When we first toured our current home, we fell in love with it in part because of its master bath. We envisioned it as our private retreat. I loved the idea of soaking in warm water after we tucked our children in bed. And Matt, I think, thought the walk-in closet would organize me.

At least nothing is on the floor.

But after we moved in, to our surprise our master bath felt cramped.

“Maybe we should build separate closets,” Matt said, as we talked about how to lay out our new home.

“Or an alcove for the bath,” I said. Because we always seemed to be bumping into each other.

However, after reading Sarah Susanka’s The Not So Big House book, I realized we’d fallen into a trap home builders and buyers often do: we think bigger is better.

But the issue wasn’t that our master bath wasn’t big enough. It was how we lived in the space.

Homes, Susanka writes, require both private and open spaces. “Sometimes we feel like being with others, and other times we need solitude.” Yet our bathroom has no door on it. Which makes it a sort of gathering space. And not a very sanitary one.

Well, this is awkward…

And by putting our only bath in our master suite, our children, their toys, and their towels are constantly underfoot. Before I bathe, I must clean. So much for a private retreat.

Mommy, can I get in, too?

Susanka says we often mistake quantity for quality. But size and volume do not equal comfort. A bathroom door does.

What room in your house works for you?