To remove the ensuite?

[StayOrGoOrWhat]

After reading another thread on here, I’m really surprised about how many people have said they hate en-suite bathrooms! It got me thinking… we love our house but the house bathroom is a pokey little cupboard. The previous owners crammed an en-suite into the master bedroom but this means that we have barely any storage space and are left frequently walking into the bed because there’s hardly any space around it. There’s no space for a beside table on my side.

So, is it unreasonable to have one tiny bathroom and a decent sized main bedroom or would you keep the en-suite? There is no downstairs loo although we are thinking of adding one but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

@Seashor

I wouldn’t buy a house without an en suite, it’s a total must have for me. There’s nothing grim about them at all. During the night they are absolutely fantastic! I honestly don’t understand the nose turning up at them.

Depends on the house layout and size. As our upstairs rooms all come off a fairly small first floor landing, the walk from my side of the bed to the bathroom is no greater than the walk to the ensuite in some hotels I've stayed in, and it has the advantage that there are two walls to minimise any, err, noises. I certainly wouldn't swap that for an en-suite.

@bigbluebus

Don't know what age your 2 DCs are OP but I'm guessing they're not yet teenagers. I think you will regret the decision to lose a bathroom once they are!

This ^^ Especially if you don't have a downstairs loo.

I could live without an en-suite if it was a period property, but I’d have to have at least two loos, and preferably one of them downstairs.

I love our en-suite because it means I can have the “public” bathroom to myself while DH has the en suite (on his side of the bed so more convenient). There’s only the 2 of us and its bliss to have the whole bathroom to myself.

Thst's how it works in our house as well @Nocaloriesinchocolate, except that DD and I share the house bathroom.

We will have a house full of students for DD's birthday, and I will be very glad of our ensuite then.

We are a family of 3 (was 4 until one left home) with one bathroom. The loo is in it. If it was separate or we had a separate loo, life would be so much better, we will add another one when we redo the house.

We had a separate bathroom and toilet . I'm disabled so it was easier for me to have an en suite as I live with family . We had a toilet put into the existing bathroom the stole a square metre of landing to add to toilet room, put a doorway through from my bedroom . It takes no room up from my bedroom , it has a one metre square shower cubicle plus sink , toilet and window. It's only me that uses it .
The bonus is that because it's an extra for me as I'm disabled we get to reduce our council tax by one complete band , so from band E to band D .

I don't know anyone in real life who doesn't like them. If it's a decent sized house it's kind of expected.

We were looking for 3 bedrooms+ semi detached with an en-suite and preferably a garage. We ended uk buying a 4 bed detached with those things. A few bigger houses nearby have 2 en-suites!

Equally, I don’t know anyone in real life who has one or expects one. It’s only on MN I’ve encountered the love for them, or the idea of a “master bedroom/master suite” – the joy of MN being encountering thousands of views and a whole different world from the one we each move in.

@burritofan

Equally, I don’t know anyone in real life who has one or expects one. It’s only on MN I’ve encountered the love for them, or the idea of a “master bedroom/master suite” – the joy of MN being encountering thousands of views and a whole different world from the one we each move in.

This. On the other hand, I do know someone who removed one.

I would love to have an ensuite! I've had them in the past when renting but not in the house that we bought unfortunately. I've never known anyone to say they didn't like them, they would be very desirable amoung anyone I know.

Our house has only one bathroom and its downstairs. There's only the 2 of us living here now so it's fine but we plan on putting in an extra upstairs bathroom early next year now that we're starting a family.

Only having one bathroom is my least favourite thing about this house! If you ever plan to sell your house then I think an ensuite with a smaller bedroom will be more appealing to buyers than a house with one bathroom.

@fourminutestosavetheworld Ah lucky you, a dressing room leading on to an ensuite is my dream.

I don’t see the point of en suites unless you have non family people living in the house such as someone renting a room. Extra toilet downstairs would be ideal though if you have the space.

@MissJeanBrodiesprime

I don’t see the point of en suites unless you have non family people living in the house such as someone renting a room. Extra toilet downstairs would be ideal though if you have the space.

Or teenagers

@MissJeanBrodiesprime

I don’t see the point of en suites unless you have non family people living in the house such as someone renting a room. Extra toilet downstairs would be ideal though if you have the space.

So you can have a tranquil, calming bathroom experience with all of your posh glass bottles out, expensive bath oil, candles, fluffy white towels.

While your kids slosh bath water, toothpaste and shampoo everywhere, leave piles of plastic bath toys or leaky bottles of self tan (depending on age) in daft places, make do with grungy towels because they get dropped in the sink or get make up all over them (again, depending on age) in the family bathroom.

shivawn. It's lovely. I don't understand the haters at all.

I like ours and find it really useful, especially when we have visitors. We let the visitors have sole use of the family bathroom, and we just use the en-suite for the duration of their visit. I think it’s really nice that they can have the ‘big’ bathroom to themselves.
It’s been useful for social distancing too, and was invaluable when my DH had to self-isolate recently before an operation.
We also have a downstairs loo.

If using it at night disturbs a partner, there are a couple of things you can do. We put a night light in there, which is enough light to use the toilet and wash your hands. We keep the door closed even when not in there to prevent the light disturbing sleep.

Even one of those tiny little LED votive candles works great. I got that idea from cruising. It can be very dark in the cabin and a little votive in the bathroom is very helpful..

DH also has a tiny LED flashlight (torch) he uses when he gets up. Prevents stubbing a toe!

We use motion sensing night lights in other places too. Appreciated as you get older and I notice the dog likes them too.

We have 2 ensuites. 1 for each of the 2 largest bedrooms. They both have good extractor fans and we get no smells in the bedroom from them. The one for our second bedroom was a godsend when our daughter was at home. Since she moved out, we considered removing it and making the 3rd bedroom larger, but in the end decided to keep and refurbish the ensure. I like the ensuite, but then again, I also like our conservatory, where I am sat now as the sun goes down and it has gone nippy outside. It is lovely. Perhaps I am not right for mumsnet.

We have a bathroom and a shower room, neither of which is attached to a bedroom. It’s far more flexible than an en-suite when we have guests.

I saw a house recently where the en suite loo was literally around 4 feet from the head of one side of the bed, so you'd be able to hear absolutely everything if you slept on that side. And there wasn't realistically any way you could move the bed elsewhere in the room.

I saw a house on rightmove where the ensuite was actually in the bedroom (no wall)
I dont mind a normal ensuite (with walls, a door, and ideally a window) but I thought the idea ofa toilet in the bedroom was quite horrendous!

I stayed at AirBnB where the toilet and the shower were in the same very small wet room, so, in effect, you showered next to the toilet. This also had the effect of soaking the toilet and the floor around it, meaning you had to take your socks off and dry your feet every time you went to the loo.

We have a bathroom and a shower room, neither of which is attached to a bedroom. It’s far more flexible than an en-suite when we have guests

This. ^ I'm all for a second bathroom (or even 3rd once you get on to 5+ bedroom houses), but, they just make SO much more sense to come off a landing wherever possible. Obviously that isn't possible once the house is built, for most people to be able to change to, but, if you are designing a house or designing an extension or re-plan, that is the model I would go for every time.