First world problem, new house, too many bedrooms but I think iabu

[Bodear]

Dh and I are moving to a new house. It has 4 double bedrooms (the master has a small walk through wardrobe to the en-suite) and a single. There’s also an office downstairs. There are just two of us, no children.
We can’t agree on how to use the bedrooms and it’s causing issues.
Ideally I’d like a double room as a dressing room/ wardrobe and we both need an office plus I’d like to have 2 spare rooms and dh would like a gym.
Any ideas on how to structure it?

Look at it this way, you fall out with your oh, you then have a bedroom each lol.

In the words of Chandler Bing ".... my wallet's too small for my fifties, and my diamond shoes are too tight!"

so what does DH want, and what do you want?
Keeping 2 rooms purely for guests that come twice a year is indeed a waste in my opinion. We have a double sofa-bed in both dressing room and office - so most of the time, the rooms are used, but it's really easy to move a couple of things around and voila, comfortable guest rooms.

I would definitely put the gym in the garage.

There are some nasty comments on this thread, it’s not like the OP posted this on a forum specifically for people struggling financially. MN has always been a broad church.

Where will the music room and the library be?

@Afrigginggoat we were thinking that it’s a beautiful house and we’ve worked hard to be able to afford it. Would it be morally better to buy something smaller in a more expensive area? Or should we spend the money on clothes and cars instead? I don’t understand why you think I’m greedy to spend my own money.

Anyway, back to the suggestions.. yes I’m more than happy to have the single room as my office (and to put a day bed/ single sofa bed in there). The walk through wardrobe has no natural light so doesn’t really work as a dressing room as it’s not great for doing make up. I was thinking that dh could have that and the en-suite.

I think that if we have the master for us, 2nd as my dressing room plus day bed, 3rd as DH’s office plus sofa bed, 4th as spare room, 5th as my office plus day bed and the gym can go downstairs or in the garage then that works all round. We can fit 6 adult guests (assuming 2 couples) and any additional kids can go on air beds. Does that sound ok from a guest pov?

I think it hinges on how much office space you need - if it's just a desk, chair and a shelf, that fits easily into a guest room. Ditto a dressing room.

Obviously this is an issue if you expect to work when guests visit.

Otherwise just be super tidy when guests come and have lockable parts of the dressing/office facilities.

I would prioritise separate space for a gym because to me, it's so much easier to work out in a dedicated space where the machines aren't being used as coat stands/have to be brought out etc. To me exercise is a big priority for my mental and physical health, so if you've got room for it, it's great.

(we have a 3 bed house and treat the second and third bedrooms as guest/office/dressing/laundry space to keep the master nice)

its just sickening greed

What on earth?! It's not like if Op didn't buy it an indigent family could live there?! She hasn't said she's a LL which is the usual MN bugbear relating property and 'greed' so what on earth do you mean?

As an aside I detest the word greed and all its connotations as I feel it is so often misused - a hungry child - greedy. A person who wants to spend their probably hard earned money - greedy. Bullshit.

What's the size of the doubles? If they are not big I would knock 2 together to have a larger bedroom, dressing area & en-suite.

Get a study bed for one of the rooms and then it can be a spare room and an office. They are really nice and proper beds/mattresses

Op people like you are driving up property prices and contributing to a culture of under-occupying space which means poorer families live in crowded homes. No way does a childless couple need more than a three bed at most and if you've got too much money you could try donating it to help others.

Thanks @Disfordarkchocolate - I hadn’t really considered a single sofa bed before this thread but they have loads of options.

Having separate bedrooms and bathrooms uses up the space, also separate studies. We only really share the sitting room and kitchen these days. Suits us both.

There are some really cool bed-desk things you can get now but if you don't have guests often a sofa bed might be easiest. Or a wall bed, are they called Murphy beds?

The op could live in the back of beyond so some of the accusations are a bit unfair. Are we talking Mayfair?

They look lovely don't they, and they have lots of option. I wish I lived close enough for a visit. We have a single futon sofa bed which is very comfortable.

Something like this, it was very easy to assemble.

www.futoncompany.co.uk/sofa-beds/size/single/pine-snug-sofabed.html

We have 5 doubles. We have the master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite bathroom. 2 children though, so they have a bedroom each (one gets en-suite showroom and other uses family bathroom). 4th bedroom has a double bed plus office furniture down one side and wardrobes the other (sounds crowded but decent size room so plenty of space). 5th bedroom is set up as a gym. Only downside of gym upstairs is the pounding on the ceiling which can be heard downstairs. If we didn't have kids we'd have the gym in our small second living room which is currently a play room.

Some people on here are bloody mean. My fantasy house has 9 bedrooms and I'm sure I could fill them. The OP buying a 3 bedroom house isn't going to free up housing for poorer people.

That sounds like a really good plan. Nice balance between your everyday use and visitors.

When we moved my DH insisted on me having the box room as a room for me and it's surprised me how much I appreciate having my own space. It's important not to sacrifice your day to day life for guests (unless you are planning to have people literally every weekend!).

Most of all - have fun decorating/furnishing etc. It surprised me how much I enjoyed kitting out our new place.

Buy whatever house you like, it’s not greedy
I have 7 beds, they all get used in some way.

@doolallylala definitely more back of beyond than Mayfair. Not that it should make any difference.

@longearedbat wasn’t it Tim Burton and Helena Bonham-Carter who had adjoining houses?

@Exploring I’ve never heard of a desk bed but I’m going to investigate that now....

I would have a music room AND library AND orangery AND a workshop AND morning sitting room AND an afternoon sitting room AND a dining room AND a walled garden and a greenhouse and an attic with dormer windows. And at Christmas I would give people goats and composting toilets.

Oh my goodness.. too many bedrooms. That's just awful.

It's a hard life on Mumsnet tonight - what with this thread and the woman who has been surprised with a holiday to the Maldives.
Terrible. My heart bleeds.

Anyway.... I think if you have a massive house like that I don't really think it's fair to put up guests on blow up beds. One night maybe - but it's still not that pleasant. The sofa bed and murphy bed ideas are good.

This thread and the holiday to the Maldives thread, I have read both in a row!

Let me give you a real problem, two teens, each in a tiny bedroom. Me, trying to set up a sewing business, sewing machines on dining table, no, not in separate dining room, in the living room. If I try to sew when anyone is watching TV, they moan. Nowhere else to go other than my 'craft shed' which in winter is too cold and in summer too full of next doors weed smoke to be comfortable!

I know others are plenty worse off than me, with multiple children sharing a room and no table or sewing machines for it to be a problem but really.

This sounds more like showing off than a real problem!

Not that it should make any difference.

Well you less likely to get tarnished with selfish tycoon status 😁