Olychick - the painter was DH :) He painted both rooms at the same time and used 1 can for the first coat and 1 can as the second coat, so I know it's the same color. 1929Spanish - I think it is the different light and exposure. The bathroom gets limited southern light from a window in the toilet room and the closet gets more direct northern light. Plus the warm gray paint probably looks more ivory against the cooler gray carrara. I actually love pale gray and creamy ivory together so I'm not really complaining - I'm just really surprised how different the same paint color looks in these side by side rooms. This is the house we are selling. The master was the last project in our 16 year remodeling adventure with this house :) We bought a fixer upper farmhouse in Tennessee so that's next after we sell and move. I do like this bathroom though - wish we had done it sooner. Maybe I'll do the same master bathroom in the Tennessee house!

I would opt for bigger bath and one shared closet. Would overall be less cramped for space. If you do the closet with a wall closet system with various drawers and hangers there is more than ample space for you both. If not, then you have too many clothes. In my closet I have 3 drawers and a hanger above those in multiple areas, then I have hangers for long clothes, and we have corner shelving and shelves for storage on top. Lots of space. Shoe rack on the floor under the long clothes.

RES 3d: Yes, I was being a bit hyperbolic in my comments because that room drives me nuts. I'm a thin guy, and my shoulders are 22 inches wide. Having only a 2-foot circle free to stand in is still a silly little space. The bigger point is, though, that the designer (this could not have been an architect) completely ignored the function of a pocket door--it's to save space. They used pocket doors on the entrance to two big rooms (where they weren't needed) and in the one space that could use a pocket door--the 'gas chamber'--they didn't use it!!! Ridiculous. As for the access for the shower plumbing, yes, it might not be needed. The shower control cartridge can be replaced from the front. But if they tile that wall all the way up on the bathtub side and do eventually need access, it's a major project that will involve matching the (probably discontinued) tile. This project has HGTV written all over it.

Some thoughts: A hot water recirculating pump is the next best thing to an electric water heater right at the faucet. I have hot water in my shower and everywhere in 6 seconds. Small expense. Saves water. Instant gratification many times a day. A shower only *needs* to be big enough for an adult to face the spray and rotate with his elbows out. People of any age benefit from a hand-hold at the spray and at the door. Shower seats are dangerous and awkward to clean. Our hand-held spray is adjustable on a vertical bar -- no additional, stationary spray. A swinging shower door is easy to wash; must be far enough from the spray not to require a side seal. Our MBA would be drafty without it's own door. Spend for a *powerful* exhaust fan. I'm glad we installed floor heat under the bathroom tile. We have two large pedestal sinks with 'laying space' on them. Two mirrored-in-and-out 'medicine' cabinets are sunk 5" into the walls above the sinks -- doors close flush with the walls. A full closet holds towels, toilet paper, bottles, soaps, cleaning supplies. There's no stooping to root through lower cabinets, and the room looks larger. I find pocket doors cumbersome for daily use. They have a less secure 'seal', and the sliding motion is unnatural for me. We have only two, on our his/hers walk-in closets, and only close them for 'company'.