To think ensuites are unnecessary and a bit passé

[Foolishlady]

Just bought a new house. 4 bedrooms but just one tiny bathroom. Dh wants to put an ensuite in the master bedroom but I think it will ruin the dimensions and isn't really worth it. I've never really got the appeal of ensuites- unless spacious they always seem a bit cramped and grotty, and the bathroom is only across the hall. I want to make a combined wet room and downstairs loo instead (we're doing an extension so there would be room) but dh says that's silly. So aibu?? Or is he?

I can see why you don't want to take space off your bedroom but this doesn't mean they are passé.

Downstairs loo is non negotiable.we have one at the moment but it's off the kitchen - ick! It's just whether to add a shower downstairs- where there is room - or mutilate a bedroom(s) upstairs. In both cases the space will be pretty small which is why I'm considering a wet room downstairs for optics (ideally with a screen to save my bog roll), I've heard wet rooms upstairs can go a bit dodge. We could convert the garage to a bedroom/study, then with downstairs shower we would have the perfect set up for elderly/mobility impaired guests?
Delighted to create a 10 page thread about ensuites though, I never knew they provoked so much opinion!

I would have a downstairs shower room as I think that if you are going to have a second bathroom type room somewhere you might as well include a shower. (Assuming there is space).

I would prioritise a downstairs loo over an ensuite, although I know that in many new builds both are standard anyway.

It also makes sense if one of your downstairs rooms is a potential guest room.

Complete boast but I don't care, flame me!

We have a double en suite... A shower room for mr and a bathroom for me... Both have large windows and we love them (previous owners took an en suite from another room and revamped/made it connect to the main bedroom instead, brilliant use of space!)

I would not sacrifice a bedroom for it as(where we live anyway) four bed houses are much easier to sell /worth disproportionately more
We have a washbasin in the corner of our bedroom which means I don't have to share with DH . And it took pressure off bathroom when DDs at home (we do also have a shower cubicle-sounds a bit odd but our bedroom-huge-was put on above garage after house was built . You go down one step, turn left and there is a walled off shower. I rarely use it now as its electric and we have an over- the- bath one which is fed from constant hot water tank .Turn right and there is sink) I often wish we'd put a sink into the(now) guest bedroom when we had the bathroom redone -all our bedrooms are quite big as 1954 house, but to put in an ensuite would have made them too small IMO.A neighbour has a sink (in a cupboard) in all her bedrooms-she too had two DDs .
I'd go for the downstairs shower esp if you have messy children . You can put them in it straight from garden, walks etc . And just put a basin in your room

I have 2 they are great apart from cleaning so, yabu!

We do have a washbasin in our (separate from bathroom) loo, which is opposite our bedroom across mall landing . And a downstairs loo.. In the 26 years we have lived here I have never longed for an ensuite loo, though I do like MY basin (no shaving hairs...)

We built out own house and the one thing I insisted on was a fabulous ensuite.

Ours is 3.5m x 3m and I love it, will make it very difficult whenever we decide to move house

He is IMHO - I don't understand the fetish for en suites, especially if it means the bedroom is poky as a result

I think if the bedroom is pokey then perhaps better having a larger bedroom.

A ground floor toilet is definitely a plus in family homes and for later life so you don't need to use the stairs several times a day.

The two friends who have ground floor showers/ wet rooms were sporty couples so wanted a shower on return from running or golf, etc. Most only need toilet and basin, ideal for family esp with visitors, children having friends round, etc.

YANBU to want downstairs loo, a bit U to annoy those who love their spacious en suites (lucky b'stards :) )

It isn't a fetish to want an ensuite bathroom. I wouldn't sacrifice bedroom space for one, but I wouldn't buy a house with only one bathroom now. It doesn't have to be ensuite BTW, but the availability of two bathrooms would do. I have higher expectations now and a teenage DD who spends hours in the bathroom. I also wouldn't stay in a hotel without an ensuite.

After all, who wants to go back to outside toilets or a water pump in the yard?

I wouldn't want a house without two loos, but I think it's far more practical for that to be in the form of a downstairs loo and an upstairs bathroom.

I don't get the obsession with Just For Me bathrooms and there's no way I'm cleaning more than two.

A house with only one loo would be a deal breaker for us as well. I would still prefer two bathrooms though.

I have 2 bathrooms (both size of double bedrooms) and 1 ensuite (would fit a double bed but long and narrow ). I love them all. If I did them again i would have a second shower (2 have only baths). we have 1 downstairs loo which is a bit small.

I can't imagine having only one bathroom now. It makes mornings so much easier - dh and dd can shower at the same time in separate bathrooms rather than someone having to get up 20 minutes not so earlier.

And when we have over night guests this is even more the case

I've always hated having a loo straight off a bedroom. I once had one and never used it.

My ideal would be an extra bathroom off the main hall. Although I hate cleaning, so maybe not.