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Original poster

What to do with master bedroom - en suite or dressing room?

35 replies

allaboutmoving · 25/01/2021 17:06

Hi,
We are about to start a full house renovation and wondering what to do with the tiny, current 3rd bedroom. It is 7'11 x 7.5' and not really workable as anything other than a nursery. When we have finished the renovations we will have 4 bedrooms (2 doubles and 2 singles) so don['t need to try to cram a bed into this other small room. It is next to the master bedroom so wondering if we should turn it into an en-suite for the master, or a walk in wardrobe? I would prefer a wardrobe as there will be a family bathroom on that floor already (for 2 bedrooms), and a bathroom in the loft (for 2 bedrooms), as well as a toilet downstairs. I don't think we need another bathroom! But would potential buyers prefer an en-suite to the master, rather than a walk-in wardrobe? We are not planning to move anytime soon, but this isn't our forever home so want to make sure any work we do won't put off buyers in the future.
Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
helly29 · 25/01/2021 17:10

What's the size of the master bedroom? Does it easily fit a wardrobe currently, or would storing clothes elsewhere help the layout of the room?

If it's tight I'd lean towards dressing room, if it's already a good size even with wardrobes I'd go for ensuite.

GrumpyHoonMain · 25/01/2021 17:12

You could probably have both. Ensuites don’t take much room - we fit our spacious one in a tiny amount of space at our old place. Just skip bath for walk in shower. You can then have a nice walk in wardrobe / dressing area facing it.

One thing I’d say is that I would consider 2 doubles and 2 singles a 3.5 bed house and not a 4 bed. So before you make any changes that could potentially devalue the house I’d speak to an estate agent to get their view. Ensuites won’t add more value than an extra bedroom so you might be better off keeping the room.

BackforGood · 25/01/2021 17:15

I'd lean towards a study (which I know isn't one of your options).

I don't see the point in a dressing room, tbh. I really don't need that much space to put clothes on, so I was going to say a bath or shower room, until you said there will already be two.
However, even if you think many people won't continue to wfh a lot more than they ever used to (and I think lots will), it is still useful to be able to have your paperwork, computer etc in a quiet room to do things away from whoever is watching TV or whatever in the living rooms.

Original poster
allaboutmoving · 25/01/2021 17:20

@helly29 The master is 13' by 10.5' and because of the layout there isn't a huge amount of wardrobe space - we will build them in either side of the chimney breast so it's a reasonable amount (i.e. a double wardrobe on each side) but not enough for the amount of clothes I have... (!)

@GrumpyHoonMain I'm not sure we'd be able to fit both in a space of that size. If we could that would be great though. I don't disagree re the 2 doubles / 2 singles point, but this is the only way we can reconfigure the house and we need 4 bedrooms (that actually fit a bed and furniture!) so we have to do this rather than making 3 doubles, for example. Good suggestion re speaking to an estate agent, thanks. Would you consider a room of 7'11 x 7'5 as a bedroom? We've seen some other houses in the road for sale recently and they all seem to use that room as a junk room / informal dressing room, containing rails of clothes which just looks messy. This is what made us think we should make use of the space, but perhaps we should just leave it as it is.

OP posts:
Original poster
allaboutmoving · 25/01/2021 17:22

@BackforGood We are putting an office in the garden as I work from home (even before lockdown) so need a proper space. Do you still think it would be worthwhile as an office? i.e. to have the option to work in the house instead? (Not for me but for future-proofing for selling?)

OP posts:
TerribleCustomerCervix · 25/01/2021 17:30

We have both- although an en suite is handy, I LOVE not having to factor in space for a wardrobe etc in the bedroom. We’re in the midst of redecorating after moving in, and the scope for a massive bed and not worrying about squashing furniture for storage into the room is a real luxury.

It also proved v useful for stashing Christmas presents in!

Chillypenguin · 25/01/2021 17:33

We recently got a dressing room and I wouldn’t be without it now. (I’m aware how fortunate I am).

It’s so nice to get ready in privacy taking your time and not worrying about disturbing DH. We have a small en-suite off the dressing room which is lovely.

Swingometer · 25/01/2021 17:34

I have neither and if given the choice of having one or the other I would prefer the walk in wardrobe

Unless you plan to move in the next 5 years or so I would choose what you want, rather than worrying about potential buyers in the future

Africa2go · 25/01/2021 17:43

I agree that you should have what works for you if you're not planning to sell. However, I think a house with what you're classing as a "master" bedroom in a 4 bed house should have an ensuite (or at least buyers will expect an ensuite when you come to sell).

Personally, I think in Covid times, an office inside the house is much more valuable that either an ensuite or walk in wardrobe. Fewer people want office space in the garden (compared to wanting it inside the house).

BackforGood · 25/01/2021 17:45

Ooh. More tricky now Grin

Personally we LOVE that we have had space for dh and to work in separate rooms during lockdown. I realise that is a real luxury that most folk won't have been lucky enough to have. Sharing an office isn't practical as we both have to make phone calls and various video calls throughout the day. So, if we were moving into your house, 'yes', but I'm not sure how common that would be, at some unidentified time in the future.
I'd say you do what suits you best as you are going to live there - which sounds as if it is a dressing room. Should another family like mine buy your house several years down the line, it wouldn't be too big a stretch to change a dressing room into a study if that suited their needs more. (Or a hobby room / gaming room / whatever suits their needs.)

CrotchetyQuaver · 25/01/2021 17:46

Small en-suite shower room at the far end of it? You might be able to squeeze room for a built in wardrobe either side on the bit nearest the bedroom.

FusionChefGeoff · 25/01/2021 17:47

We've got both in one and it's great!

What to do with master bedroom - en suite or dressing room?
What to do with master bedroom - en suite or dressing room?
Kamma89 · 25/01/2021 17:50

If you're not moving any time soon don't worry about what future buyers would prefer. I'm not a fan of ensuites so would go for the dressing room if choosing.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 25/01/2021 17:52

If you're doing lots of plumbing anyway, I'd see how expensive it is to move pipes etc, then make it a dressing room. When you come to sell it's then really easy to rip out a couple of wardrobes and stick an en-suite in there. People are obsessed with en-suites if my local property pages are anything to go by...

A friend rented a flat where a third bedroom had been split into a dressing room/utility room which was a great use of the space available. You may already have utilities elsewhere though.

minipie · 25/01/2021 18:00

Turn it into an ensuite and make the family bathroom on that floor into a study/dressing room.

We have an en suite, family bathroom on same floor and family bathroom on top floor (where the kids’ rooms are). With hindsight I wish we’d turned the family bathroom on our floor into a study.

Dressing room and study make a good combination because you can have a dressing table which doubles as a desk (just choose one which is large enough and provide plug sockets).

I wouldn’t want a study off the master bedroom. I also wouldn’t give up our en suite for anything, love the privacy.

ramblingsonthego · 25/01/2021 18:03

@FusionChefGeoff

We've got both in one and it's great!
Do your clothes and stuff not get damp from the shower and steam? I have always wondered this when I watch American reno shows as they seem to have this set up as well.
Weirdlynormal · 25/01/2021 18:09

Wow clothes storage in a bathroom. That would never have occurred to me to be for anything other than loo roll/towel/ toiletries. Don’t your clothes get damp?

GrumpyHoonMain · 25/01/2021 18:11

[quote allaboutmoving]@helly29 The master is 13' by 10.5' and because of the layout there isn't a huge amount of wardrobe space - we will build them in either side of the chimney breast so it's a reasonable amount (i.e. a double wardrobe on each side) but not enough for the amount of clothes I have... (!)

@GrumpyHoonMain I'm not sure we'd be able to fit both in a space of that size. If we could that would be great though. I don't disagree re the 2 doubles / 2 singles point, but this is the only way we can reconfigure the house and we need 4 bedrooms (that actually fit a bed and furniture!) so we have to do this rather than making 3 doubles, for example. Good suggestion re speaking to an estate agent, thanks. Would you consider a room of 7'11 x 7'5 as a bedroom? We've seen some other houses in the road for sale recently and they all seem to use that room as a junk room / informal dressing room, containing rails of clothes which just looks messy. This is what made us think we should make use of the space, but perhaps we should just leave it as it is.[/quote]
Yes I probably would consider it a bedroom. You can get smaller bedrooms than that even. The problem isn’t the smaller bedrooms it’s that you have more singles than doubles so the agent might advise you to keep them as is so you can market as a 4 bed. Then again they might not. Best to get the advice anyway

senua · 25/01/2021 18:13

I read something earlier today (sorry, can't find the article) where someone discussed how much you actually use a bathroom. They pointed out that en-suites use up a lot of room for something that you/OH only use for half an hour a day.
And it's yet another set of porcelain to clean and polish.

Monkeypeas · 25/01/2021 18:18

Go for both. Previous owners of our house extended. They created a dressing area + ensuite in a space about as big as yours.
Plan attached.
We have a corner shower unit in the bottom right of the ensuite. This doesn’t show that there is a window in their on the same external wall as the bedroom but the loo and sink are under that window.

The previous owners left large freestanding wardrobes in the dressing room but if they weren’t in there already I’d have had floor to ceiling shelves / rails put in with sliding doors

What to do with master bedroom - en suite or dressing room?
Corneliusmurphy · 25/01/2021 18:23

I’d prefer the wardrobe and dp would prefer the en-suite... (house hunting took us a very loooonnnggg time)
I wouldn’t worry about the next people I’d go with what suits you, they could always convert it themselves if they wished.

TreacleHart · 25/01/2021 18:26

As long as you have a toilet downstairs as well , I'd go for a dressing room.

msgloria · 25/01/2021 18:50

I'm not a fan of en suites unless the attached bedroom is massive. My master is 16 x 14 and personally I don't think that's big enough for an en suite. But I know I'm not representative - I've had a couple of people assume we would have rather our bedroom had one.

My little study is 8'7 by 5'7 however, and I love it. Fits a decent sized desk plus a sideboard / cupboard. Also stays really warm with the radiator on and the door shut. So I'd go for study or dressing room.

twoastars · 25/01/2021 19:34

Although it may not add value I think a dressing room is a great selling point. I think an en suite is a bit unnecessary personally and prefer not having one now so I don't get woken up if DH comes to bed later with the light being turned on/weeing and brushing teeth practically next to my pillow!

DumpedWife · 25/01/2021 22:24

Dressing room.
En suites don't do it for me. Maybe if your single an ensuite is nice but otherwise who wants to lie in bed listening for the plop of their loved ones turd hitting the water. The fart sounds. The shit smell/air freshner mixed with shit smell when they open the door after thier morning dump. Or reverse that and think of your loved one listening to you curling one out and any delightful smells you might just possibly produce.
Then there's the steam coming in the bedroom after the shower.
Even if yours or your partners shit is silent and fragrance free, I assume you lie there listening to the flush, then the sink. Too much noise and disturbance if you don't both get up at the same time.

Everyone thinks en suites are some marvellous wonder and unless your living in a house so huge the walk across the landing is too far, or your bedroom so huge you won't he subjected to flush and shit noises and smells I just don't get them.

Dressing room every time.

A bedroom should be an oasis of calm and clutter free. If you have a dressing room all the clutter and worn once clothes can be dumped out of sight. Just think of the joy of having all your clothes,shoes, bags easily accessible and not squeezed in a tiny little box in the corner of the bedroom.