So you have two issues: the shut-off valves need to be accessible in case you have to shut of water to the bathroom to do repairs, have a leak, etc. That's what's in the access panel in the corner of the room that we're trying to find another place for... The shower valves are behind the handles ("trim"), behind the tile, inside the shower wall. Since you're considering doing away with the access you currently have and creating a finished, tiled wall on that wall, you want to be sure that all the plumbing in there is in top notch shape and won't need replacing soon. In a situation where there's just drywall on the other side of the tiled wall, it's not a big deal to cut out the drywall, replace the valves, replace the drywall, finish and repaint. Doing the same thing on a tiled wall is a lot harder and more expensive. You just need to think about how you'd handle that scenario in the future (for your new shower plumbing) and if I were you, and you have the budget, I'd go ahead and replace the valves in the old shower, from the back of the wall while you're reno-ing the new bathroom. (Although I have only done this from the front/tiled side, I am pretty sure it can be done from the back side without damaging the tile) Then you won't need to remove the old bath's tile at all. Your old bathroom probably has the sort of showerhead/handle/faucet/valve that comes all together as a kit... but in your new shower you're likely to be buying seperate valves & trim. It's kinda confusing, depending on what you're adding (just a showerhead and one control? Or, also a handshower or body jets?) Keep in mind when you start shopping for these parts that if you do it a la carte from Kohler, Grohe, etc, you need to get a valve and trim (that's the guts and the shiny handle) for each component. I was dismayed at first because I found the picture of the handle I wanted on an online plumbing store and thought to myself, well, that's not too expensive!... it was like $100... and then realized that was the TRIM ONLY and I still needed the valve which was another $200!

Hi, I've been thinking about your floor plan since I first saw it and I think it looks nice. I love your stairs. I too thought furniture placement would be difficult with the bathroom door in the middle of your best wall for a dresser. I tried moving your bathroom wall to the left a couple feet. Your bedroom seemed very wide, especially not having room on that wall for furniture. Then I put a linen closet to the left as you enter the bathroom. This allows you to move your bathroom door so that you have wall space for a dresser. The door to the bathroom would then open up against the linen closet. That door would take up 30 inches when open, so you need to have it clear the tub. Unless you do a pocket door. I think I would like a pocket door going to your MB closet. My mom's bedroom was similar in size and it looked great. She also had a chest to the left of the bay window if your room has the length and you move the windows a little. I reconfigured the 3 rd bathroom, now accessible to office too. You also have a linen closet in your much larger hallway at the top of the stairs, which also helps to lengthen the wall in your bedroom for a piece of furniture. I like Mongo's idea of bookshelves on bedroom 4's wall, unless you decide to take that 8 or 10 inches and add that to your bedroom and move the BDRM 4's closet further into that bedroom. You gain you an extra 10 inches in your bedroom! It is probably a very good idea to use graph paper and cut out pieces of scaled furniture and chairs to see how every thing fits.

That does seem like a good idea to flip the toilet enclosure with the shower and remove the linen closet. Then the door to the bathroom would open up against the toilet pocket door wall. The shower area would show up nicely and feel more open without the linen closet. I have a similar entrance hall to my bedroom. Its great since the bedroom is so close to the main activities of the house. It blocks noise and light.

i appreciate your feedback. One door is going from bedroom to bathroom, then another door going from bathroom to WIC. The house is a rambler. We are creating the basement living space into a master bedroom with walk-in bath/closet. The other surrounding space is laundry/storage/utilities