I once lived in a home with very good double pane windows and many nights, there was a constant high pitched hum that drove me crazy. I tried everything and checked the internet for resolutions. The noise was either a highway far off or some industry nearby that got progressively louder as the night went on. To make a long story short, we ended up replacing our bedroom windows and when we did, we went with laminated (not tempered) glass and the noise disappeared. It could have been a frequency problem more than a sound problem, but after 8 years of hum, the next 5 years were so peaceful. We had tempered glass in the bathroom and I could still hear the hum at night when I got up.

Javiwa, that photo of the pan under your washer doesn’t look too bad. And you’re right it only needs to be under the washer. It is the hefty/chunky ‘pan’ in the photo that I posted, that I wouldn’t want. Mimipadv - Yes…would be happy to burn calories doing stairs, but we’re thinking in terms of wanting to use our house as we age and stairs can be difficult. We never do laundry at night, either. Dzzmiller - The old top loading machines were not all that heavy to move around, but the new front loading machines are heavier than those. Yes, a cast iron tub on the 2nd floor would be a challenge. [g] You make a good point about ‘peak’ laundry years. I’ve seen washer/dryers in closets in a hallway that hold a stackable set of machines that don’t require a whole room for a laundry. I was talking to a woman who moved her washer dryer from a closet in a hall outside her kitchen to the second floor. She made a good point, that the laundry on the first floor was right near the back door and when people would come in the house, all the laundry was always piling up around that area, either clean or dirty waiting to be processed. So that’s also a good consideration to where to have the laundry. We also line dry a lot of our clothes, so that is another consideration.

When we build, there won't be any rooms above our Master Bedroom. At the moment, my almost 13-year-old son and 3-year-old's room is over our Master Bedroom. My 8- and 10-year old's room is above the living room. Their bathroom is between their two rooms. When sleeping in, I can hear every single movement that my 13-year-old and 3-year do. There was carpet in the room which helps with the noise, but I hate carpet and put in wood flooring. If he drops something, I hear it. When he goes to the bathroom, I hear it. When all 4 of them are in one room, I can hear them. Just as this, I can hear every movement in my other boys' room when in the living room. They are very rambunctious and like to jump around. Another problem I have is that the pipe from their toilet/tub goes down the wall which is located between our living and kitchen/dining room. When they flush the toilet or let out their bath water, the pipe rattles in that wall. I know every time they use the bathroom and so do my guests. Most times it is rather embarrassing.

I think flipping the bathroom is a great idea. As for the closet, and light, and views, etc.... I'm a minimalist when it comes to bedrooms. I don't want or need much in the way of space. Almost all of the time I spend in my bedroom is while it is dark out anyway. In fact, as we are designing a new home, we are planning the master bedroom to have the least desirable views and leaving the amazing views to the living spaces. So, with the above in mind, I'd leave the closet as is as it will make for a weird room otherwise.