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pocket door to master bath???

Shelby
6 years ago
I’m trying to figure out our master bathroom door. I don’t love the idea of it opening in because it’ll ruin the view of the tub and swing last the vanity. Out and it gets in the way of the bed set up being on that left wall (I think I’m moving it there and making that one window into two separate). I envision us keeping that door open aside from when showering or getting ready while the other sleeps. Do you think a quality pocket door would be a good functional fit here? What about logistically, opening into the wall towards the vanity would mean no outlet or towel bar/side medicine cabinet. But opening the other way gets into exterior wall which I assume is not possible?? Ideas?

Comments (40)

  • mojomom
    6 years ago

    Disagree, Sina. If there is a toilet room, most married folks don't mind the lack of privacy in the other areas. Also many people prefer closets through the bathroom -- that is a personal preference, not an architectural issue.

    klfishe -- we did exactly as you described for cohesion and it works well for us. We also didn't want to deal with door swings and the barn door is easier to operate than a pocket. Plus we could put switches where we needed them on the bathroom side.


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  • PRO
    Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design
    6 years ago

    But you just agreed with me. Barn doors create a lack of privacy. Whether or not your and your spouse are okay with that or not is a personal thing, but there is less privacy with them. They're also super trendy right now, which means that they will inevitably become "dated".

    Barn doors are also noisy when operated typically, which can be an issue if one person is still sleeping. They don't block light or noise, which again can be an issue if someone is sleeping. Privacy isn't always about modesty. You might not care if you can hear your partner going to the bathroom but you might mind at 5 am if you can hear them banging around getting ready while you're still in bed.

  • chicagoans
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I realize you didn't ask about this, but I noticed the vestibule leading into your master BR. Please measure your largest piece of BR furniture to be sure you'll be able to turn that corner when you move in. (A large dresser or a king bed, for example, might be a challenge.) It might be a total non-issue, but better to find out at this stage.

    Also if the door to your toilet closet only swings in (not both ways) then you need to figure out where you have room to stand when you are in there and the door is open (to enter or exit.)

  • Oaktown
    6 years ago

    We have a pocket door into our master bath and did at our prior house as well. We like it.

    If you want electrical or towel holder on the wall you could fur out the wall to accommodate that. In our old house the pocket for the door was behind the shower and that wall was furred out to fit the plumbing. I never even noticed until I went to look at it after reading something on GW. Good luck whatever you decide.

    mojomom -- looks great!

  • athomeeileen
    6 years ago

    Hi Shelby! We have a pocket door to our bathroom and it's loud. No privacy issues but the door rumbles when it's moved. Wakes me up every time.

  • ptreckel
    6 years ago
    I think that your best option is to have the door swing towards the tub. Is it free standing? I would put a door stop on the door to prevent it from hitting the tub. But I am not so sure that what you lose in this application (the view of a pretty tub) exceeds your gain....privacy, sound and light interference. Good luck!
  • PRO
    Anglophilia
    6 years ago

    I have a lot of pocket doors in my house, and they work pretty well, but they are somewhat noisy. But last April, I had a different experience with pocket doors in a fully renovated mews house that we rented for a week in S Kensington in London. This house had the heaviest, most solid pocket doors I've ever seen, and they also latched far better than the latches I've seen in the US. They were wonderful - quiet, heavy, slide easily and were totally soundproof.

    If you can do a pocket door that way, then it will be perfect for your bathroom. I noticed that the leading edge of the door went far further into the woodwork surrounding the door - I'm sure that helped a great deal.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    6 years ago

    Our current house had two master bathrooms and two pocket doors. We remodeled and took both of them out. I would consider a pocket door for an office, but for a room where the door is used many times a day, definitely not.

  • PRO
    Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
    6 years ago

    Pocket door would work fine. The exterior wall is off limits as there is a tankless mounted on the exterior wall and it requires plumbing, besides, its an insulated wall. Pocket doors can warp if not sealed properly, so take care of all 6 sides. Noise is related to quality of pocket hardware....if you have options, pay for better. BTW, pocket doors cost more than swinging doors and can create more punchlist items ... my father averaged 4-6 in each house (that I had to deal with if there were issues).

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    I wish I felt like a barn door could work but I do worry it’s too inferior of a sound/light guard.

    If we do a pocket we’d definitely swing for the nice hardware and solid door, probably even soft close. So I think from reading lots of threads here that would solve a lot of the finicky problems they can have I’d hope...

    I’ve only lived in a house with one (finicky) pocket door that we only shut once a day at most. So I don’t have tons of experience with them.

    Although, I really feel like we’d only shut this one 1-2 times a day for showers and at night. The water closet door will get the most use. We’d hardly even need a lock on the main door. And I can picture it getting opened while someone is standing at the vanity and mainly staying open which could mean it gets in the way....

    So if the wall between the bathroom and bedroom were 6” could I have electrical on the same wall with a pocket door? I guess my questions break down to how to pull off electrical there because we’d really need both an outlet and light switch there.

    As for other layout things, someone mentioned the shower being dark but I plan on either adding a window or skylight to it (perhaps an interior window between the tub and it). There will likely be a skylight over the tub as well. So I’m working on that situation! The closet will definitely be through the bathroom, that’s my preference for sure (husband has a much different schedule than myself). I do appreciate someone mentioning that I need to check if I can get furniture in! It hadn’t crossed my mind till I read that on another thread just today! But we actually do have alternate access that’s a straight shot (door between closet and laundry), whew! And I’m happy with the vanity size (although we will do the storage tower much smaller than he drew it looking). There is linen storage built in by the shower, and the water closet will get a cabinet as well for toilet paper and back up soaps. I only want daily use items in the vanity.
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Oh and I quickly drew some cross sections to scale roughly to check placement of things and felt the water closet had room to stand clear of the door, do you agree? That’s approx 2’6” deep toilet, 18” of clearance, and a 2’ door (pictured open).
  • ajrmcr
    6 years ago

    I was drawn to your post because I asked a similar question in the fall for a remodel I was doing. Quick question: how much space is between the front of the vanity and the door?

  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    6 years ago

    Shelby, if it helps any, take a look at mine. I did a pocket door but only use it when the other is sleeping. It stays open 99% of the time. I did a water closet w/two sliding barn doors, but these never get closed. we just aren't in there at the same time. Plus, after 20 years, who cares? Also did a double width skylight over the shower that I adore.

    https://www.houzz.com/projects/2444914/master-bath-redo

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Looks to be about 6” between vanity and door opening although to me it looks like the door could be pushed closer to the exterior wall by a couple inches.
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Beth! So much personality in there! Those picture make me reeeeally want the skylight! Has steam caused any problems for you with it?
  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    6 years ago

    w/the skylight? it fogs if I take a super hot shower, but the window is right there. And because the ceiling is vaulted, there is plenty of air circulation. but taking a shower w/the sunlight streaming down is heaven. and my plants go nuts in there.

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    See and I even want lots of plants in there so it would be perfect! What’s funny is I learned how awesome bathroom skylights are in our RV that we’re temporarily living in.

    We were a little worried steam would collect up there and damage the paint or something. Sounds like yours is fine!
  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    yes no prob. we did wood up there and solid oak trim around the skylight after install. Husband installed it and we both did the ceiling. It's a Velux.

  • Patti Emmons
    6 years ago

    I used a barn door for our (tiny) bathroom but added buffer material along the sides to provide adequate privacy. The added material "almost" reaches the walls - - hope you can picture this.

  • bpath
    6 years ago

    Light: solatube. It can have an integrated vent fan. We had one in our last house (well, one in the interior bathroom and 2 in the upstairs hall).

    Shower: when you step out of the shower, where is your towel?

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Barn door with buffer is interesting, I haven’t heard of that.

    And I had no idea solar tubes could have the vent option like that! I just googled those. Very cool, pricey but something I’ll keep in mind for sure!
  • _sophiewheeler
    6 years ago

    18” in front of a toilet isn’t even code. You are required to have 21”. 21” is tight public restroom spacing. Terrible. 30” is more like you’d expect for a nice master suite. That’s why toilet compartments are often 5’ or 6’ long and a minimum of 36” wide. The door should swing out as well, for medical safety reasons.

  • Mrs Pete
    6 years ago

    No to a pocket door to the bathroom. Pocket doors are great for doors that are rarely closed ... no good at all for doors that're opened/closed multiple times a day.

    I'll jump on the band wagon concerning barn doors: I stayed in a hotel room once that had a bathroom door between the bedroom and bathroom. No, you don't want this. These doors provide only visual privacy. Not such a big deal for one night in a hotel, but definitely not something I'd ever want in my house.

    One more thought, since we're talking about doors. Consider your sight line when you enter the bathroom: you're looking straight ahead at the intersection of the linen closet /clothes closet. I'd remove the linen closet door ... and instead have shelves just inside the clothes closet for towels, etc. It'll allow you to get rid of one door, allowing you a simple wall, which can hold artwork, as your entering-the-bathroom sight line ... and it'll be no difference in terms of function.

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    The water closet is 5 and half feet deep.... and I’m the one who wants it to open in so we can keep it open most the time unobtrusively. So is that not enough room for a door to open in?
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Well it’s 3x5’3.5”
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    And I do need to think about towel hanging placement....
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Can’t believe I didn’t notice the door clearance problem! These were supposed to be final plans.
  • One Devoted Dame
    6 years ago

    So here's a strange idea....

    What does everyone think of a swinging door, saloon-style, in either/both places (master bed to master bath and/or toilet room)? It/they could be full-height, single or double.

    Bad idea???

  • Michael Stiller
    6 years ago
    The barn door is a bad idea. Making the master bath door a barn door forces you to make the master bed entry door, a barn door. Unless symmetry isn't your prerogative.
  • ILoveRed
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I would rather have my bed on that N wall (upper wall). What would happen to your exterior elevation if you separated that window into two windows, put your bed there, and leave your bathroom door the way it is now?

  • chicagoans
    6 years ago

    I like ILR's suggestion about the placement of the bed. It might help to draw in your furniture to scale to see what you think.

  • katinparadise
    6 years ago

    I was thinking the same thing as ILR. If you follow feng shui at all (I'm no expert but there are a few things I try to adhere to) is that your feet should face the door when you're sleeping.

  • rocketjcat
    6 years ago
    We have a pocket door into our master bath and it’s very functional for us. I don’t know what the posters are doing that necessitates opening and closing the doors multiple times a day. We might close it once every 2 weeks, the rest of the time it’s open. It’s solid wood and very heavy and quiet. In your layout you may want to consider placing your storage tower on the left of the countertop instead of between the sinks and move the electrical to between the sinks.
  • Toni S
    6 years ago

    We have a pocket door to our bathroom. Love it. It can be a bit noisy if your in a hurry but I love that its out of the way.

  • zorroslw1
    6 years ago

    We have a pocket door to our master bath and we really like it. It is a solid wood door with quality hardware and does not make any noise opening and closing it. We only close it when showering.

  • cpaul1
    6 years ago

    I think pocket doors are necessary at times. I would never do a barn door. Depending on the situation, you can paint the pocket doors a different color from the walls or hang an unframed mirror on one side.

  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Nice to hear that a lot of you like your pocket doors!

    So I did originally picture our bed on the wall opposite the doors. It has better flow and better access for both of us to the bathroom to me. Here’s my rear elevation to show the window issue. The matching wing to the left is a kids bedroom (picture also included). It wouldn’t be ideal to split that window into two for that room as I picture a twin bed on either side of the window. But perhaps I need to choose the ideal for the master over that room since their beds have more flexibility being smaller.... thoughts?
  • Shelby
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Oh and the tower storage on the vanity being moved to the left is a really interesting option for helping to solve the pocket door issue!
  • beachlove8
    3 years ago

    I am so late to this thread but thoroughly invested since I have this same question now. Did you end up doing a pocket door? Any pics??