Do what functions best for your needs. I like a single sink and space on the vanity. Having one sink also results in more space for drawers and cabinet space.

I prefer one sink and more counterspace but there is no one correct answer. Do what fits your needs.

Not important, especially in an older home where bathrooms are sensibly sized. (I suppose a new McMansion or a large home would have a larger bathroom and it might be expected for resale.)

But if you like to wash up by your partner, go for it. I think you should do what works for you--there are no "musts" here.

You should get what will work best for your needs. I would opt for more counterspace.

Interesting that many are in favor of one sink. I'm partial to one and more counter. There is an adjacent hall bath that DH uses for sink needs. No kids are at home, so that one is always open.

I don't know why anyone ever wants two sinks in a bathroom. When is the last time you actually wanted to sit in a bathroom side by side with anyone both using a sink for any length of time?

Unless you have an absolutely PALATIAL bathroom with enough room for two adults to actually be in there the same time without getting in each others' way, it's nearly pointless.

I don't have the sense that a double vanity is especially functional for most people, but except in a small house, it now seems to be necessary for resale anyway -- maybe more aspiration on the part of buyers than reality, especially if they've never had one.

For couples who do need two sinks, it would be more functional to have one in the bathroom and one outside it in the main bedroom, an arrangement I occasionally see in hotel rooms. In general no one wants another person, even a spouse, to use a sink in the same room while they are using one of the other fixtures.

A couple of years ago, at a conference, I shared a dorm suite with several other people. The bathroom had three sinks but no one ever used one while another person was in the shower.

We like two small sinks because we are often waking up and go to sleep at the same time. We would never buy a home with only one sink in the master bathroom. However, if you’re planning on staying there for some time, remodel it exactly like you want it.

Maybe that's why I don't like them for masters but think they have their place for kids' baths--they are too much like dorms!

I prefer one sink off set to one side. This way 2 people can be using the mirror at the same time. It's not often 2 people need the sink at the same time; it's usually styling hair, trimming a beard, putting in contacts etc. That way both can be in there and you get the benefit of better storage.

We've always had two sinks as we frequently were getting ready for work at the same time. If this isn't an issue for you, it may be an issue for some potential buyers when you sell. Having two sinks and a bit less counter space is also an incentive to not have the vanity look like the clearance table at a drug store. I also have to admit that I'm territorial and hate to have someone else's hair and toothpaste residue greet me when I go to use a sink.

You might also want to consider whether having one large sink and two faucets is a compromise between utility and retaining counter space:

One sink, two faucets

This really depends on the size, market value, and location of your home. In some places 2 sinks are de rigueur (generally, large homes in the suburbs built after ~1990), and in others 1 sink with a large vanity is just fine (urban areas and older homes where square footage is more limited). Look at homes of comparable value near you on Zillow and see what they have.

FTR if you mean it as a poll, I prefer 1 sink with more counter space and storage space.

On the necessity of 2 sinks, lol coming from a granny. Who really wants to use the bathroom at the same time as someone else, never understood this. When I grew up we had one bathroom, 4 kids and 2 adults, we all managed to get ready for school and work, individually using the bathroom with no problem. Not saying this is optimum, but certainly a husband and wife or any two people should be able to very easily schedule bathroom time.

And Tozmo, not criticizing you, sorry, just making an observation on today's world, guess I'm getting too old.

Thanks all for the insights. I'm really torn as it seems either way is good depending on conditions in the household.

So here's a second question. The bathroom isn't big and I'm not changing the footprint. I drew a sketch of the floor plan below. What if ripped out the closet, opened up the space and made it a second vanity with or without a sink? I've drawn it to true color, Harvest Gold!

What is your goal? More openness in the bathroom?

A vanity without a sink is kind of old school, IMO. But, changing the closet to cabinetry, with drawers below and cabinet doors above, might be nice.

A single sink with more counter space AND more storage space in the vanity is preferable - at least to me ... IMO when I see two sinks crammed next to each other I think it looks ridiculous and seems less than functional ... I don't have the sense that a double vanity is especially functional for most people

This.

Two sinks is overkill, to me. People can’t brush their teeth at the same time? Why not two toilets and two showers as well then in there? I mean, that’s what you need if you’re getting ready at the same time, I think. Are people really cutting it that close getting ready for work or whatever that the two minutes it takes to brush is what makes or breaks you? We have a 5x7 bathroom, and if I take one step back or to the side, someone can get in the medicine cabinet and get their toothbrush and toothpaste. Sorry i’m so late every day but I had to brush my teeth and someone was using the sink. Ha, ive used the kitchen sink when things have happened in a morning and i had to rush.

I no more want to see my husband spitting toothpaste into the sink, than he wants to see me spitting toothpaste into the sink. One person at a time in the bathroom. Some spaces are personal, the bathroom is one of them. No need for 2 sinks. Our last house we had 3 bathrooms, but only one of them was on the same floor as the bedrooms. My family of 4 was all able to get to work or school without having to share the bathroom at the same time. .

If you have a separate area where you put on makeup and don't need counter space, I think a double trough could work. They're especially handy for bathing babies if you're in that age group. How efficient is hubby and cleaning up hairs after he shaves? That's another thought.

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What are the actual dimensions of the room?

Because it does not look like there is enough room for one person to walk past the other.

Vanity is 5'5" which is too small, IMO, to fit two sinks. In your configuration, one person will be squeezed up next the the wall AND blocking the doorway. Does not look like a two person bathroom even for those who don't mind multiple users at the same time.

We have a long vanity with two sinks. A while back, we couldn’t use one of them due to a plumbing issue. I didn’t miss it all, and if I could, would get rid of it and have more counter space.

Nothing is a must, but a want. Just weigh the pros and cons in regards to your needs and routines.

I don’t have competition in the bathroom but I do like to soak delicates in the second sink leaving the other to brush my teeth. I also don’t like clutter on the counter so don’t need the extra counter space.

Still sounds like a single sink is slightly ahead in opinions. I think I'm leaning that way as it's also a good for the budget, less plumbing costs. BTW, the bathroom designer I'm working with told me 65" is the minimum for a two sink vanity. Tight, but it meets a minimum standard apparently.

The room isn't very big but it is the en suite bath to the primary bedroom. That closet is huge and has a lot of wasted space because it's so deep. It's hard to keep up with what is at the back so stuff just collects until I do an annual clean out. I'm trying to figure out a way to open up the room visually while making it more functional.

I added some dimensions (clearly my drawing isn't to scale)

Here's some pics of the wall that has the shower and closet. It really closes in the room. I'm actually surprised to know that it's a square room, not rectangular. Imagine this space with a glass shower and the closet opened up somehow. Just opening up the space above the shower and closet should help visually. If anyone has any ideas of how to better use the space and open up the room, I'm all ears! Don't you just love the paneling? That was big in my neighborhood at the time as I've seen it in other houses that haven't been remodeled.

A deep closet or works really well.

Change it to drawers and also have rollouts installed.

I have a few deep cabinets which I kept as doors instead of drawers for aesthetic reasons and I had the configured with rollouts. I have rollouts under my sink cabinet (kitchen and baths).

No one ever has too much storage. I have a closet in my master bedroom which I pass on the way into the bedroom and when I customized my closet interiors I chose to have a "bureau" installed in the portion closest to the master bath door and it is so functional because I keep underwear; sleepwear; work out gear - e.g. the kind of items that are frequently put on in a bathroom. You would have the same type of functionality with a large closet with drawers and rollouts. The very top shelf I use to store items which I don't access frequently or at all.

One less sink to clean gets my vote.

I think a linen closet should be no more than 18” deep so things don’t get lost. This would open up the area near the door. Especially if the door was moved a few inches towards the closet, hinged on closet side.

One less sink to clean gets my vote.

This tickled me, because having cleaned the upstairs bathroom sink thoroughly three days ago, I was just thinking that it needed a touch-up.

I have the same thought as decoenthusiaste - I don’t feel like my husband is good at rinsing the sink and after 7 years of sharing a master bathroom sink, I am happy to have my own clean sink in our new home. He also tends to make the sink get clogged (not sure how), but is not good about snaking it, so now I don’t need to deal with that either and as I do 99% of house care and maintenance, he can deal with his own sink when he feels like it.

You have a nice size bedroom. if you want two sinks you coul move the shower to where the closet is and move the toilet to where the shower is. Put a wall between the shower and toilet with shower controls.

install a long vanity on the vanity wall.

In my opinion, the double sink thing is a fad invented by hgtv. kind of like ”open concept” i much prefer more space and less sink. in all of our years of marriage, not once have my husband and i found it mandatory to be in the bathroom getting ready at the same time. but they always show couples showing disdain for anything less than 2 sinks, no matter what the size of the bathroom. we are currently renovating, with about 16’ of cabinets/counter, but we chose to have one sink. much neater looking, and only one sink to clean.

In my opinion, the double sink thing is a fad invented by hgtv.

I think that there is some truth in that.

<rant> The only full bathroom in my 1951 house is 6×7 feet. According to TV and magazines, I ought to sacrifice the second-largest bedroom to expand the hall bath and create an absolutely palatial en suite bath for the main bedroom, a bathroom that would be larger than the third bedroom. From the point of view of eventual sale, this would be disastrous, because the third bedroom is so small that most potential buyers wouldn't even consider it a bedroom; with the second bedroom converted to bathrooms, they'd consider it a one-bedroom house. </rant>

What will be next? Two toilets per bathroom?

Thanks all for your thoughts. It's such a crazy time to be deciding how to renovate. Over the past two years my thinking has gone from moving the wall of the bathroom and closet beside it one or two feet into the somewhat large primary bedroom they serve to create more space for both, to simply updating the existing bathroom footprint and layout. Budget, life changes and the fact that this real estate market has gone nuts should I ever decide to sell, makes me think less is better.

Totally agree with the HGTV impact. Young folks buying houses today expect perfection. And then they see the prices, at least in this market, and are happy to find anything under 300K. Sort of a shame what's going on for first time home buyers. Our first house was a major fixer upper and we were so proud of it. My MIL came for a visit and later told my SIL, "I hope some day they can afford something nice." LOL, we fixed it up (did most of the work ourselves) and made a nice profit when we had to sell for a job move.

I really appreciate everyone's thinking. The sad part is, with what's going on in my neighborhood, my beloved home will probably be torn down if I ever decide to sell. Who is buying these $1 -2M homes that get build in place of tear downs?

If you are living in an area with $1-$2m tear downs, then make your bathroom decisions just based on your own needs and likes, not on resale. Sounds like whom ever buys your place would either rip it down or gut the bathroom anyway.

I personally prefer one sink and more counter space. My husband and I share a bathroom and we are perfectly content spitting into the same sink.

I prefer one sink. I like the extra storage and counter space.

I think it is a size and space consideration. I prefer my own sink to keep it tidy. I prefer my own station to brush my teeth along with my own handtowel and washcloth. But - I've just gotten used to it - I am sure I could adjust to one sink without too much trauma. ;-)

The discussion of H&G TV expectations is a valid one as I remember visiting my aunt's new home in the suburbs which was built in the late 1960's. It had an ensuite bathroom which seemed like the height of bourgeois elegance to me - having been raised in New York City where even private homes generally had shared household bathrooms.

It was tiny - probably smaller than what some people *demand* of their closets - only large enough for a small single sink, toilet and small stall shower. But it certainly served the purpose since it is quite nice to not have to get dressed in order to use a communal hall bathroom - or to have the abiity to leave "personal" stuff out and not hidden away or carried back to one's bedroom.

I do think a lot of less than functional design choices are because design choices that make sense in large homes then trickle down to the masses. I feel this is true when I see free standing tubs crammed into the space where a built in tub used to be - free standing tubs are aesthetic when they work as a sculptural element in a large bathroom and are actually freestanding - in a normal size bathroom they look ridiculous - at least in my opinion and are less functional than a built in.

Similarly the "toilet room" makes little sense unless it is truely a large room in a large bathroom. I live in a high rise condo with a smallish but not tiny en suite. Recently someone remodeled and I was trying to figure out where they moved the toilet since I had never seen a toilet moved in any remodel in my building. I finally figured out (with the help of my GC who knew the GC in the unit) what had been done. For some unknown reason the toilet had been moved so that it could have its own "compartment" - perhaps it was the size of an airplane bathroom or perhaps smaller because it literally was the depth of my non-walk-in closet. To what possible purpose was this compartment constructed as it was less functional than the original configuration and the original configuration wasn't terrible aesthetically since the *horror* of the toilet was between the wall and the wall of the shower - not that I have a terror of seeing a toilet in a bathroom anyway :-)

I don’t agree that two sinks is an HGTV inspired thing. As a kid in the ’70s to ’80s, my parents had two sinks in various houses they had built, as did most everyone we knew.

I am sorry to be the contrarian... but for us two sinks are really a must. My wife and I often use our respective sinks at the same time and we have for years and I wouldn't want to share hers, nor she mine. We used our separate sinks simultaneously (right next to each other) in our smaller bathroom that I suspect predated television and certainly HGTV.

My wife and I enjoy getting ready next to each other. In the mornings, if I am teaching an early class, I will wake her when I am done working out and we get ready together. In the evenings, we don't necessarily go to bed at the same time but we do get ready for bed together. I especially enjoy our morning conversations and that is where we typically discuss our respective schedules. Those are things I will not readily give up.

My husband and I also use the vanity together (more at night than in the morning). It is 60" long with a sink in the middle. So we each have our own "side" with our own counter space, our own set of drawers, our own outlet, etc. -- and the sink in the middle. It works fine to stand there at the same time.

That was a reason we went with two sinks...tired of banging one another with our elbows, tired of taking turns re-setting the water temp back and forth depending on what we each were doing, not excited about spitting toothpaste in the sink at the same time as another person was doing something else, or me shaving over the sink while she was trying to wash her face or put on makeup. Bottomline: not how we wanted to start our workday. 😆

My ideal bathroom, if needing two sinks, would have them separated … both with lots of counter space.

A gal can dream! ;)

We've always dual sinks and I honestly cannot imagine sharing. We often get ready at the same time. We each have room to store our products in our own drawers. Our vanity was custom built with a drop-down makeup area in the middle, the total length is roughly 12 feet. We also have a toilet room and I prefer it, rather than it being out in the open.

tozmo, only you can answer the question if you need two sinks.

I have a 72" vanity w/two sinks and my husband and I use the same sink. even if we happen to be in there at the same time! I'm like, "Can't you use the other sink??" as he hovers over mine w/his toothbrush! hilarious. doesn't happen that often that we are both in there together.

Do you and yours shower and wash at the same time?

what about counter space? do you use a lot of items? perhaps that is more necessary than two sinks.

what I would suggest is doing a wall mount faucet (with either one or two sinks) It's nicer for clean up and gives you a bit more space on the counter

kudzu9, apparently you miss read my post. One person at a time in the bathroom. We consider the bathroom as a private personal place.

functionthenlook- My comment wasn't directed at you...

Thanks all, I'm leaning toward a single sink for more counter space since DH uses a sink in the other bathroom. He has as much stuff on the counter as I do! I like the idea of a wall mounted faucet, especially since the walls are paneling now which once removed for the drywall, should make it easy to change the plumbing.

A friend suggested looking into a cabinet made for a pantry so I checked it out. More depth and good height and it has roll out shelves, as was suggested above, and i can get drawers if I want. So maybe that's the solution when I remove the closet. At least that way it won't make the room look so closed in and will provide good storage.

Thanks for all your thoughts on this!

I also don’t like clutter on the counter so don’t need the extra counter space.

It's not so much about the counter space as the drawer space underneath. If you go with a single sink, you can have more drawers -- and the drawers will absorb all the clutter that would otherwise pile up on the counter top.