This isn't very interesting but I would welcome opinions from folks with slightly older kids! It's about morning bathroom time slots vs having an extra shower and basin.
We have a partial en suite off the main bedroom, with a basin and a shower. No loo, but the family bathroom is next door and there's a WC downstairs. We have never used this ensuite and instead it's become a cupboard of doom, making up for poor storage space.
The issue is now the kids are getting older we're starting to have clashes for the family bathroom in the morning. Dh shoots in there first and somehow spends about 30 mins, and everyone else waits their turn after. Increasingly DD is starting to knock and ask to get in there. She starts senior school in Sept and will need access to the bathroom a lot earlier. And then so will ds. I imagine it'll only get more chaotic from here on!
So, is a second shower and basin a huge help when everyone's trying to get out of the door? Should I try to free up the partial en suite in all it's glory? It would mean rehoming difficult items and about a wardrobes worth of clothes. An easier option might be to release just the basin and mirror.
On the other hand we only had one bathroom in my house growing up and no extra loo.... So is a family bathroom and an extra loo downstairs fine and people just need an acceptable time slot?