First, thanks for some honest feedback while we can still make floorplan changes. We're aiming for a long-term home that suits our lifestyle but would not make future buyers say, "They can't really be serious." I had to laugh and cringe, david_cary. We seem to be walking the knife's edge. homey_bird, I'm afraid what you see here is the result of hours of stewing. We drafted the initial plan and want to work out all the specifics before we send it for bids. As everyone knows, one change affects so many things that we stay up late and our heads start spinning. We will seriously consider all feedback. At the risk of TMI, I'll attach the original elevations and floorplans. This second floor plan doesn't include the deep tub or larger shower in the master bath. Trying to fit those items has been a problem. Creek_side and alabamanicole, thank you for your feedback and your interest in the bigger picture. We've also been thinking about how we use the master bath. My dh likes to spend an hour locked in the bathroom each morning (?) so I would really enjoy a vanity in the hall dressing area. I don't think we would use two sinks in the master concurrently. I was hoping a vanity would help resale too if we put only one sink in the master. So what is the room between the master bedroom and bath? Good question. A vanity which could also function as a seat for dressing, an east-facing window (view of the wetlands behind us), a small triangular closet, a longer reach-in closet, and some built in shelving. I've looked at our wardrobe and realized that we need half our closet space for hanging and half for shelved items (folded clothes, shoes, purses). The previous walk-in closet plan seemed too tight for a seat or vanity and the window was small in order to minimize damage to clothes. We are open to any suggestions to get an attractive, functional, reasonably priced dressing area. The one foot deep storage in the bathroom is our attempt to get as much storage as possible in there for soaps, shampoos, toilet paper, towels, cleaning supplies etc. We could give the bathroom a foot from the closet area for deeper storage in the bath. We assumed that the shower door would be 2-3 feet wide (out of five) so the bench could wrap around and we could still open the shower door. I'll attach a rough view from our home planning software that requires a lot of imagination. The tub is just 40 inches in diameter and would be positioned near the window with the internal seat facing toward the east window/view. The rest of the deck would be tiled so we could step on the bench, sit on the tile deck, and swing our legs over into the tub. That's the theory, anyhow. We put in a pedestal sink to give us more room near the bath and to approximate art deco style. The window above it is a transom for more light at the sink. There is a mirrored medicine cabinet directly in front of the sink. We have been partial to east facing windows (top of floor plan) because that is our view of a wetlands. The master bedroom also has transoms to the south (right of plan) because we have 1.5 story neighbors on that side and would like as much sunlight as possible. Thanks for the comment about the toilet area and corner windows, creek_side. We can cut adjust those. Please feel free to throw us a comment about anything else on the plan as well. Now's our chance to fix it. Liz

Sorry it took so long to get back...busy week at work and gardening all weekend :) I appreciate all your input and I know I need a visual aid, but all I have is my graph paper with my pen sketch LOL. I need to go high tech! After careful thought, I am considering swapping the porch and the laundry room. The house faces southeast, so the laundry room is currently on the southwest side and the porch is in the back, or the northwest side. Both are going to have to be rebuilt, so it's an easy swap at this stage. If I open up the room on the southwest side, I can have it open to the kitchen and get better light into both rooms. The laundry/pantry/mudroom can be on the back, with less light. This would allow me to put in a second door, from the hall bath to the laundry area, eliminating the need for the half bath (and saving some money!) :) The load bearing wall is between the two bathrooms, which means the master bath is not getting any bigger (without a lot of expense) and is staying about 6' x 10'. The hall bath is a much more flexible space. I can make this larger and have the claw foot tub and toilet on one wall (on the back) with a window over the tub. The hall door would be opposite the tub, the sink (now the counter could be 6' instead of 4') would be next to the hall door. The door to the laundry room would be on the left wall, between the sink vanity and the toilet. The shower in the master bath is more practical and although I wear make-up, it takes me all of five minutes to put it on in the morning, so no big mess in the bathroom. I work from home (and live on a farm) so a little eyeshadow, liner and mascara and I'm good to go! LOL Oh, I should mention the master bedroom is on the northeast corner of the house. As you come in the front door, the stairs are straight ahead. As you walk along the stairs, to the back of the house, the hall bathroom door is straight ahead (but all you'll see is the tub) to the right is the door to the master bedroom. You walk by the master bath, as you enter the bedroom "suite" if that's not too fancy a word for a fairly small bedroom. I am hoping to have a small screened porch off the back of the bedroom area. French doors off the back of the bedroom will lead to the porch, with just enough room for a few chairs and a small hot tub. That is the one thing my husband wants in the new house...besides dibs on the basement! Thanks again for all your help :)

Add me to the list of people with layout #2: closets off bathroom, in the past 2 houses with no steam/humidity problem. I like the setup because it works well for getting ready without disturbing the spouse. A small tweak I'd recommend on the laundry room: put the washer and dryer on the back wall (straight ahead as you walk through the door). That gives you more space in front of the appliances to put stuff in and out, instead of your butt hitting the wall when bending down over a laundry basket.

how much clothes do you have? your bathroom looks pretty optimal, and is about as compact as you are going to get it. You could delete one of the sinks, but it won't buy you much space. It could be a foot wider, which will feel roomier, but a big mirror on the vanity wall may have the same effect. Your bedroom is long enough to have an additional closet near the door, if storage is an issue. if you swapped the locations of the bedroom and the bathroom+closet, you would have more room for a bigger closet and bigger bathroom, but would end up with a smaller bedroom.