Creating a Private Master Suite at the Queen Anne

One of the top three goals when I Reworked the Floor Plan at the Queen Anne was to create a private master suite. When we removed the only bathroom in the house I was able to increase the size of the back bedroom and use it, along with an adjacent space, to do just that. Here’s how we turned those two spaces into a private and tranquil master suite.

The Before

Along the back of the house the roof had collapsed letting the elements in for years. This deterioration crept into many parts of the back of the house but the space used as the kitchen certainly took the worst of it. By the time I got my hands on this house, the contents had already been cleared out, the roof replaced, and a little framing had begun. Here’s what it looked like in that space.

To the left of that space was a small bedroom and a bathroom. Based on the flooring underneath, my guess is that this bathroom wasn’t there originally.

The New Floor Plan

In order to create a new private master suite, I had to rework the spaces in these areas.

Here are the steps we took to rework these spaces:
1. Remove the existing bathroom, small hallway, and closet/walk through (top left).
2. Create a new hallway/entrance (top right) to the master suite and middle bedroom by using some space from the middle bedroom, adjacent to the new guest bathroom.
3. Create a new closet for the middle bedroom by using a small portion of space from the new master bedroom.
4. Close in the wall from the stairwell hallway (labeled closet top left).
5. Move the new master bathroom doorway.
6. Frame out the space (labeled kitchen top left) into four separate spaces: toilet room, bathroom with walk-in shower, master closet, and laundry nook (accessed by the stairwell hallway).
7. Pocket doors were used for the toilet room, master closet, and laundry nook.
8. Removed the lowered ceilings in all of these spaces and went back to the original height.

The Master Suite

With those changes made, it finally was time to start pulling things together to create the new master suite. Along with the rest of the house, these spaces received all new electrical and plumbing before the drywall went up. We also used some of the salvage flooring we saved from the kitchen to patch the floors in the master suite and new hallway/entry as needed. All of the surfaces were primed and painted and of course we reused all of the original trim and doors we saved.

Master Bedroom

By restoring the ceiling height and expanding the footprint of this room, it now works well as the master bedroom. We painted all of the walls and trim a bright white which pairs beautifully with the refinished original pine floors. Now there’s plenty of room for furniture placement and with those original windows, lots of sunlight brightens the room.

The Master Bathroom

The new master bathroom is now a private and tranquil space with plenty of vintage charm. I chose a gray double vanity with antique brass handles and vintage faucets. Above are two brass mirrors with a four-light schoolhouse wall sconce. To the right is a spacious walk-in shower with a glass panel. To the left of the vanity is a pocket door that leads to a walk-in closet and just past that door is another pocket door leading to the toilet closet.

The tile really is the star of the show in this space and the ‘1902’ in the toilet closet was a fun touch. I chose black and white penny round tiles and created a custom pattern for my tile installers. The black border gives the room definition while the florets add a vintage touch. Overall I love how this bathroom came together and how well the new master suite turned out.

If you need help reworking your floor plan or just a little extra help with design choices for your bathroom, I’d love to help. Click on the link below to find out more.