Would you move to small bedroom for en-suite? plan attached)

[RosemaryTelephoneOperator]

Current bedroom is upstairs in small cottage with combed ceilings. No toilet upstairs.

It's cosy and great views from up here but we are thinking of moving downstairs to a smaller bedroom which has an en-suite. It will be a squash to get a double /king bed in there but at least we won't be bumping our heads on ceiling and we won't have to go downstairs to loo, through the living room and passing the back door.

Would you compromise space for convenience?

The spare bedroom is off the living space which has recently been opened up so a negative would be noise from tv or people visiting seeing our bedroom if the door was open.

I'm sick of running through the whole house with a towel on!

Any ideas?

Coombed not combed!

Sounds like a good idea to me. Can you maximise the space in the bedroom by storing some clothes upstairs? Or would that be equally annoying?

I would stick in the current room, but keep clothes in the smaller bedroom. Unless one or both of you have health reasons to need the loo quickly.

I could use one of the bedrooms upstairs as a dressing room. Still annoying.

Options seem to be:

A) stay as we are with bedroom upstairs and bathroom downstairs through living room and run past the back-doorway. There's only the two of us.

B) move to downstairs bedroom and have ceiling height and en-suite shower room but dressing room upstairs

C) put dormer windows in upstairs and new en-suite off existing bedroom. This is a new idea but doesn't solve headroom problem. Views from en-suite loo will be beautiful though!

Thanks for you help I've been trying to solve this for years!

Maybe try moving downstairs and see if it works out better for you, if not then look into if it's doable and cost effective to add a toilet/ shower room upstairs

The down bedroom looks small and where would the bed go as windows, radiator and doors all in the way?!

I’d move downstairs see how it goes. Do you have visitors a lot? If it’s just the two of you presumably you will be going to bed more or less same time so tv/living room noise not an issue.
Or radical can you lift the roofline? Go into the rafters?

I agree with Neet90.
I feel your pain. We had a house where the bathroom was on the end of the kitchen. It’s a real pain and ridiculous running downstairs, through at least 2 rooms before you get to the bathroom. I was relatively young back then, and able to put up with it, but long term, no way.

So I would move into the en-suite bedroom and use the other bedroom to store clothes etc and see how it goes.

If you sleep downstairs then the upstairs with its lovely views might be a bit wasted.

Could you rearrange upstairs to become your living room and move your bedroom to the downstairs living room which is bigger?
Do you have a plan of the upstairs?

flumpy yes the door would swing out too far so I'd have to make that a sliding door. The room is 9ft by 12ft.

Original plan was to take en-suite out altogether and make it a winter snug with open fire.

We can open up roof as we're already in the rafters.

All the rooms have amazing sea views and that's why we never want to move!
We hardly ever have visitors just family.

Upstairs plan attached.

Yes, I would. And I'd keep a spare bed upstairs so that if either of you want to stay up late to watch a film, the other has somewhere quiet to sleep. As Neet says, you can always move back.

With a big bed in a small room, get one without a footboard or posts to bang your knees on at the foot end, if possible. I have almost permanent bruises because I did not do this!!

can't you close off the main bedroom and store just after the cupboard (bringing in that bit of hallway) and then turn the store into an ensuite?

Oh hang on is that not hallway? I'm a bit confused by your plan

Ensuite up stairs with a dormer window.Going down stairs for a wee is a pain but I think missing the views and being in a cramped bedroom is worse.

I agree with the pp. It’s hard to tell without knowing the roof structure but it seems like you could improve the upstairs space a lot by adding the corridor and store space (or at least any decent height part of it) to bedroom 1?

How long have you lived there and what kind of budget do you have for any work? Is the cottage listed?

Can the upstairs cupboard be converted to a toilet with sink?
A friend of mine did this in her house, and the main bathroom is downstairs.

If there are just the two of you, I'd make that second upstairs bedroom into a bathroom.
Should you need to expand you still have the storage to convert at a future date.

Sorry the plan is a bit unclear, best drawing I have. The upstairs hallway is really just a landing with coombed cupboards.

I like the idea of turning upstairs single bedroom into a lovely upstairs bathroom. It would mean we "lose a bedroom" but it's not really used as a bedroom and this is our forever house so it's about what we need.

This would mean we are contained upstairs and we could have downstairs for guests room.

This is the front elevation to give an idea of the 1 and a half storey roof shape

I'd turn upstairs into a master with en suite. If it's your forever house.

And downstairs for guests and when you get old and don't fancy stairs anymore.

If it’s the forever home for two, then yes, remodel upstairs as a self contained master suite. Put in a large shower rather than a bath if space is at a premium, headroom permitting.

I'm going with that! Upstairs bathroom with shower. Makes sense and we'll get more use out of all the rooms.

Thank you!

Ensuites are overrated in my view. Who wants to be woken in the night by the sound of their beloved pissing like a horse. Across the corridor in a master suite is MUCH better!

I totally agree Floating. Much prefer the loo to be 2 doors away! It's a sound plan though OP, and you'll make better use of the spare room by keeping it downstairs IYSWIM.