To some degree, it's personal preference, and sometimes, it just depends on how the house ends up. I can see benefits to both. I've never lived in a closet-first house, and I've lived in two bath-first houses. The production home I'm building now also has a bath-first arrangement. I like the idea of not needing to pass through the bathroom when I'm putting away laundry, but I also like the idea of a closer toilet (my husband gets up in the middle of the night). I am in the habit of gathering my clothing *prior* to showering, whereas my husband likes the closet adjacent to the shower so he can go get his clothes afterward. We also like the idea of connecting the closet to the laundry room, and then connecting the laundry to the kids' bathroom (via a door or a pass-through), which requires a [master bed --> master bath --> master closet --> laundry --> kids' hall bath] sequence. I also strongly prefer all bedrooms on the same wing/side of the house. Honestly, I could live happily either way... The houses I grew up in never had a master suite, so I feel lucky to have it. :-)

Our budget right now is $30k. I am not quite sure how much that’ll get me. I have never undertaken anything like this. This will absolutely be something we take on in stages. This space is what we’d like to tackle first and is the largest. In our kitchen at some point we will replace countertops and in our other bathroom we will swap out the toilet, tub and vanity. Luckily the rest of the house is functional for us. I lack the vision and knowledge that a lot of people on here have of being able to see a functional layout in disaster zones lol. My intuition tells me all these spaces can somehow be rearranged to give us what we need. I’m completely wrong, please help. Im also completely fine and understand if it’s impossible, financially or practically to have it all. I do have a consultation with a designer scheduled for this week (so excited), and I’m praying that she’ll have time to take us on as clients but I got excited and wanted to ask the Houzz community first. Thank you !!

We own an old Victorian home that was renovated in 2003, at which time the former owners added a TINY master bath and medium-sized walk-in closet to what I think used to be a stairwell. The time has come for an update to the bath at the very least - the shower is crumbling. In the tiny space allotted (6'x6' minus a chunk that is currently taken up by an unused chimney stack), there is no way to change the layout, but I would really love to gain some extra room for a larger shower. The master closet is larger than I probably need it to be, especially if it were renovated and fitted with proper shelving, etc., so I could theoretically steal some space there. The chimney stack is also on the chopping block, but only if removing it is a) possible and not too expensive; and b) gives us useful space in a new layout. I have been trying to get estimates for the chimney removal, but it's like pulling teeth to get appointments. However, I would love some input on the bathroom and closet layout in general, because I really don't know if the chimney stack space is useful no matter what the cost. Here's the current bathroom floorplan, so you can see what I'm working with. And the rest of the second floor, so you can see how the bath fits in (it's the one on the right side of the drawing below). The closet in the guest bedroom (behind the master walk-in) is more than large enough for our needs, so I would be open to stealing space from that closet and the master, or even bumping out into the bedroom behind the toilet, although I think the wall between bath and guest bedroom may be load bearing. Thanks in advance for your advice!

My first collection of comments are related to your revised drawing/plan: As I look at your revised drawing it doesn't look square. You state that the room is 6x6. But even so I think you will only get about 19-20" between vanity and toilet. Unless you got an 18" vanity, which is what I did in my East Bathroom that is 6.5' wide. If you remove the chimney you could put a window there. I've placed a small window in my West Bathroom, that previously was lacking one, and I love it. In my West Bathroom (I show in the last set of pics) I have a cast iron Kohler shower pan that is 36x60", with glass doors (French). I could see you doing something like that in your room. The curb is about 2" finished floor. Easy to get in and out of. The cast iron is a dream to maintain. Even better might be using a 36x48" pan then have 18" to one side for storage, as you can see in East Bathroom pictures, to the left of the tub. The storage could be in the form of pullouts like a pantry, or cabinets with pullouts like mine. They would be deep, so the pullouts would be very helpful for access. If you did cabinets, the lower drawers wouldn't be as deep, to allow for the toilet. The upper ones could be deeper. The plumbing could be housed in that pocket too. I like the idea of moving that closet wall to give you the width you need for the toilet and vanity. My East Bathroom; to demonstrate 6.5' wide room with 27" toilet round bowl, with 18" vanity. The floor tiles are 6x12 to help with floor scale. The pull outs at the tub are not as deep as the 30" tub, due to the toilet in the way, but are great for storage. roughing in: the pullouts, the plumbing is in there too and you can just sort of see the wall mounted tub fixtures. the pullouts come out as far as that door, just to the toilet tank: This toilet is the Toto Promenade in the round bowl. I love this toilet and would recommend it. But I love Nancy's idea of the wall mounted toilet with the tank in the wall. I have a Bidet on it now as you can just slightly see by the toilet lid in the pic above): These second comments relate to the plan where the chimney stays in place: I like the idea of expanding the shower. Here, a Kohler pan 36x48" could work well. One thing I did in my West Bathroom was a long wall niche that allows for a bit more elbow room. Its the only thing I like about having a niche, because they can get bogged down with products and trap water on the shelf, causing mold. I wipe down my shower daily following the showers. Last one to shower gets the honors. Its a quick wipe down of all walls and glass. Floor gets a clean every couple months, if that, depending on the shower load. I haven't had to "clean" my shower in 4 years, because of my daily habit (that I never had before). So glad I adopted this habit, I did not want the ugly mess that my old acrylic shower/tub combo had become. Since your wall is not an out side wall you could put a niche there. I only place 2 bottles of product on that shelf, lol. Any extra go in a basket that sits on the shower floor at the far end. I have a nice clinical shower stool in there too, with a gray seat that matches the floor. Nice to sit once in a while to let the rain shower head run on me. Having your toilet move down into the new expansion would be great. If you could move the wall 18" you could have that left wall become a wall with shallow built in 15" cabinets. Maybe a even a pass through into the closet for some things. It could even have a counter and uppers sort of like a kitchen. My West Bathroom; 5' shower space, with grab bar, niche, Hansgrohe rain shower head and hand held, and Fantech brand exhaust fan with light on the ceiling. The motor is in the attic and split into two locations in the bathroom, on at the shower and the other at the toilet: French doors, allow me to open the whole thing if needed, but I just use one normally: Kohler shower pan, in remodel process. This one has a center drain: Don't forget the exhaust fan, and a gap under your door to allow for make-up air to enter the room so the fan can work at evaluating the moist shower air. Click any photo for enlargement and full view.