Tiny en suite or large downstairs shower room?

[Arewehomeyet]

We are extending our house to end up with 4 bedrooms but the downstairs space will remain much larger than upstairs (old extensions). So upstairs our options are box room for 4th bed plus decent bathroom and en suite OR tiny en suite and small bathroom and 4 double bedrooms OR 4 double bedrooms, decent family bathroom but second bathroom downstairs.

2 kids plus future 3rd maybe

Wwyd? We really can’t decide!

4 double bedrooms, decent family bathroom but second bathroom downstairs. This one, decent bathrooms are important and the same regarding bedrooms.

How small would the box room be?

Also the layout of the bathrooms can make a smallish room work really well and not be cramped?

Thanks shifty. That’s what I’ve been thinking more and more. Dh really hates the idea though says a downstairs shower room would be inconvenient and never used. Which may be true?

Definitely have second bathroom downstairs. I absolutely hate tiny en suites and upstairs bedroom space is more useful in the long term. We had a three bedroom terrace with a downstairs shower room as well as the main bathroom. Worked really well.

5 people queuing to brush their teeth at night when they are teens, it gets wearing quickly!!!

I'm a fan of separate loo and bathroom where possible too.

box room would be 2.4 by 2.25 m. Room for a single bed and wardrobe.

Tiny ensuite would only be 1 wide

Another vote for a second bathroom downstairs.

Have you already got a downstairs loo? If so I’d go for 4 double bedrooms, small main bathroom, tiny ensuite.

If no downstairs loo I’d add a downstairs bathroom.

We do have a small downstairs loo

We have a downstairs shower room off the utility. It's used all the time because we made sure it has a great shower! There's a family bathroom upstairs. The small bedroom is a study.

Can you do the tiny ensuite and small bathroom upstairs and still have the downstairs shower room as well? What will you use that downstairs space for otherwise?

We have a downstairs family bathroom as well as upstairs. It is great with younger kids as you can get on with things at the same time as chivvying them up to get their teeth brushed and go for a pee before bed and school.

Also quite nice to have 2 bathrooms for washing / showering on separate floors when we have guests staying as less chance of clogging up the landings in a state of undress.

Another vote for a shower room downstairs.

We all shower downstairs - the water pressure is much stronger by the time it gets down from the attic (probably just our set up). Upstairs is only used to give our youngest a bath.

Another point is that the downstairs is handy for mucky scouts, rugby players etc. They don't leave a trail of dirt up the stairs.

Seems downstairs shower room is the way to go.

Natalia the space will be carved out of either the utility room or study to create the downstairs shower room. But a decent enough size compared to the tiny en suite option.

Opposite view here. I'd go for 4 doubles (so everyone has decent sized room) small family bathroom & ensuite. I would hate to use a downstairs bathroom. I know it's slightly different from student days, but traipsing through a house from downstairs bathroom to upstairs bedroom in a towel or taking clothes etc down to bathroom etc was a real pain.

My parents / friends who stay wouldn't use it either for fear of bumping into someone semi naked, neither would my self-conscious-going-through-puberty teenage daughter.

We extended recently and have really small ensuite - roughly 2.5m x 1m, plus small family bathroom - its 2m x 2.8m. You'd be surprised at how spacious both rooms feel with well designed layout & decor, plus for the ensuite, furniture designed for small spaces.

Everyone has a different way of living - how often you have guests etc. Think about your own family & how you'd use each option.

See I'd have a sink and shower en suite in my bedroom and forgo the loo if space was an issue. Life with pre teens and teens very different to having little ones IMHO

That was exactly our original plan @namechangedtoday15. With very similar bathroom sizes too! Also exactly DH feelings on a downstairs bathroom. Can I ask do you have a separate shower in your main bathroom?

@RandomMess a toilet would fit, but it would be a wet room, and I worry how annoying that would get...!

Downstairs bathroom here. OH had trouble comprehending that when he used that loo, please close door and open windows after prolonged use.

Arewehomeyet no we don't have a separate shower in the main bathroom, it's a shower over the bath (and putting one in would probably make it feel cramped). Having said that, it never occurred to me to have a separate shower in there when we were designing it - I couldn't care less whether shower is separate but I know some people are odd feel differently !

See I would consider having a downstairs shower room, small family bathroom and ensuite (less loo - because who really wants a loo in their bedroom)...

Floor plans would be good to see if you are missing some alternate options in layout?

Would the downstairs office be bigger than upstairs box room? It could be an option for one child to have a downstairs bedroom when they are all teens?

I vote downstairs shower room too x

Our only bathroom is 1.6m x 1.7m so 2mx 2.8m sounds blooming massive to me!

My best friend added and extension to her house. They went from two beds and small upstairs bathroom to four beds but left the upstairs bathroom and also added a shower room to the end of their new utility room. It works really well. I have stayed over with them loads and there is no issue popping downstairs for a shower.

Shower room downstairs.