You may have just made the shower drain be too far from the main waste line -- you'd have to check. Usually toilet waste lines are constrained (since each requires a vent system out the roof) and then other drains must be within some distance of that in order to meet code.

Thanks for the comment.

There is a windbreak of trees planted on that side of the house. That side of the house will rarely be seen. The window position doesn't make a difference on the outside. It looks as good in either position. If anything #2 might look slightly better since the windows would be spaced more evenly apart.

JP- My wife and I work opposite schedules. I was thinking the water room in between the main bathroom area and bedroom would actually reduce noise coming into the bedroom. My wife makes a lot more noise with her hairdryer and clanging around her flat iron and brushes than she does when she uses the toilet. Lol. I don't think I make much noise either but she might have a different opinion. I also was thinking the toilet closer to the bedroom would be nice for when you need to go in the middle of the night. I've also heard people mention on here that they don't think the water room should be right next to the clothes closet.

My other thought was... on the second plan everything looks like it's "together" in the same room. Whereas the first plan looks like you leave the main bathroom area to get to the shower. I don't know. Seems like the shower looks like an afterthought in the first plan.

Thanks for the opinions! Keep them coming!

ACM, your comment must be based on what you have seen, and logically, it is the easiest way, just as the closest distance between two points is a straight line. That is the way it is done in most small (cookie cutter) bathrooms, and can be the problem in remodels without opening up walls and ceilings that were not otherwise intended to be, but it is a bit backward thinking as far as the plumbing codes go.

Since smaller pipes flow into bigger pipes, and bigger pipes cost more, it is standard practice to have the larger toilet drain head directly outside from the toilet instead of wondering around to pick up other plumbing.

You can have as many vent stacks as necessary. The distance from a vent is based on the drain size. The bigger the drain, the further the vent can be from the trap. The total drop at ¼" per foot can not be more than the inside diameter of the pipe, or it will siphon the trap. (Toilets are supposed to siphon) The shower can have its own vent that ties back into the other vents in the ceiling. It could also tie into the vent for the lavatory in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. The reason you usually see the vent coming out of the roof near the toilet is because that is the shortest distance for the largest, most expensive pipe to go. Other vents could be tied into it in the attic so that you have less ugly pipes sticking out the roof. It is simply cheaper to bring a 2" vent over to the 4" vent than to bring the 4" vent over to the 2" vent.

Thanks. I only half way understand your plumbing comments, but I will remember this thread if I need to have a conversation about it with my builder. Just FYI I will have a septic system with a leach field on the opposite side of my house I will also have a full basement with 9' walls.

Nobody has mentioned this, but I assume from the two layouts you show that you don't have a problem walking thru the bathroom to get to the closet. This is a topic of much discussion on this forum, with strong opinions on both sides. I personally much prefer having a closet directly accessible from the bedroom, partly to avoid the issue of moisture from the shower migrating to the closet even if there is a ventilation fan. In your layouts you show a door at the bottom of the closet - not sure where this goes. Anyway, you might consider a layout with the bath at the bottom of the plan which might open up more possibilities for arrangement of fixtures, as well as help with the potential noise problem. Good luck

I fall into the camp of preferring the closet off the bathroom as my wife and I work opposite schedules and this avoids early morning traffic in the bedroom when the other is trying to sleep in. The door at the bottom goes to the laundry room which has another access double swing door so one can enter the laundry room without having to travel through the master suite.

@Fred S -- you are indeed right that I am speaking from the renovation end of things rather than building from scratch -- adding a stack is a big deal in that circumstance, and I usually try like the dickens never to make it necessary!

Steve, most of my rambling was just to try explaining the difference, and why, between cost effective remodel work, and new construction. Specifically, that the "codes" do not constrain where the fixtures can go, just pre-existing conditions and your checkbook. This sounds like new construction to me, so put the fixtures where you want. The plumber can make most things work as long as the placement is figured out before construction begins. Although, I have seen a couple unintended soffits where the plumbing plan was not coordinated well enough with the framing plan from the beginning.

K Jennings/Fred S design works well. And unless you have a stand-alone tub already selected, the tub and shower could be designed as one "object" with tile flowing out of shower onto tub and a glass wall divider.

As mentioned above, a stand alone tub within the shower might be the best way to go; that would give you more space and make everything flow together better.

Also wondering if the L shape vanity is done on purpose or just working with the space you see. Also are you flexible with door locations?

I would suggest centering the bedroom door leading into bathroom with the bedroom window; have a shower and stand alone tub within in the back wall, which would look beautiful when looking from the bedroom; vanity below the window (next to shower) and toilet/water room across from it.

We have a job we did something similar, I will post some pictures for you to have an idea.

I like K Jennings' suggestion as drawn by Fred. The shower would be long enough to be a walk-in shower if you like. You may want more insulation in the wall separating your bathroom and bedroom for noise reduction. I am not sure but some people told me a regular door is better than a pocket door for the noise. You may want to switch to a regular door too.

Here is a layout where I tried to eliminate the corner vanity. With this plan, I think you need something that catch the eye on the wall beside the cabinet to draw the attention at that location instead of the unaligned vanities. The look from the bedroom would be nicer too.

Having the vanities unaligned gives you many advantages:

- Noise from hair dryer further away from the bedroom.

- Eliminate two corners in the closet. I don't like corners in closets. I find them non-efficient. The configuration in this area provides more hanging space.

- Hide the make-up mirror.

- Vanities are longer.

Also note that the window behind the tub is wider than in your original plan. You may have a reason to have the two windows non-centered with the bedroom West wall but if you plan to put your bed on that wall, having the windows centered would look nicer. You could place them right behind each night table.

BTW, I like that you pushed the opening of the alcove close to the fridge. It will make it easier to bring a (king size ?) bed in the bedroom.

Fred S and K Jennings - Thanks for the suggestions. I'll consider that. How would I enter the shower? The right end?

suzanne - That's amazing. You came up with something totally different! I really like it a lot. However, I am really hoping to keep the nook that allows the kitchen refrigerator to be recessed and appear to be built-in or counter depth. Did you notice that in my first post? Without this nook the refrigerator will stick out into the kitchen about a foot. I'm trying to figure out a way to use your plan but keep the nook. Not sure how to go about doing that. Got any ideas?

Yes, I noticed it after I posted the floor plan. I re-worked it and this is one option. Note that on this layout the bathroom is 14'1 1/2" x 15'0". I stole 9" from the closet. The walkway between the 2 horizontal rows in the closet would become 3'0" wide which should be ok.

You could make the shelves in the closet 1'3" deep. The shallower they are, the easier it is to retrieve the clothes in the corner.

Thanks for the time you spent doing that suzanne. I appreciate it.

You are all so helpful. I'm still open for any other suggestions if anyone else would like to chime in!

I agree with Trinity about having a tub/shower room. By combining the two, you will gain much more space and visually more appealing. It also isolates the humidity, where you can have a long narrow window with a operable bottom 1/4. Without knowing your style, here is a floor plan and my two cents.

^ ^ ^ Floor plan showing master bedroom, bathroom and closet. Note closet remains in same location

Great layout Denise Marchand! There are a lot of 'likes' in it: I like all the natural light you put in. The tub/shower area is wide enough and the shower head is far enough so that the tub won't get wet when only the shower is used. The vanities, even though they are in a L-shape, there is no non-efficient corner. The entrance from the bedroom to the bathroom is beautiful. I also like the original shower bench you put in. Well done!

The closet has longer rows of hanging space than in the original layout. I would probably opt for shelves at the back of the closet but not too high so you can add a stationary (frosted) window in that area.

Denise, can I ask you what are the blue rectangles on the layout?

That's incredible Denise! Thank you! Thanks for including the entire master suite. In the bedroom, I always figured I would have a chair by the double window. I think it might be better the way you have it with the bed pushed over toward the window. Hmmm....

I'm trying to wrap my head around the tub/shower all in one room. Your pictures help. Thanks for those. It certainly would ad magnificent appeal walking into the bathroom which I really like. Here are my concerns... Fairly often my wife takes a bath while I take a shower. I know my wife pretty well. I imagine having over spray from my shower bothering her. It might kinda sound silly. It's kinda like lounging in a swimming pool but getting annoyed when some kid splashes you. I might be over thinking this.

So, that problem can be avoided with a glass wall/divider. While beautiful, I'm concerned about having so much glass to keep clean. The tub/shower room is just a new concept to me. It certainly is exciting. You've got me thinking about it!

I was also wondering about the blue rectangles. Also, is the half circle outside the bedroom entrance a table?

Trinity - I'm flexible with almost everything here. I don't need an L-shaped counter. That's just the way to builder or maybe the cabinet builder suggested. Doors can be moved in different locations. My only requirement is to keep the nook for the refrigerator in the kitchen. I want a large shower. My wife wants a tub. A water closet.

Hi there!

With this simple configuration, I believe most of your problems are solved. The larger vanity is on the far wall, away from the master bedroom door. You also won't hear the shower or the toilet as loudly from the room. The water closet is able to have a pocket door if desired, and you have a large linen closet. The tub is placed in the center of the room, where you can have a large window or some sort of design feature in tile. If you do not like the separate vanities, you can create one long vanity and place the tub on either side. I also moved the opening of the bathroom door into the master slightly to the right, so note that.

I am a new designer so your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I always imagining being in the room I'm designing, kind of like an actor in a good role. Yes, that is a console as entering the bedroom, with lighting and a piece of art, of course.

The blue rectangles: Even with a decent linen closet, I always find I need more storage for lotions an potions. I like tall 4" - 6" deep medicine cabinets all over, tucked in the wall.

Carly - Thanks! I like it very much. Without seeing measurements I think that will make my shower at least a foot shorter. I'd like to keep the shower at least 4'x6'. Also, it would be nice to keep both sinks closer together. Not a requirement but would be nice.

I can see that sprays from showering would annoy someone in the tub! We don't want that to happen.

Here's some solutions that can be perpendicular to the exterior wall. I like the fact that the glass doesn't go to the ceiling and can be designed with shelves or a niche, as indicated below. It also can be a free standing plinth, and not go all the way to the wall.

This is something in the same line of thoughts as Denise's amazing layout. I just enclosed the shower and switch it with the private area so you don't see it when you enter the bathroom.

I add a little luxury I would like to have myself ... storage to hide toilet brush and plunger inside the private area.

I put the towel bar for the shower on its door itself to allow the door to swing the 'normal' direction otherwise you would need to swing the door the other direction to put the towel bar on the pony wall ... maybe it would not be too bad since you have plenty of space in front of the tub ...

I put the drain for the shower close to the bench but ideally it needs to be in a location where your feet don't rest on it when standing or sitting.

This is one vanity I saw on Houzz. You could do something similar:

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/classic-informality-traditional-bathroom-new-york-phvw-vp~1427134[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/classic-informality-traditional-bathroom-new-york-phvw-vp~1427134)

Classic Informality · More Info

Notice how the tower resting on the counter gives you a lot of counter top. It could have doors instead of shelves.

EDIT:

This is another option for the towel bar. I centered the shower head between the bench and the West wall ... or it could stay on the West wall.

Maybe you could have a nice window sill for your tub (with the same material as your vanity counter top) to act as a place to put candles, glass of wine etc.

The tub towel bar could on the pony wall if you were to go with a layout like above or it could go on the private area wall given that you find a way to mount it on a wall where a pocket door slides in.

Crisp Architects · More Info

Happy mother day!

Suzanne! Happy Mother's Day to you!

Wow! That looks like a nice collaberation of several suggestions in this thread. Especially Denise's plan. I really like it. Thanks! I'm going to run this buy my builder. Hopefully it's not too late.

Great idea about using the some countertop for a window sill. All of my window sills will be about 10" deep since my exterior walls will be ICF.

After looking closer at both of your shower suggestions, I'm not sure I can put a shower head on an exterior wall since my exterior walls are filled with concrete. I suppose it would be possible to stud that left/west wall. It seems to me like the shower head should be aimed toward the bench. What about putting the shower head on the right/east wall and the bench against the left/west wall? Can I please get some suggestions from you all on shower head, bench, and drain placement?

You don't really need to have the shower head aiming the bench if you have a hand shower. I believe the plumbing for the shower head and the hand shower can be on different walls or distant between each other. (for example, the hand shower can be right above the bench). This is something you need to check with your builder.

Anyone else have ideas for shower head and bench placement in the plan Suzanne recently posted?

This could be another option. With the 10' vanity and the large deep tower above it, I think a 3 ft built-in should be plenty for your wife to store her things. Considering that a kitchen upper cabinet is 1 ft deep, things that go in a cabinet in a bathroom should fit nicely in a 9" deep cabinet ... more than that, things can get lost.

Also, the built-in I drew above the tower bar should be enough to store your towels. It could be the same height as your pony wall and have a glass door maybe.

The shower is also quite big considering that the bench is not in your way. The niche is closer to the bench and the shower head. Also you have a nice access to the towel bar when you get out.