Am I devaluing the house?

[SofiaGracee]

My partner and I just bought a five bedroom house. It was cheap and an absolute state and we’re renovating the entire property.

Upstairs (attic) has two bedrooms, one a good size and the other not so much. I want to turn that room into a bathroom with a feature bath (and have the bathroom downstairs with just a shower). Partner thinks losing a bedroom is crazy.

what’s not appealing.
5 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and ensuite
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an ensuite

(Ensuite is in the master bedroom on the first floor)

We are a family of 5 with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I would definitely prefer an extra bedroom rather than another bathroom/ensuite - it would be really useful as a spare room or office.

Agreed.

A big luxurious master sells a house not boxy rooms

Who would use the bath all the way up there? Usually it's just young children and most families would prefer a bath in the main bathroom close to the child's bedroom.

I would leave it 5 bed. Is it not more useful to have a storage room as, presumably, there is no loft space?

Will the top floor be your bedroom and bathroom? Otherwise it won’t get used that much if you have an en-suite. You will presumably want to be on the same floor as the baby, so with that in mind it’s a waste of money, a feature bathroom where there isn’t any plumbing in place will cost a fortune.
If you stay there, have more children and want to hide in the loft do it then.

I’d change room 5 into a bathroom accessed via walk in robe then you have a luxurious master suite

Being on same floor as baby or small children is a consideration.

We looked at new build - 4 bed - were the master bedroom was on top floor away from rest of the bedrooms and we just weren't happy with the distance as kids were young still really put us off - would be fine now with teens.

Does it matter if you devalue it??? You’re going to be living there a while I assume? So just set it up how you want to live in it.

the good thing with option 2 is if someone wants to they could rent out the whole top part of the house in a house share, good money maker as whole top part of house becomes rentable XD me myself would prefer 4 bed and 3 baths to an extra bedroom/study

A lots of it depends on the living space. If you have a huge downstairs then 5 beds makes sense, but if the living area is more of an average size, it probably wouldn't suit a large family - so 4 beds is fine.

I honestly think you should always create the home that works for you, not what you think might sell better down the line.

Unless you do something completely batshit that no-one will ever want, it will sell fine later down the line either way.

Round here the 5th bedroom doesnt add anything to the price of a house as most people want 3 or 4 bedroom houses. I would ask a local estate agent for advice

I agree with the comment that the attic rooms aren't that practical as bedrooms with no loo on the same floor. I'd go for the 4 bedroom option.

It really should depend on how you want to live in the house and for how long. We removed the bath from our main bathroom when we renovated as we have others and figured by the time we sell it'll be due another modernisation so new owners can do whatever suits them best.

If you're going to take the attic level bedroom then yes, I'd make the other room a bath or shower room, but I would also want to sleep on the same level as my children. If you're only considering on value and for selling on, then I'd maybe take some plumbing and drainage up to that level so it could easily be used in the future, but box it in and not fit out the room. That way when you sell on, the new owners have easy options to suit themselves.

You need a toilet on the same floor as a bedroom.

That said, unless it’s for a guest room or a teen’s room, a single bedroom and bathroom on the same floor isn’t practical once you have dc. Lots of up and down stairs and you’ll want to have them on the same floor as you probably at least until secondary school.

I think you are right, it's much more appealing as teenagers/lodgers/children/visitors have their own bathroom instead of having to go down to the main one. Are you planning on selling as soon as you've done it up? Worry less about devaluing if you are in it for long term and not a project.

Four bed option sounds the most appealing, should you wish to resell in future. Our family house was 5 bed, we had a full family bathroom, an en-suite shower room, and downstairs loo. Worked really well for our family of four. We have since downsized.

Knock it through, but have a bath in there as well. When you have children, you are not going to want to traipse up to the top floor to give them a bath every night. To save space you could put the shower over the bath. That would be more sensible for a family.

If you decide to turn bed 5 into a bathroom, you can put a big shower in there instead of a bath.

Who would use the attic? I think if you've space it's useful to have a loo on each floor. Statement bathroom not so bothered about but practical loo and shower will be a practical lay out.

I think you need the main bathroom with a bath on the same floor as the dc's bedrooms.

I only know a few people with loft conversions (how is that given they were all the rage for decades?) and they all have a bathroom or shower room upstairs with that bedroom. Personally I'd opt for the shower and then have more room for a spacious closet!

Honestly 2 bathrooms is probably enough

Four bedrooms option is much more saleable.

Depends if you need 5 bedrooms, if you do you do if you don't the 2nd bathroom sounds nice.

Slightly off the point but is there a downstairs loo? I'd prioritise that over a second bathroom. Sorry if you've mentioned it and I've missed it.

Bathroom, otherwise the occupants of bedroom 4 have to trail downstairs for a wee inthe night, waking others.

That's what we are planning to do pretty much - we don't have an en suite though, just a bathroom upstairs and shower room downstairs. Planning to stay here for years though, so I'd rather use the space as I want it