AIBU to wonder why new houses are so badly designed?

[StarlingMurmuration]

We're planning to move house soon and I've just spent an enjoyable though frustrating half hour on Rightmove, wondering why on earth modern houses are so poorly designed. We have been renting a small three bed new build terrace, with a WC on the ground floor, and a family bathroom and ensuite on the first floor... I liked my ensuite but at the same time thought it was ridiculous as two of the three bedrooms were significantly smaller than they needed to be to allow the ensuite to fit. But I've just seen a house that takes the biscuit. A four bed, three floor semi with five (FIVE!) toilets/bathrooms. A WC on the ground floor and one on the first floor, a family bathroom and two ensuites. Meanwhile the master bedroom and the second bedroom with ensuites are both tiny (9'5" x 8'11"), and the other bedrooms are even smaller. Why in earth do developers think people want so many bathrooms at the expense of actual room space? AIBU to find this infuriating, or does everyone else actually ant five toilets in a four bedroom house?

[Degustibusnonestdisputandem]

YADNBU! I am amazed at the poor quality and layout of new builds in this country

[DisappointedOne]

We have 4 bathrooms/toilets in a 4-6 bed house.

[StarlingMurmuration]

Just for those house porners among you, this is the house in question: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52912328.html?premiumA=true

[DisappointedOne]

That said, all except one of our bedrooms are good sized doubles. I wouldn't buy a house that couldn't fit a superking bed comfortably in the master bedroom.

[mmollytoots]

yanbu I rent a new build 2 bedroom.

we have 3 bathrooms. wtf

I do wish there was no ensuote and then the bedrooms would be bigger.

Also a serious lack of storage space

[YouTheCat]

It's because of

[DisappointedOne]

That is exceptionally badly designed btw!

[StarlingMurmuration]

I don't have any objections to the number of toilets per se, though it does seem silly to me to have more bathrooms than bedrooms, but when their inclusion means the bedrooms are so small, it just seems stupid. Surely a family bathroom, WC and ensuite would have been enough for this house? Then the master bedroom might have been bigger than a box room.

[StarlingMurmuration]

Exactly, Disappointed!

[LashesandLipstick]

YABU some of us like privacy in the loo

[chanie44]

I would guess that due to housing costs, multiple adults living together is likely to become more common (eg adult children living with their parents or adults buying with friends) so having ensuites is desirable.

I live in a Victorian terrace and grew up in one, so I've only ever had one loo. The house wasn't built with a bathroom so it was squeezed in the third bedroom, so we have 2 decent sized bedrooms, a tiny third room and tiny bathroom.

Our kitchen is at the back of the house whereas many new builds have them at the front. I would quite like having the living room looking out onto the garden.

I guess layout is such a person preference.

[FraggleHair]

I think it's something that's common in America, more bathrooms than bedrooms so maybe it's something people here are now looking for?

I agree that new builds in this country are of poor quality. Unless you're looking at the much higher end of the market the internal walls in the average new build seem to be made from little more than reinforced cardboard. Houses built in the 1970s are fine but after that it all seemed to go downhill.

[mmollytoots]

I think its a legal requirement now that all new builds have a loo downstairs. so really an ensuite is not needed

[ASettlerOfCatan]

We spent ages finding our house. I've seen so many of similar size totally unusable for our family of 5 due to nothing more than a stupid layout.

[Oldraver]

How is the house a semi ? is there another house at the back ?

Faringdon is a nice place though ?

[StarlingMurmuration]

Lashes, surely all you need for privacy on the loo is a locking door? Not four other toilets?

[FraggleHair]

Ugh, faux Georgian (Fauorgian?) is the worst. It's too tall and too narrow, would be much better over two floors rather than three.

[wonkylegs]

Very few are 'designed' they are put together from 'standard' plans by a cad technician and are generally generated through a combination of what the marketing department thinks will sell and the bean counters think will realise the most profit. It has bugger all to do with what people want or need.
I think they should be banned from marketing new builds with 3/4 size furniture as it's basically misdirection.
Scarily there are more regulations on how you market and sell cabbage than the private new build housing market.
I have worked with small builder developers who did build well thought out homes with decent space and build quality but the recession saw a lot of those go out of business.

[Strokethefurrywall]

This is one of my peeves and I live in a country where space isn't such an issue with regard to building homes - we're having our house built and the current design is 1 bathroom downstairs, 1 big ensuite in the master (which is huge) and 1 big family bathroom with double vanity.

The alternative design is for the other bedrooms to have their own ensuites (which we currently have) which I just don't understand! Why cut down on space for another sodding bathroom that someone has to keep clean? Although one of the designs is walk in closet which leads through to the bathroom which I've always wanted. But it's one of the kids' bedrooms so I wouldn't get to enjoy it anyway!

[StarlingMurmuration]

Oldraver, yes, I think there's another house stuck to the back. Faringdon is pretty nice, though it's just one of the places we're looking at.

Anything built after the 1990s seems to have really tiny rooms with no storage... Even the top end builds going up at the moment at small. I grew up in a three bed Victorian terrace, but it was so big with such high ceilings, and so much storage space. Only one bathroom though!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Farringdon is lovely and has the best charity shops ever

[LashesandLipstick]

Starling I like the comfort of knowing no one else is going to be needing the toilet at the same time, that I can take as long as I want in the bathroom, that I can leave my stuff where I want it and know it won't be moved...I like having my own bathroom

[wafflyversatile]

Also lots of housebuilding companies don't employ architects to design their houses, just churn out boxes based on previous design.

The ensuite run amok issue is to do with renting to adult sharers I think.

[ppeatfruit]

NYADNBU Starling Yes agree wonkylegs The 'design' cowboys look at the USA and forget that it's an enormous country with loads of space so their huge houses have room for tons of bathrooms. G.B. doesn't.

And don't get me started on the ubiquitous breeze block, no sound insulation, hardly a nod to the environment.