apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm confused about the need for two doors. It seems to be you'd have lots of options if you got rid of one or the other.

I think I need more pictures of the rooms from alternative angles to figure this one out.

that picture of your toilet does not correspond to your floorplan, which shows that the toilet is surrounded by walls on either side. looking at the photos, I would say put a sink next to the toilet and knock down the wall between the toilet and bath to whatever extent you can. get a clawfoot tub and put it in the center of the bathroom.

oh sorry, I see you wanted a shower not a tub. I guess put a shower in front of the chimney. Why would there be a wood floor in a bathroom???

I think a freestanding sink where the chimney is, and a corner shower to its right.

Where exactly would the doors go? Where are the plumbing stacks?

Is that a real chimney or is it fake? What is behind it? Do you have to keep it or want to keep it? If it can be taken out, put the shower in that corner, put a free standing sink to the right. I can not figure out how you can have a shower two entries AND sink and make it function.

It could be totally off base on this, but your photos and drawing/plan and other picture make this pretty confusing.

i think the pictures are confusing me but... it seems like there's enough space in the toilet room for the sink and everything. can you use the part on your plan labelled "bathroom" as a dressing room or office?

I'm assuming that what you're doing here is creating a hallway where their currently isn't one so that you can put in a full bathroom, right? That would explain why there are apparent discrepancies between the pics and the floor plan.

Here's my 2 cents: Go with a shower stall that's called neo-angle, kind of like a diamond in a solitaire ring graphic (5-sided), place it in the corner opposite your chimney flue. Although not as spacious as a tub-sized one, it's reasonable, and it creates symmetry with the sink area, and should allow you to fit in everything you want.

Get a wall-hung sink, along the lines of something like this one or this one--something that can be integrated into a design statement. To make the wall plumbing fit without bumping into the flue, make the "fireplace" part of the wall bump out to be flush with the "mantel." The wall mount will still allow for a better sense of open space in a somewhat small room, and gives you the opportunity to make it a focal point to the room.

Then you can hang a mirror above the "built-in shelf" for the sink, and give yourself enough area to get ready in the morning.

I would knock out as much of the wall between the toilet and bathroom as possible, and then that way you can keep the doorways as they are. If you want a seperate water closet, I would recommend closing off the toilet door, creating a new one between the toilet room and bathroom, and creating the new access to the hallway doorway just to the left of where it is now in the floorplan.

Send in pics when you're done!

Hire an architect or bathroom designer.

thanks for all your useful comments - lots of food for thought!
will definitely post the "before and after" pics once i'm done.
now back the drawing board...;)

I'm a bit confused by the layout myself. While I agree with P(2) that you really need a qualified professional for this one, I'd like to suggest incorporating the chimney fireplace in the shower stall (I'm assuming the chimney is not functional).

I would place a corner shower parallel to the chimney (that is if you want to leave the chimney) and place a sink (maybe pedestal) in the center of the opposite wall. If you want a tub in the place of the chimney then place it there.