Gold tips to build maintenance OUT of your home: Amazon.com
My tip: have dry storage inside the bathroom for towels. If you have to leave the bathroom to get a clean dry towel, you’ll just use the same wet stinky one again.
We have different tastes. Our new bathroom has a higher counter for the sinks, and while I like the storage underneath, I actually hate the height. It’s much harder for me to aim to spit toothpaste into the center if the sink where it’s easy to rinse, for instance. It’s also harder to stick a foot in the sink if I have something that needs to be soaked. (Like a minor infection.) If you are 6’8", a taller counter might be nice, but at 5’6" I kinda regret it.
Our contractor ripped out all the cast iron and replaced it with PVC. (The inputs are still copper, but all the drains are now PVC.) I can now hear water running from anywhere in the house. Cast iron is MUCH quieter. I’m slowly getting used to it, but that’s probably the think I am most unhappy about with the bathroom remodel.
Huh. I hadn’t thought of that, and I don’t suppose there’s any real reason to replace it, now that you bring that up.
I thought that this would get a lot more mentions than it has. One of the things my wife and I enjoy most about going to Europe is heated towel racks.
As far as glass doors, they may be objectionable to some people, but the alternatives are much worse. Just squeegee them and use a de-liming spray a couple times a year.
The combination of a rain head and handheld in the same shower is wonderful. (My wife is 5’ tall and I’m 6’2" so we use both.)
I’m not a Panasonic rep or anything, but I’ve got to say that their WhisperFit exhaust fans move a lot of air with very little noise. Of course, you can always install the fan in the attic to further reduce noise.
The biggest mistake my wife made (really…I argued against it) was installing a stand-alone sink with two glass shelves located below it. Not only does she miss the counter space, but all her stuff on the shelves is exposed to dust, water vapor, and flying droplets from the toilet (if one doesn’t lower the lid). OTOH, we installed a huge sideboard in the guest bathroom and had a custom top fitted to it to handle two sinks. It looks like an antique and has scads of storage below the sinks.
I think I’ll get surfaces wiped down this weekend so it’s not embarrassing and share it so y’all can see what I have to work with.
As a person who repairs plumbing I would add in make the pipes from the sink accessible.
Also for the shower, someday the valves will break and pou will have to get in and repair them. if everything is tiled in that means cutting and then repair. If youve given yourself an access panel in the back that wont be a problem.
I find Moen to be the best hardware.
you can plan for that possible overflow by providing a floor drain outside the shower in the bathroom. They make them now that look better than the old round drains in the center of laundry room floors. I’ve seen a chrome drain that was a long and narrow rectangle with slots running alongside the outside of the shower – it looked like part of the decor, but was a functioning drain.
Where are you located?
Kansas*…I see now that you are in Chicago, the Land of Building Codes!
Copper is required for drains there?!
- ETA: In a municipality that uses the 2012 version of codes.
We just finished remodeling ourmaster bathroom. Actually the whole house, but some of the biggest changes were to the bathroom. To bad we couldn’t read this thread before we did it.
Previously, to the left was a small plastic shower pan with shower curtain. Directly in front to the door opening was the toilet. Not enough room for the door to swing, so we took it off. And then to the right was a pedestal sink. 2 light bulbs above the sink, and one in the fart fan.
In the remodel, we sacrificed a hall closet to expand the bathroom. Now we have double doors that swing outward. To the left is a large tile shower with a bench and frameless glass door. In front of the door is a wide vanity with a single sink. Everyone we talked to told us to get 2 sinks, but I really want that countertop space. Mirror is at least 2x bigger. The right edge of the countertop is a partial wall for a bit of privacy (and a sweet armrest while pissing), and then the toilet. And then in front of the toilet we sacrificed some bedroom space for a towel closet. There’s LED ceiling lamps in the shower and above the toilet, and 3 bulbs above the vanity.
I love the shower bench, love the glass door (we treated it with Rain-X and use a squeegee, so no hard water haze after 2 months), love the addition of 9 sqft of countertop, 12 sqft of drawers, 30 sqft of closet shelving, love the light coming from every direction, love being able to close the door to shit, love that I’m still mostly out of view on the shitter even with the door open.
We forgot to plan for light switches, but managed to cram 2 rows of 2 between the bathroom door and the towel closet door. And the only spot for a towel rod is on the wall opposite the shower. Oops.
Sounds luxuuuuurious 
Couple crazy coincidences here. First being that, when I had to change out the old toilet, even the shallowest new one I could find projected too far for the door to clear by about 3/4". So I just reversed the swing of the door, but now it swings in to the bedroom and whacks anything we try to put close.
Speaking of doors, somebody mentioned a pocket door. I don’t want to do enough demo to install a pocket door, but right now the plan is to find a nice simple single-panel barn door with sleek track and hardware and hang it on the bedroom side. Then I’ll trim it out just right so that it more or less seals when it closes alll the way.
And finally…sacrificing a closet. That was part of the plan at first, because the house next door has an identical floor plan and that’s what they did. There is a closet in the hallway to which the master shower backs up, and adjoins the hall bath. The thing, if I’m guessing, is a good 3’x3’. Total waste of space. Anyway, neighbors (previous owner) borrowed about half of it to expand the shower.
I’m not sure why we decided to not do that, it probably had something to do with the few days of extra work, re-constructing the inside of the closet, patching in drywall, installing a new door…you see. Honestly the expense by itself isn’t enough of a factor to keep us from doing it.
But today I was sitting here and was drawn to the hallway…and I thought…dammit, we’re doing this anyway, spending $X anyway. It’s kind of dumb to not just give ourselves another 18" of shower. ETA plus, we have another 18" closet in the hallway. And if/when we re-do the hall bath, I can eliminate the one I’ve already stolen from, put in some nice storage IN the bath, and have more room to maybe re-arrange some stuff.
We added pocket doors in our master closet and laundry room. I suppose we could have used one for the master bathroom, but we’d have to move the shower plumbing to the other side of the shower. Nearly all of our sketches involved a barn door, but the French doors worked best with our final layout.
Our house was stripped of all drywall, down to the studs. So we got rid of the utility closet and moved the water heater and air handler into the attic, put the hallway where the utility closet had been, and put the master shower where the hallway had been. This new arrangement also forms a hidden entry so the kids don’t see the bed or bathroom when they come bursting through the door. Ya, I know someday we’ll regret having the appliances in the attic. Until then I am loving the useable bathroom!
Wet towels frumpled over warm racks… mould nurseries, if you ask me.
I like my shower curtain, that can be put in the washing machine every month and replaced every year. But even better is to have neither, and just have a tiled wall that comes up half of the shower cabine.
I solved this problem beautifully, but only for items that don’t get daily use. I made a few hooks on the wall, and hung little baskets there. It looks very nice. One basket holds medicines, one the hairdryer&stuff, one the cleaning supplies for the bathroom…I use this one, a flat bottomed one of material that holds up very well in the bathroom, for years.
All bathrooms need a place to sit or to put one feet up on.
Not just for the elderly. Everyone needs a stool or bench to put one feet up while you dry between your toes. Or shave a leg. If you don’t have a sturdy place to do so, you will either bend over ( and maybe fall, or get dizzy or bang your head when you get up again) or you will use a less sturdy perch, like the edge of a bath that is too small or too slanted or slippery. Really bad accidents happen that way.
Such a bench or stool is also handy to put robes or clothes on. Or to sit on while you watch over, or keep company, a (grand)child or an elderly person taking a bath.
And if you get on in years, it is very nice to have a stool or seat you can take with you into the shower to sit on.
Ikea has a line of such bathroom benches and stools. They remind me of sauna’s.
The space above your head, if you sit on the bench, can be used for storage likea described above. Wall hooks and ikea baskets. When you rummage trough such a basket, it is nice to do it on such a bench.
As for decoration, I bought a poster of a calm forest view, that came on a sheet of cardboard, wrapped in airtight shrinkwrap. It was just the way the poster was packaged, but I put the whole thing on my bathroom wall. it has hung there, mould-free, for six years now.
I also put two fake plants in my bathroom. They look really nice. Most people don’t see that they are fake.
As for decoration, it is slightly out of fashion now, but have you considered listellos? Decorative tile edging? I found a listello made from scraps of natural hardstone. Little pieces of marble and sandstone, on a strip, each one uniquely different. I think they look really chic and add interest at a low price.
Never knew what they were called until now, but I’ve always loved listello accents in bathrooms.
I sit on the toilet. I mean, it’s the right height and everything… I don’t feel the need for another seat.
I also love decorative tile edging, and put some in my bathroom. I’m delighted by that. It makes me happy every time I look at it.
You don’t want to get me started on the virtues of acrylic windows. Ask anyone who knows me, they’ll run from the room if you give me an opening like that! 
Aquariums too.
That makes sense. Dutch bathrooms are usually separate from the toilets. The average Dutch house has one family bathroom and one toilet.
Still, you need an edge to put one feet or leg up on when you’re inside a shower. An edge along a bath to put stuff up on (cosmetics, candles, neck pillows) is also very useful. make sure it slants about 5 degrees towards the bath so water doesn’t run off to the floor.
I didn’t like shower curtains either ( to dark) untill I found the transparent ones.
With a room as small as you are looking at, consider going with a wet room style bathroom. The whole room becomes one room, capable of handling shower spray, with a drain either in the center or along the edges of the room.
We created a 3/4 bath, about 8’x6’, for my parents. Because Dad was in a wheelchair, we wanted a roll in shower, and because the space was small, we wanted to optimize the usable space. The floor space in a shower only gets used for less than 30 minutes a day (usually).
We created a shower space that was enclosed by a curtain, but when not in use becomes part of the room again. In addition to making the space more open, it made it possible to roll my dad’s chair into the room, and for a home healthcare aide to be able to help him shower.
Grab bars - There are now some out that serve double duty. Knowing my dad was unstable on his feet, and would grab onto anything he could if he felt he was falling, we used them all over the bathroom. The toilet paper holder is a grab bar. The hand towel rack is a grab bar. The 2 pieces that make up the shampoo/soap holders in the shower corner are grab bars. If you don’t know what you are looking at, you don’t really know they are grab bars. They are just a bit sturdier than normal.
Upgrade your toilet. Sure, the old one may work, but for a small portion of your budget, you can upgrade it, especially if it’s over about 15 years old. Low flow, comfort height (the seat is 2" higher than the traditional toilet) and look into a design that is less prone to clogging. For $200, if I never have to plunge the toilet again, I won’t even worry about how much water I’m also saving.