MASTER REMODEL - Have Some Tips to Share?

Blogging friends are the best!  So sweet, encouraging and willing to help when asked.  Since many of you have gone through makeovers and remodels, I'd love to hear any tips you could share! 

Here is what we are working on...

We have a nice sized master bedroom.  Large enough for a king sized bed, several dressers, camel back sofa, chair, and end tables...it is a nice size.  However, the master bathroom is tiny.  Our home is a bit older and to date there have been no major renovations.  Over the past few years we've had to call in the plumber due to the master shower needing some faucet repairs.  After the last repair, it was explained to us that next time they would have to remove a large section of tile to do repair work in the wall.  Well, that was bad news and good news.  Bad news, in that the tile is original, so to remove some of it for repairs would mean having to re tile the whole shower.  Good news, in that my hubby said, "It's time to REMODEL."  Yipee!!!

As you know, one thing leads to another and as we began to plan for the master bath remodel it wasn't long before we realized that we would need to tackle the master closets first!

  My husband's closet is on the other side of the bedroom and is the typical long and narrow closet with double bi-fold doors.  My walk-in closet is adjacent to the master bath.  This is the current floor plan of the master bath and my walk-in closet; total dimensions are 8' x 14'.

 Wouldn't you agree that if you are going to invest the time, money and inconvenience to re-do a master bath, that it should be as large as possible?!  So the question became, where can we re-locate my walk-in closet so we can incorporate the current one into the new master bath?

Behind my husbands closet, which again is on the other side of the master bedroom, is a small area that we have used as a multi-purpose room.  The main function is an office for my hubby, and also a place to store extra dishes and knick-knacks, magazines that I don't have the heart to throw out, and linens.

Since we have a guest bedroom downstairs and the kids are out on their own which means we also have two extra bedrooms upstairs, we decided that that we should convert one of the upstairs bedrooms into an office for Mr. Heart.  In doing this we could combine the multi-purpose room and my hubby's current closet into a new master closet, so we got busy!

Access to this room is in the hallway.  We had already begun working when I took these pictures, so please excuse the mess...

Don't you just love the sheep and cow wallpaper?  The previous owners choice and I'm glad it is coming down...

We began removing all the stuff and all the shelves...

This shelving is behind the door.  Most of the knick-knacks had already been removed but there are tons of magazines!  Are you like me and keep old magazines forever?

My hubby asked me to come take a look at his "handy work" before he went any further.  He wrote our initials and the year on a 2x4 which was to be encased in our home forever.  He always thinks of the sweetest things that mean so much to me!

This is my sweetie, working hard and patching the doorway where "our" 2x4 will be!

This is the view of the new closet area from our bedroom and through the entrance of my hubbies old closet door.  See the gray patch on the right?  This is the old doorway from the hallway into the old multi-purpose room.  

Mr. Heart patched and sanded, and patched and sanded some more.  He really worked hard!

The lighting came from Lowe's and were very inexpensive.  They have a vintage look and add just the right amount of light.

Here is the painted closet area ready for the shelving install...

We got several quotes from closet companies and the one we chose was very reasonable.  They were able to configure this area to give us even more room for our clothes and shoes than in our previous two closets combined...did the happy dance!!!

Here is the finished master closet...

There is a jewelry drawer, built in hamper and I am really going to enjoy having the shoe cubbies! 

I can't wait to move everything into our new closet so we can turn our attention to planning the new master bath and I would so appreciate your suggestions...

What do you think is a must in the master bath?

Any bath remodel experiences and tips you can share?

Do you have a favorite tub?  Claw foot, jet tubs, or one that recirculates & keeps the water warm?

 I love hearing from you, so let me know you visited!