thanks to all who have posted so far, especially Eric. We can probably save/budget down the road for a kitchen redo, or do part of it ourselves. Additions would be a little harder for us except finish work (floors, tile, etc. Can do drywall even but would need to find time to do it). What that kitchen has is a U shaped layout, not too bad except there are overhanging cabinets between a small dining/family space and the kitchen. It's a counter/pass through kind of setup where someone can sit at stools and talk with the person in the kitchen....except the cabinets hang down so the person in the kitchen has to look under them. We would likely tear those out and relocate the stovetop to the perimeter wall and make that pass through an island. Then that entire space could become kitchen/dining. It is possible we could still move out a wall on that (kitchen) side of the house down the road too, we are in Hawaii so all the construction costs are much, much higher than mainland. So jealous of all the posters here who can put on a large extension for less than 50K. Plan A or Plan B will cost us about the same. We don't plan to sell and move anytime soon, but should we need to we're leaning toward sq. footage instead of just extending current bath and upgrading the kitchen. Our neighborhood is about 20 years old so people are beginning to redo those rooms as the fixtures and appliances are ageing. We redid all the appliances about three years ago with stainless finishes, new faucet/sink, and redid the countertop Corian, so the kitchen is livable - just need to clear out some clutter and make smarter usage on available storage space. We could paint or restain the cabinet doors to freshen it up. A few neighbors are creating the "big bang" kitchen now but I'm not certain a 70K upgrade will improve the value that much as a new neighborhood is planned about 5 miles away within the next couple of years. Would we love to live in a "WOW" kitchen, of course. But as with most people we have to make a decision on where it is best to spend the money for now. We could feasibly also add on a 2nd story in future years, but we prefer the single story and if we age-in-place as planned, the new bath will include wide accesses and no-curb shower.

My GC said 4-5 weeks, so my big dog and I moved into a friend's condo with her and her 2 cats. 2 weeks in, they were clearly nowhere close and they provided a schedule showing not done with the bathroom for 8 weeks! My sweet friend said no problem although the animals were driving us both crazy. Then we got to 6 weeks, it was pushed out more, and I said I need to get back in my house. At that point there was a tub with running water, and a toilet within a few days. Several times they had to remove the toilet for tiling or other work, so I used their porta potty outside, then eventually bought this camping toilet to use at night. I showered at the gym. My project included reframing most of the bathroom walls and relocating the fixtures, in conjunction with a kitchen remodel. Much more than simple bathroom remodel. If I did it over, I would have insisted on seeing their schedule before starting work. I think the GC gave me the initial estimate without actually crunching the numbers, and I think they could have done more to prioritize the bathroom completion first (as opposed to the kitchen work, which was lower priority).

MDLN I've thought about that design too! The main challenge would be that there is a window behind the toilet, and I'm not sure if that will work well with the steam room. I'm also torn about a bathtub. Like, would it be worth it to remove the tub for more counter space? Tangerine - The bold black line is the approximate location of the sewer line that we are replacing the - Aqua blue squares are the windows the one above the toilet is 24" -The image fairly close to scale. This was floorplan is my best attempt so far at accurate floor plans - The current placement of the door IS rediculous. We're planning on replacing it and maybe even moving it. I like pocket doors, but my husband worries they don't lock well enough - The walls are 4 inches wide. Our current plan is to remove them completely since they aren't load bearing Patricia -I appreciate the concern with the measurements, but I welcome any layout attempt. If I like an idea and I need more details, I'll work that out. - Yes, I agree that if I want to have a 5x6 shower, I need to move the toilet. Since we're changing the plumbing, and maybe even the water lines, current placement isn't a limiting factor Steam room. the plan is to install something very cheap now to rip out in a few years, with plumbing and drains located in the correct spot for the steam room. I'm worried that some of the other renovations we've planned might damage the vapor barrier. Plus I don't think we have enough money to build it with everything I want without making major compromises somewhere else. We can't keep the current shower because in order to completely remove the castiron, they are going to need to demolish the pan. It's so small it isn't up to code either, and barely useable. The plumber said he put in the plumbing where we need it for future renovations and cap them.

I'll be a contrarian. I would never knowingly rent a room with a shared bathroom in the hall. That would be a complete pass - I don't even like having to use a hallway bathroom in a sleeping situation in which I would share with friends and family because if I need to use it in the night I would have to wake up more/get more decently dressed and I hate having to shlep stuff to take a shower or perform normal grooming stuff in a bathroom. I don't have the horror of viewing a toilet from a bedroom that some houzzers seem to have. It certainly wouldn't bother me on a temporary basis. I have a master bath in my home and I can't remember the last time I actually shut the door. I don't have issues with smells or humidity but perhaps that is because my Toto washlet has a built in deodorizer AND I have an excellent Panasonic fan which runs based on ambient humidity levels. I don't generally even have condensation on shower doors or mirrors after exiting let along huge amounts of humidity wafting through my bedroom. The question really is one of economics. There is a cost to installing the bathroom and OP would need to decide whether they would make up the expense by having increased rent and/or renting it out more frequently. Certainly any prospective renter would see a picture and determine whether they wanted the ensuite with a curtain in the room or use of a bathroom in the hall. Also resale value is a red herring. At such point that OP wanted to sell it would be relatively inexpensive to convert the bathroom into a closet if having the ensuite in that room was a negative.