House with two stairs

[BobOn]

We’re thinking of putting in two sets of stairs in our renovation to solve a layout problem.
You’d have to go downstairs in one part and then upstairs in the other part to go between the bedrooms.

Is this a dumb idea?

I’ve seen that layout with the master bedroom up one staircase and all the other bedrooms up another several times (cottage conversions) and that particular layout would put me off if I had small children.

However if there was more than one bedroom accessible by each staircase (such that all small children could be kept near to the adults while small) or I was a non-family buyer that would be fine.

How many bedrooms would be accessed by each set of stairs? I think that’s a crucial factor.

I’ve seen this done in a barn conversion used for holiday lets. It is quite impractical for families with small children though, depending of course how many rooms are accessible in one go. If you just had a guest “wing” off one set of stairs and the family rooms off the other it could work. What about bathrooms? Would you have to traipse up and down to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth?

I think we need a plan!

In a quirky or character property where it would be part of the charm I think it would work well, and as long as it works for your family, you just get used to it and forget it was ever different. I have a friend who lives in a cottage sort of built into a hillside where all the rooms are slightly different levels and you have to go down and up and through different hallways and it’s perfectly charming.

In a modern property, it might pose a bit of an issue with selling on, especially if your competition is properties with a conventional layout.

We had this growing up. Worked ok, pain to hover and dust extra stairs. Nice to have two under the stairs storage areas tho.

If i had small children i would be really put off by it. from a safety stand point if there was a fire you can't get to your kids quickly. plus the insanity if you are stumbling up and down stairs blurry eyed cos one of the kids is crying or for a midnight feeding etc

Totally depends on the details. If it's a study/guest room up one set then it's no problem, but if you're splitting up the main bedrooms in a family home, that would be a big no for me.

It would limit the potential market when you want to sell on... Ok with older children, perfect for a 'granny flat' or similar... But potentially off putting for young families