Bathroom renovation planned for 6.5m² - looking for ideas

Hello everyone,

we have a bathroom on the upper floor, which still dates back to 1988, and what bothers us most is the current shower. It has external dimensions of 80x80cm and a high entry of almost 40cm. In addition, there is a three-part sliding door inside, which makes the entrance very narrow. So all in all, very inconvenient and no longer state of the art. On the ground floor, we already have a renovated shower bathroom, but it’s not ideal as the main shower, since all our bedrooms are on the upper floor and you have to go upstairs through the open living hall to get dressed again.

Unfortunately, the builder deviated from the original plan back then and made the bathroom only 2.10m wide instead of 3m. The room is 3.17m long and 2m wide (including the pre-wall installation at the washbasin and toilet). Accordingly, a fairly classic design for that time emerged, with a bathtub and shower on one side and toilet and washbasin opposite. Of course, we could roughly keep the layout and only extend the shower, since there is still a shelf of almost 50cm behind the bathtub. This would give us a shower size of 80x130cm. However, the entrance area in the bathroom is currently extremely narrow, so two people are basically not possible. Also, we really don’t like the rather old-fashioned layout. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options. Next to the bathroom, however, is a relatively large room (4.5x4.2m²), which is currently not used at all and will later become a guest room or office.

Our idea is to steal a few square meters from the neighboring room and "outsource" the shower there. We thought of a 1x1.4m or 1x1.6m shower tray (if there is such a shower tray). The toilet would roughly stay in place, which shouldn’t be a problem since the drain pipe runs at the bottom left of the room. We would move the washbasin to the opposite side, where connections are basically present because the bathtub and shower are currently there. We would like to place the bathtub crosswise in front of the windows. I am aware that this makes the window opening more difficult, but for one thing, we can’t think of a better layout, we like the bathtub’s placement this way, and we are considering installing decentralized ventilation in the bathroom so that it doesn’t have to be aired out so often. Supplying water there is no problem; whether the drain height will work, we still have to check. However, since the screed will probably be renewed anyway because of underfloor heating, this should also be possible. The main problem is probably the shower. Of course, a new lintel must be installed in the wall opening, and I need to see how flat the drain can be designed. A step into the shower would not be a no-go for us either. The entrance door would have its hinge reversed so that when the door is open it only blocks the entrance to the shower. However, since one doesn’t shower with the bathroom door open, this wouldn’t actually be a disadvantage.

My question: What do you think about the plan and layout?
Does anyone have a better idea for implementing it?
What else must be considered?

We had a similar bathroom in our old building: 1.90m wide and 2.8m long with the door and window in the same place as yours, just no space from the adjoining rooms to "steal". Attached is the result as inspiration, if the neighboring room is not to be cut into. The shower tray is 80/90cm. Since the bathroom is not finished yet, I can’t say anything about the feeling of space. The bathtub and shower tray are already in place and the window can also be opened easily with the tub. A bathtub cover with padding is definitely planned. This way, despite the cramped conditions, a comfortable "seating option" can still be created, since the bathtub is not in use daily.

Is the wall where the lintel is to be installed load-bearing in any way? Wouldn't it be better to completely move it so that such a pointless corner doesn't arise in the neighboring room?

Also, I would never build anything in front of the windows in the bathroom, such as bathtubs, if there are no other windows in the room that can be accessed quickly and easily.

The wall is probably not load-bearing. It is a 12.5 cm wall on the upper floor and the roof structure is not developed (wooden ceiling). However, the bathroom is located in a dormer that ends right next to the window. In the neighboring room, the knee wall is at 1.1 m. So there would be an unsightly offset from the window front to the toilet, especially since the toilet also requires a pre-wall installation and the knee wall already protrudes about 25-30 cm into the room. But of course you couldn't have known that, because I forgot to mention it. The resulting corner in the adjacent room could be used as a closet or shelf, which is not bad for an office, although somewhat deep at a good 1 m. Otherwise, I quite like the idea. Personally, I can definitely live with the bathtub in front of the window, my parents have had that for 25 years without complaining (although it is more of a second bathroom). I think I would rather accept that than place the washbasin so far back.

PS: Which program did you use to draw the floor plan?

We had a similar bathroom in our old building: 1.90 m wide and 2.8 m long with the door and window in the same position as yours, but no space to "steal" from the adjoining rooms. Attached is the result as inspiration if the neighboring room should not be touched. The shower tray is 80/90 cm. Since the bathroom is not finished yet, I cannot say anything about the spatial feeling. However, the bathtub and shower tray are already installed and the window can be opened well with the tub in place. A bathtub cover with padding is planned. This way, despite the cramped conditions, a comfortable "seating option" can still be created, since the bathtub is not used daily.

Since the implementation will probably not take place until next winter, I would be happy to see a picture of your finished bathroom. We already had this layout in mind and I quite like it too, or from my point of view, it is the ideal use of space. Only the outward-opening door takes some getting used to, but we had already accepted that. In our case, it would most likely fail because of the positioning of the toilet, as the current connections are on the opposite side. You really can't swap the toilet and washbasin, because then the washbasin would be squeezed very tightly between the shower and bathtub. Nevertheless, I would appreciate pictures.

Thanks anyway for the inspiration.

Since there appear to be no other fundamental concerns besides the position of the bathtub in front of the window, we will continue to think in this direction.

Can someone give me a tip for a bathroom planner (online, software, app, etc.) where you can also visualize everything in 3D, preferably with tiles and wall color, etc.? We would like to do some planning to see how it would look with different color combinations. I don’t need a specific manufacturer portfolio since the bathtub, toilet, and shower will be relatively standard, and with washbasins you can still decide later.