To ensuite or not to ensuite?

[PorridgeOatsSuck]

Currently planning a property for resale. Architect has insisted on an ensuite for every bedroom plus family bathroom but that makes everything tight. I would instead prefer to use some of the space for an office reflecting the change of use of our homes since 2020. Nevertheless, I'm told by a professional house designer this is the way forward, people expect ensuites. I have freinds who like to flip properties and they always squeeze ensuites into any available space which I have always thought absurd.

AIBU to think ensuites have become something of a noughties obsession. Times have changed and there is a greater emphasis on time in the home be that spent working, working out or for hobbies. The world is awakening to the fact that more ensuites mean more white surfaces to clean and who wants to sleep in a room their partner has just taken a dump in?

Or am I just a twentieth century anachronism. Every bedroom should ideally have its own ensuite because sharing is grim.

4 bed house - 1 en-suite to master bedroom / 1 upstairs family bathroom / 1 downstairs toilet.

3 bed house - 1 upstairs bathroom / 1 downstairs toilet

An en-suite for every bedroom would put me off, I would much rather have more space and fewer toilets to clean.

Mumsnet hates en suites so that's the consensus you'll get in here.

We have 4 beds, 3 with en-suite, family bathroom and cloakroom downstairs. It's one too many.

We'd not buy a house without (or without potential for ) master en-suite, guest en-suite, family bathroom and cloakroom.

Upstairs would rather a study, even if tiny, or a gym. Would much prefer a boot room shower downstairs or external entry shower/ loo for when using the pool.

I really wouldn't want a big chunk taken out of my bedroom for an en suite. I live in a fairly typical suburban semi; I sleep on the side of the bed nearest the bedroom door, so my walk to the bathroom is quicker than it is to get to the en suite in some hotels I've stayed in.

Based on my preferences and friends homes ( London mc 30s/40s)

“required” in order to drop £1m+
en-suite in master
family bathroom
downstairs WC

nice to have
“guest suite” that is slightly separate with own bathroom
and / or
Jack and Jill bathroom (connects to two bedrooms)

depending on house size and bedrooms the most I’d probably be looking at it is a family bathroom 2 en-suites and a WC.

id also be irritated if I saw a house with multiple cramped 11x11 bedrooms with en-suites tacked on. Just give me an 11x19 or equivalent sized room!!!

Also hate ensuites. We have rebuilt a derelict house and one of the choices we had, given where the walls were and could be moved to/built, was that a smaller room off our bedroom could either be an ensuite or my office. We agreed immediately that it would be my office. There will be a big bathroom upstairs (just us and DS l will live there) and a smaller guest one downstairs (which will no doubt be mostly used by DH for sitting on the loo for inexplicably long periods).

You have to think about the market you are aiming to sell to. A 4 bed detached in a good area is going to be pretty expensive. In the south east possibly £1m plus. Someone spending that kind of money is definitely going to want more than one bathroom to service four bedrooms. They wouldn't buy a house only offering that. I would agree that having an ensuite for all four bedrooms PLUS a family bathroom is completely over the top especially if it results in smaller bedrooms. Judging from my area having two ensuite, a family bathroom for the other two bedrooms plus a downstairs toilet would be absolutely fine.

As to the cleaning concern, someone buying in this price bracket would generally be paying someone else to clean their bathrooms!

Nope and I would only have an en-suite in our bedroom if there was no toilet. My husbands shit stinks so bad and o don’t want to wake up to that in my bedroom.

I'd much rather have great storage/walk in wardrobes than ensuites. I don't like sleeping that close to a shower/toilet, I want them as far away from the sleeping area as possible ideally.

I wouldn't even bother viewing a house with more than one en suite unless the bedrooms were all still a decent size (which they usually aren't in this type of house).

@wotsitallfor
"Mumsnet hates en suites so that's the consensus you'll get in here"

Is MN a hive mind?

I expect at least one en suite nowadays in a medium-large family home - we rent a tiny old 2-bed terraced but have one (shower only) plus full family bathroom and it really has been a benefit rather than detracting from our bedroom. There is a powerful little fan inside, so we don't get the shit stench others are mentioning, but DP more often than not uses the family bathroom for one of his prodigious dumps unless actually 'in' the bedroom iyswim.

En suites for every bedroom is rather overkill, though. I might expect it from a large mansion, or one of those big houses people can rent for the week, but I think 1 or 2 max per 3-6 bedrooms plus a family bathroom is nice. Anyway, I thought home office spaces were meant to be way higher up on desirability these days.

Unless the house is big you do not need ensuite for each bedroom. 4 beds one or two ensuites, family bathroom.

Having said that I do have a four bed, four ensuites but all rooms are very large doubles and we have the office, downstairs loo, boot room and utility. So works very well when we have guests to stay.

I would like a gym and pool...............

If the house had up to 3 bedrooms I’d expect at least one en-suite. If there were 4 or 5 bedrooms I’d expect 2 en-suites.

personally I hate cleaning the family bathroom never mind an en-suite in all the bedrooms!

id also prefer not to have a bathroom in a small children bedroom.

An en suite in every bedroom would really put me off buying a property, I can't imagine cleaning 4-5 bathrooms every week.

An office, a dressing room, and (god tier) an upstairs laundry room would all come before an ensuite to me.

An upstairs laundry and communal clothes store is actually life changing. I lived in a rental that had an upstairs kitchen. The washing machine and tumble dryer were right next to a small bedroom that led off the kitchen.

I swear that all laundry took ten minutes from loading to folding/hanging into the bedroom, which we used as a walk in wardrobe. We just picked an outfit out the night before.

Put that in and I will hunt your house down and buy it.

I don’t like en-suites. I’d much prefer two sizeable family bathrooms on the same floor and an office.

What about when you stay in a hotel? It’s the exact same concept 😅

I like an en-suite to the primary, and possibly one more. But after that the main bathroom is fine to service the other rooms.

The en-suite should be big enough to get ready in though. Some of these ones in new builds where it’s so tight, that’s not worth it in my opinion, I’d rather a nice big wardrobe.

I think the comments about poop in the bedroom is probably more aimed at small en-suites in small bedrooms. Because this isn’t an issue in large enough spaces.

YANBU. 4+ bed house, an en suite attached to the master bedroom, wouldn't be a terrible thing. Although I personally would not want to lying in bed listening to my OH squeeze out a poo, and smell the accompanying "fragrance". A second, non en suite, bathroom would be preferable.

Otherwise it's pointless. I've lived in a two bed flat twice, both of which had an ensuite. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but ultimately meant I had two bathrooms to clean.

If all the bedrooms had an ensuite, my kids ones would have to be locked permanently as they'd be in there twatting about. Probably wouldn't be so bad when they're in their teens, but I doubt they'd be keeping it that clean themselves.

Love my ensuite, i have 4 men/boys at home and I am the only one allowed to use the ensuite (unless they need the toilet).

It's nice and pink and clean and i have my own expensive toiletries, etc in there.

We have 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom 1 ensuite. I would love another toilet and another shower to save arguments on a morning

I think the Jack and Jill ensuites are a good way to save space.

It's like sleeping in a bathroom, or taking a shit in your bedroom.

I have ensuites connected to both the master bedroom and guest room, as they both have doors on separating them from the bedroom area I don't see it as doing either of the above.

My people 😂

To add further details, current plans (yes architect is a man!) are for three beds upstairs and a guest bed downstairs. If it were for me I'd be happy to have one family bathroom upstairs and 1 e/s downstairs. This gives the option for one upstairs room to be an office. If we follow the standard modern ensuite practice that would give an e/s from the master, one each for the 2/3rd beds?, family bathroom and one e/s for the guest, right? That means 3-4 e/s plus a bathroom. Seems excessive to my eye. Architect is enthusiastic about more e/s the better.

I think one for every bedroom is unnecessary but I do like having one for the master bedroom.

Properly installed and ventilated it's really absolutely nothing like having a toilet in your bedroom, I can only imagine people who feel like that never stay in hotels..

Laundry on same level as bedrooms or storage is amazing. When I lived abroad the washing machine and dryer were in the bathroom, and that was next to the walk in closet... a mere 10secs with the basket between the two. Over ten years later I still think about how I hate the washer being in the kitchen downstairs here!

When my PiL renovated a place they stuck in an ensuite and no kidding you could barely open the door and step in. It was as if they had squeezed a toilet, an enclosed shower and basin in a broom cupboard 😂

Agree with this - God tier of an upstairs laundry room would be amazing and much better use of space.