Incorporating en suite into current bathroom?

[CheltenhamLady]

We are about to move into a house which has a small, but functional, en suite attached to what is now the main bedroom. This en suite is adjacent to the main bathroom, which again is small, but functional.

DH has suggested that when we renovate we knock both spaces into one big bathroom. I think this is a good idea for us, but I am worried that it might devalue the house if we remove the en suite. It is unlikely we will move from this house until we are in our dotage! (Probably not that long off, 20/25 years if we are lucky enough to live that long) However, I am still reluctant to de value it from the off.

Thoughts?

There is zero point in a larger bathroom , you wash and use the toilet. Functional is more than sufficient.

Two toilets upstairs is always a bonus.

I would knock through to make a bigger bathroom. I hate pokey bathrooms and they're harder to clean. Plus, no one wants to hear someone doing a shit in the en suite while they're trying to relax in bed!!

There will only be two of us living there and we do have a downstairs toilet.

A bathroom doesn't have to be huge but cramped is unpleasant if it's not necessary.

I like a separate, decent-sized shower and room to get dried in comfort so it would depend what the existing spaces are like.

how many bedrooms does the house have OP?

If you think you won’t leave til your dotage make the house work for you. Also a seaparate, walk-in shower as well as a bathtub and lots of room to manoeuvre might help you to stay in the house longer than otherwise.

Some buyers will prefer one bigger bathroom. We bought a house where a small bathroom and a small bedroom have been knocked into one room and it was a selling point for us. I don’t think I’d have done it myself as I’d be worried about damaging its value, but I was more than happy to buy with the work already done.

The bathroom is nice and airy, and has a big shower, bath and double sink, as well as loads of space for storage. Three big windows too. I like to relax with a bath so a nice space is valuable to me, more so than another bedroom. I think removing an en-suite is less risky than a bedroom, so I’d go for it.

We did similar in the house we just sold. We didn't want an en suite and found a bigger bathroom meant we could have bath and separate shower cubicle. Plus much more space for small child wrangling at bathtime! It also means there's more space to manoeuvre should you become infirm etc.

There was a downstairs loo so we weren't removing all loos!

I guess it depends what you mean by small. I personally prefer an ensuite (with a walk in shower) and a seperate family bathroom (with a bath).

I would simply remove the en suite bathroom fixtures, by simply capping off the utilities (water, waste etc) , and kit out the en suite as a walk in wardrobe, leaving a larger bedroom without a wardrobe. Then, when you come to sell, you can simply explain that all the infrastructure is there behind, giving people the option. Most people seem to re-fit bathrooms, ensuites etc when they move anyway. It's much cheaper if the plumbing etc is in situ.

@Ozanj

I guess it depends what you mean by small. I personally prefer an ensuite (with a walk in shower) and a seperate family bathroom (with a bath).

It is not minute and it has a bath and shower over. The en suite has a shower cubicle, loo and sink. We will be redoing the bathroom when we move in.

The house has 4 bedrooms.

If you’re going to be there 20+ years. Do what works for you. A big bathroom with separate shower and Bath can be a real selling point. Just as an ensuite and bathroom can be too, just different.

By the time you come to sell the bathroom will need replacing so you can say then that it used to be two spaces and keep the floor plan. If someone really wants to, they can put it back how it is.

Adds value for me: en suites are grim and I automatically factor in the bother of doing what you’re doing when I look at a floor plan. Viva la big family bathroom!

Unless you have lots of guests, do what works for you. I wish we had a bigger bathroom we could both us in the morning at same time.