Bathroom renovation 8 sqm in timber frame house built in 1986

Hello forum,

my family and I fulfilled the dream of owning a (used) house last year and have taken care of the initially most important things.
Now we are slowly dealing with the interior, and especially: the master bathroom.
The bathroom is currently just sufficient, with its just under 8 sqm rather small, and it is in an age-appropriate condition, meaning it has to go.
For completeness, I am attaching a floor plan here directly, as I have already consulted other bathroom threads extensively but am hoping for collective wisdom and maybe generate some more ideas before we get more concrete with the planning.



Also attached are a few pictures of the current bathroom:

The most necessary thing in this bathroom was a double washbasin by Geberit, which should be used further if possible.

The following boundary conditions / considerations apply:

- Since we are a family of 7 and have not used the bathtub once in the last year, we would not plan for a bathtub.
This probably favors the floor plan. What are the pros and cons here? There is no other bathtub in the house.
- I would like to place the shower as a walk-in shower to the "back right" to give the room more depth. The water drainage then as a tiled joint on the floor directly at the wall. This should work regarding the drainage, as the bathtub currently has the drain there as well.
Entrance to the shower area from the left, towel holder on the left wall in the entrance area to the shower.
- Since we will replace the windows sooner or later anyway, I am considering moving the window to the left wall directly into the corner of the room and make it floor-to-ceiling, with the lower part fixed and the upper part openable for ventilation. Possibly adding a transom window above across the entire width. However, I could also imagine a ventilation system in the room plus fixed glazing if nothing speaks against it. I assume the current wooden window cannot remain as is due to moisture in the peak area of the shower, right?
- Regarding the surfaces, I would prefer large light-colored tiles but only in the splash area, with a water-repellent clay plaster in the rest, which also regulates the moisture in the room well.
- I would place the toilet where the shower currently is and possibly leave the current partition wall, although this currently emphasizes the tunnel-like character of the room even more. Therefore, I had thought about removing this wall and instead hinging the door on the other side so that the toilet user is not immediately exposed on the "presentation plate."
- An outward opening door might also be possible.
In terms of daylight, the bathroom is rather on the darker side because our big walnut tree stands in front of the window, so I would prefer to enlarge the existing window area if possible.
- The wall on the left is a so-called "installation wall" made of lightweight concrete. The connections are all original from the construction year. I assume it should be completely replaced as part of the renovation if the wall is being worked on anyway.
The water, sewage, and heating pipes are known in terms of location as we still have photos from before the screed was laid.
Above this bathroom are the pipes from the bathroom on the upper floor directly above, running through this wall.

If one is working on the shell anyway, I had considered that theoretically there are two options to enlarge the bathroom's floor area:
- Remove the left boundary wall of the shower and install a new door at a 45° angle --> less tunnel-like, plus 0.5 sqm
- "Sacrifice" about 50 to a maximum of 70 cm of the living room and move the wall; this would not hurt the living room. This would result in a new room width of approx. 2.5 m and a new floor area of 10 sqm. The only somewhat inconvenient aspect in the living room is that the room height goes up to 4.7 meters (air space). In my view, this space could not be used meaningfully and would need to be enclosed with a drywall partition.

Regarding usage, we currently have 2 bathrooms with showers plus a guest WC; these are well occupied during peak times but work.
However, the children are now aged 4, 8, 9, 10, and 11, so I assume shower times will increase significantly in the near future and the usage duration of the bathrooms in the morning will also lengthen. Maybe one can already include a view into the future here, allowing parallel use of shower plus toilet while still preserving privacy reasonably well.

I hope all information is included and that it is not too long. Looking forward to feedback.

Regards
Thilo

short addition, the window faces south-southeast

I tried the free planner from Kaldewei. This software is really good for almost nothing, but oh well, I did something with it. The idea is to put a glass panel on the wall in front of the shower up to the top and possibly extend the wall a bit with glass, which this tool does not allow. Possibly the whole wall made of glass, and in the lower area frosted or with a film.

The planner from Elements is clearly easier and faster to use.

I actually find the location of the shower quite good where it is now.
I would try to have a cabinet installed under the washbasin to be kept, so instead of the space eater on the left.
With the cabinet, the toilet would be somewhat protected. If that is not enough, then a privacy screen can be created.
I would not do without a bathtub – there are plenty of other uses for it. But it could be rotated and placed in the left rear corner. If you want to do without it, then just do without.
I would always want the toilet by the window, if possible. Also, short pipe runs from the drain to the outside wall provide security.

The planner from Elements is much easier and faster to use.

I would like the bathroom like this. I would make the glass wall a bit wider so that water doesn’t splash out. I wouldn’t leave the shower in the niche either; it would feel too cramped for me. We also don’t have a bathtub and haven’t missed it for 3 years; we hadn’t used it for years in the old house either. For the 3 times a year when I would need it, for example for larger laundry items, I have a plastic tub that I keep in the laundry area. I wouldn’t sacrifice the rather limited space for a bathtub that is not used. And you also have to clean it regularly.