I would try to avoid moving the window, since I think that would be the most expensive item to change, and will affect the exterior appearance of your home. I actually like the window in our shower, but it overlooks our back yard, so there are no privacy issues. I like what gmp3 came up with. 40" is a nice width for the shower, but I think you can go longer than 44" with that plan. If the wall is 93", and you allow 36" for the toilet and 6" for the wall between toilet and shower, that leaves you with 51". To avoid having the door swing into the linen cabinet, you could switch to a pocket door or a barn door that slides along the bedroom wall.

Thanks so much! This really helps loosen up my thinking. The door-to-master idea came from my contractor, and it's not something I'm particularly attached to. Omitting it would leave better wall space in the master, too, which would allow for a little sofa nook. So.... The common thread in the ideas above is to put the toilet in the upper right corner. I like the arrangement, but was worried about having a toilet right by a window. The toilet would be on a wall that's only 12" back from the edge of the window; the bottom edge of the glass on that window is only 30" off the floor. The glass is obscured, and I wouldn't have any problem with this personally, but do you think future owners/buyers would be having a "what were they thinking?" moment? (I'm not overly concerned with resale, but I don't expect to ever re-do this bathroom again, so I don't want to completely ignore resale.) weedyacres: I've got 40" in front of the shower for door-swing, but I do like the idea of French doors. I was thinking a fixed/sealed panel of glass would help contain the water better. Do you feel like your shower is more prone to water escaping when you have 2 swinging doors? annie: love your whole room, and the vanity arrangement is great. I can see how that would work really well in my space, so thanks a bunch for taking the time to post pictures. I was going to change our hallway door to swing out or be a pocket door in order to avoid the challenge you describe of the door hitting the person at the vanity. But maybe with a buffer zone I wouldn't have to. livewire: on moving the shower - that is where I had it originally, so I'm partial to that idea. Just wondering, how deep does a linen closet need to be? If I do a fairly shallow one (about 12" deep), I can preserve an extra foot of space in the adjacent bedroom, which would be lovely.

Hi Everyone, I thought I would post an update to our kitchen. Posting on here has been great and it has completely changed our minds about what we want to do. First, the mudroom is just a glorified porch. When we moved in, the outside door was actually in the kitchen (where the curtain is now). We took that door out and replaced the screen door on the porch with a real door. That made the mudroom. We insulated the floor from underneath outside, but the walls aren't insulated. Hence the curtain on the doorway. That keeps the heat in during the winter months. The mudroom is very small and there is no room for a fridge. We thought about the suggestions of putting the fridge in the mudroom and we decided that solution really wasn't much different than keeping the fridge in the dining room. It would still be in another room. And having it in the dining room is very convenient for meals with little kids. So, we talked with a carpenter friend of ours and we decided to do the following: -Rework the original cabinets under the low window to allow a dishwasher. Our carpenter friend insists it can be done while keeping most of the original cabinets. This involves raising them to standard counter height. It will block the lower few inches of the window, but I've seen pictures of it done before (some on this site) and I think it will look fine. -Keep sink where it is. -Fill in the 36x24 inch space between the sink and the wall with a custom blind cabinet (carpenter friend will also make this). -Keep stove where it is. -Replace portable dw next to stove with a 15" cabinet. -Install new cabinets above stove. -Keep large wall of cabinets. -Redo floor. Hoping the original wood under the terrible tile is refinishable, but if not, we'll lay another floor over it. -Add pendants and install the cool ceiling fan we have but have never put up. -Maybe put in cabinets on sink wall, but might just stay with open shelves. Again, thanks everyone and we'll post pics when it's done. My goal is by my son's 1st birthday in July and since we don't have to move any plumbing or do anything major, I think it can be done. Amanda

Alice, I love your kitchen! The step is very inventive. Did anything need to be done to it to help it support weight? Our microwave in our current house is in the island, but it will be over the counter in the next house and my little one will no longer be able to reach it. I may steal you idea!!! Most of the things you have mentioned, I have already thought of but ruled out for one reason or another. I'll elaborate on my thinking. If I put the prep sink in the snack area then I don't have a view when working there, even though it does make that side of the kitchen more user friendly. If I move the sink to that side of the island then I am in the way of anyone sitting at the counter and in the way of anyone needing to get to the fridge. So I settled on the end of the island closest to the range. Also in another drawing while fine tuning the kitchen, the entry to the pantry was at the end facing the cubbies. I moved it because I thought that the door to the pantry "ruined" the line of sight through the house, since it wouldn't be centered like the bedroom door at the opposite end of that long gallery. I let aesthetics rule over function on that one. Bmorepanic, Thanks for your comments. Some I had thought of, some not. The fridge blocking that main entry has been my biggest concern. In an earlier plan I had moved it to where the range is as you did in your drawing and put the range in the middle of the wall where the fridges currently are. But the range was too far away to be efficient because I actually had to travel around the island much more in my triangle then I do with the fridge on the lower end. Also that wall is too long to make my 36" range be a focal point. I would need at least a 48", which is not in my budget. There is actually a 54" aisle on the island seating side, which while not the idea of 60" is better than 48". The prep sink, is actually in the end of the island facing out the breakfast room windows. It does have the inconvenience of being in the way of the range. Our last four homes have had the open concept with the family room. DH does not like it as the sounds of the kitchen make it difficult to hear the television in the family room. Your drawing above with the arched opening between the two doorways is EXACTLY like our last house except there were only columns separating the two rooms, no wall. In my very first drawing when I first started planning this house, I drew the kitchen almost exactly as you have it, except the size of the pantry didn't change, only the opening moved and I didn't have a prep sink in the wall next to the family room or a window into that room. The problem I had with this drawing is less light into the kitchen area, only room for one dw and I now have the range and main sink butt to butt. There was wonderful symmetry with the two "hutches" at either end of the window wall run, a 24" window over each 33" pot and pan drawer and the range in the middle. But I thought it would be better to have the prep sink back up to the range rather than the main sink. Here is my original drawing.... Rhome, I like your advice on flanking the main sink with the DW's and switching the trash to the island. If I add another 6 inches to the island on the range side and shorten the aisle to 42" then the cabinet facing the fridge would be 21" and I could fit in an 18" square prep sink still on the end with the range facing the view through the breakfast room but on the corner closet to the fridge rather than in the center. Thanks everyone for your comments. Keep them coming......... I'll try to play around with the ideas mentioned above next week and post more drawings. We are headed out of town for the weekend.