Hi bigreader. It's a new build.

Hi QBENGA

How exciting (and daunting) to do a new build.

I love that you thought about a separate toilet. I'm not sure how many people will be in the house, or what other bathrooms you have, but I think a separate toilet is brilliant. Especially for having extended family or guests over. Otherwise, if someone is in the bath or shower, everyone needs to find a different toilet to use.

I like what oklouise did. Consider using the toilet and then wanting to wash your hands. The revised plan makes that much easier. In your current plan, most people would naturally use the laundry tub to wash their hands as it is much closer.

The downside is that everyone has to wander through your laundry to access the toilet/bathroom. If this is the bathroom for guests to use, then you may not want that. I guess you could always put another doorway in between the sink and the bath.

Hi oklouise. So good to have you comment here. I am a big fan of your advice and contribution to Houzz.

I can see your rationale here to have the wet area separated from the dry. Do you think ventilation could be a issue in this layout since the only location I can think about for windows will be a high window in the shower. Any ideas to improve it??

A two-way toilet sounds good in theory. Has anybody experience any cons having a two-way toilet in reality?

Again thanks so much oklouise.

Hi Crocker Castle. Totally agree. I guess you have some first hand experience about new build. It told me and my hubby almost a year of prep to finally get to move on to working drawings. (I know for most people is too long)

In the current house I am living in (rental), we have a separate toilet downstairs is perfect for guests visiting just like you said. So we hope we can do something similar to our design.

QBENGA
Thanks for your kind words, but I'm no expert. We're still in the design phase of our new build (but very close to building).

I find that, since we started designing, my husband and I inspect every house we walk into and take note of the layout. Long ago we decided a separate toilet would be good. We were convinced when we spent Christmas with my parents, where the toilet is not separate. With eight grandkids under the age of ten, bath time took forever. During that entire time no-one could use the toilet.

Re: ventilation and the design from oklouise.
You could probably get a small high window in the toilet and in the shower. I tend to think those areas need ventilation more than the sink or above the bath - so it might work well for you. Would an extractor fan be an alternative?

These things do take time. But it is important to get it right. Good luck!

Hi oklouise. I like the ideas of double vanity so I have it in the ensuite. So in this second bathroom mainly to guests I guess I can live with single vanity. Do you think is a good idea that if we can turn the space for the first vanity near the entry of bathroom into a linen storage but open from the laundry?

Crocker Castle. I am laughing while I am reading your post. We are so alike in this case!! My hubby and me have turn our daily walk into daily building inspection :) We walk around our neighborhood to see the sites under construction. We pick all the likes and dislikes from the layouts and keep going back to monitor the progress. I found it's a really good exercise for us and we certainly have learned a lot from doing so. (Although sometime we seem suspicious hanging around the constructions sites).

Crocker Castle. I guess you are right about the ventilation. Shower definitely need ventilation the most.

Will the bathroom appear to be a bit dark since the only nature light source is a high window in the shower at the corner ??

do you have or expect to have live in kids or multiple guests..if so the double vanity and compartmented bathroom and two way toilet is the answer for kids (of all ages) struggling for space to brush their teeth or use the loo or wash their hands or use the shower at the same time and coming through the laundry allows for bathroom access without coming through carpeted hallways with outdoor feet...we had windows above both the shower and the toilet for light and ventilation and (depending on your view) the windows can be down to shoulder height without compromising privacy... the cabinet below our double vanity was all doors for towels and bedlinen and our extra wide mirror doored cabinets stored all the medicines, makeup, toilet rolls, cleaning products, hairdryer with plug etc although we had plain hanging mirrors until we saved up for the wall cabinets and my favourite Solar Skylights are the cost effective solution to every dingy room

oklouise very valid points. We don't have kids yet but if we try to build for future-proofing then we have to think about all what you just mentioned. So easy to get overwhelmed by all the information and considerations....

Hi again QBENGA

Oh yes. Very alike. We approach total strangers and drive slowly through new suburbs. I know what you mean about suspicious. We never did those things before we started designing our own home.

I think your dingy bathroom is very easy to fix. I hope so!

LED lights - so bright and cheap to run.

Our designer has also told us about a kind of skylight. Probably the same thing oklouise is talking about. They don't actually bring light all the way from the roof through to the bathroom. Instead, there is a solar panel on the roof, connected to a lighting panel on the ceiling of the bathroom. When the sun hits the solar panel, it turns on a light in the bathroom. When the sun goes down, the light turns off. Instead of having a large tube that goes through the ceiling into the roof space (which interrupts your ceiling insulation), you only have to have a small cord pass through your roof space. I believe you can buy them from Bunnings.

the Solar Skylights look just like flat square or round light fittings connected to a small roof mounted solar panel with a long fibre optic cable fed through the roof and out under the ridge capping.....we have several and they do a fabulous job of brightening any room without holes in the roof or ceiling, no compromise to weather proofing or insulation and no risk of water leaks. Standard sizes range in price well below $300 including instillation ..standard sizes readily available at hardware shops and not to be confused with roof windows, ventilating skylights or solar tubes