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We are going to add a master bedroom to the second floor of our house. We are looking to add space but also add value to the home. We have a second child on the way and will be out of bedrooms with the current layout.
The architect just sent me the first round of plans (see attached). I am looking for opinions and I am also looking for furniture layout ideas.
This addition will add a fourth bedroom\third bathroom to our house but it will remove closets from two of the current bedrooms.

Below are some questions and the answers I received from my architect on the plans:
• Is there any way to use some of the new space to create closets for Existing Bedrooms 2 & 3 or is that a waste of space?

i can give bedroom 2 a closet from the new area but only if we swap the bathroom and closet. As for bedroom #3 the only way to give it a closet would be to take space from within the room i dont want to take space from your Master.

• Is there a reason there is no window in the Master Bathroom?

There really is no reason i can put one in if you want one. It would have to be a small one since it would be in the shower.
• Is there a reason the windows are located where they are in the Master Bedroom?

The windows in the back are centered with the windows below. as far as the third window its placement is based on the best location as far as furniture layout.

• Are pocket doors possible for all the doors in the Master Bedroom?

Pockets doors could be done however the pocket door to enter the room would would not be recommended since there would be a wall that would touch the opening for the pocket door.

• Is it possible to swap the location of the W.I.C and the PROP BATH? I am not saying I want to do this.

Yes

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JTS_LI_Newbie,

Second_Floor.pdf (27 Kb, 6 downloads) Proposed Plans

I'm not sure what your ask of us is here. The MBR is a nice sized room you should be able to arrange it several ways. I would probably go for it along the 11'6" long wall to the left of the window or along the common all with bedroom #3. I think decorators want to showcase the bed as you walk in the door, which is good if you make your bed up like a luxury hotel every day, not so good if it is a mess. I wouldn't put it against the 14' wall because with the window layout it would probably look odd. I fully understand the architect's thinking on the window placement.

If you went with a window in your bathroom I'd go with a small window up high just to let in some natural light that would not require any window coverings or glass block. I don't know how that would look on the outside of your house though.

Welcome to the boards.

In many areas of the country, for real estate sale consideration, a room without a closet is NOT considered a bedroom. That would make your addition a 1 bedroom area.

In practical terms, where would anyone keep their hanging clothes if you do not provide a closet? Perhaps you would be better off with a 2 bedroom addition rather than a 3. To be honest, I kind of wonder about an architect that proposes a bedroom with no closet.

As far as your window placement, have you seen an exterior elevation? In some homes the windows are not symmetrical; it depends upon your home style.

Watch the placement of bathroom windows! We have three up high in our master bath and the light streaming through them certain times of the day comes from behind us making it difficult to see in the mirror.

IMHO pocket doors are a maintenance problem. I have installed a couple from scratch and I have repaired several that got knocked off the track. One I repaired had to be repaired a second time. Remember that they take up twice their size in wall space. Better quality hardware (maybe from Johnson Hardware) will be worth the price.

I have the architect re-doing the plans. We are going to extend the second floor 2 feet so we don't lose any sq ft in the Master Bedroom when we add closets into the existing bedrooms. I will post the plans as soon as I get them.

I am concerned about the Master bathroom layout. We are leaning towards a shower in there (no tub). I want as much natural light as possible and also I want it to feel as large as possible. That is why I was thinking about pocket doors and skylights that open.
Is that a bad idea?

Adding windows to the bath: Can skylights do the same job? Just asking. We like lots of light in our home so adding windows might be a good way to go.

Your call on pocket doors. Personally, I have had too much trouble with them, but the premium hardware from Johnson Hardware may be the answer. The cheaper pocket doors usually use an aluminum track and therein lies the problem. It gets dinged and bent so that the rollers come off the track.

If you have another tub a large shower would be grand.

Windows can be nice but it seems like you don't really want to look out but just have light come in. Depending upon your ceiling configuration (8' or vaulted) a skylight could help. In one house we have a skylight with a shaft leading down to the 8' ceiling. In another house we have a skytube. Both are near the vanity. We get more light from the tube than from the skylight/shaft. But if you have vaulted ceiling than the skylight may provide more light.

I like pocket doors but you said you wanted one for more light. I don't understand that. The extra couple inches where the door hinges is not going to really help.

Thanks for the all the input. Attached is the new drawings. Cantilevering the back wall enabled us to add new large closets in the existing bedrooms.
We also moved the bathroom so we can add a window.

Would reducing the closet width make sense to increase the unable wall space in Bedrooms 2 & 3?

What does everyone think of the window locations? Where would you recommend putting a queen bed, dresser, etc..?
Is the WIC closet large enough for 2 people?

Second_FloorV2.pdf (36 Kb, 11 downloads) Version 2

quote:

Originally posted by JTS_LI_Newbie:
Thanks for the all the input. Attached is the new drawings. Cantilevering the back wall enabled us to add new large closets in the existing bedrooms.
We also moved the bathroom so we can add a window.

Would reducing the closet width make sense to increase the unable wall space in Bedrooms 2 & 3?

What does everyone think of the window locations? Where would you recommend putting a queen bed, dresser, etc..?
Is the WIC closet large enough for 2 people?

The WIC is good sized unless you and your significant other are big clothes horses. If you make the 8'10" wall of hanging space a double rack and the shorter wall a long hanging space you'll have plenty of space for hanging shirts, pants (folded on hangers) and skirts and then the long area for dresses and long jackets.

I would probably put the bed to the left of the window on the 11'2" long wall. The dresser would probably need to go to the left of the window on the outside wall or against the closet for bedroom #3 if there is room between it and your queen bed. Your MBR isn't huge, but overall it is a nice sized room. Unless the bottom of the window in the master bedroom on the 14' wall is high off the floor I wouldn't put the bed in front of this window.

Bedrooms 2 and 3 really can't be shrunk much more 10x11 is about a minimum. I assume all the dark walls are new, the light walls are existing and the dotted walls are existing to be removed. Is the structure by your existing bath and bedroom 1 a chimney? And what is in the space behind that? Is the roof line too low for it to be of use?

Sparky:

The dark walls are new and the dotted wall is being moved to make the hallway wide enough to the MBR.

I am not looking to make bedroom 2 and 3 any smaller then I have to. With the addition of the wide closets in bedroom 2 and 3 we are losing wall space for dressers, desk, etc.... I am wondering in it make sense to make it a 4ft wide closet instead of 6ft to get some wall space back.

That is a chimney behind bedroom 1 and the roof line is to low.

Thanks for all your help. I just want to make sure I am making the right choices.

I'd stick with the closets as designed. A narrower door will make parts of them less accessible. They are fairly efficient designs with a fair amount of wall space.

Nice changes!!

I would not make the closet smaller. How much floor space you have depends upon what size bed you use. Since these are children's room a twin would be adequate and give you a lot of wall and floor space.

Even if you use a queen there is room for a desk on the same wall as the door. And there should be room for something on the outside wall near the closet. A dresser (or closet organizer) can be put in the closet if necessary. Have you tried laying it out on graph paper?

If you really think you need more wall space the most efficient placement of the entry door is on the hallway wall right in front of the closet. That way the necessary empty space in front of the closet serves a dual purpose.

Your two nine foot closets are okay but if they were on the opposite walls next to the room entry doors they would still be about six feet and you'd be left with 9'6" and 10'1" straight back walls for furniture placement. I can't tell if you have structural reasons for keeping part of the existing back wall in place, if there's not I'd think about having the closets back on the existing bath and stair landing.

As I mentioned in the other thread, positioning a single window (maybe 32-36" wide at each end of the MBR back wall would allow placement of even a king bed in between with the dresser opposite. Leave the side window as is. One question - you said you wanted bright and open - will the ceiling in the addition be vaulted? The skylight locations look great (but bright for trying to sleep).

Attached is the latest proposal. We shortened one of the closets. I think this fits our bedroom set better. I have also dropped in the proposed layout of the furniture.
Please let me know what you think.

FYI - I think we are going with a vaulted ceiling that will match the roof line.

I am starting to think about the shower layout. I am guessing the shower will be 3 x 6. Trying to decide on full glass doors, no door (not sure if it is big enough for that), of a half wall with a glass door.

Second_FloorV3.pdf (34 Kb, 8 downloads) New Design

3x6 for a shower is a bit large IMHO and it will always seem cold in winter. A shower the size of a tub (2.5 x 5) is about as large as I would want it.

Showers without doors need some way to contain the splash.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Fleming:
3x6 for a shower is a bit large IMHO and it will always seem cold in winter. A shower the size of a tub (2.5 x 5) is about as large as I would want it.

Showers without doors need some way to contain the splash.

The 6' is pretty much a given unless you shrink the width of the bathroom. I don't think I'd change the bathroom.

I could make the shower 3 x 4.75 and put a small shelved area to store rolled towels next to it.

If you did that, and ever needed to access the water lines supplying the shower you'd have to squeeze into that closet. It would also be very deep and narrow at only 1.25 feet wide.

If you need to get to the pipes with the shower going to the closet for the next room door you just cut into the closet wall, which will be relatively easy to fix. It happens.

I was thinking about putting the 1.25 area for towel on the opposite side of the shower head and starting it 4 ft off the floor. It was just be a space to have rolled up bath towels.

quote:

Originally posted by JTS_LI_Newbie:
I was thinking about putting the 1.25 area for towel on the opposite side of the shower head and starting it 4 ft off the floor. It was just be a space to have rolled up bath towels.

Depending on how/if you enclose the shower that moves the door closer to the toilet and may restrict the size of the door you have. For storing towels you could always go with something above the toilet. You don't have room in this layout, but the thing that would make this a no sale with my wife is the lack of a "throne room" for the toilet and the single bowl vanity.

Ok another thought... In regards to the new master bathroom, what if I reduced the closet in bedroom 2 like I did in bedroom 3, swapped the master bathroom and the WIC and use the added space in the master bathroom. Would this make the master bathroom any better?

I'm not sure you can steal enough space from that closet to make a difference, but I'm not an architect. You'd lose the window you wanted by flipping the bath with the closet too.

Just a couple of comments from my own remodels. We have a shower that is 4 x 6--it is not too large since we have a seat at one end and both an overhead and handheld shower on the wall. We splurged on the shower and can even wash our large dogs in it. We took out one large, long closet in a bedroom since we couldn't reach the ends. We put up a wall in the middle and created two closets with doors that open out. What a difference it makes in that room. No more of those horrible doors on tracks they kept falling out and closets which we could actually use. We saw a number of different showers that my general contractor and his tile man did before we made up our mind on size, materials, etc. The homeowners were very gracious and let us in to see what had been done. It was a big help to actually see what a 4 x 6 or 4 x4 shower looks like in person. At least I would go to some open houses and see what their showers look like, how big they are and look at bedroom sizes and closets. Sometimes, it's really hard to visualize actual rooms from plans.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 16paws,