Upstairs floorplan reconfigure - what would you do?

[augustusbloom]

Hi all

We recently completed on a house and are in the process of deciding how to reconfigure before we get going on decorating.

The current bathroom is essentially a corridor to the toilet and I hate it. We know we are never going to have a big family bathroom with the current floorplan but are desperate to reorganise this room as a minimum and one option is to switch it to the small bedroom (the plumbing for the downstairs WC is beneath so this shouldn't be quite as difficult/expensive as if we moved it elsewhere).

We are very lucky to have four bedrooms, but there are only two of us for now and we aren't planning on having children for at least five years. We currently have our master bedroom (at the back of the house / top of the floorplan), my office (small room), my partner's office (bedroom to the right) and a spare bedroom.

For our master, a dream would be to have an ensuite and walk-in wardrobe, but we know we would likely have to sacrifice a room to do that. That doesn't necessarily bother us, as we would simply combine our offices and both work out of one room, or put a desk downstairs (we have two reception rooms) and still have a large spare bedroom.

We are planning to be here for 10 years +, so we do really want it to work for us and don't just want to think about value when we eventually sell (we know many people will be saying 'DON'T LOSE A BEDROOM!!!', which we understand, and we're open to options of not losing it).

I've attached the current floor plan, and two options just from me playing about. I'd be super grateful for your thoughts on what you would do, as having looked at the floorplan for hours I'm at a loss!

We are due to have architects come to look at our house next week (we are also planning an extension and downstairs reconfiguration) but would like to get a bit more a handle on the floorplan ourselves first.

THANK YOU!
AB

Woops, didn't have much luck attaching any pics!

[...]

I'd be inclined to sacrifice the small bedroom to create a family bathroom and turn the existing bathroom into an en suite for your master bedroom. Four bedrooms and one bathroom feels unbalanced to me.

That bathroom is awful! Definitely move it to the small bedroom!

I think your proposed walk in wardrobe looks odd though. I would probably just go for a bank of wardrobes along the wall where you have the bed head and twist the bed round to the wall with the small window (which I'd possibly block off).

(That was with reference to the first proposed layout)

(Which is actually the second 😂)

The main bathroom on the other is far too small and no scope for a window (as you point it). Your walk in wardrobe would be bigger and this doesn't seem like the right balance to me. The ensuite works in that layout.

Yes I totally agree with your plan OP to sacrifice the small bedroom to make a bigger and better master suite. What I'm not sure works though is using that back bedroom to do it. Looking at the measurements on your original plan, you're going to end up with a master bedroom which is basically 11ft squared (once you've hived off the left hand wall for either your ensuite or WIW). I know you won't need a wardrobe in the resulting room but that is pretty small.

I think I’d choose this layout, but have the bathroom in the ex bedroom that is marked as walk in wardrobe (already has a window), and the long thin bathroom as a walk in wardrobe.

Oops, didn’t post the photo

Maybe this? With doors on the dressing area if you want.

OP what about using that left hand, larger bedroom as your master instead? You're starting off with a larger room, as that back bedroom is only the larger width into the niche and not the whole room.

• divide the existing bathroom in half, the top half becomes your ensuite
• the lower half becomes your walk in wardrobe, which you walk through to get to ensuite.
• the small bedroom becomes new family bathroom

@choirmumoftwo

I'd be inclined to sacrifice the small bedroom to create a family bathroom and turn the existing bathroom into an en suite for your master bedroom. Four bedrooms and one bathroom feels unbalanced to me.

Thank you @choirmumoftwo, I agree that four bedrooms one bath is a bit nuts (especially given the size and shape of the current bathroom - so odd!)

@SoupDragon

Maybe this? With doors on the dressing area if you want.

@SoupDragon - agree with all your comments here and that does make a lot of sense in creating that new dressing area etc - thank you v much

@Daisydoesnt

OP what about using that left hand, larger bedroom as your master instead? You're starting off with a larger room, as that back bedroom is only the larger width into the niche and not the whole room.

• divide the existing bathroom in half, the top half becomes your ensuite
• the lower half becomes your walk in wardrobe, which you walk through to get to ensuite.
• the small bedroom becomes new family bathroom

@Daisydoesnt

Thank you Daisy.

You are right that the left-hand bedroom is larger. The issue with converting it somehow is the shape and the fact that it is double aspect window-wise, so we would be squeezing a lot into that L-shape if that makes sense.

Another option is to have wardrobes along the bottom wall of that bedroom (so less walk in, but still ample space) and then have the current bath area as the ensuite. We could then give back the top half to the upper bedroom and, as you suggest, move the family bathroom to the small bedroom.

Such a conundrum!

Yes I totally agree with your plan OP to sacrifice the small bedroom to make a bigger and better master suite. What I'm not sure works though is using that back bedroom to do it. Looking at the measurements on your original plan, you're going to end up with a master bedroom which is basically 11ft squared (once you've hived off the left hand wall for either your ensuite or WIW). I know you won't need a wardrobe in the resulting room but that is pretty small.

@Honeyroar

I think I’d choose this layout, but have the bathroom in the ex bedroom that is marked as walk in wardrobe (already has a window), and the long thin bathroom as a walk in wardrobe.

Gotcha, thanks @Honeyroar

You have all been super helpful - it really is good to have fresh pair of eyes looking at a plan!

I've also asked about my downstairs reconfiguring on another thread if you may have a chance to look at that too as I trust your judgement haha)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4499411-What-would-you-do-with-this-downstairs-floorplan-Extension-knock-through-remodel?msgid=115680792#115680792 -

Ps, I forgot to say that we knocked two old semi detached houses into one house and changed it from four beds to three with a large en-suite in the master and a good family bathroom too.

If you go for your first suggestion and the bedroom as walk in wardrobe you can easily change it back to a small bedroom to maximise value when you sell. If you plumb a bathroom in then its always going to be a bathroom.
But I live with a small bathroom and its fine - and we've no en suite. A small family bathroom and an ensuite and walk in wardrobe would be luxurious.
Also check the cost of moving plumbing one side of the house to the other but I do see you have plumbing on the ground floor below the small bedroom so it may be ok.

Four bedrooms and 1 bathroom is unbalanced- we had that in our previous house and it didn’t work very well when we had 2 dc living at home. I would turn the 4th smallest bedroom into a nice family bathroom for sure.

I'd go with SoupDragon's plan.