ADA or Universal Design has come a long way. My entire house is UD and with the exception of extra space in a few places and some grab bars in the bathrooms you'd never know.

Omg mdln, I love love love that. Love. I don't think the designers looked outside too much as what they thought would be a 5 ft vanity would actually be a 4 ft vanity due to the jut out. I'll have to take a look outside and some measurements. Thank you for this pic! bevelyfla- we currently walk through the br to get to the closet, it's all good here. As robo said of her area, it's typical for this area as well. Thanks for the other layout idea. crl-I agree with having the shower a bit further away as to not wake up the other one. rockybird- we have to tape it out to see exactly how we will be able to move in the space. I don't want it to be tight considering it is such a large area. Thanks palimpsest! Great tweaking!

Having just sold our home and now beginning to build our next one, we have learned the following from our real estate agent and our home designer. 1) 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on the second level are ideal for families seeking a two-story home. Each bathroom does not require a tub. As long as one upstairs washroom has a tub, you can remove it from the other washrooms. Could this be a possibility to save you some space? 2) Laundry on the upstairs is ideal as that is where the vast majority of your laundry will come from. Having said that, I have 2nd-floor laundry in my current home and I constantly bringing my baskets down to the main level to fold it while I watch TV. The easier solution would be for me to add a TV to my room but I am too cheap to pay for another cable box ;) 3) For your laundry room, be sure to add a sink and ensure you have cupboards for storage and space for hanging & folding. My current laundry room has a sloped ceiling so I cannot hang anything. I am continually having to put a drying rack in the hallway. Ugh!!

LisaMac- JuneKnow knows. What is that saying about throwing good money after bad? Not that your house is bad of course, it is perfectly fine as is, but just not for your current needs. It would be great for another family at a different stage of life. Do you think you can just hold on and do a serious search for a one-story home? Would you be willing to look outside your immediate neighborhood to find it? How aggressive would you be to look? If I were in your shoes now, I would drive around every single weekend and if you see a ranch house that looks to be the size you want, slip under the door and in the mail box index cards you had printed that says something like, "My husband and I really like your house! If you are thinking of selling your home, please contact us, we are interested in purchasing it to live in, please contact us. Sally and Joe Blow, Phone, email." Then you may get contacted by the owner or the real estate agent as these people decide to sell, or if they pass away. You can also contact a real estate agent that specializes in the geographic area you want and tell him/her that you need a one story home and specify the other things you need, e.g another full bathroom and bedroom not right next to the master but not at the other end of the house that will allow you to dress without awakening your husband. Or whatever it is that you want. For sure, you are not the only couple with different schedules, you may find what you are looking for. The other thing is, assuming you are willing to sell your house and buy another house that is all on one floor. Are you willing to compromise to get that one-floor house, such as less bedrooms? Even if grandchildren sleep over, you can use bunk beds, kids love those. Even bunk beds with trundle beds. If your husband needs a workshop you can have one added to the back yard with a big shed with electricity added to it unless you find that miracle of a three car garage. So you can do a three bedroom house instead of a 4. it is something to think about, because it seems the pros here have told you that you can't achieve the re-model you want with the money you have to spend on it. (One thing you should know, just because someone doesn't have PRO next to their name doesn't mean they aren't a professional. Some people prefer to be anonymous.)