Pink peony- if you were to do this- what would your preference be? I have two boys 6 and 8 - they seem okay sharing the space but Im trying to account for the future of course. We are not leaving this house...ever! Not after this building fiasco that is consuming my entire life.

My sketch placing the pocket doors on plumbing wall cant happen likely because of plumbing. I was mainly showing your the option of keeping the pocket doors to the rooms and placing standard door to tub. After seeing the architects original plan with all pocket doors and a hall closet that is the one I would go with were it ME. Having raised three kids we loved having the jack and jill for our boys. As a mother of boys and even girls it is nice to have a bathroom that only they and their friends use. I never had to worry about anyone coming across an a mess I had failed to clean up and didn't haver to worry that if someone was in my home and asked to use the restroom that they would be using that one LOL! Just keeping it real!

wow- that's a great option too.... You are quick!!

It may be too late but an ideal J & J is where each room loads into a private vanity and then the shower and toilet are shared. Let me see if I can find an example of that. Also your boys are moving out of the bath phase quickly so I would highly consider only doing a shower . Once they hit a certain age a bath is never used again.

Okay- sounds like a good plan! I put the pocket door between the main area and the toilet space - it wasn't like that originally but seemed like a good idea. I did lose a storage space (by adding the pocket door) but I think I can creatively add in some shelving in the thick wall to the right. Don't know why that wall is so wide- I think it is a mistake and a remnant from the drafter thinking a stove vent/duct could go through there. She also though the range could be recessed into our kitchen wall- great idea- right? ;-)

I don't mind J and J baths, and your boys are young enough that they will grow up with this as normal.

Thank you everyone - very much!! I'm going to try switching one pocket door to a swing between the vanity and the shower/toilet area. Just to see how it effects the layout- I might be able to gain some space doing that. Every inch counts.

Look at these examples

Pink - I actually like the original layout better and for one reason. There is only one door to the tub/toilet room.

I've had a j and j bathroom and the issue was always that the person using the toilet locks to the door to the other person's room to ensure privacy and never remembers to unlock it!

With only one door to the toilet room, you solve the issue of two entries and the lack of - or feeling of lack of privacy.

For a jack and jill, I like the idea of two entries to the sink room and only one entry to the toilet room.

My twin sons - who are the best friends in the whole world - shared a bathroom for 18 years. They hardly ever used the bathroom at the same time, so two sinks would have been a waste of plumbing, counter, and storage space. Their bathroom opened to the hall.

Great ideas! So hopefully- with a jack and jack bathroom- my two boys will finally get along- right?

Ann you mean your boys never fought over who was making a bigger mess in that one sink? When we had a single sink bath my boys constantly got into blows over who was making a bigger mess in the sink. ie. "Johhny should have to clean the sink because he makes the bigger mess"

Oh, yes absolutely. Perfect angels overnight, I guarantee.

//laughs uproariously//

We do a rotating schedule for cleaning in the kids' bathroom. The three who are old enough to do a good job create a rota (I think currently the idea is one month on, two months off) and they monitor each other as far as whose turn it is, etc. In addition if you want to invite friends to spend the night, you spruce up your bathroom first.

Perfection not expected.

**I should add, my boys are about a 5-10 years away from shaving. When there's beard stubble all over we might have a different scenario :-D

The idealer J & J bathroom is Jack gets a bathroom and Jill gets another bathroom.

pink, my sons hardly fought about anything. Once in a while they would get mad about something or other, but it never lasted long. They are all grown up now, and live 1000 miles apart, but they still talk on the phone almost daily.

LOL Mark! Never was my "Jill" so happy to get her own bathroom after sharing with my two "Jacks" for years!

Sorry Mark- I do appreciate all your feedback. This seems easier than a full rethink at this point. If you want to fully rethink my studio bathroom which I posted earlier- I'd LOVE THAT!

This is what I ended up with. The switches and lighting were very challenging and I'll have three small pendants hanging down to light the vanity for when my boys are old and stubbly. Boys do have great built-ins in their bedrooms- which I am sure they will fight over but I just have to make them semi-unique.

I will add more shelving to the boys closets- that was also a great idea.

I like it.

What works most of the time now for two children may not work for two young adults, two couples that do not know each other, or potential buyers of your home in the future. In my experience it is best to design for now and the future.

Are you planning for bypass doors with three panels on the bedrooms' clothes closets?

We just sold our home with the J&J in November and in all our feed back we never had one complaint about it but we did have positive come back about it. I think most people buying a Family home and by family i mean they have kids , like them.

I love the final floor plan. I've never had one but personally have always thought jack and jill baths were a smart option and good use of space. I would have loved sharing a jack and jill growing up instead of the single small bath in a 50s rancher shared with everyone in our family of 6. these comments confirm my thoughts that we have become an entitled spoiled country. I think the pocket doors into the bedrooms and regular door to the bath is the best solution for privacy. who really cares if family sees you brush your teeth but I wouldn't want someone walking in when I'm "doing my business" or taking a shower (visions of psycho come to mind and I'm a little bit of a prude)

I think we were planning on whatever was in the drawing unless I catch things that can be optimized. Should I rethink the closet doors? Are two panels better than three or a different kind of door?

Could you separate the toilet and shower spaces? It sacrifices vanity space, but does make room for a storage bench in the shower room + some storage in the water closet (the dash-line boxes). Getting a vanity with good drawer space (example included below) means there's still good storage for the kid's stuff at the vanity. I might be tempted to get a swinging door for the WC (a la cpartist) but maybe that's a bad idea for a couple of kids =)

Damiarain, that idea makes so much sense.

I knew a house where 5 kids shared a bath that was basically two half-baths (sink/vanity and toilet) with a tub-shower between.

On the other hand, my two boys shared a hall bath, never locked each other out, never were in there at the same time, and got along famously.

If the three panels are on there own track it will not be a problem, but if the three panels are on two tracks, you will only be able to access one third of the closet at a time.

If you separate the toilet from the shower, make sure you put an exhaust fan in each space.

wow- Damiarain- that is an interesting option. thank you! I think I still like the two sinks and the bathtub. We have a younger child who loves taking bathes so it's a bit essential. Definitely want to show that option to my husband though- great feedback!! Thank you for your time.

I'll need to study closet doors (when the time comes) and ask my contractor what different options we have. We had a crane there today installing beams so it's very exciting. I think they will lay down the second floor this week (not the uprights), and then maybe we can get up there and see the view!

There are smaller than normal tubs available.

Also, instead of just a storage unit in with the shower, it could be a vanity (still with good storage drawers) thus getting you 2 sinks.

Could even rearrange the WC door+vanity to incorporate the sink so there’s essentially a powder room and a shower room with a hall between

Hi, I’m late to the Party, but have you considered Barn doors to the Bedrooms? Then you could have a swinging door into the toilet room = More Privacy where it’s needed! I just love them and they look Cool

Pocket doors, as someone has mentioned, don’t provide the same degree of privacy (visually or sound-wise). It’s not just the issue of the person in the bathroom brushing their teeth who doesn’t want to be seen or heard. The person in the bedroom (who won’t always be 6 years old!) might also be somewhat (very!) uncomfortable with not having a properly closing solid door separating their room from the bathroom.
Another vote for a regular bathroom off the hallway with a proper closing door. (I guess a pocket door separating the toilet/bath from the rest would be fine)

I'm with Mark the architect in hating J&J bathrooms. We have one just like the one like the OP in this house and I hate it every time I use or clean it. Just too many doors in a small space. The doors will be in the way no matter which way they swing. Being retired, the only children using our bath are grandchildren but I would have hated it for our son & daughter. I have seen an occasional floor plan that is less obnoxious but they are rare. Good luck with yours.

I generally disagree with Mark about most things, but I agree 100% on the undesirability of J&J bathrooms. Frankly, before I opened this post I thought it would be a "Help, I have a hundred-year-old house with a J&J bath--what can I do?" kind of thing.

I might be the only one.. but I think having the doors both swing into the bedrooms would be best, or it could just be my ocd to symmetry.

"I generally disagree with Mark about most things"

Do yo like walnuts in your chocolate chip cookies?

No. I'm a purist there, too. :-)

Dried cranberries in chocolate chip cookies, yes. Walnuts, sacrilege.

No walnuts in chocolate chips cookies?!? What is this world coming to?

I knew a house where 5 kids shared a bath that was basically two half-baths (sink/vanity and toilet) with a tub-shower between.

This basically what I want. :-D

One large kids' bathroom, with 2 sinks, 2 potties, 1 tub/shower, and at least 2 windows, would be divine. The male/female sex ratio is skewed heavily toward XY in my family, so my only daughter will be welcome to use the master bath (especially for things like makeup), 'cause I'm not cool enough to give her a bathroom all to herself, lol.

I'm curious as to why so many people don't feel that pocket doors provide the same sound and privacy qualities as a hinged door. I have a pocket door in my master bath and it's just as quiet and private as the door in my guest bath. As a matter of fact, it's the only place the builder installed a solid core door and it's quieter than the other doors.

[...] it's the only place the builder installed a solid core door [...]

I'm gonna take a wild stab at this, lol, and say that being solid core is probably the key element here. If all of the other doors in your home were solid core, you'd likely notice a difference in noise/light penetration (with the pocket being inferior, even if slightly so), since you'd be comparing apples to apples.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here but there's no light or sound penetration with the pocket door. It closes into a recess that has the same effect as a door jamb.

I normally agree with Mark on most points (which is why he is designing my house) - but chocolate chip cookies should remain unadulterated.

While you can get used to just about anything (I spent four years in a college dorm with community bathrooms. With an auto lock. We won't talk about how many times I locked my keys in the bathroom and had to drip down to the front desk in a towel, either) that doesn't make it necessarily an ideal arrangement. Maybe think long and hard about a J&J vs. an extra bathroom or at least just a hall access bathroom with a split between shower/tub and other sections.

It closes into a recess that has the same effect as a door jamb.

Sounds awesome to me! My builder-grade hollow-core doors all permit light and noise to come through. I never really noticed until my daughter complained of light penetration into her bedroom (from the hall) at nighttime. Sure enough, I go in there when everything's dark, shut the door, and it glows.

Maybe you have better trim/jambs/doors than I do? lol

I've never lived with pocket doors -- doubt I ever will because I hate doors on tracks -- and the ones I've seen are from a few decades ago, but are your tracks on the ceiling or the floor? If on the floor, are they a pain to clean? Tracks on the floor would be another reason for me to dislike pockets. ;-)

Pocket doors I’ve had experience with never seem to have as tight seals - at the top/bottom or side -but admittedly I don’t have lots of experience with them. So maybe I’m wrong about the privacy issue. (The one I’m most familiar with doesn’t have a recess)

Mine runs on a track at the top, with about an inch opening at the bottom. It meets the door jamb on the other side, but there is no recess for it to enter. The dogs frequently nose it open. Because they don't like to be shut out of my life.

It's very probably possible to get a better pocket door, but I suspect mine is what most of us are thinking off when we hear the term.