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Original poster

If you have two bathrooms/one bathroom and an ensuite...

206 replies

QuentininQuarantino · 16/01/2022 18:56

Our lovely first home has two bathrooms (bathtubs) which are extremely outdated. Think khaki tiles and yellow bathroom suite, mold and staining... ew.

So, we're saving up to redo them and are at the planning stage. We'd like one to have a bathtub and one to have a biggish shower. The smaller could easily be made into an ensuite by moving where the door is.

For those of you who have lived for a while with two bathrooms, what works best for you? And what do you think we should do? Both to live with and hopefully not to decrease the value of our property (although no plans to leave!). We have DC under 10 if that is relevant. Thank you.

a) bathtub in family bathroom and shower in ensuite
b) shower in family bathroom and bathtub in ensuite
c) two family bathrooms and no ensuite.

OP posts:
Socialcarenope · 16/01/2022 20:34

C for a family home (or one that would be considered a family home).

I prefer 2 bathrooms that can be used by anyone over an ensuite.

I'd make the bigger one have a bath and separate shower

frazzledfragglefromfragglerock · 16/01/2022 20:37

I have 2 en-suites and a family bathroom.

Both en-suites have largish showers (double the size of a standard square shower tray)

The family bathroom has a bath with shower attachment.

Mostly we use the showers. My 8 year old uses the bath more regularly but this is mainly because it's not a very big bath. I love a bath but can't fit my fat arse in it!

I'd say one bathroom, one showroom and make sure it's a big bath!

I have mixed feelings about the en-suite. I like that I step out of the shower into my bedroom but I hate listening to my husband have a shit. If I had my way I'd ban using the toilet in the en-suite.

Original poster
QuentininQuarantino · 16/01/2022 20:39

Does a floor plan help? The idea was to take space from the bedroom 2 built in wardrobe to make a family bathroom and to either just update the smaller one or remove the wardrobe and put a door in there to make it en suite. The problem then is because there are two windows, there would not be anywhere to put a big wardrobe… and I have a lot of clothes!

If you have two bathrooms/one bathroom and an ensuite...
OP posts:
Zonder · 16/01/2022 20:41

I'm wondering if those people saying two family bathrooms have teens yet? There's no way I want my teens using our bathroom.

HeronLanyon · 16/01/2022 20:46

C every time.

Phrowzunn · 16/01/2022 20:47

We have a family bathroom with bath and separate shower cubicle, cloakroom downstairs and en-suite with shower. The kids use the bath as they’re still little and we only use the shower in the en-suite. The shower in the family bathroom is never used (unless we have guests) but I guess it will be as the kids get older. I always thought en-suites were weird and actively didn’t want one, but I actually like it better than I thought I would. Although I think in your situation I wouldn’t change it to be en-suite, I’d leave them both being accessed from the hall with the option for someone else to change to en-suite if it’s important to them. So, two showers and one bath would be my vote.

Spindelina · 16/01/2022 20:49

We've got two bathrooms, each of which has a door to a bedroom and a door to the hallway. It takes up wall space, which you might not have, but it means that we can be flexible as life changes about whose bathrooms they are depending on which door is kept semi permanently locked with stuff in front of it. Could you do that with at least one of them if you're not sure?

Forgetaboutme · 16/01/2022 20:53

Personally I love having an ensuite. We have a shower in our ensuite and bath with shower in the main bathroom. This works for us as kids have a mix of baths and showers. I love that the ensuite is always nice and clean and after my shower I can walk straight into my room to get ready.

Kite22 · 16/01/2022 20:55

I'm wondering if those people saying two family bathrooms have teens yet? There's no way I want my teens using our bathroom.

My youngest is now 20, so, yes, for many years I had 3 teens.
We put the 2nd bathroom in (opening on to the landing) when they were 2, 5, and 7. Makes much more sense that both bathrooms are available to them all without them having to enter our bedroom.
At various points we've had partners, or just mates staying to, so even more helpful that the two bathrooms can be shared between the 6, 7, 8 or more young people or adults in the house, rather than 5 sharing one and just 2 of us being able to use the other (unless we were happy to have all and sundry coming through our bedroom at all hours).

Kite22 · 16/01/2022 20:56

*too

Hoppinggreen · 16/01/2022 20:57

We took the bath out of the house bathroom and replaced it with a big walk in shower. Then we took the shower out of the ensuite and knocked out an airing cupboard to put a corner jacuzzi in there.
We have teens though

stingofthebutterfly · 16/01/2022 20:57

One shower room, one bathroom, no ensuite because who wants to got to the loo in the bedroom or sleep next to a bathroom? Heaven forbid someone makes an horrible smell in there. Ensuites are vile.

Alayalaya · 16/01/2022 20:58

I hate an ensuite. It isn’t much use for anything except having a wee. If it doesn’t have an opening window you can’t shower in it because it gets damp. You can guarantee someone will crap in it either just before bedtime or during the night, and you won’t be able to sleep in your bedroom because it smells like a public toilet. Ensuites need to be strictly regulated - only used by the bedroom owner and no poops allowed. If you have a choice I would go for two proper bathrooms that aren’t attached to bedrooms.

LubaLuca · 16/01/2022 21:01

@stingofthebutterfly

One shower room, one bathroom, no ensuite because who wants to got to the loo in the bedroom or sleep next to a bathroom? Heaven forbid someone makes an horrible smell in there. Ensuites are vile.
Who wants to go to the loo on the landing or in the entrance hall?
Exhausteddog · 16/01/2022 21:02

I would go for a bath (potentially including a shower over it) in the family bathroom and a large shower in the ensuite.
I don't have a problem with an ensuite but lots of MN find them disgusting for some reason.

stingofthebutterfly · 16/01/2022 21:04

@lubaluca I'm not sleeping in the landing or in the hall. I don't want to be in bed whilst someone is peeing next to me, thanks.

Caspianberg · 16/01/2022 21:04

If you have two teens then surely sharing one bathroom and parents having en-suite is worse. As if one is using bathroom before school, then other will then want to Trapse through and use en-suite as neither will want to be the first one up, and both need to get ready.

Also, if you have young children sharing bedroom ie baby, the other parent usually creeps in quietly to sleep. If they come into bedroom, then into en-suite and electric toothbrush on, toilet flushing, shower before work etc.. if would likely wake baby.
Would have annoyed me if I had just got baby back to sleep at 6am, then dh woke them up getting ready for work.

Zonder · 16/01/2022 21:09

If you have two teens then surely sharing one bathroom and parents having en-suite is worse. As if one is using bathroom before school, then other will then want to Trapse through and use en-suite as neither will want to be the first one up, and both need to get ready.

No because they are not allowed to use our en suite. There are two of us to use the en suite and two of them to use the family bathroom. It's a life skill for them to learn to share the bathroom.

Snowiscold · 16/01/2022 21:10

Two bathrooms. I don’t like en suites. Bathrooms are accessible to all - so much more useful. My dc are in their 20s now.

Whatiswrongwithmyknee · 16/01/2022 21:10

I can never understand MN snobbery re: ensuites. It's not going to the loo next to the bed unless you have a tiny bedroom and a tiny ensuite. We have an ensuite and love it. It's got a window (velux), shower and bath and is a good sized room. We don't have to share it with the kids and we don't have to get dressed in anyway to go for a wee in the night (we both need to - every night). We have a decent door so don't hear anything once someone is in there though we do turn the fan off at night. I'd go for that option personally. Also I'd put a bath in the main bathroom. Most people with young children prefer a bath to a shower and you can always have a shower over if it's a smaller room. Whether you have bath or not in the ensuite is personal preference.

Whatiswrongwithmyknee · 16/01/2022 21:11

If you have two teens then surely sharing one bathroom and parents having en-suite is worse. As if one is using bathroom before school, then other will then want to Trapse through and use en-suite as neither will want to be the first one up, and both need to get ready.

No, ours co-ordinate themselves and never use our ensuite. We do have a loo on the ground floor too though.

JaninaDuszejko · 16/01/2022 21:13

I'd pay good money to change FROM an en-suite to a bathroom off a landing.

We are actually considering this in our attic, there's a loo off the bedroom but I want to make it into a bathroom and have a door from the landing so it can be used by the whole household and not just whoever is staying in that room.

MN takes great delight in denigrating anything that the average person finds convenient. En suites are ‘modern’ and not naturally built into period homes, and saying you hate them proves you aren’t in a ‘new estate’ and are therefore better than those that are.

And where the upper middle class lead in house layout the rest will follow. What is nice is having multiple good sized bathrooms and possibly an en suite for a guest room (so the guest has privacy and a clean bathroom to themselves). A small ensuite squeezed into a tiny 'master' bedroom and a tiny family bathroom with a shower over the bath is not desirable, it's the modern equivalent of married couples in the 1950s having twin beds in an approximation of the upper classes having separate bedrooms.

mandoforever · 16/01/2022 21:16

I love our en suite, it has a big shower. Can't believe the dislike for them on here, if one of us do a poo, the door is shut and the window is open a bit so the smell goes very quickly.

We have our only bath in the family bathroom.

MissingJigsawPiece · 16/01/2022 21:20

Hotel rooms all have a en-suite bathroom.

We have an en-suite which has a mixer shower. Dh and I share that. The 2 children have the bathroom which has a bath with an electric shower over so hot water at any time of day or night. We also have a downstairs loo.

A decent extractor fan and a good solid door is what an en-suite needs.

FinallyHere · 16/01/2022 21:21

reality is that you have a toilet in your bedroom

Don't recognise that at all

My ideal is an en-suite to every bedroom so that you can move between it and bedroom, especially when there are visitors in the house, without needing to think covering the decencies.

Like (some) PPs, we have an good sized ensuite with shower, a family bathroom with bath and shower above plus downstairs WC

There is absolutely no feeling of "having a loo in the bedroom" Does anyone feel this about the standard type of hotel room ? I can only imagine that it comes from cramming an en-suite into what is essentially not enough space.