my 2 bobs worth. as someone who works with the elderly-the en-suite for your MIL is still not right. if she ever needs walking assistance,especially with a frame, getting past that door into the en-suite will be a nightmare. swap the vanity position for the shower. ensure there is no step-down into the shower area, and ditch the shower screen for a curtain. will make access much easier. especially if she ever needs assistance showering..it will be virtually impossible, and dangerous, with your current design. thinking long term..MIL will not always be there with you, so presumably you and your hubby will at some point end up in the master bedroom? consider the long terms implications of this-no good building something that suits her now, but would need major modification to suit your needs later. I would actually do away with the WIR at this time. Plan to add it later, if you would want it for yourself, but i would just use free standing furniture for her-no doubt she probably has her own, so it would be nice to have some of her own furnishings when she moves in with you - to make it feel more like her home. it will free up some floor space, and make access to the ensuite easier, without having to turn corners. I would also do away with the extended passage into the master. Take that door back in line with the other bedroom. Currently, it adds nothing, and may well limit your furniture placement for your family room, as the walkway will need to go around it. i have issue with the 2 person shower and double vanity in the same room. s the kids get older, they /you probably wont be comfortable using the room when you are showering, so mornings will be slowed down. Have you considered a 3 way bathroom/toilet/vanity area? We had this in our house, and it was the best decision ever. The shower and bath were in one room, with a separate toilet, and then a double vanity which opened to the passage. Everyone could use everything at the same time, without encroaching on each others privacy. Not sure about your state -but here, the toilet door would have to open out-if someone collapses in the powder room, you would not be able to get in with the door opening in, as they would be blocking the door. I do empathize with your dilemmas. We have spent 7 years planning an extension and remodel, then 2 years (!!!) working on the design with an architect, going backwards and forwards, and then the last 12 months nearly, changing and fine-tuning along the way as things were being built. It is not easy, but worth it. Having said that, you are unlikely to ever get it perfect, as your needs will change, your likes/dislikes will vary, and you will see other peoples homes and go "why didn't we do that". (Now if only i could take that on board myself, LOL)

If you want the wall and floor tiles to be the hero in your bathroom I recommend you keep the vanity very simple. The white cabinet you have will be least obtrusive with a 'white' top. I love the elegance of stone and man-made stone is generally more durable. Check out Caesarstone Organic White or Frosty Carina. Although Frosty Carina has more pattern than Organic White, it's quite discrete so shouldn't compete with pattern on the tiles. If the tiles are charcoal or a dark brown/grey then either should work. Love to see a photograph when it's finished, whatever you decide.

I'm still concerned that the covered alfresco area is located to the NE, it will block much of your winter sunshine from entering your living areas, making your home colder in winter. Personally, I'd try to locate your alfresco o the eastern side of your living areas (& somehow moving the master further SE). However, if you are going to stick with your current alfresco location, I'd recommend you change from a hipped roof alfresco, to a gable roof alfresco. If you make it an opened gable, & have a cathedral ceiling you'll end up with quite a bit more winter sunshine entering your house. Similar to the images below.

Thanks for all the input! Lots to think about here. To answer the questions, to the right of the door is a bump out from a linen cupboard in the hallway - we won't be moving or resizing that. There are no windows (all walls are internal). Yes, we were thinking of a 'ladder' style towel rack to use some height. The doorway is 700mm and the toilet wall to the doorway is 1150mm. We don't have a specific stool or vanity selected yet. Re why we wanted to include a seat of some sort - I use the edge of the bath every day, both for putting a foot up while drying off or applying moisturiser etc, and for sitting on for foot care / clipping nails etc. I have to admit that I hadn't considered just using the toilet seat as I'm used to those older, slightly domed lids that 'buckle' if you sit on the centre of them. But I can see now that newer toilets appear to have flatter and more solid lids, so perhaps that is an option afterall. We also wanted to select a stool that could go in the shower - my husband is quite sporty and would love a sit-down massage shower on occasion. I'm thinking now that we perhaps just have a 'wet' stool live in the shower recess (bottom right corner of the plan should be out of the way) and then the toilet lid for 'dry' use. The last picture shared by dreamer is a very nice solution, though if we extend the vanity all the way to the left hand wall we'll have to look at narrower towel racks. Hmm, all very interesting! I'll experiment some more and probably come back to bounce some more ideas off you all. Thanks. :)