Extending -5 bed smaller rooms or 4 bed bigger rooms

[Ewandreams]

We are about to extend our home in a couple of months time and have an option to make either a 4 large double room house or alternatively a 5 double room house with smaller doubles or a 4 double room house with a 5th single bedroom. Which do you think will be of more value if we ever sell?

[purpletrees16]

Was going to say 4 plus an office - with wfh extending, 2 kids rooms, master and a his and hers office so you can both wfh and not pollute the home space with work would be what I’d want but I’m miles away from that.

[JoJoSM2]

3.5 by 3.5 is big enough for a double bed that you can walk around with bedside tables, large wardrobe and a desk/dressing table. As a fifth bedroom that’s really generous.

[Ewandreams]

I have no idea except they are bigger I'd have to find out. I think we've decided on 4 big ones because we are just going to live there and enjoy it. Thanks so much everyone

[Oneandzero]

Are you planning on selling?
If not, do what suits you and your family!

[InTheLongGrass]

If 11.5x11.5 would be the smallest on 5 doubles, I do 4 really good sized doubles, plus a decent single.

[Africa2go]

I don't think that's a "small" room - its not huge, but still a decent size. What size are the other 4?

[Ewandreams]

Yes sorry it's 3.5m by 3.5m so I think 11.5 ft by 11.5ft, I find these things really hard to visualise especially as we haven't began the extension yet.

[JoJoSM2]

Are you in England? 12ft by 12ft as the fifth bedroom would be huge.

[Ewandreams]

That sounds like it works well for you, worth considering. Thank you

[movingonup20]

12ft is a good size! New builds have doubled barely 10ft

[movingonup20]

I had 3 decent doubles, one small double (guest) and a single (office) which worked great. If you have 2 kids, two similar sized rooms if important to stop arguments

[Ewandreams]

The smallest room would be 12ft squared if it was a 5 bed.

[Qc16]

When you say large and small bedrooms - what sizes are you talking about? I think that a double should be no smaller than 10ft square - our smallest one is 10x12 which is just about ok. I often see rooms that are 8ft6 x 9ft marketed as doubles.
A spare room which you can just use as overflow is always useful.

[Ewandreams]

The difficulty is knowing whether we will have any more children but I guess we have the option to split it up in the future, I live in the countryside and it may be that it's a bit too remote for families, so maybe 4 is better anyway.

[CatkinToadflax]

There’s a 5 bed house near here which has just gone back on the market for the third time in 3 years, having not sold on either previous occasion. I’m sure it’s because they’ve shoe-horned the bedrooms in and none is properly big enough to enjoy what should be the luxury of a 5 bedroom house.

I think I’d either stick to having 4 really good size bedrooms in total, or 4 good sized plus an adequate single room as the 5th.

[BigBadBox]

4 big rooms unless you have more than 3 kids.

[Ewandreams]

Thanks everyone, it's so hard to decide but leaning towards just 4 big rooms as that is what we need as don't really need the other bedroom for anything.

[Frenchfancy]

Make the home you want for now. Unless you are planning on selling within 2 years.

[MrsJamin]

We have two nearly-teens and some 4 or even 5 beds have bedrooms that are just too small. We are actually open to a 3 bed as all three rooms need to be a decent size - I'd do 4 bed if I were you, and do a nice en suite on the master.

[Solasum]

Could you have one Master, 3 big doubles and a single/office?

That way you tick the 5 bedrooms box, without compromising on day to day living space.

You could get a StudyBed for the single room, have decent Lighting and storage in there and USB plugs etc so it would work for eg au pair or home office, or occasional visitor

[SauvignonGrower]

A lot of families have 2 kids and when they buy it is really important to have a couple of decent non-master bedrooms. We turned down a few houses with 5 beds but where there weren't 2 suitable rooms for kids.

[Ewandreams]

Thanks everyone, we have ample space downstairs and a separate space to work from home. The 5 bedrooms would be one big master but 4 smaller doubles instead of 2 large doubles and 2 smaller ones. We have got a good garden too so could easily get away with the 5 bed without it being too cramped. But I agree with what you have said about enjoying the 4 bed with really nice size rooms. As I'm sure we will live in it for quite a long time. Appreciate all the feedback, thanks!

[RandomMess]

Is there an office somewhere else??

1 or 2 office spaces suddenly important!!

[Africa2go]

I actually think you'll get more for a 4 double rooms than 5 small rooms. I think most people looking for a 5 bed would expect a large house - 5 large bedrooms and a balanced (similarly large) downstairs - large plot, probably detached etc etc. If you've squeezed 5 beds into a 4 bed house if you see what I mean, it's unlikely to attract buyers. Similarly people who want a 4 bed house would rather have 4 big bedrooms than 5 small rooms.

Go with a 4 bed with large bedrooms.

[JoJoSM2]

5 beds go for more than 4 beds if they have adequate downstairs space, number of bathrooms etc. However, if I was going to live in the place for a while, I’d just make it a really nice 4-bed eg master with a dressing area and a spacious ensuite + 2 more bathrooms etc.