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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To dislike ensuite bathrooms?

281 replies

UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 22:35

Currently house-hunting and getting fed up with en-suite bathrooms being carved out of bedroom space and then being sold as some sort of plus point.

Plus, there is nothing cools my ardour like the sound of dp doing his ablutions first thing (and I'm sure he feels the same about me).

Am I alone in preferring my bedroom to be entirely separate from my bathroom? Why have they become such A Thing?

OP posts:
Original poster
UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 22:53

pannikin, uuurgh don't even get me started on new builds that have an en-suite for every frickin' bedroom! WHYYYYY?

OP posts:
TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 01/09/2018 22:53

Also they often don't have any windows

Catspyjamazzzz · 01/09/2018 22:53

No way, foul. I wouldn’t mind having one in the guest bedroom though as good for guests and only occasional use.

dementedpixie · 01/09/2018 22:54

Ours has a window and an extractor fan

ApproachingATunnel · 01/09/2018 22:54

I’m with you. I’d rather have a space for my clothes than a bog. Plus, all the damp going into the room.

catlady3 · 01/09/2018 22:54

I'm with you on this, don't get the appeal. It's just an inconvenience that it's not accessible. Also dislike the number of bathrooms generally. One large bathroom, one loo, unless you've got a huge mansion, who needs more? When we were house hunting, some places had been carved to bits with one having three (!!!) ensuites in a 4-bed place. Who's possibly going to use all those, unless you're renting out every bedroom separately?

Squidgee · 01/09/2018 22:55

we love ours.

I'm divorced and live with mom, we each have a double room and also have an ensuite each and the kids have the main bathroom.

I love the privacy of having my own loo and not having to walk the upstairs landing in a towel when I shower.

Essexgirlupnorth · 01/09/2018 22:55

We use ours everyday as it has the best shower and is great if I need to wee in the night. We moved from a house with only a family bathroom with a shower over the bath.
However when it's windy the extractor fan rattles and it does keep me awake and drive me crazy

one2three4five · 01/09/2018 22:56

YABU- I love mine! We moved fairly recently and I have never had one before (never thought I wanted one either), but I love it. We have a really big bedroom though, and it's not taking up bedroom space at all, so maybe that makes a difference. Also, I've just found out that I'm pregnant with my second child, and if my last pregnancy is anything to go by, I am going to love not having to traipse down the hall to the toilet 23 times a night!

Growingboys · 01/09/2018 22:56

YABU. I wouldn't buy a house without one.

Deal breaker for me!

Thissameearth · 01/09/2018 22:56

I have a large en suite with a separate bath and shower and double sinks. It’s not carved out of the bedroom: bedroom is a large rectangle and then there is a large outshot. You can’t hear any ablutions. I love it and it’s esp nice when people are staying to have your own space and not walk past anyone in a towel just out of the shower. We have a large family bathroom as well for DC and guests or my husband if I’m having a shower and he needs to get ready. But I have stayed in places with tiny damp noisy en suites and know exactly what you mean so would say it depends on space and positioning.

Original poster
UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 22:57

Why would you have to walk around the house in a towel if you didn't have an en-suite? What's wrong with a dressing-gown/bathrobe?

OP posts:
StatisticallyChallenged · 01/09/2018 22:58

This is a big pet hate of mine. If it's a generous master "suite" type setup, where you still have a good sized bedroom, maybe a walk in wardrobe and a nice en suite then that's fine. If it's been carved out of the bedroom/wedged in so you end up with a 10ft x 10ft master bedroom then no thank you!

Thissameearth · 01/09/2018 22:59

We have three windows in bedroom and en suite plus very muted extraction in all our bathrooms/loo so no damp. And a switch for underlighting for night time so you don’t get dazzled/wake up your husband/wife

Original poster
UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 23:00

If it's a generous master "suite" type setup, where you still have a good sized bedroom, maybe a walk in wardrobe and a nice en suite then that's fine

Fair enough, I could probably live with a very generous suite Grin. But let's be honest, most aren't like that.

OP posts:
BarbaraHepworth · 01/09/2018 23:00

I've got three boys and a husband.
I love my ensuite. Like the PP it is MINE.
I'm not constantly having to clean the loo/basin/shower before I can use it.
I keep mine clean and the main bathroom gets cleaned once a week, unless we have visitors in which case it's done before they come.
I have a window & underfloor heating. Marvellous!

AriadnePersephoneCloud · 01/09/2018 23:00

Yanbu. I don't want one either. If we ever bought a house with an en suite one of the children would have it.

Original poster
UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 23:02

Interesting that some of you say the en-suite is yours alone - how do you 'enforce' this with partners? I can't imagine dp going for that rule!

OP posts:
ShatnersBassoon · 01/09/2018 23:02

Also they often don't have any windows

Mine do, and extractor fans.

I like them. It isn't anything like weeing in the corner of your bedroom, unless you think going in a regular bathroom is like pissing on the landing.

I like being able to be completely ready for the day without having to leave my bedroom.

sonypony · 01/09/2018 23:02

I think it depends on the house. We're in a town house, the top floor is just our bedroom and ensuite. It works well. But when we were looking round 2 story houses where the master bedroom didn't have enough storage to accommodate a tiny ensuite when the bathroom was next door anyway we thought the same and avoided those houses.

Original poster
UnnecessaryFennel · 01/09/2018 23:03

Ariadne I must admit I have considered whether an en-suite would be better for the teenage ds...

OP posts:
haverhill · 01/09/2018 23:04

I agree. It’s a toilet essentially in the room you sleep in. Ewww.
OTOH, My DB’s house is HUGE and the room we stay in there has a proper full sized bathroom directly off the bedroom. It has windows too. It’s very handy. But most en suites are cubby holes.

Maelstrop · 01/09/2018 23:05

Odd to be shitting so close to where you sleep.

NotTheQueen · 01/09/2018 23:06

We have 2.5 bathrooms Downstairs WC, main bathroom and ensuite, and there’s only two of us. Our main bathroom rarely gets used. The ensuite is narrow, the bloody big sink the developer installed meant unless you had a BMI similar to a six year old, you could not actually get out of the shower and towel yourself. I got that changed the day after we picked up the keys, and now we’re fine.
As for bright lights for midnight visits, we had a bowl sensor light but since our two cats have made their feelings known about our roman blinds, we’ve reluctantly adjusted to sleeping with uncovered windows. Meaning we pee by moonlight.

We both sleep starkers though so if we didn’t have an ensuite we’d risk never having house guests again after a 3am meeting on the landing in our naked less-than-glorious birthday suits

lily2403 · 01/09/2018 23:07

I love my en-suite, no fighting with DC for the showers etc all my nice things go unwasted by them too
DH or myself never feel the need to poop during the night, pee yes but I’m too busy sleeping to notice if he gets up or not