Architectural style over space

[Strawberrykombucha]

I'm posting under AIBU to get a broad cross-section of views.

We are currently renovating our semi-detached house. It has a double side extension and a loft conversion. Instead of doing two rooms in the loft I have opted to vault the ceilings in the 2 rooms that are in the first floor of double side extension. I felt an extra small room in the loft impeded by the eaves isn't very functional.

My friends think we should opt for an extra room in the loft. I'm not sure what we would use it for as there are 5 bedrooms already.

AIBU to think that not everything is about maximising space regardless and that the vaulted ceilings will make the rooms in the side extension feel bigger and more pleasant.

Are people more concerned about horizontal space than say aesthetics and architectural style? For instance, we could have gone for 6m extension but opted for 4m because we thought 6m, even though our garden is large enough to take it, just made it look too big (over developed). Maybe we are weird for not going as big as possible?

Picture would be helpful but if you don't need more small rooms, then yes, vault the rooms below.

Well most people who add additional rooms into their loft do this because they need an extra bedroom and it’s cheaper/ easier than moving house. You are obviously in a completely different situation with a large house and garden and can afford to style your house according to your preferred aesthetics. Your AIBU is a bit odd in a way as I would have thought very few people in your situation would be even considering an extra bedroom in their loft. Possibly looking for ways to add rooms for other uses eg games room, office, but unless you have a very large family I would guess you have spare rooms anyway.

Will high ceilings make it hard to keep the rooms warm in winter?

I think in most houses it is always better to go for more rooms and more storage space as those are at a premium and there is no point having lovely ceilings if the floor is cluttered - but if the house was a 5-bed to begin with then you might be over that threshold and start getting into the space the other side where people don't want a house that is too large unless they want to split it into HMO.

I think for me the main consideration would be the impact on the style of the original house. For example if it's a small pebbledashed concrete-coloured ex-council house from the 60s/70s, it's going to be a bit strange to wander upstairs and find vaulted ceilings, but if it's a large period house with high ceilings downstairs and some original features, the ceilings could work well. You could even add a small mezzanine to break up the height in the room and use some of that space. My main consideration would be flowing smoothly from one space to the next so that it all hung together as one coherent home. I'd also want the exterior to hang together well, so sourcing the right bricks or other building materials to extend the property in keeping with the original building would be something I'd want to consider.

We are doing one room in the loft rather than two, preferring to vault the ceiling into the space that would have made a 2nd loft room, if that makes sense. So we would have 5 bedrooms instead of 6.

I guess a second room in the loft could be an office? I wouldn't put a gym or games room up in the loft. We have a gym and a utility room in the ground floor side extension. If you're able to visualise, this is a typical 1930s semi-detached that you see in suburban London.

I had thought of a mezzanine but the access would have seriously impacted the space in the actual room.

Houses bursting out of their plots look ridiculous in my opinion, but this seems to be acceptable in the UK. Room size is very important for me so I would rather have fewer rooms than try to cram in as many as possible. We have two x 25 square metre rooms on our second floor which is a reasonable size for a bedroom (the master suite is on the first floor), but we also have loft space above that with lots of bespoke built in storage on every floor.

Storage isn't an issue. There is sufficient.

@Bluebellwood129 we think the same with regards to overdeveloped period properties especially when the dwarf other houses on the street.

However, our friends think we will reduce the price we may be able to sell our property at one day if everyone else goes for maximum space. Maybe that's all most people care about at the end of the day. The max I think the extra room in the loft would be is about 2m by 6m but there would be eaves on either side making the usable space around 2m x 2m.

Possibly multi-generational families would prefer an extra room?

Maybe our friends are right? :(

But unless you’re renovating solely to sell, you’ll be living in the house yourself for years first. Do what works for you. If you would prefer higher-ceilinged furst-floor bedrooms to a tiny extra loft room, do that.

My research and talking to estate agents says even a 5th bedroom doesn't add that much value because so few families need that many rooms. Loads of families would take 4 good rooms over 5, two of which are small. That was a while ago and I think COVID and the WFH shift may have tweaked it a bit, but I think you are right that there are diminishing returns on value as you add more and more small rooms, and value may be better maximised by going for a wow factor/selling point.

I wouldn’t buy a home with a vaulted ceiling. They can be hard to heat and maintain, ever tried changing a lightbulb up there? It can make rooms light and airy, but it can also make them cold and cavernous.

Its your home, do with it as you like, but my preference when buying would be for loft space which could be converted if we wanted to.

@Dheops your post made me feel better.

@BoredZelda The vault into the ceiling is not double height but more like 1.5 and the rooms are smallish rooms you get from 1930s side extensions so around 3mx3m. But I agree. Really high ceilings in large spaces can be hard to heat.

I saw something similar in a friends 1930s house and it worked well. They put a sleeping platform as a mezzanine which was perfect for a teen as it meant they had all the floor space downstairs for lounging around with mates. I also thought it would make a good guest room for vising family with parents on the platform and kids below.