What would you want in an ensuite?

[sasamunde]

Can anyone help resolve a long running dispute between me and DH! We are doing up our house to sell and want to add an ensuite to the master bedroom to impress buyers. We don't have that much space, and don't know what to put in. Walk in shower a defo, and loo, but what else? Double sink or full size bath? We couldn't do both. Also if a bath, would a standalone bath be better?
What would impress you? A full size bath

if you want sound reduction, cheap hollow doors are very insubstantial and don't have much effect on sound.

Fire doors are very solid, and their extra mass makes a big sound reduction (they also feel much more satisfying).

Panelled ones for painting might cost about £60, flat ones about half that.

Due to weight they do need three strong hinges.

A ducted extractor fitted in the loft with a duct to the nearest outside wall can be powerful and quiet. Flop loft insulation over the duct, otherwise, as it passes through the unheated loft, it will get water condensation inside. If you don't have it wired to the light, it won't get used.

Ours is about that size, we have 3 sliding doors, wardrobes at each side and en suite in the middle, it's great but not very soundproof! Powerful shower, toilet, heated towel rail, sink, storage and light up, no steam mirror (v.important!).

I would want fan/light separate and the fan on a timer so I can have it running after a shower without the lights on. and so that dh doesn't wake me up when he just brushes his teeth when I'm already asleep

Super impressive would be a wet room or walk through shower. You can get some lovely ones and they are big so that would solve the bath / sink thing.

With that space I'd go for big walk through shower with rain thingy and normal shower thingy, sink bog and storage.

Electric underfloor heating is also nice.

Bathrooms are expensive to put in though - do you really need to put one in the "impress" buyers? Are you sure you will recoup all of the cost? The space that you have will be impressive no matter what and leaving it leaves buyers with the option of massive (I assume) bedroom or putting an ensuite in to their taste.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=walk+in+shower&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=yAz_N7PXs-82AM:&imgrefurl=showerdesign.blogspot.com/2011/08/modern-walk-in-shower-enclosures.html&docid=wMT_NC2kruq9vM&imgurl=4.bp.blogspot.com/-bWvB45Z24zI/Tj_kHz6bj3I/AAAAAAAADBk/kra5nMOlf1A/s1600/walk-in-shower-enclosure.jpg&w=550&h=520&ei=oY83T8vZLojd8QOX7dXZAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=563&vpy=162&dur=1467&hovh=218&hovw=231&tx=112&ty=142&sig=107566779655659111226&page=2&tbnh=147&tbnw=148&start=14&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:14" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this sort of thing

or scroll through this lot

loads of lovely things out there

we just did our ensuite so I have looked at everything very carefully

This shower would be amazing if money isn't an issue.

We recently stayed at a house in the Lakes that had one. After a long day walking it was amazing to have a steam and a shower.

Expensive - yes. Would I buy a house that had one - he'll yeah!

Bloody iPad.

Am I the only person who does not covet an en-suite?

shower, toilet and sink is fine, doesnt necessarily need a bath.
but we viewed a house with ensuite with a shower and toilet and no sink in it! found that a bit weird. could see they were a bit short on space in the en suite but i dont think just missing out the sink was the logical solution. it gives the impression they dont even wash their hands after toilet?!
but no bath is fine especially if your shower is nice and big

I do not covet an en-suite first.

Our ensuite is tiny, but we have a super big very powerful shower, a small sink and a small loo and it is perfect. We have a velux in the ceiling

3 x 1.8 m is big compared to ours!!!

We've done one recently but had very little space and issues with gettk g the plumbing for a toilet into the soil stack - would have had to be a saniflo sk we gave upon that idea.

Ours is just a shower cubicle and sink which is fine for us. If the toilet upstairs was in the main bathroom not having a toilet would have been a bigger deal.

Loo, decent size sink with mirror over (i.e. big enough for a bloke to shave at easily etc), decent size shower. No need for a bath if there is one in the main bathroom. I would much rather have a stand-alone shower than a shower over bath. And would much rather have a good size shower and sink than smaller ones with a bath too.

saniflows are best avoided

Shower, toilet, double sink, great mirror lighting, towel heater, storage for toiletries, toilet roll etc.

I like the double sink, for the very reason you don't have someone else's shavings, toothpaste etc to wash in, if they get up before you.

I got a mirror on a pole - it swivels and behind the mirror is very useful shelving. I would buy it again .

i would go for a shower bath, in our main bathroom we have a double shower which is fab and a bath but there is no privacy and everytime i have a bath someone comes in and thinks its acceotable to drop a poo whilst having a chat - its like a social room. On this basis i would love a bath in our ensuite and are considering getting rid of the tiny shower in it to enable it. A shower bath would cover both bases then i would put a ruddy great big lock on it and have endless peaceful baths.

Loo, basin, shower - quiet extractor. Some sound proofing, not for the loo - the shower can be incredibly noisy. UFH is lovely. Ensuite is my room. Dh uses main bathroom.

We've had ensuites in our last few houses, but this one has a bath and I love it. I will always want a bath in our ensuite from now on. My favourite thing is to listen to the radio whilst in the bath.

Other essentials for me are underfloor heating and dimable lighting partly for the relaxing baths and partly for the middle of the night nip to the loo so you can see without blinding yourself.

Ours has a walk in shower with one of those big ceiling shower heads and a programmable controller (so dh presses one for his temp and flow rate and then I press two for my scorching temp and flow rate...I bet you can't guess who said we needed that?!?!) a loo, double sink with double storage unit underneath for all the BOGOF toiletries I buy in abundance, double heated towel radiator, large mirror for creating light and space and obv getting ready in front of.....BUT sadly it is all a work in progress that looks months off being finished!!! will be worth it though!

When we took space off a massive bedroom for a bathroom, we didn't make it 'en-suite' as this meant that only we would be able to use it. By placing the door onto the landing, it is accessible by people without going through the bedroom, so much more of an asset than an en-suite.
Agree with most though - good shower, toilet and a sink, some storage and a heated towel rail. Good ventilation a must, and I'd definitely get the elsectrics so you have the option of having extractor fan separate from the light.

I have a shower bath in the ensuite- electric shower it's grand. Got the shower part of the bath wider so it doesn't feel so enclosed. Heated floor lovely and in built radio in the ceiling too.