Bathroom(s) - what would you do?

[Flugelpip]

Can I ask your opinion about bathrooms? We have moved into a lovely (small) old townhouse with two decent double bedrooms, one single bedroom and one... space at the back of the house on the return. It's big enough to be a bedroom but the only bathroom in the house is beyond it, at the back of the return. There's also a downstairs loo, right at the back of the kitchen.

The options:

1. take out the walls and move the bathroom to the right side of the current doorway into the not-bedroom (it's symmetrical on the plan but not in real life; the door is to the left so we could make a bathroom on 2/3rds of the space to the right and a hall leading to the bedroom beyond).

1. Squeeze in an ensuite where the bathroom is now and a small shower room where the bathroom was going in plan 1, leaving whatever space remains in the middle for the bedroom.

1. Move the bathroom (as in plan 1) and refurbish the downstairs bathroom to fit a shower in it.

1. Leave the bathroom where it is and make a second single bedroom/hallway out of the not-bedroom.

We aren't keen to meddle with the two double bedrooms because they have lovely proportions and there's no bathroom/water supply in that part of the house currently. The single bedroom is at the front. We wouldn't be allowed to run pipes down from a bathroom there, even if we were prepared to sacrifice the bedroom and could sort out the plumbing. The roof is too low for a loft conversion, so whatever we do has to be at the back.

HP on the plan stands for hot press/airing cupboard, but we're getting a new boiler so this can be removed.

I, personally, don't think I would trek all the way downstairs to have a shower, so I'm not sure that's worth doing. I don't know if a very small double with an ensuite is better than a small double without one, or if one proper bathroom is enough for a technically four-bedroomed house.

We've got a recommendation for an architect but before I get in touch with him I want to have worked out what we want! We are trying to avoid doing major building work but in a few years we might look to extend. In the meantime there's a chance we'll have to rent it out, so I want to reorganise it as usefully as possible.

What are you trying to achieve? A better house for you or property that you can sell for more in a couple of years' time? If it's for you, then what are your needs?

If it was my house, I'd probably get rid of the wall between the non-bedroom and landing. I'd set it up as a study or a reading area with bookshelves.

We need a bedroom there. We're a family of four and the single bedroom is better for a study anyway. One of the DCs would have a huge room and the other a small one, or someone has a bedroom everyone walks through to get to the bathroom. Neither is very appealing.

One bathroom plus a downstairs loo for a family home just seems like it might be a mistake. I'm wondering whether to prioritise the bedroom or that, really.

I have one bathroom for a family of four. Would love on extra loo though. When you say mistake, not sure if you mean for your family, or in terms of potentially putting off a buyer/renter. The answers are likely to be different!

Personally I'd go for plan 1. Assuming the soil pipe is on the window wall.

Can you post the whole upstairs floor plan? When you say family of 4 do you mean you and 3 kids hence needing 4 beds not 3? Is a loft extension or double storey side return a possibility? Is the downstairs bathroom directly below?

I'd go for option 1. I wouldn't have the hall going all the way to where the wall is now, I'd have it further forward so the door doesn't take up any usable space in the room. Tried to draw it on your plan.

I agree with @YorkshireTea86 that is the most usual solution

You can't squeeze a quart into a pint pot - you gave what you gave for bedrooms so someone will have to compromise on room size. I guess you bought the house knowing this. Lots of houses like this only have one bathroom and plan 1 is best. Downstairs loo is great, shower no. If you want three double bedrooms you will have to extend or move!

In a 4-bed, as long as your main family bathroom is

A) in close proximity to bedrooms
B) spacious/well-equipped

and C) you have a downstairs loo

then it's fine. An ensuite to a master bedroom might be the done thing, but actually in our 4-bed we have an ensuite to a double and we use that one as a guest bedroom, which is really handy. We just use the family bathroom ourselves.