We have a similar setup for our Jack and Jill bathroom. I would eliminate the doors you have circled. That is how we have it and it works great. Makes the spaces less cluttered with all of the doors. This should allow you to put the light switches either just outside the vanity rooms or just inside. If you want pics just let me know and I can post some!

If you could post pics that would be fantastic! I think I need the visual on how the space looks without doors and it might make me feel more comfortable

Here are a few pics from the guest bedroom side. My teenage daughter is still sleeping so I didn't dare go in her room LOL!!

Make the doors into the actual bath pocket doors

I think Minorad has the right answer. My plan has a similar "entry" for my kids/ bedrooms where the closets and my son's bathroom doors are all outside the bedroom. For my daughter's closets, we are just doing a curtain for a door.

On bedroom 3, what do you think of eliminating the closet doors inside the room. Then, when you come in from the little entry, have the sink on the right with the closet straight ahead?

Actually I agree with Mark. The best Jack and Jills is not to have one.

I don’t see a lot of storage for extra towels, tp, etc. and the vanities are tight, and dark with no natural light. A common hall entry and a redesign can give everyone a more pleasant space.

and about bedroom 2’s closet . . . They will have 2 feet of walking space, with the clothes on one side. That’s not much. I fear that closet will become a dark, messy hole.

The other bedroom sharing this J&J is a guest room then I for sure would not do a J&J bathroom and BTW if I use the toilet I need to wash my hands and right now if someone is in the shower I can’t use the toilet either. This Is a poor layout and turning the light off in it the least of the problems with J&J bathrooms. I agree with Mark one nice full bath that is accessed from the hall is so much better all the way around . Also that is not a walk in closet so just make it a place to store towels etc . IMO you need to post the whole floor plan for this floor to get real help.

Consider this concept:

And that W.I.C. will not work as shown.

Nice one Mark

Steph, you mentioned bedroom 4. Where is bedroom 4?

And to further expand on Marks layout - if you turn the tub the long way and put it where he shows the toilet the toilet could remain under the window and then you’d have room for a linen closet or more vanity space.

What is the logic of having hall access to the bathroom? Our jack and Jill bath is perfect for us. It is between our guest bedroom and our teen daughter's room. When we have guests it is very nice for them to not haver to go into the hall to shower. My teen daughter also appreciates the fact that she does not have to go into the hall wrapped in a towel in front of her brother. Our layout is also great because our daughter has her own vanity area that she can close off from the rest of the space when guests are using the shower/toilet area. Our son then has his own bathroom off the hallway. Obviously, we have a master bathroom on the main floor. We then have a half bath which is what any day guests would use as well as additional half bathroom in the basement.

Another concept to think about. Details and sizes would have to be worked out, but it could be a viable option.:

It may be a little more expensive, but the benefits may outweigh the cost.

You may want to post your floor plans for good advice on how to improve them. If the rest of the house is design like that W.I.C., there is room for improvement. If you doo choose to post the plans . . .

WARNING: Posting your entire floor plan opens you up to facts you may not want to know, but should. Be prepared for suggestions that will make for a better design. Keep a thick skin, open mind, sense of humor, and a glass of wine within arms reach. You may not enjoy it, but everyone else will and you will be better off in the long run if you heed well the advice.

bpath reads banned books too, sorry when I said the 4th bedroom I was referring to what is labelled as bedroom 3 on the drawing. I always consider it the 4th bedroom because it is the one that won't be used for our family, only guests.

Here is the whole floor plan for the upstairs. The concept was that every bedroom has access to it's own bathroom and Bedroom 3 on the drawing is meant to be extra space for guests with access to a bathroom IF our bedroom/ensuite bathroom in the finished basement is occupied by other guests already

How much are you willing to change? I think a lot of this is wasted spaces and unnecessary doors. We have four beds up and three baths as well. But you have a lot of space poorly used in your layout.

Well I’m sad to say that we can’t really change a lot (If anything). The permit package has alrasy been submitted. I just wanted to post the floor plan so people could see that we weren’t too concerned about the bedroom 3 and convenience to the jack and Jill because all other bedrooms had bathrooms attached to them as well. I specifically asked for all the bedrooms to be in different corners of the house so they would be very separate and private so a new born wouldn’t wake a toddler when crying at night and a teenager blasting their music wouldn’t bother their sibling who was studying

I would ditch the Jack and Jill bath for sure and make it a hallway bath. I would make the new shared bathroom smaller too and increase at least the 10x10 room in size.

Bed #2 gets to hear the water running in master shower, toilet flushing and any parental arguments. Plan for good soundproofing for that wall.

If you shift the doors that enter the toilet shower compartments 6” or so towards the exterior wall, would you not have room for a switch on the hinge side of those doors in the vanity space. That would be for the vanity area.

I also just noticed with the layout you have your bathrooms are mostly on exterior walls. And very spaced out over the floor. Our master bath and girls bathroom are back to back which is nice for keeping it quiet in the bedrooms and also plumbing all near each other.

There is a lot of things I would do differently (surprise surprise) but one thing I would advise is to flip the shower with the watercloset space and add a window to the watercloset space so you can see outside while sitting there.

Master bedroom: There should be a window on each side of the bed, in addition to the one window already shown. This will allow for more light, as well as better ventilation/cross breeze.

Master bathroom: The toilet and shower should be switched, so that there will be a window (that can be opened) for ventilation.

Bedrooms #2 and #4: Both bedrooms need a second window for light and ventilation.

You mentioned light switches for the bathroom. At the master bedroom entry, where will the switches be? Will you be able to operate them easily without moving a door?

The windows on more than one side is such a Houzz thing. I’ve never lived in a house with this. My current custom home also doesn’t have it. You also can’t just add something from the inside without it impacting the exterior.

The light switches for the master bath will be inside the doorway. We were able to make it work that way with the vanity design which was tweaked after these drawings were done

for the master bedroom, I requested to not have windows on either side of the bed

Steph, I meant coming into the master bedroom from the hall.

This is our first build and my first Houzz post and I have now learned that I should ask questions here before we apply for permits! For the most part I was pretty happy with the design in the drawings given what some of our requests were for the house and also trying to keep to a budget. I understand some of the suggestions people have brought up in this thread and I appreciate all the feedback. There were a few things that we tried to slightly change as well but it would have affected other elements of the house design that we didnt want to change. To get a “perfect“ design plan and include all our requests would have meant more square footage and we will have just over 4000 square feet of living space already in this house which is already more than we need and going bigger was out of the budget. Going into this I thought this would be the one and only time I would build, but I have a feeling we will do it again now that I have learned so much and have actually enjoyed it!

bpath reads banned books too, we moved the master bedroom double doors over to the left so that they left door can open to an angle that allows the light switch to be closer to the doors when entering the room.

I would bet there are architects that could have designed a more efficient design for you that would have saved you money. (I am looking at the dance floor in the master bedroom and in the hallway, and the "open to below" two story entry)

"The windows on more than one side is such a Houzz thing. I’ve never lived in a house with this. My current custom home also doesn’t have it."

Hubs and I live in a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom tract home. All four bedrooms have windows on two walls. We bought this house in 1990, when it was in the framing stage. The only changes we made to the standard plan were the addition of extra phone jacks and cable TV jacks, and gas log lighters for both fireplaces. Windows on two walls in bedrooms is not that unusual.

Bit of a moot point now though Mark. I agree with you fully. Our top floor is 1100 square feet of efficiency that feels large. But it is what it is.

My opinion stands that the J&J should go. That can easily be done even with permit package in.

You clearly have a lighting plan done. Can you share it? If that’s what the main concerns are currently?

The lighting plan hasn't been completed. We were just discussing some concerns about light placement with the builder. We haven't met with the electrician yet.

Mark, the builder tried to talk us out of the two storey entry but it was something that I really wanted to have

@Lindsey_CA I never said it was unusual. I meant it was a commonly referenced thing on Houzz. In almost every plan posted someone says put in a window on more than one wall without knowing a single thing about the site or how close it is to neighbours etc. That's all.

I grew up in a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom (two bathrooms behind the barn) bungalow built about 1910. Each bedroom had two exterior walls and each of those walls had a window. I recommend just about any room that has an exterior wall to have a window in each one, even if it looks out to a neighbor's window. It still provided natural light and opportunity for cross ventilation within the room.

Like I said I’m not saying they are unusual big picture. I continue to say Houzz folk are really into identifying this as a perceived issue.

I was in permitting too and my hubby and i realized we weren’t happy with our plan. We pulled it out of permitting and redid it and it was the smartest thing we did because we now have a beautiful house that is perfect for us and our lifestyle. And now during social distancing we are even more thankful

I would eliminate the doors you have circled.

Agree. Too many doors. I really like J&J bathrooms -- when they're done well. The problem is that they're so rarely done well, and this one is no exception: what we see here is a bathroom made up of four small rooms, each containing one bathroom piece. The pieces will be choppy and small.

I like the idea someone presented for one comfortable bathroom opening into the small hallway, but eliminate the mid-bath door /keep it all in one room. One large vanity with a single sink and plenty of drawer storage. Simple, classic, functional. A bathroom shared between only two children is quite a luxurious thing -- even if it's off a hallway.

To get a “perfect“ design plan and include all our requests would have meant more square footage and we will have just over 4000 square feet of living space already in this house which is already more than we need and going bigger was out of the budget.

Eh, no. "Perfect" doesn't mean larger /doesn't mean more expensive. Good layout doesn't cost more than mediocre layout.

Like I said I’m not saying they are unusual big picture. I continue to say Houzz folk are really into identifying this as a perceived issue.

Natural light is something that pretty much everyone likes /responds to very positively -- but people often underestimate its importance. As I think back over the houses I've lived in, all the rooms I've enjoyed most have had good natural light.

Mrs Pete I agree I just don’t think multiple windows is the only way to get light. Our bedroom window in each room is huge and 80”x40” that’s a lot of light. I’d rather have one well placed window that streams in light then ones that face my neighbours deck and I feel obligated to keep shades drawn on as a result.

I am giving a thumbs up for a J&J bathroom. Works for us over 2 houses (both designed by the same person). This design - not so great.

That is a good amount of wasted space upstairs. And bed #3 is 10.5 x 10. That is an insulting size in a house this large. In other words, that child or guest is going to think they are 2nd (or 3rd.) This while you have 15+x17+ and the other bedrooms are a bit bigger.

I have built 2 houses about this size. 13x13 is my standard in a large house. That is 169 sqft vs your 105 on bed #3. Just by math, that is 60% larger. Math doesn't tell the whole story of course. It will feel a bit bigger because of the hallway and the 2 windows on separate walls.

But to the original question - leave off the doors.

And I would probably build a double wall (or comparable) with that shower and Bed #2. That is a big noise issue. I wouldn't worry a ton about "discussions" but you will need to make sure the bathroom door is closed.

Pocket doors and night lights is your cure.

I steer away from the "always do" or "always don't" kind of mentality as most design problems are far more complex to be put into that kind of box. And that's true for Jack and Jill baths and windows on two sides of rooms. Sure, for the latter I shoot for that but often other stuff is going on, unapparent to the typical Houzz critic. My job is to look at options that strikes a balance of all design considerations and for that an open mind is needed.

Jack and Jill layout issue. Your answer is in your headline. These layouts are issues and better options are available.