Perfecting the Master Bath Layout
The conversion of an odd “L” shaped bedroom next to the master bedroom into an en-suite master bath has been in the works since the first time we set foot in the house. And figuring out the perfect master bath layout has been elusive to say the least… Until now. Finally, I have a plan that I believe will be perfect! [Feature image (above) from 1930 edition of Modern Plumbing and Heating Systems – See full image]
I have previously discussed elements of my vision including my plan to use part of the space in the current first floor half bath as a chase-way for running plumbing, electrical, and such, to the second and third floor last December. I also made the big decision in April that rather than have a beautiful (but unused) bathtub, it makes far more sense to have a separate private toilet room where I can “drop a Trump” in complete privacy.
When we moved in, back in January of 2018 (a full year after we bought the house), we had visions that we’d have both the master bathroom and bedroom completely remodeled and that by the end of Summer (2018), we would be happily settled into our master suite. Well…. Twenty months later, those now grandiose visions are nowhere closer to reality than they were the day we moved in.
Except that’s not entirely true… While almost nothing has been done in the physical space (the two rooms comprising the master suite have remained empty from day one), a lot of the formulation of what we want has been churning in my head with more and more refinements as we move forward.
[Image: The odd shaped room for the master bath is difficult to capture, but this is a general idea of where we are starting. The original plan had a shower in the far corner, then a tub, and now a private toilet room. The chimney breast is on the right side of this image and you can see where there was once a hook-up for a portable gas lamp. Also… Those cracks are now resolved.]
[Image: Digging through my images, this is the best I could find of the master bedroom. The closet on the far left was added in the 70s or 80s and is blocking the door to the future master bath in previous image.]
Where We’re Starting:
As you can see, the rooms aren’t much to write home about, but together they will make the perfect master suite with about 320 square feet of bedroom, bathroom, and walk in closet. Not bad given that 320 square feet is larger than at least four of my past apartments. The master bedroom itself is about 200 sq ft leaving about 120 sq ft for the bath and closet.
[Image: This is the original configuration of our second floor of the main house. The plan is to make this entire floor our master suite.]
Back to the point…. Turning the “L” shaped room into a bathroom and walk-in closet has been a challenge in space planning. While I am all for making the necessary changes where needed, I also want to preserve as much of the original interior as possible. This means that walls and doorways will remain in place and the new space will fit within the existing footprint of the bedroom. It also means that I am committed to matching the door and window casings to the originals elsewhere in the house and using vintage four-panel doors acquired via salvage.
Issues With My Original Plan:
My first plan back when we purchased the house was to turn the end of the room into a large walk-in shower with a window… But that’s not happening… If you have been around a while, you may remember the scary structural issues we had to address shortly after buying the house. While the issues have been resolved and the house is sound once again, our structural engineer advised against putting a shower in that location should there be any future movement, and sure enough in the past two years, there are some hairline cracks from settling (fortunately, nothing to be concerned about). Putting a tiled wall into the corner is asking for trouble, any issues in the future could be hidden where we could not see them. So if we can’t put a shower there, what about a clawfoot tub? Wouldn’t that be lovely to sit in front of the window in a nice deep tub?
[Image: After realizing that a shower in the corner by the window was a no-go, a tub seemed to be the solution.]
Tub debate aside, I was struggling with what to do with the awkward space between the original hall door to the bedroom and the rear of the shower. I need the door for another spot, so I figured I would just seal up the door and utilize the space in the closet. Easy peezy.
[Image: This is the master bath layout that I think works best for the odd shaped room which I am fitting it into.]
After ditching the tub idea for a private toilet room, everything began to fall into place and as of this last week, I finally have a formal plan which will go to the architects to make into drawing for our contractor (more about the contractor in a bit). As you can see, it will actually be a sizable space, with plenty of room to move about. The goal is to have a mid-range bath with a few luxury perks including heated floors.
The shower will be approximately 40″x60″, with a bench seat at the end. This is ample space for a shower, and larger than anything either of us have ever had before. There will be a rain-head above and a handheld with the option to have both or either running at the same time. I had long dreamed of a shower with carwash nozzles both front and rear, but after looking at how much that adds to the budget, I decided it isn’t worth it in the end. The overhead and handheld will be plenty.
The awkward space between the closed up doorway and the shower mentioned above? It dawned on me that just by moving the door so that it opens into the hallway, I can use that space as a linen closet, something I have never had as an adult. It also preserves the original doorway which I want to preserve in keeping with the integrity of the house.
The private toilet room will be situated next to a window and I plan to incorporate an interior window in the dividing wall to bring light into the bathroom. One luxury perk will be to plumb and wire the toilet area for a fancy Toto-Washlet. I have no doubts as we age, we will love the luxury of a warm seat and heated water to wash our bum.
In my original plan, I was thinking that the only place I could put a sink is behind the door which is clearly not going to work, so once the tub was gone and toilet in a separate space, there emerged a spot for the sink, right where it should be. I am super excited about the sink and will reveal more in my materials post. As for the awkward space behind the door (which was originally a 12″ deep closet), it will be perfect for a built in storage unit which we desperately need.
So that is it in a nutshell, the master bath layout. There are exciting things ahead in the planning. Next time I post about the master bath, I will get into my inspiration followed by my ideas. This is where it gets fun!
Cancer Update: For those following along with my fight with Esophageal Cancer, I am about halfway through my radiation and chemotherapy treatments which will wrap up at the end of October. I am feeling okay much of the time, but find myself in a near constant state of nausea and fatigue with lots of naps. Looking forward to the day when I can get past this and get busy with the house.
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Hi Devon: glad your treatments are going well.
Perhaps you can do a sliding glass pocket door with translucent film to let light into the main portion of the bathroom? Good luck – love the plan.
Hi Sara, Thanks for the well wishes. 😊😊
As to the sliding glass door…. Let’s just say I have a plan, and it does involve obscured glass. More to come as I get into the details over the next few posts.
Hi Devyn,
You are really ramping up your goals for Our Philly Row. Your motivation is infectious.
I was faced with a similar dilemma a few years ago in relation to the spa-like shower I wanted with “carwash nozzles” (lol) and found a great alternative at Costco. It is a Valore shower panel with 100 nozzle rainhead shower, handheld and eight individually positioning jets which operate four at a time. The real benefit of these types of shower panels is that they are so simple to install because they attach onto an existing plumbing. I actually put mine into a bathroom with new plumbing but it meant no drama or cost in order to get a sophisticated end result. Current model at Costco (six individual nozzles) is Item No: 1093952. Three years on and no issues at all. The quality is superb, especially the grade of stainless steel used in the actual panel. It may not suit your needs but I would put it into any new bathroom I did in a heartbeat.
Whatever you end up with I am sure will be well researched and an outstanding end result.
Thanks Gary 😊
I have seen those units a few times and although I am sure they give a wonderful shower, I haven’t found one that has the same look I am after. I will be writing a post on figuring out my approach to the style of the room. I want to be respectful of the history of the house, but of course there was no indoor plumbing when it was built. Even when they brought the first water supply through the neighborhood a few years after construction, it was basically a cold water tap in the kitchen. This gives me a lot of options.
Hi Devyn, do great to have an update. Hang in there for the rest of the treatments!
And congratulations on your upcoming “gas chamber”, complete with window! Don’t forget the magazine rack and cell phone charger. 😉
OK, so it took me a moment to figure out “gas chamber”. 😂😂
There will be an exhaust vent and every bathroom has a box of wooden matches at hand.
The magazine rack will be built into the partition wall! 😊😊
Food for thought! This last plan seems good – I am curious to hear how you will get the light into the other parts of the bathroom – I am sure you are on it. Glad about the treatments going OK. They have made really good strides in the last few years in actually making people comfortable’ish through the process. Glad treatment is progressing, and am looking forward to you being through it!
Derek… I’m glad the treatments are going OK too. Today was Chemo day and although I am tired, I’ve managed to remain awake long enough to respond to my comments. 😄😄
Getting light into the main bathroom is definitely on my agenda. I am still working out the details, but I am planning on using a door with glass as well as a transom of some type. Both of which I am hoping to use salvage bits for. More to come… 😊😊
Nap 😴 💤 Time!
Your final plan looks great! I especially like the addition of the storage cabinet — you can get a LOT into a 12″ deep cabinet. Including towels if you fold them correctly.
I have 3 suggestions for the bathroom:
1. Hinge the shower door on the closet side. This allows you to reach in to turn on the water w/o getting cold water all over you as it comes up to temperature.
2. To the left of the shower, it looks like you have room for a heated towel bar, which is the most luxurious thing ever. Burying your wet face in a hot towel is a true pleasure, and if the shower door hinges on the closet side, you can snake your arm out of the shower to grab that hot towel w/o getting cold. We like our heated towel bar a lot more than heated floors (we’ve turned them off, preferring a plush bathmat instead).
3. Use ganged medicine cabinets instead of a plate mirror, or mirror in a frame. The look is quite nice and the convenience of having your toiletries and medications at eye level can’t be beat. Helps keep clutter off the top of the vanity. We’ve replaced sheet mirrors with ganged cabinets in both our bathroom and love the convenience.
Thanks for your thoughts Ann… 😊😊😊
We aren’t far off on this. I do plan to hinge the door on the closet side. I am also going to have the shower controls just inside the door so I only have to reach in about a foot to get to them (and not get wet in the process). We are planning on doing heated floors, but I will have to check into a heated towel bar. It makes a lot of sense, plus it can be beautiful when not in use. The mirror a above the sink is a fixed mirror (I will be posting about that soon) but the idea with the storage cabinet is to have the cabinet rise about 40″ and then have a counter top above which I am planning a large mirrored medicine cabinet. There will be hidden outlets for charging things and there will be plenty of storage. BTW, I am all about keeping stuff off of the horizontal surfaces save a few beautiful objects.
Please don’t hesitate to add your ideas to future posts! 😊😊
the final plan is perfect – and makes so much sense… all that storage (linen closet and storage in the BR).. congrats! this is probably the hardest part.. now to the fun stuff.. cant wait to see the materials, etc.
hang in there with the treatment. sending prayers.
Thanks So-Gal 😄😄
The hard part will be letting a contractor do work which I will have a very high degree of expectations. I would be doing this myself, but I know my limitations. But trusting somebody else to install my millwork will be a big thing to let go of.
The materials are coming, but first I plan an inspiration post.
As for me…. The treatment sucks, but I am confident I will be back to my regular self once again by Spring. 🤞🤞
Squeezing bathrooms into old houses is always challenging (especially when you have an odd-shaped room to work with) but you’ve come up with a plan that looks both doable and highly functional. I think you were really smart to scrap the tub and just have a nice shower… it’s a decision you won’t regret! I’m very happy that you found a way to save the door in the hallway by re-swinging it to serve a linen closet; it’s important to keep original doors in place. The end of October is not far off… it will be here before you know it!
Thanks Eric ☺️
We are both excited about having a real shower in which we can turn around in without hitting a wall or curtain. Also the luxury of a seat to sit on.
I have several posts lined up to get into the details.
It looks like such a luxurious bathroom with everything making sense fitting into what is admittedly an awkward shaped space. The storage cabinet next to the chimney breast will give you all the storage you should need in a bathroom and allowing you to put in a fabulous sink (which I’m assuming you’re planning) instead of a vanity. I think the linen closet in the hall is a perfect use for a former doorway. We have a similar door but needed the space on the other side more so our “closet” is only 6″ deep. Still, enough space for the ironing board and broom.
Thanks for your input Ryan 👍🏻👍🏻
My goal is to have a luxurious bathroom that still fits into our somewhat simple house and is appropriate to the history of the house on a reasonable budget. This is why I am glad we didn’t dive in immediately after we moved in and just had it done. The extra time has given me much insight as to how to really make the space special. I am glad I sorted out the linen closet. I had planned to close up that doorway altogether, but hated changing the character of the house. This was the perfect solution. As for the sink… More to come on this, but my solution was posted to my Instagram in early September. 😉
Ahhh… 6″ deep closets definitely have a purpose. Interestingly, all of the original closets in the house are only 11″ deep inside as they are built out the the same depth as the chimney breast. People didn’t have a lot of clothes in the 1850s.
Looks Fabulous ! Get well soon 💕
I like that new plan! So looking forward to seeing how this bathroom will look like, what your inspiration is, knowing you’re restoring/renovating sympathetically! A private toilet is a must-have IMO. In France they’re mostly private, in a closet-sized room. In our house, our only bathroom (or 3/4 bathroom that is) is on the second floor, and the toilet is in it. There’s no other way to change this, and this is honestly unpractical. Especially when you have guests!
Yes on theToto washlet! Love ours! Also s raised toilet, and heated towel bar; can’t imagine life without them now. And so many electric outlets; toothbrush chargers, waterpics, hair dodads, waxing warmers, what! high maintenance did you say?