First, here's how the room was originally... The largest bedroom in the house, southwest exposure (stunning in the evenings), overlooking the original front of the house all the way down the hill which used to be part of it's estate (now filled with small infill 20's homes). Judging by the size and masculine fireplace, I'd guess that this was Mr. Kelly's room. His wife Agnes' likely adjoined on the left (our current master, and the smallest of the main bedrooms) given the art nouveau fireback, gas sconces, lincrusta, tower and feminine wallpapers.
Next, the room as it was when we bought the house... Drop ceilings, no working electrical or plumbing, leaking badly, saturated with cat piss and missing moldings. What else, hearth tile missing where the wall was built on top, rotted corner where they had ripped out a window and not properly closed up the hole, missing flooring and burst pipes from the radiator freezing when the house was empty, caving in plaster and badly damaged double hung windows. I'm sure there's more, but that's enough to give me nightmare flashbacks. It's also the list for most every room in the house I suppose.
And now...
If you know me at all, you know making these changes upset me. After the indignities this house has suffered there is nothing it deserves more than a true restoration. At the same time, even though we plan on being carried out feet first, we have to think of the house's future, and insure that there is no excuse for future travesties. It's unlikely that future owners will have need of 9 bedrooms, or be able to fit their clothes in an armoire in the bedroom, so some changes are inevitable. In the case of this room, it was the only one with access to plumbing, or that lent itself to being split up. On the plus side, no structural changes are being made, and we've restored a hidden window and added a stained glass window. Is it a net gain? Probably not... But a second floor laundry is certainly all it's cracked up to be, and having a decent shower in the distant future won't be so bad either...
An addition to these plans is Ross' fantastic entry - woe that we couldn't have made it work without major expenditures. It also brought an issue to my attention - the basis for these drawings were done years ago now, there is in fact NO WINDOW next to the bay window in the bathroom. It was theorized at the time, and historical photos have proved we theorized wrong.