I was hoping you wouldn't say that because I wanted to do this in stages: replace toilet (it leaks) and vanity (it's hideous) now, then deal with tile in shower and elsewhere on wall later (no one uses the shower right now). Grrrr. And I am going to replace the floor. I've already heard that the current floor tile must be removed before replacing toilet, so that will be my next DIY job.

The idea is very simple; 1. turnoff water 2. flush toilet 3. remove any water left 4. remove holddown bolts 5. lift toilet #3 is a mess, not only water but all the black gunk in the tank and then you need a large bucket to set the toilet on and tip to get any more water out of the trap. Get some help for this because toilets are heavy and awkward. #4 if it's been there a while you probably need to grind off the bolts To replace you need a new wax ring $1 and new holddown bolts $1. Pretty cheap but a lot of work. If you want a new toilet now is a good time, otherwise I would work around it.

jn3344, paintguy22, David Jensen, lazy_gardens, carolb_w_fl - Thank you for your recent advice. I am tempted to buy one can of Homax Wall Grade Wall Texture in a can to help with the smooth areas. I am worried that the lack of texture on this part of the wall will make the rest of the paint job look funny. I started using a sander because after watching of our subcontractors easily take the stain out of wood with his heavy duty machine, I thought I could do the same with the wall. Well, I was very wrong. So chronological plan is - Wash walls with TSP, spray with texture, add primer (possibly two coats?), then paint. I hope this sounds okay. Perhaps I need to wash that particular area of the wall again after adding spray texture and before primer(?) I made things a lot more difficult but chalk it up to a learning experience. If you have any helpful tips, that would be appreciated.

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!