. You really cannot have too many bathrooms in my book.

Mmom, thanks! That's sweet of you.
I didn't want to move the door back because that wall and "hall" already exist (albeit as a closet in current use). But, I moved it anyway, as you will see below. Thanks for the idea. Who knows how the rooms will end up being used over time? But I really like this sink (below) and that is what I have spec'd, with a long shelf over it.

Geokid, I don't think it has to, but will find out. I was just leaving it there because it already existed and it seemed clever to turn the closet into a hall... Your setup got me thinking and I added a 2nd linen closet in my rendition.

Okay, here is my latest idea. I am, indeed, moving the bathroom to the left. It is right above the master BA so I think I can. I am also taking down some of the existing closet walls, which i think I can do too.

Let me explain how it works, because it is a little WHACKY. The shower stall (52"x36") is accessible from two sides. The shower doors will be an opaque or even color glass (they make this tempered). I actually have a shower stall similar to this in my MBA, the other end leads to the indoor pool. The doors have no space above them, so there is privacy. The only thing is you might want a way to lock the door from inside, but you can only do that on one side.

The benefits:
1. More closet space
2. better use of odd jog
3. a window in the larger bathroom
4. more bedroom space in the center of the house (see sofa), which is where the headroom is highest and the light/views best.

I like how there is a window in the bathroom now. I think this is a cool set-up. The only issue is that I think the toilet in the left bathroom needs a wall around it. I know the shower is opaque but it still seems odd to have a toilet right in the middle of such a very large shared bathroom. And you have the room to do it.

I also like the sofa in the middle of the space with a view to the outside. Add a comfy chair in the area to the far left and you have a very nice reading nook.

ETA: If that wall does have to stay, that would make a perfect spot for a wall-mounted TV. It would be a cozy movie watching spot for rainy days.

This post was edited by geokid on Sat, Jan 11, 14 at 23:17

Geokid,

Yes, you are right, great point, we will add one. In re the TV, shhhhhhh. We don't let our kids have any electronics in their rooms (else we would never see them). In fact, our former vacation house had no connectivity and no TV anywhere. We expect our kids to be outside doing cute, wholesome things all day, darnit! This time we will bow to one TV - in the LR

PS, the glass choices from this company I found are incredible! Take a look at the spectrolam, the colored mirror, and the WA SHI. I'm drooling.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cool cool glass

We have one TV in our whole house (granted it's a 106" projector screen), so I get it! I won't tell. :-)

Those glass choices are fantastic! So, so pretty.

This post was edited by geokid on Sat, Jan 11, 14 at 23:33

I love that sink too! It reminds me of summer camp and everyone huddled over it brushing their teeth. I didn't realize that is what you were going with.

I agree but see we were all posting at the same time about a wall around the toilet. What are your plans for primping? Even though this is a vacation home, your DD's will still need a space for that.

I like the changes that have been made.

LOL, Geokid. I have to admit, I think id like a huge screen like that, but I am so form over function I suffer!

MMom, Yes, the limitations of my freebie room planner. No way to show my cute sink! I just put in one that had the same dimensions.

Yes, they have discussed their primping needs! Probably where you see the dresser outside the BA. May put a vanity on the other wall, too.

Thanks!

deleted. irrelevant.

This post was edited by geokid on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 11:10

The sink area had several cabinets and drawers under it, with plenty of counter space. There was a window above it. My parents made it into a bar/soft drink/snack area so we wouldn't have to go downstairs. Fun memories!

The bubble that collects the light is in a solid collar that sits up higher than the edges of a typical sky light so it is less subject to leaking due to ice damming. On the interior, they look like a flat lens with a ring around it...very minimalistic. And you will still need Edison's light which can be more period....

I rarely comment on your threads because your ideas are far beyond my experiences! But...dual access to the shower would creep me out. It looks like the toilet/linen closet area of the hall bath is large enough to accommodate a toilet and shower. Then the other shower could serve just the larger bedroom and linen storage (wardrobe?) could be placed in the hall bath area between the toilet and sink. I love geokid's idea of a transom between the hall bath and larger bedroom.

Hi Java,

Well, yes it is unconventional. We could fit two full BA but I don't really want to. I don't think its necessary, but i do think storage is needed on this floor.

As I said, I have a set up like this now, and it doesn't creep me out in the least. Our MBR is on the first floor, at one end of the house. My bathroom has a large shower stall. One side opens into the area with my tub, sink, and w/c. The other end opens into the indoor pool area. The PO put this in but I love it.

Now, the door on the pool side is really two doors; one clear glass and one solid. I usually leave the solid one open because there is a pretty view on the other side of the pool to a pergola area with vines. But one can close it, and lock it.

We need to play around with ideas about colored glass, solid doors, pocket doors, etc etc. The biggest question to me is how we could allow locking that would still be safe.

I'm not sure why you would need to lock the shower doors. If someone is in the shower, someone else would be able to tell, right? Running water makes noise. And I would assume the person taking the shower would come and go from the same side.

Well, imagine my girls are in the large room with a guest, and my son is in the smaller room. Would you want to shower in the shower stall? Maybe not.

Maybe we could just make it a single sex floor!

OK, yeah, you got me! I was assuming it was just a girls' area, but that is impractical.

ETA: If you can figure out a way to lock the doors (maybe there is a set-up where you can only lock them if the doors are fully closed and they can only be fully closed from the inside), then I like this set-up. If not, then I would slide the sink in the right bathroom to the right and add a shower to that bathroom as well.

This post was edited by geokid on Sun, Jan 12, 14 at 11:24

One hopes that kids' hearing, and sense of propriety, are astute enough that when they hear the water running they don't open the shower door. But, I can see kids not wanting to use the toilet because they don't know if the person will step out onto their side. Esp if it's ever a co-ed attic. Can the shower be in its own little room?

As it is, where will a "left-side bather" reach for their towel?

Also, I would consider centering the door to the bathroom on the left and use a pocket door. This would allow room to place a bench under the window in the bathroom, or shelving in the alcove, without interfering with the bathroom doorway.

You have more than enough room for back to back separate showers in that layout.

I keep thinking about this and I think you need more than one shower. Every year my college girlfriends and I spend the weekend at a friends' lake home. The most coveted sleeping spot is the third floor attic space, but it only has one bathroom and one shower. The girls that use that space inevitably venture downstairs to shower in one of the other bathrooms. If there are multiple girls, or a mix of boys and girls, I would want two showers.

I think over the long run, given that you have girls and a boy (and their friends), two showers on that floor make sense. In my experience, the older kids get the more they only want to go to a vacation home if their friends can come too - so having more capacity to have more guests easily is a good thing. My girls used to share a bathroom with their older brother and by the time he was 13 they were totally grossed out having to share a shower with him... :) Love the Kohler brockway sink - I SO wanted to use that in my girls' bathroom but couldn't make the plumbing work.

You know, now that I look at it, it seems so obvious, doesn't it? I mean, I can drop in a 42" square shower in the dead space.

Of course we should.

The only thing that frustrates me a little about this process is project creep. It started with "we need a bathroom accessible to both bedrooms". Then DH pointed out that the area to the left of the chimney was totally wasted space and we should put in a half bath there, since you really cannot have too many of them.

Now we have two full baths! Ahh, c'est la vie.

I would stick to my guns except I do think the kids would want to be able to lock the door, at least on the side where the "other bathroom" is. I can't think of how to allow either side to lock the opposing side, without having the risk that someone locks themself inside altogether, or locks the other person out of their side unintentionally. KWIM? I guess it is the same as any jack and jill set up ...

Geokid, my only hesitation on the pocket door is my experience with them; when you have kids, assume a pocket door is never ever closed. Regular doors get closed more out of habit or because they are in the way. I went pocket door happy in my CT house and have learned my lesson. That said, I am not sure if it matters, where it is. Maybe I will decide based on the price differential...

Marina, I guess I always think back to what WE had as kids and what is really necessary, KWIM? But you are probably right! BTW, what was the issue with the Brockway plumbing?

Ineff, I know, you are right.

Bpathome, good point, I need to squeeze in a hook!

So, I guess this is it. I added glass doors because I know by code the need to open out so I had to make sure they will have enough room. Another project creep! I really do not want glass doors but DH thinks you have to have them where kids and water are!

{{!gwi}}

I do think you will be happier with two showers - and, yes, project creep is always disheartening!

The problem we faced with the Brockway had to do the fact that the faucets are wall mounted and that we were dealing with a very tight space on an outside concrete wall. It was specific to our limitations.

I love the layout of the new space, especially the girls' room!

Thanks, Marinagal. And thx for the info on the Brockway. I have had a crush on that sink for so long!

Close, but I think it needs a few more tweeks. In the left bathroom, I feel that the pony wall needs to be in front of the toilet offering privacy from the open door.

In the right hand bathorom, this may just be a factor of the program but I think the closet is encroaching on the rest of the room. How about a shallow, longer closet with doors that open towards the sink. The opening between the toilet and closet looks tight and I feel that it now really closes off that bathroom. Since this is the main bathroom (isn't it? Aren't the girls living in the smaller bedroom?) I feel that it needs to be the most functional.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Hi Mmom,

Thanks for your input. My girls are looking over my shoulder and they can't believe anyone other than me cares about this, LOL.

I thought about the privacy for the potty in the L bath, too. I just worried that if I pivot it 90 degrees, is it ok to have potty on outside wall in a vacation home in Maine? Or since the plumbing for toilets is up through the floor, does it matter?

The girls are in the large bedroom and they also have the larger bathroom (since there are 2 of them). Of course, they will probably drive me crazy and end up sleeping on the 2nd floor instead, but that's a whole 'nother matter!).

As for the linen closet door swing, we are getting down to inches and for now there is some false precision. The program my GC used to this does not have every msmt I need to lay this out. But, anyway, I didn't want the linen closet door swing to implicate the doorswing into the bathroom itself.

Okay, the latest!

In the left hand bath, can the toilet go where the linen closet is? Keeps the plumbing together and it's not visible from the room.

If the linen space in the right hand bath is tight, can you switch to a freestanding cupboard?

Would you do a transom above/between the showers to let light through? Or would the kids worry about siblings with periscopes?

I too would have concerns about the toilet being on an outside wall given the weather and temps of the last week. Would it look weird to rotate the toilet back and have the wall be in front of the toilet? There would be a place for a magazine rack or chalkboard paint. It would then block the initial view of "Oh, here I am!"

Bpathome does bring up some good points about the rough dimensions of all of these items (toilet. shower, storage) being roughly the same size making them somewhat interchangeable. Perhaps your contractor would have some input of where to put each item from a cost savings point of view.

The difficult things about making decisions like this is that things can sound like a really good idea now but not pan out in real life.

BP,
When possible, and it isn't always possible, I like toilets to be far away from living spaces. I just don't like the toilet flushing right behind your head when you are sitting on the sofa. KWIM? Plus that is already the case for the other toilet!

I think we can control periscope risk, LOL.

Mmom, I not sure if that'd be weird. It might feel odd, though, to have your back to the door...?

At this juncture, it's time to send this to my GC and see if he has concerns/issues with the layout.

I know I am late to this discussion, but oh boy, I sure am glad to hear you are considering 2 showers! With 3 kids and 6 grands, we know time flies, and you won't regret it in the long run.

I may have missed some details, but can you switch things in the left side bath so the toilet is shown and the shower is on the other side of the chimney? I didn't catch the ceiling heights there. Then the linen closet could be built out in the corner where the toilet is shown.

For the other bath, replace the linen closet with a shower and build out a linen pantry or use a furniture piece for storage against the wall of the adjoining bath. If you use a cabinet or furniture piece, you could add another mirror above it which would add more reflective light, possibly solving the 'more light' problem to some degree.

What wonderful space! Can't wait to see it finished!

You do know that this is the third floor, and that the second floor has two tubs, and two showers? And the first floor has a powder room, and outside we have an outdoor shower?

I can't help but wonder how I grew up --- in the same size family --- with 2 bathrooms -- and noone had a powder room !

Same here, mtn. We thought we had arrived when my parents added on a family room and second bath and remodeled the original bath!

Have you tried running the left bathroom wall at the top wall from the lower edge of the window on the left and getting that window and more space into the living/sleeping area and out of the bathroom?

In effable -- no, in part because all of the machinations started with the idea that a bathroom without a window is always suboptimal...

Easy enough to put a window in a wood-framed house to add one to the bathroom

well, yes ... sigh

I hate to keep playing the "in my experience..." game, but I will again anyway. Same friends' summer home I mentioned above has two bathtub/shower combos and a half bath on the main level, a bathtub/shower combo plus a shower plus a bathtub on the second level, and a bathtub/shower combo on the third level. And well, when the house is full (five bedrooms - sleeps 12 in beds), they are all used and all needed. If it's going to be just your family of five, then all these baths and showers are overkill, but if you're planning on having your family plus guests on a regular basis (also think ahead to your kids' kids in the future), then I think you will use all the bathroom space you can fit.

In my single 20's I had a share in a ski house that slept around 16 people ... we could have used more than 2 bathrooms and a better water heater! When we had a full house I always made sure I rushed back after skiing to get a warm shower. Those were some fun and crazy days!

I agree with geokid. We built our house 20 years ago with two full, two half baths, four kids ages 4-11. Fast forward, they are grown, and we love it that they want to visit often. But the group has grown to include two spouses, 6 grands and often extra friends. And they're just getting started. Two showers is not enough and we are planning to add 2-3 bedrooms and a full bath in the basement. You won't regret the extra showers! And you will be very happy that they want to spend time with you.

I'm sorry to be blunt here, but there's something inelegant about this design, and it may be due to how it has grown over time. If you are going to bite the bullet and have 2 full baths, then take a look again with that in mind. It also bothers me that there's no closet for the boy's room.

I haven't sketched it all out, but in my mind, I'm seeing something more like a "jack n jill" linen closet where the left shower is... accessible from 2 sides, but no risk of anyone locking anyone in or out...or it looks deep enough to put two back to back linen closets in the space. In the boy's bath, I would then move the shower up where the pot is, put the pot where the linen closet is and slide the sink down some so it wouldn't be so close to the entry door. In the boy's room, I would have the clothes closet on the right open to the room and flip those beds around to face in the other direction. If necessary, you can move the door to the bedroom down the hall some if need be. Or, depending on where you put the door, put one bed head on the upper wall and leave the other on the lower wall.

In the girls' room, I would then create a closet on the left wall where you now have a dresser. This will allow you to change the entrance to the girl's bath including having the sink in the bedroom if you wish. You would also gain wall space, where the closet door was, to put a dresser by the bed on the right and keep one down by the bed on the left. The girls' bath is plenty large to then still move the shower and pot about so you keep the window and have the shower plumbing on an inside wall.

In looking at the girls' room though, I did notice that there is room for that round sofa they fell in love with.
;)

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Mon, Jan 13, 14 at 10:36

BTW, the glass at that glass store is absolutely incredible! You do a great job of sourcing the most interesting materials!

Do your contractor a favor and put the toilets back to back where the showers are. I would then make the girls shower long and slim, where the toilet was but keep plumbing on an inside wall.
Curious why the linen closets are the stars of the plan? seems extra big. I would lose the boys and do shallow build ins that are open shelves. Deep linens with doors never work well (at least in my mothers house they didn't)
Even in the girls I might make a built in vanity area-alcove with linen shelves above. Swap out the utility room door for a bookshelf on hinges where you can store linens.

Geokid,
It's hard to know how you will use space, especially with preteen kids. In re family, my DH and I are the youngest in our families and our kids are the youngest kids, by far. So it isn't like we will have a gaggle of cousins; they are all adults. The Maine house is very close to my DH's Mass. family (which may mean they day trip it), and quite far from my Phila.-area family (which may mean they rarely come).
DH feels strongly we should add 2 BA because we can and because o/w there is a space that will probably be underutilized. I get it, but I also hate that feeling that every time we undertake these things we keep gilding the lily...

Chispa -- I don't think I want 16 people, LOL!

PrairieMom, I get it, but I think that building now for that possible eventuality doesn't make sense. It makes sense to do it when you are! I mean put in a BA and wait 20 years, LOL? Plus I have no idea if this is a forever second home or our "beachhouse" fad.

Annie,
My GC does not draw out parts of the plan that aren't being changed, so what it doesn't show is 1) a closet that mirrors the utility closet on the other side and 2)a chimney chase between the two windows. So, its best to ignore that room, sorry!

As far as the sink in the Boys bath being close to the door, that is a plug. I made the shower stall as big as I could to still get the swing for the shower door and the entry door. The shower could easily be smaller, or the sink, or the door swing could change or be a pocket, etc etc. At that point we are down to inches and so it is false precision; it has to wait until my GC opines. I'd rather the toilet where it is then have the shower stall stare at the toilet.

In the girls room, there is already a long walk in closet. In my lakehouse experiencs, we had many (all empty) closets. Everything we wore was in drawers or on hooks. I provide some rudimentary hanging space but for a vacation home, more is overkill. As for putting dressers on the other walls, this plan is very deceiving because it does not show ceiling height. The ceiling will be too low there for furniture.

PPBenn,
DH has pointed out that where I would put my toilet is very nearly where the toilet is in our MBA, vis a vis the outside wall. That MBA is gutted and no one has said we need to move the toilet. plus its been there 100 years. The linen closets are roughly sized to fit the available space.

Thanks, again everyone. At this point I have sent it to my GC to see if there is something very important I am missing. Until I hear back, it probably doesn't make sense to tweak, just in case he has some major issue with it.

Thanks!