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Dump the wife, do the ensuite!.   Seriously, the ensuite I did was the best thing ever and I loved it and, when it came time to sell, sold the house.  Keep that separate bath and do an ensuite in the middle.  With the size of that second bedroom, it looks like there's more than enough room to also carve out a big closet.  Designing the floorplan to accomodate them both will just take a little bit of thought.

1:11 PM 02/08/2013 | 1 Votes

dave- The floors have inlaid borders and original nailed parquet. If we move the current walls we would have to tear part of them out and try to relay them. Not sure if we can make that happen. Plus the cost is drastically less for the closet. I love the idea of our private bathroom but a HUGE closet would be great as well. 

1:20 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

Do you have a kid(s) in the other bedroom?
than I vote for the ensuite bathroom.
If you don't have kids in that bedroom, i think long term it's a mistake to get rid of the second bedroom and make the entire floor a master suite. A future buyer (with younger children) would want their bedroom on the same floor as the parent's bedroom.
Is master bedroom floor pattern continous around the entire room or where those two rooms that were opened up to create one room?
You may want to consider:
the master bathroom in that core area. Please add a closet for that second bedroom.
And adding a low free floating wall dividing your master bedroom (since it's so deep). The wall running north south on the plan. The wall would be below the single window and above the door. You can create a "walk-in closet" (sans doors). That entire wall (right side) can be shelving and rods.
You can have the best of both worlds.

1:37 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

^^^ just re-read my reply. I'm not sure it makes sense

1:41 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

"And adding a low free floating wall dividing your master bedroom (since it's so deep)."
should be:
since your bedroom is so WIDE.

1:41 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

I too vote for both. You could set up the core as two extensive "walk-through" closets, his and hers, and make the now second bedroom into a crazy huge bathroom. Make the current bath an office/nursery for infants, assuming you have bedrooms downstairs that you would use for older children (if you plan to have them, obvs).

1:45 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

We have a full 4th floor with 2 bedrooms and what will become an art studio and laundry room. This will be the kids floor. There is a full bath on the 4th floor already. A future buyer can use the studio as a family room/den/kids playroom so all the kids junk and mess will be on one floor away from the adults plus no going to the basement for laundry. Don't like the idea of using the back bedroom as a massive closet, just saying that it COULD be done. The attached is a quick layout rework with the ensuite and keeping a small closet for the guest bed and a decent sized walkin for the master. Just feel the ensuite looks a little cramped. Only thinking a walk-in shower no room for tub. Disregard the 2nd bathroom rework. There is an extension are we are towing around with ways to make a roof deck on top of the extension. We are thinking of just cantilevering a small portion of deck off the middle window now if we go down that route

2:08 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

texpert- Each bedroom has it's own extensive border. The center room doesn't so if we move any walls we would have to rework the border. The front room is soo grand it has to be the master, using the rear bedroom as the master wouldn't do the house justice. Plus the house is south facing and the morning light is superb. I know these are all champagne problems

2:11 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

A good floor guy can re-do the borders with no problem.  In the grand scheme of things, not a lot of money.  Get a quote from Jose....917-355-7977

2:50 PM 02/08/2013 | 1 Votes

.This is what I meant. I know it's not your exact house, but the idea is what i'm getting at.
Low wall dividing the room, so you don't lose the floor border or mouldings but creating lots of closets on the right side wall.

3:20 PM 02/08/2013 | -1 Votes

And there's an ensuite bath with a tub, shower stall, toilet and two sinks.

3:22 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

Here's what we did, and seems to work pretty well.  Master bedroom in front with walkthrough closet to master bath.  Other side is kid's room with their own small bathroom.  Both bathrooms have skylights in 

4:06 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

texpert- I've thought about that before, it could look real nice if executed correctly. I think taking the wall up to the ceiling would be better so all your clothes wouldn't be on display 24/7. Would hate to cut up the room but think we could fit that closet and a sitting area still. Time to get out the measuring tape. President street- would have done something like that with a full gut but we are trying to not go down that road for a few reasons, budget one of them. 

5:59 PM 02/08/2013 | 0 Votes

We have the same 3rd floor (and the only spot with bedrooms in the house).  In ours, the back was divided into two bedrooms (one being one of those little 1/2 rooms to fit a crib on the stair side of the house) and the front room was left with the entire width of the house.  The previous owner turned the middle section into two small bathrooms.  I don't love the layouts of the bathrooms (they could have done better space planning) but we don't mind having small bathrooms.  So, maybe a half bath plus a nice closet would be a good option for the middle room in your place.
 
I'd also gladly trade in a large bedroom for a smaller one for more closets--with less space for more furniture, it's harder to clutter the bedroom.
 
With no other closets, we turned the 1/2 bedroom into a closet (I previously posted a rec for Castle Closets who did the closet).  We've been so happy to have all that storage.  I think we'd be fine with just one bathroom if it were a little bigger and had two sinks instead of one or one small one plus another 1/2 bath would work great for us as well .  With a smaller bath, it's easier to keep it warm enough in the winter and personally, I've never liked giant bathrooms--they always seem like wasted space to me.

6:01 PM 02/08/2013 | -2 Votes

textpert- sorry for mispelling your avatar name both times. I've been mulling this over all day and I really thinking the room divider headboard is the way to go for a few reasons. First and foremost it's really not permanent and a future owner could remove it. I would change it up a tad and hang the clothes and drawers on the backside of the headboard so it would all be hidden upon entering the room. It wouldn't mess with the boarder or plaster crown molding. Maybe make the wall stop about a foot, foot and half from the ceiling so the light still casts through the room. It could look very custom and very expensive without costing  that much. Plus I could work in a full size ensuite with both tub and shower without feeling cramped. I actually think it would look sexy as hell. Thanks for the good advice everyone!

8:05 PM 02/08/2013 | 1 Votes

I wanted to say more on Friday, but had to run.
You have a 50' D house but yet your core (the center section) is small. I'm wondering if the 'second' bedroom was always that deep. I can barely make out the dimensions, but I think it's 18' deep. That's awfully deep for a bedroom that's not the master. I wonder if at some point the room was made bigger. Thre fire place isn't centered on that wall. And the jog in the wall with the door is leading me to suspect this.
You might want to consider the following, if you have the budget. I think it might benefit you, and might make for a better layout. I'm going to put it in another post, this one is long enough.

10:11 AM 02/11/2013 | -1 Votes

- Make the 'second' bedroom smaller. I know, I know. People are always clamoring for space, and I'm advising taking it away. But a bedroom really doesn't need to be 18'Deep. Even if you have two kids in there. Line up the 'new' bedroom wall with the bathroom wall. Put the bedroom door where the jog is between bedroom and bathroom. This will gain you about 6' in your core area.
 
- Bathroom: you'll have to make this smaller also. Hear me out. Move the tub by the window. Leave sink where it is and move toilet north of the sink. The new wall with door will line up with that jog. You'll gain a closet in the hallway outside the bathroom.
 
-Core: With the added 6' that you took from the second bedroom. you can now do a bathroom and walk-in closet in the master bedroom like president posted. Which is a far better use of the space.

10:16 AM 02/11/2013 | 0 Votes

ooops, I just read that  budget is an issue, and I went on and on spending your money moving everythin. so I guess the least amount of work the better.
Back to original thought with low wall.
 I wouldn't stop the low wall just 12" below your ceilings. I think it might look odd. Depending on your ceiling height, I'd go lower, so it looks like a low wall, not a low wall trying to be a full wall. Also, bracing a free standing wall that's too high is difficult and I wouldn't recommend it. Talk to whomever is going to do the work, about the stability of the wall and how high you should go.
I was going to recommend attaching the 'closet system' to your existing wall and raise them off the floor, so your floor pattern is still visible. . I recommend doors or sliders to hide your stuff so nothing is visible as soon as you walk in. Some beautiful custom things can be done, and as you say sexy.

10:28 AM 02/11/2013 | 0 Votes

"sorry for mispelling your avatar name both times."
no problem.
post after pictures when you're done, to satisfy my curousity.

10:30 AM 02/11/2013 | 0 Votes