3 storey house bedroom question

[Evanna13]

I am looking for some advice about the bedroom use in our house.
We live in a 3 storey house. The ground floor has a living room & kitchen. The first floor has our bedroom with ensuite, our sons (3 years) bedroom and a bathroom. The second floor has one big room we use as a guest bedroom/playroom. We have a baby girl who currently sleeps with us but will need her own room soon.
We are undecided about how to organise the bedrooms. We could move up to the second floor (we would need to put in an ensuite) and let our daughter have the room we currently use.
Alternatively we could move both kids up to the second floor, put in a partition wall to split the room in half so they each have their own room. This would involve moving sockets, lights and radiators. We could also then use my sons current room as a guest room.
If we move our bedroom up we would have the cost of putting in an ensuite and we would have no guest bedroom. However I feel it would be nice to have our own space at the top of our house and it feels like the most natural option for me.
If we move both kids upstairs we would have the benefit of a guest room (we do have family visiting regularly). However the kids would have no bathroom up there and I also have concerns about fire safety if they are at the top of the house.
Sorry for the long post but any advice would be very welcome.

[ByeByeLilSebastian]

We have a 3 storey house and use the top bedroom for ourselves, I love it. Ours already had the ensuite but if it didn't I would get one put in in a heartbeat.

How often do you have guests? I'm of the opinion that your house is for you to use in the way that's best for you. Guests aren't a priority for me.

[dingit]

How often would you need guest room?

We have top floor ( loft) with ensuite ( nice and private for sex), although we have a spare room, it's a study.

[NapQueen]

I'd put both dc up there until they can't really share any more, then make the decision after that

[Bluntness100]

We also have a three story house, our bedroom is on the second floor, I'd put the kids on the top floor, let them have run of it as they get older, and not have to worry about mess, then keep the second floor for uou and guests. The lack of a loo is an issue though and I'd put a small one in. Our daughters room is on the top floor and she has a small ensuite.

[bojorojo]

I have never been keen to have a baby with an active 3 year old in one room if I could avoid it. I am not keen that children are allowed to make a mess and keep it as a mess either. How does a baby make a mess? The baby will just be in a cot surely? Allowing children to wallow in mess makes life so difficult later on, for them.

So, if you split the top room into 2 separate rooms, what size would they be? You are creating a four bedroom house but with one bathroom. Is this a good idea regarding selling the house when the day comes? Can you get two bedrooms and a shower room on the top floor? Is this a feasible idea?

On balance, I woud go with the most cost effective solution and move yourselves up to the top floor and put in a bathroom. Keep the children on the middle floor and make sure you can move one of them up with you when guests come to free a room up. Lots of families need/want to use all of the available space, not just part of it. I think you should too. Guests will understand.

[Evanna13]

Thanks for all the advise. We probably have guests staying over twice a month.
I think we are OK for bathrooms, we have a downstairs loo, an ensuite and a bathroom on the first floor but if we move upstairs we would put an ensuite up there too.

[Evanna13]

I don't think we could fit a bathroom and two bedrooms on the second floor.

[YelloDraw]

Can you make 2 bedrooms and get a toilet upstairs?

[mintthins]

We have lived with two different layouts of three story houses. My favourite was definitely the one where the DC had the top floor rooms, and ours and the spare room were on the first floor. It give you the advantage of hearing them jump out of bed, so you get a little advanced warning of imminent arrivals!

We also kept a fire ladder in the top floor, but that was not specific to having the DC on their own up there, that has always been the case.

[SerialReJoiner]

I wouldn't want my younger DC on a different floor to me, and I'm speaking from experience - we have a three story house with 3 bedrooms and a bathroom in the top floor. My 6yo DD was on the top floor in the small bedroom, but couldn't manage up there when she had a bad dream, felt sick, or needed the toilet in the night and was too groggy to find it without a gentle push in the right direction. She's now sharing with our 3yo on the first floor, and we are all happier about it. When she's a bit older, she'll go back to having her own room, but for now she needs that extra bit of supervision.

[PigletJohn]

Is it a house to modern standards, with fire-resisting doors that you actually close, and not open-plan to the stairs?

[Evanna13]

We could probably get a toilet and 2 bedrooms upstairs. The house is a new build so meets safety requirements. I am not sure about them sharing a bedroom. Our daughter especially is a very light sleeper.

[NapQueen]

Could you fit a Jack and Jill type loo in? So it can be accessed from either bedroom but not from the hallway?

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

We are on the top floor and our four offspring sleep on the middle floor, it's a set up that works very well for us. However when we moved her our older kids were between 12 and 7 and our baby slept in our room until he was nearly 2.

[GinAndOnIt]

Could you install en suite upstairs, then rip out ensuite on middle floor and change your current room into two rooms for kids? Then guest room being where your 3yo is now. Hard to tell without layout diagram though.

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

We moved a year ago to a four storey house, kitchen on the ground, living on the first, two bathrooms and two bedrooms on the second and two bedrooms on the top floor. We have three children, the youngest is on the same floor as us and the older two are on the top floor. They are 7, 10 and 12. I wouldn't have wanted them to have to come down the stairs on their own when they were younger, 6 would be my cut off I think but it's completely personal!

[NattyTile]

I'd prefer to have children on the same level as me when they were young enough to need me in the night.

But if that weren't possible, I'd want them upstairs from me so I'd hear them hopping downstairs in the morning.

But I would want a loo on the same floor as them for potty training/lifting in the night/vomit times.

So I'd sling them upstairs, with a partition if you think you need it, and a loo if possible.

And then I'd relax knowing they wouldn't be disturbed by noise downstairs when we had visitors.

But I would want a decent monitor if they were two floors up from me and I was cooking.

I'd also want them up top because then I'd only need one safety gate at the top, not two

[YelloDraw]

Have you got a floor plan?

[ByeByeLilSebastian]

Natty you can still here them when you are on the top floor. My eldest has tried sneaking down a couple of times but I've heard each time.

The fire ladder is a good idea. Just ordered one

[NattyTile]

That's good - I couldn't! It wasn't a great discovery!

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

Yes I could always hear mine. We also had our burglar alarm on all night and when they got up and went downstairs in the morning I could hear the beep of them turning it off (and tell them to go back up if it was too early).