Hi Cat-Mom, Yup, we're also renoing Living Room and Master Bedroom at the same time- you? :>) I just faux-painted our entry stair railing to make do until we add on to our front entry. So many balls in the air, hard to juggle it all at one time. kgwlisa, That's what I had thought of so far, basement ceiling has been ripped down, so all the plumbing is fully exposed, and present shower and bath have leaking problems, so things pretty well have to be redone anyways. I was even contemplating 'borrowing' more out of the common wall when we build it, by building in storage behind mirror and perhaps a deeper vanity. I'm assuming this is a fairly basic/common plan, and hopefully others have paved the path... Rae

I am reluctant to give too much advice, since I don't have solutions to everything, but here are a couple of things that jumped out at me. First, I might try to do pocket doors wherever possible. Especially at the main entrance and at the toilet stall doorways. You've got a lot of doors... opening all different dirrections and pocket doors would help with that. We've got nice raised panel ones and some awesome hardware so they don't have to be "plain jane." I'm not sure what the solution to this one is, but the shower is too much in the way of that sink. You wouldn't be able to get in or out without shoving the person out of the way who might be at the sink. Plus there is not much room for drying off as you'd be sort of pinned between the linen cabinet and the vanity. If you'll be using the shower more than the tub, I'd make it more of a central feature rather than stuck in the corner. That's one huge "her's" closet!!! I'd be tempted to do away with one of the toilet stalls though, pull that front closet wall back just a few inches and then make that vanity an L shaped one that takes the place of the toilet stall. You don't have a lot of counterspace for such a big room and I don't thing that a few inches off the closet would be missed. I'd rather have more drawers and vanity space than a second toilet!

Jaynes 123, Thanks. I agree with your comments. My dilemma is over the conflict between privacy and functionality. It all comes down to the dual-vanity concept. I have two basic layout choices: 1) one sink each in the "public" and "private" areas (attached layout) or 2) make the entire master bathroom "private." For example, use the layout below but remove walls and door separating one vanity from the rest of the bathroom. Note in the layout there's a column between the toilet and shower that houses the central vacuum cleaning duct - unlikely it can be moved. The downside of separate vanities means having to partition the bathroom into two parts, with two doors to open to get to the toilet. Architectural features, such as skylight and window, dictate only a couple choices for partitioning. I like the concept of having everything in one private bathroom - will make the room more open and spacious, especially if I take out a wall. But it means I can't brush my teeth or use the bathroom for putting on makeup until my son is out of my bathroom.

To some degree, it's personal preference, and sometimes, it just depends on how the house ends up. I can see benefits to both. I've never lived in a closet-first house, and I've lived in two bath-first houses. The production home I'm building now also has a bath-first arrangement. I like the idea of not needing to pass through the bathroom when I'm putting away laundry, but I also like the idea of a closer toilet (my husband gets up in the middle of the night). I am in the habit of gathering my clothing *prior* to showering, whereas my husband likes the closet adjacent to the shower so he can go get his clothes afterward. We also like the idea of connecting the closet to the laundry room, and then connecting the laundry to the kids' bathroom (via a door or a pass-through), which requires a [master bed --> master bath --> master closet --> laundry --> kids' hall bath] sequence. I also strongly prefer all bedrooms on the same wing/side of the house. Honestly, I could live happily either way... The houses I grew up in never had a master suite, so I feel lucky to have it. :-)