Hi everyone and thanks for your input. Green, you are quite right that I need to move my energies onto another aspect of my build. Perfectionism has sure gotten in the way of completing my design decisions. It won't cost 3000 around here for a small new exterior window and frosted bath door, but you are correct that there are many other parts of our build that could use the money instead. Thanks for your advice and perspective. jmc01, thanks ever so much for getting back to me about the distance of the hotel exterior window and interior window -- your news was rather encouraging that an interior window might be worth it. bronwynsmom, nice to get your input again. Thanks for your vote about the interior window -- this would sure be a cheaper option than a new exterior window. Very interesting tidbits on the research about light you shared. Maybe that is why I am obsessing with getting some natural light everywhere I can. chijim, thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I definitely agree that moving the small bath entrance down closer to the laundry room doors would be an improvement. Given the rooms are mainly down to studs it would not be much extra cost. I will think about a swing out door as well. sochi, thanks for your newest ideas and answers to my questions. I will get a quote for the new window and see if we can swing it. We can't rationalize moving the bathroom entirely to the laundry closet, although that would be an awesome location. Currently the small bath is an existing bath, so we are not starting with new plumbing here. lyban, maybe all I need is the right lighting. Natural light is hard to replicate, but I will try the daylight bulbs suggested by Green. To all, at this point I have decided to move the door of the small bath out into hall to increase the bath size/decrease hall size. I will also be punching a hole in the top of the small bath wall to see what kind of light it brings in before getting the trim carpenter to build an interior window (no big deal given all the holes in the bath wall at this point of demo anyway). If I still don't feel the natural light is sufficient, I will go the route of a new exterior window and frosted bath door. Oh yeah, I am going to buy a daylight light bulb as suggested by GreenDesigns to see if that is just as good as real light!! Remaining question: Would it be worth it to do a second interior window between laundry and the larger bath to share the light from the sun tunnel in this bath with the laundy room? Thank you all for helping me reflect on this issue and for giving me your advice. I am so glad I have this forum to toss around ideas and weigh pros and cons!! Carol

Thank you madtown. I can handle chilly being I was born and raised in the Midwest. And snow....? While it's lovely to look at and I do know how to drive in it, I'm glad there won't be any. Hubby will be at Epic in Verona, so I'm not sure where he plans on staying. I have an old friend that lives not far north of Madison, that I'd like to meet up with too. It sounds like staying in the downtown area would be great, but we'll have to see what works out best so I can drop him off and have the car for the day. Thanks so much for the information. I'd love checking out the art museum.

I love the casual comfort of your space, recognizing all the planning it took to achieve that feel! The wainscotting, soapstone, and hex tile floor make that happen for me, as do all the personal touches like the picture shelves and your lovely barnyard art. I love the thoughtful touches like the med cab placement, the shower' s window, and the foot-rest shelf in the shower - which I may be stealing! And saving the chute, even though that meant re-routing it, is just another example of the care and you took to get it right. I have a possible solution to the hand towel dilemma. Remember how farm kitchens often have those three-fingered towel holders under the sink to hold kitchen towels as they dry? The ones where the three rods come out from a center hinge and can be rotated into any position from all lined up together when not in use to spread far apart so that towels on them can dry? Ginger makes them now in two-rod style in nice finishes for the bath. 16" long. It would really match your farmhouse feel. Where to place it is your problem, you are thinking. I say, put it on the wall just in front of the vanity. You often step away from a sink when done, so the towel will be handy. Rings bunch up the towel and it takes longer to dry. Either this Ginger 0322-16 or any straight towel bar in a 12" or 16" size works, height-wise. Because I am on my Kindle and lost an entire post yesterday by touching somewhere on the screen on accident, I am going to post now, then try to link to the Ginger bar in another post. PS: I love the the violet wall color!

I like the idea of separating the vanities. Even if space weren't an issue, I'd prefer one long vanity. I think one looks neater, less cluttered. Of course, that's pure opinion -- no logic behind it. Toilet. I'll keep playing to try to get 42" width for the water closet. And yes. He is showing INSIDE measurements. I'm 100% sure of the right answer here: Verify, verify, verify. How many times have we read threads on this site saying, "But I was so sure ____, and now _____!" Privacy on the toilet is something I highly desire for a variety of reasons. I wouldn't want a bunch of snickering kids waiting outside the door to the shared toilet while I, the MOM, was using it. I also don't want nosey kids trying to take a peek inside my bathroom and heaven forbid, what if you forgot to lock one of the doors....lol!! I consider my bedroom and bathroom my sanctuary/safe haven and I don't want intruders. There's room for both toilets in the OP's plan and with a new build, a separate toilet for the master bathroom is not something she should sacrifice on. You and I think completely differently. I'd label you the Idealist and me the Practical One. My thoughts on the above: - At a certain season of your life, those snickering kids are going to be waiting outside the bathroom door. Period. Whether you have a second toilet-closet door or not, they're strongly motivated to be near you (and is that bad?). Even if you don't actively hear them, your mind is always thinking, "Where are they? What are they doing?" A door may place the kids in a different spot, but the bottom line won't change. - I can see a lovely bathtub as a sanctuary: your own private spot, space for candles, music, your bath products, a place for you to relax after the kids are tucked away in bed. But a toilet? Especially a toilet in a dark closet? I see nothing but function. No safe haven, no tranquility, no restful moment away from the day -- just a 2-minute necessary function. - The real barrier to a bathroom should be politeness, not an actual lock. I mean, whether the door's locked or not, kids should be taught to knock and wait before entering. Consider, too, the "cost" of this toilet-closet sanctuary: More to build, more each week to clean, more bathrooms to which you must shuffle toilet paper and other goods. The more you build, the more you have to deal with on a daily basis; to a point, more is worthwhile, but where does more become tedious instead of helpful? All of the walls and doors and toilets take up too much space!! Agree. And those walls /doors /toilets create more-more-more to clean each week. Definitely go to a showroom and sit in a tub that is 72 and a tub 66 inches. That extra 6 inches is too much for me. I like to read and soak, so if you are just totally laying down, 72 inches would work. Yes, try out tub sizes for yourself. I'm very short, and I also like to read in the tub. I remember one tub (in a vacation condo) that was oversized, and it felt uncomfortable ... I couldn't relax, or I'd "slip down". Since I occasionally fall asleep in the tub, this wouldn't be a very good thing. You will feel tighter in an enclosed space that is 30" wide, than you currently feel with just the knee wall. You can easily accommodate a wider space, even 42" if you move the linen storage elsewhere, and if the wall jog behind the door is eliminated. Common sense!