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 like mine but then it's a big ensuite with his and her sinks, bath and full separate shower. It's great when we have guests as the guest room also has an ensuite but with a full shower and no bath. But neither are small bathrooms, I think it's handy to be honest and one bathroom per a house doesn't suit lots of family situations. I like that everyone can get ready for bed in their rooms and there's no walking around between rooms.

We also have a hall toilet which is also weirdly huge, no idea what the planners were thinking.

I don't think either of you being unreasonable, you just seem to have different preferences. Both suggestions are workable but just different.

We each have our own bathroom in my house and have to say would not go back to sharing with anyone.

Why anyone would want a downstairs bathroom I don't know.

I love my ensuite but it's built as part of the house design. I don't think I'd like one cutting into the room.

Very useful though.

I love mine, love it, it's like a sanctuary away from 3 DCs, it's always clean and fully stocked :)

Another bathroom can be useful (6 of us) but I don't want one off my bedroom. I prefer flexibility of space. But then I would never knock a loo and washroom through to be a bigger bathroom as I like to bathe without people needing the loo while I'm in there. I think a lot depends on how you live but I would say you need at least four bedrooms before one becomes worth the space usage.

If you ever sell it I think people would expect a decent size main bathroom in a 4 bed house. We had the same issue with our house - 4 beds, decent size en suite with a bath but really small main bathroom. We extended on the ground floor and did a partial 2nd floor extension to extend the bathroom. Is there not an option to extend the main bathroom by taking some off one of the bedrooms ? I don't think shoehorning an ensuite in would compensate for a tiny main bathroom or adding a wet room downstairs - you are both BU ??

We have one and honestly it has been the biggest disappointment. Any toilet emergencies stinkout the bedroom too.

dunno about passe, and I hate wet rooms and downstairs bathrooms, but so many ensuites seem very badly thought out: poky, with no window so those horrible noisy extractor fans, and a tiny shower cubicle that you bang your elbows on all the time. I can certainly see the appeal of stepping out of your bathroom into the bedroom after having a shower, but there is no appeal in someone pooing in a corner of your bedroom.

A proper bathroom with a window and a 'no pooing' rule would be OK, I guess.

I love my ensuite ,it's fairly spacious , I would hate a downstairs bathroom , all you need downstairs is a loo .

You think wet rooms are de rigeur...?!?!? Yikes. See id consider that like rag rolling or feature walls so passé id knock money off to correct it.

A well done ensuite of any size is great. Like most things.

YABU, I love mine but it is quite big.

I absolutely lovely my ensuite. I'd try to avoid buying a house without one.

When I was a kid my dad made one for their bedroom by taking the built-in wardrobe and doubling the depth to eat into the room by just a couple of feet on half the width of the room. It's a lovely spacious bathroom, plenty of room for shower, toiler, sink and radiator. Don't rule it out.

love my en suite, it's fabulous. so yabu.

I don't like them. When we were redoing our bathroom, MIL suggested that we make the walk-in shower smaller, so we could steal some space from the bathroom and add it to our integral wardrobe, before turning the wardrobe into an en suite. OUR BEDROOM IS RIGHT NEXT TO THE BATHROOM.
Why would we need an en suite?

I did qualify by excluding spacious ensuites - basically a bathroom off a room. This would be a box in the corner! We have two kids and hoping to have another so think would like to keep 4 bedrooms. Otherwise turning box room & bathroom into bigger bathroom & ensuite off guest room would be possible. I kinda threw passé into the title to make this a bit controversial and aibu worthy, sorry about that. Though I do think having an ensuite for every room is definitely a bit too early mid noughties bling for me!

Each to their own, I find the idea of a downstairs wet room a bit strange (not sure why) and I wouldn't be without my ensuite although we did take the one out of the second bedroom as it seemed unnecessary for a 4 year old and a large toy cupboard was more useful. I'm sure that will come back to bite me when he's a teenager though!

I think having two bathrooms is great ideally one just for me but not keen on en suites. Bit too much like peeing in the same room and it sounds so loud at night

I have two in my house, plus family bathroom. Mine is great, really big with a free standings bath and shower cubical. The other is on the spare bedroom and is great when we have guests because we all have lots of privacy. I wouldn't have a downstairs shower room, you'd have to bring all your clothes downstairs when you want to use it. I live in a very old house as well so it wouldn't have had even a tap indoors when it was built.

I also have a downstairs loo BTW
Love this boasty loo thread

I think 4-bed houses with only one loo are passe and ridiculous.

Love our ensuite but then it's a modern full sized bathroom including bath, not just a grotty cupboard with a shower in. It's great for us as our bedroom is on the top floor and otherwise we'd have to traipse downstairs. Also like that it's ours and never has to be used by guests.

I've just gained my first ensuite and I love it. It is roomy, has a big window and a ginormous double power shower and a bidet to amuse DH.

I didn't know I needed one until I had it. Likewise with my house sized cupboard integrated double garage.

I would not want a wet room downstairs and probably wouldn't view a house with one.

you are not allowed to poo in the en-suite!! That is reserved for the main bathroom or the downstairs toilet if you can't make it up the stairs in time

YABU
When 4 people all want to have a shower or clean their teeth at the same time then the ensuite is usually the only option of a second bathroom in your avereage sized family house.

When we were house hunting, we saw a bedroom with a toilet in the middle of the room. Not walled in, just in the middle of the room. Plumbed in, functional toilet. There was a sink next to it too. Now that's what I call grotty