To move the family bathroom downstairs?

[letsjustdothis]

We've seen our dream property after years of looking...it's beautifully secluded, architect designed, and even within our budget, but the problem is, the eaves make the top floor feel a lot smaller than it is.

This looks okay for the bedrooms but the "main" bathroom has a tinier than average bath with attached shower head and a toilet and sink crammed in, and no storage options. It doesn't actually have a terrible footprint on the plans but in reality feels tiny and extremely claustrophobic because the ceiling height is incredibly low (part of the room is effectively lower than knee height) and there's no window (no idea how the extraction/fresh air works, if at all...).

I just don't think it's viable at all, but we love the rest of the house.

We could change the smallest bedroom into the bathroom instead, but then it would only be a 2 bed house which I think is too few bedrooms for its size (currently 2,000 sq ft on paper).

I was thinking we could just knock the bathroom through to the smallest bedroom instead and use it for a dressing area/cupboard storage, as closing off one of the doors would also increase the amount of usable ceiling height space for that bedroom.

And put a family bathroom downstairs off the sitting room (which is a decent sized second reception room with one tiny window). The house is very open plan with a big hallway, so I don't think it would look out of place.

Both my partner and I love a big bathroom, and he likes to have late baths, so there would also be the advantage that he wouldn't wake me up. And if there was a leak or something (as happened in our current house), it wouldn't wreck a ceiling. Plus some potential buyers may appreciate a downstairs bathroom for accessibility needs, although we would really like it to be our forever home so it may be practical even for us in the future.

The master bedroom upstairs has a small ensuite, so there would still be some kind of bathroom up there.

There's also a small cloakroom downstairs with just a toilet and sink, but I don't think there's the space next to that room to make it into a full bathroom.

We can't knock through the ensuite and bathroom to make a normal sized bathroom with a window because there's an old chimney in between the two.

So it seems like building a small extension for a family sized bathroom could make sense. The space where it would be built is currently part of a (long) flat paved driveway so we don't need it, and it's not at all visible from the street, plus there are tall electric gates so no one can see in.

That said, I'm reading that having a downstairs bathroom is really undesirable and knocks a lot of value off the property. I've been googling but a lot of situations seem to be where it's the only bathroom/toilet in the property, or where you have to walk through the kitchen to get to it. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this specific situation.

UK based, if that's relevant.

YABU = you wouldn't buy your dream property if it had the main bathroom downstairs and just an ensuite upstairs.

YANBU = doesn't bother you because there's a toilet and shower upstairs and it would be better to have a nice family bathroom even if downstairs.

Our one and only bathroom is downstairs. I hate it. If I could, I would move it upstairs and have a small toilet downstairs.
It was horrible when pregnant and weeing 20 times a night, horrible accompanying toddlers/small children down in the night Ans as a pp has said, feels like no privacy (especially since the door is right by the front door).
I also hate sharing one bathroom (with the toilet in as well) between five people - but that's a different story.

We didn’t have a downstairs loo for my first baby and that was awful for similar reasons! Would not be without a loo upstairs and downstairs now if I can afford that luxury!

I wouldn't buy a house this size with the main bathroom downstairs. Because I know I could find another one with the bathroom in the 'right' place. I like lying around in the bath relaxing and not having to wander through the house afterwards no matter who might be there.
I used to have a house with a bathroom downstairs, but it was a tiny two bedroom walk in terrace and so I could forgive it (plus similar houses with upstairs bathrooms are off a bedroom, which is worse). A bathroom off the living room feels strange.
If I had this house and I really wanted a bigger bathroom I would modify the huge master bedroom and have it there. Nobody needs a bedroom that big, I don't think I have ever seen one except in a mansion!

If there's only 2 of you OP, why don't you just use the ensuite?

If you want to make all these changes to the house, I would say its not the house for you and keep looking. I wouldn't want a bathroom downstairs and I think it would put a lot of people off. For 2 of you, the sizes seem perfectly fine.

Could you move the front door to the side of the house, into the long wall of the entrance hall and extend the downstairs loo into a nice sized bathroom? And/or have the two upstairs bathrooms refitted, we have had this done by a firm that were incredibly good at reimagining what could be done. Alternative might be to make the smallest bedroom into a really nice spacious lux bathroom and, if the chimney knock a door through from en suite to current bathroom so it becomes the en suite, the en suite gets ripped out and becomes a dressing room. If it is only going to be the two of you and you intend to stay for many years then make the house work for you.

We discounted a lot of houses with a downstairs family bathroom (lots of Edwardian and Victorian housing stock with bathrooms in extensions into what used to be outhouses).
Can't you pinch a bit more space from the bedroom next to the bathroom and put a dorma in? Probably cheaper than an extension and a better family bathroom upstairs is an easier sell than a 3-4 bed with a downstairs family bathroom

Totally agree with both points.

We've been looking for 4 years, daily, and seen 3 houses in that time, 2 of which we ruled out and this one we like. So we could probably wait another few years but I'm not sure we would find anything else with so many advantages for us and so little in the way of downsides.

I think that would take it to a single bedroom instead of a double?

I don't like the idea of a main bathroom being on the same floor level as the main living area, kitchen etc.
Mostly because i would hate that sounds/smells would be noticeable in living/kitchen areas, but i also hate people walking past/being outside or in the room next door when i'm using the bathroom.
Unless there's some rule of wees only in the downstairs loo, but that's not so practical for visitors etc if the only upstairs loo will be your ensuite and you don't want visitors walking through your bedroom.

It's also very tiny, I'm not sure I could shower in there and we like baths.

Ohhh this is a really interesting idea! Thanks!

It would put me off buying
A house down my road has recently sold after having a huge extension but to make the plans work best the main bathroom is downstairs although there are 2 en-suite upstairs with showers - it was the first thing I thought!
However, if it works for you in the long term why not? There are others who might prefer it due to mobility issues
In the example I’ve given there are no downstairs bedrooms so anyone wanting a bath rather than a shower would have to use ground floor bathroom and for some reason that feels wrong to me!

I remember staying in someone's house with a downstairs bathroom. I had an upset stomach so I was constantly up and down the stairs all night. Absolutely hated it.

Ideally, you need one up and one down!

Not uncommon where I live - lots of Victorian houses which had loos outside so people put them at the back of the kitchen in the old coal house instead.

Our bathroom is downstairs - and we only have the one. Lived here for 30 years and it's just something we are used to. However, getting older now and I can see that it is likely to be a problem for us in the future .

In your case, as long as there are some upstairs facilities, I wouldn't worry too much, and yes of course if you can extend to make an additional bathroom that you will also make use of, then go ahead .

Id combine the two bathrooms (bathroom annd en suite ) and make it a jack and Jill bathroom.

I am fine with no bathroom or toilet down stairs but want the main bathroom near the bedrooms for using thr toilet in the night and getting ready in the mornings

I would hate to have to my clothes down stairs to get ready and not really a fan of ensuites so no would not buy a house that had this

Can you put a dorma in, to increase the head height. Tapping into soil pipes and laying new water pipes is quiet expensive.

I'd keep both upstairs baths and add bathtub to down. Live in it awhile keep your options open.

I'd take the old chimmney out so I could knock through and make the en-suite and family bathroom a big Jack and Jill bathroom upstairs.

Put a standalone bath on the bedroom,?

Why not remove the loo and sink and turn the bath under the window and literally have a bath and overhead shower? You can get some amazing combinations!

Visitors can use the downstairs loo and like a PP you could extend that one to include a shower for guests.