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Bathrooms Design Dilemma Remodeling

Ideas for changing small en suite layout

3 years ago

We have a very small en suite bathroom. It’s the bottom one in the floor plan.

Here is what we are currently thinking, but I would love feedback on if we should consider doing things differently:

Hall bath:
Make the hallway bath a half bath to add square footage to the en suite.

We have a full bathroom with tub upstairs so removing this tub/shower isn’t a concern for us.

I am not sure about how much square footage we will actually gain and whether or not it will make a big difference.

We briefly considered moving our washer dryer in here (currently in the basement) but I think it would feel too cramped and this bathroom gets a ton of use because it’s the main bathroom on this floor.

We would move the toilet to the wall where the tub is currently, facing the vanity.

En suite:

Switch the location of the shower and vanity. The current shower is so small I don’t use it.

This room is potentially wider due to taking square footage from the hall bath.

Notes:

Our sinks aren’t as large as shown. We have a lot of counter space but I didn’t want to spend my time changing the sizes of the sinks.

There is a wall between the en suite shower and the hallway bath tub, but I was having a bit of trouble with the floor plan app. The measurements of the shower are accurate, the tub is slightly smaller than shown because of the wall between the rooms.

We know moving plumbing is costly, but our current bathroom isn’t functional for us the way it is now. They are the original 50s bathrooms, and while in pristine shape, as I mentioned above I don’t even use our en suite shower.

Featured Answer

PRO

Sharon Brindley Designs

3 years ago

You could do something like this, without moving the toilets (to save budget by keeping sewer pipes in the same spot). Per your notes, converted hallway washroom to combined laundry/powder room (you’d want to put bifold doors to screen off washer and dryer and if you put a counter on top of the dryer, you’d be able to do some folding and add shelves above for storage of laundry supplies). Questions: are you willing to move the doors? Are you willing to move the toilets? Lastly, shower is 36” x 60” and I’ve replaced the en-suite door to a surface mounted barn door to reduce congestion at the vanity.

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Comments (10)

Hoot DuJour
Original Author
3 years ago
Anyone?
PRO
Sharon Brindley Designs
3 years ago
How many bedrooms on this floor?
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Thanks for the feedback all. So clearly the consensus is door. I just hope I can work that out. This is a small bath being added on over the top of a kitchen addition on the first floor. Access to it will be through a window approximately 30 inches wide. At present the window is part of a whole wall of oak built-ins original to the house (built in 1907). Thus the window is set about 20 inches deep into an enclosure which consists of matching 40 inch wide by 20 inch deep cupboards on either side, a window seat below and molding/valance affair above. So, since I want to keep the cupboards and moldings joining the two sides over the window, I may need to get a custom sized door. I think a pocket door might work, recessing it into the newly built wall behind the original oak cupboards. Or, if it turns out that the pony wall planned to corral the toilet area won't work, I'll do a door that hinges on the left and swings inward, blocking the view of the toilet. I just KNOW that this is going to turn out to be horribly complicated in real life.! >
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millworkman
3 years ago
"Our sinks aren’t as large as shown. We have a lot of counter space but I didn’t want to spend my time changing the sizes of the sinks."

Well you really should as that effects the scale of the bathrooms. You expect people to offer free advice an then state that. Is everything else to scale as the toilets' look considerably off to me. Does both vanity topes truly reach each wall? Are you prepared for the expense of moving the plumbing? How do these rooms relate to the surrounding areas? How many people live in the home? Are these the only bathrooms in the home? Does the shower actually back into the other bathroom? Where is the shower plumbing?
Hoot DuJour
Original Author
3 years ago
There are two bedrooms on this floor, one is an office.
Hoot DuJour
Original Author
3 years ago
I can see what you’re saying about the sinks, I am just certain they will be removed. The vanities are to scale so I thought that was more important. Yes, both vanity tops truly touch each wall.

Yes, we are prepared for the expense of moving the problem. The en suite bathroom does not work for us because the shower is so small. I’m trying to get a sense of if just flipping the shower and vanity will be enough or if much more will be gained by removing some square footage from the other bathroom and removing that room’s tub and shower.

These rooms are in between two bedrooms, one is and has been used as an office for the last 30 years.

There is an additional full bathroom upstairs and an additional two bedrooms.

There is an additional half bath in the basement.

The shower actually backs into the other bathroom, the plumbing is in the wall which I realized I should have included but messed up on the floor plan. The en suite shower size is accurate - the hall bath’s tin and shower is a bit shorter as a result of needing to account for the wall in between.

I will have to go back into the floor plan app to check on the toilet size. The bathrooms, especially the en suite is very tight.
PRO
Sharon Brindley Designs
3 years ago
You could also do something like this but it will be much more expensive but gives you a really nice en-suite. Changed both doors into pocket doors
er612
3 years ago
Hoot DuJour
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi Sharon, thank you so much. Your first post is what I had envisioned originally so it’s validating to see a professional thinks that is the best use of space.

We can’t move the en suite door because that is the wall our bed is on and we would prefer not to put the bed on the opposite wall because of windows and a radiator.
Hoot DuJour
Original Author
3 years ago
Sharon, forgot to add that we are willing to move toilets.

Er612 - interesting layouts I never would have thought of.

Thank you both! You’ve given me some fresh perspective on these spaces.

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