Does a downstairs bedroom really count as a bedroom?

[devsigner]

We want to extend our cottage to add a bedroom.

It currently has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs but planning probably won't let us have an extra bedroom upstairs.

We're arguing about it as I say a bedroom downstairs isn't a bedroom!

Hubby says it counts as a bedroom if it has a bed in it :)

Opinions welcome!

I'm with your DH. A bedroom is a room with a bed. Do bungalows not have bedrooms?

Why do you think as you do? Why do you want an extra bedroom? Who will sleep there? Are you thinking in terms of its current usefulness to your family, or whether, if you sell the house, you can describe it as four-bedroom as opposed to having an extra reception room?

Where would the downstairs bedroom be in relation to living room/kitchen etc? Is there a downstairs loo, or will whoever sleeps there have to trek up to a bathroom?

Yeah, it does count, but I don't like them as much. I would put in a shower room ensuite if you are doing a downstairs bedroom extension. Or just a shower room not ensuite. But defo get a shower room down there.

Of course it is. A room that you put a bed in to sleep in is a bedroom, regardless of whether it's upstairs or downstairs. The same room could be used as a study, or a playroom, or a dressing room depending how you furnish and use it.

The only thing I would say is think carefully about where it is to be located - a bedroom off a kitchen or off the lounge may not be as attractive when it comes to sell.

I hope so since we have two bedrooms downstairs and two upstairs! Otherwise where will I sleep!

Practically speaking, yes of course it's a bedroom if it has a bed in it!

But for resale purposes, with a spare room downstairs it would probably be described as a 3-bed house with an extra reception room/study, rather than a 4-bed house, and the value adjusted accordingly.

I think it depends on what other living space you have and how well the layout is organised. I wouldn't class a downstairs bedroom as a bedroom (in my head) if it was slap bang next to the kitchen for example. - I would expect a degree of separation.
(Speaking as someone who uses one of the downstairs reception rooms as a bedroom.)

It works better if it has its own bathroom.

Otherwise it is a study/playroom/family room used as a bedroom.

Thanks for the fast replies!

Our kids are growing and are fed up with sharing.

DH asked the guys at his work and it seemed to be 50/50 between yes it counts and no it doesn't.

We've got to look at whether it's cheaper to move or extend.

If we do extend, will we get our money back, that kind of thing.

The house we are buying has an extra reception room downstairs and one of the big appeals to us is that it can be used as a bedroom - it's opposite the downstairs loo so handy for having over visitors to stay too! X

Maybe give a couple of local estate agents a call and see how they'd market/value a property with 3 upstairs bedrooms and one downstairs, and go from there?

I doubt you'd ever get all your money back in terms of spend recouped. For example a well done extension with a bedroom and a shower room could cost you anything from £20-100k. You'd not necessarily increase the property value just from adding another room as you'd need to factor in the general area prices, there will always be a ceiling regardless of what you spend.

However if you live in it for another 5,10,15 years and it saves you thousands in moving costs then IMO it's worth doing.

Counts according to what?

Planning permission?

What you list it as when you sell?

In your own heads?

If I see a house on Rightmove that says "4 bedrooms" and 3 are upstairs and one is downstairs I think it is a 3 bed house with a study or dining room that is being mis-advertised.

I think it does as long as the layout is good, like off a corridor not directly off a living room or similar. Add an ensuite would be great and I think it helps resale as elderly parents etc can stay without facing stairs. I would extend if it was me, depending on plot size etc .

I agree with Trills completely.

In a standard house an extra reception room shoukd not be sold as a bedroom.

Barn conversions are slightly different

Well, we live in a dorma-bungalow, and DC bedrooms have been on ground floor for all their lives (they are 21 and 24). They've been quite happy there. Why on earth would a bedroom on a ground floor not count as a bedroom?

Surely it depends on whether you can get a bed in it

My parents have 3 bedrooms upstairs, and 1 downstairs. When we were kids, we were all upstairs, and the 4th (downstairs) bedroom was the spare bedroom. It was the spare because it was used most infrequently, and was the smallest. Now, with the family flown the nest, they have two "spare" rooms upstairs, as well as the master. And a "study" downstairs.

My granda has a similar sized house, but uses the downstairs bedroom as a bedroom, mainly for mobility reasons. It will never (whilst he lives there) be a "study" or "hobbies room".

Certain rooms in the house will be multi-functional, others less so. Depends on your needs.

An extra room downstairs as a guest bed / study / playroom is a really good flexible extra imo.
Surely what matters is how it works for your family not what others might want when you sell? Unless you want to sell soon (in which case the building work hassle surely isn't worth it anyway).

Our house was marketed as 4 beds with one bedroom downstairs! We use it as a playroom though but I would happily also use it as a bedroom for guest!

Should've said we also have a further 3 reception rooms downstairs so it's not as if it's actually a dining room being sold as a bedroom!

Rooms can be adapted to be whatever you want them to be. I type to you now from a room/cubby hole at the bottom of the stairs. When we first bought this house this space was the very small kitchen. We extended the house to make a new sitting-room, the very small kitchen became a child's bedroom, as the old sitting-room became the new kitchen. The old kitchen which became a child's bedroom is now my office as we extended upwards. Before we bought this house, it was literally an extremely small bungalow with just one bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, sitting room. All on ground floor. The lady who lived here for very many years was extremely happy with it. Daughter's bedroom used to be this lady's sitting room. Things have changed drastically. You just adapt your space accordingly.

We have a downstairs room that can be used as a bedroom. It is not really suitable as a dining room as it is down a thin corridor from the kitchen, past the utility room and is quite dark. When we bought the house it was listed as a 2nd reception. There is a separate loo and shower room opposite the utility room that visitors use if they are staying in that room.

However the banks surveyor called it a bedroom and wanted to list the house as a 4 bed.

We use the room as DDs playroom and have a sofa bed in there for visitors. It's been a blessing for sleepovers as we can shut the doors on them to block out the noise!

It's been a blessing for sleepovers as we can shut the doors on them to block out the noise

Oooh - how I would love such a room . . .

We have 5 bedrooms, one is downstairs and has its own shower room. It's in its own "wing" of the house, sounds grand but I mean it's off the hallway but not attached to any other rooms. It has been really invaluable as in-laws and parents got older and couldn't manage stairs, also as somewhere for the loud teenagers staying over after parties.
If we ever sell up it could be marketed as a nanny/granny "annexe" as it' s big enough to be studio/bedsit and has plumbing.

Evans, I had 3 of them in there yesterday. I shut the doors (one to the room, one from the kitchen) and didn't hear a peep until 9am!