Bigger bedroom or Ensuite

[Imjustbrowsing]

Hi all,

looking for advice on renovating our home with a view to future value.
We currently have two good size double rooms, a single room and the shell of an ensuite for the master bedroom (that was made by taking some of the single room).

We were originally excited to have a private ensuite and have bought most of the bits for it, we are however having 2nd thoughts as currently my 6yr old has the bigger double room and my 4yr old has the much smaller single room.

So my long winded question is would you prefer?

1. Three double bedrooms
2. Two double bedrooms (one ensuite) and a single bedroom.

We have a downstairs loo and the family bathroom is quite small but still has a bath and separate shower squeezed in.

Any thoughts appreciated.

We are reorganising our 3 storey terraced house after 11 years of living here.

On the second floor is a bigger double, a smaller double, a very small single and a bathroom. DH and I had the bigger double with his WFH desk in there added, DS1 the smaller double and DS2 the very small single.

On the first floor we have a small double with en suite, which has always been a playroom/teens room and everyone had access to the shower in there. It was great having a second bathroom when needed and worked well for those years. DS2 used that room a lot as his bedroom is so small and our living room is quite small too, so it gave him extra space including a desk.

We are in the process of a grand bedroom swap as DS1 is going to uni in September, DH is going to be WFH permanently and we liked the idea of having the en suite.

So far we have redecorated the 1st floor teens room, made it into our bedroom and moved all our stuff in. I love having an en suite for the first time in my life at 53. It is much smaller than our old bedroom so it really is just our bed, wardrobes and chest of drawers. But we love it and it is great that DH's desk is now in a separate room. We moved the other teens room stuff like sofabeds and bookshelves up there too, so the teens can use it on evenings and weekends.

Next move is DS1 and DS2 swapping, so DS2 can have the bigger bedroom for 6th form. DS1 is going to need to have a big clear out, but since he's going to uni it is a good idea anyway. We recently got a desk in DS2's tiny room, but had to remove a chest of drawers so he now only has a bed, a small wardrobe with hanging space at the top and drawers at the bottom, a bedside cabinet and lots of IKEA underbed storage boxes. DS1 will inherit all of this and will have to fit in what he keeps from his bedroom after the planned clear out.

If you want to stay there a long time think about where the kids will have space to work. Mine both got to an age when they wanted their own desk in a quiet space to study, especially for GCSEs and A levels. They liked this in their own bedrooms as they could do timed practice exam papers with no interruptions. But if you're not intending to live there that long it probably doesn't matter. But I would use a house for your needs now, if you like it like that, someone else will too when you sell it.

The bigger room now appears to be winning.

I do not think this is our forever home, but who knows how long we will stay here.
The ensuite shell and the fact we already have a door from our bedroom into the space means that it will cost just as much to put it back to a double room as it would to install the ensuite.
This is purely a practical decision with some thought of future value.

Thanks again for all the responses.

I'm the opposite. Wouldn't buy a house without a master bedroom en-suite

I hate en-suites (a toilet in the bedroom? No thanks!) but an extra bathroom is invaluable - no queues for a shower! Mine are only little, but when older I would be so annoyed waiting for teenager #1 to finish making a mess and using all the towels in the bathroom only for teenager #2 to nip in before I get the chance...

I'd be inclined to put a high sleeper in the single room and have storage or a den underneath while younger, then a workspace when older. We have a new build and most rooms are tiny but it's not the end of the world with appropriate furniture. DS (8) has a large double room at his dad's, but here he has that Ikea high sleeper with the tent on top and den below, and he prefers it as it's more fun for a kid. He'll probably prefer his dad's house when he hits his teens - fine by me as his dad can take on the food costs of a teen with hollow legs 😁

I would prefer 3 double bedrooms. The space in the ensuite won't get used as much as the extra bedroom space and it is an extra bathroom to clean.

You will never win on this because it all depends who is interested in buying it- if it's a couple- they would probably go for 2 plus 1 plus en-suite, if they've got 3 young kids would probably prefer 3 better sized bedrooms

Ensuite all the way! So nice to have a your bathroom and kids messy bathroom.

You can get the kids a decent cabin bunk thing for the single room and actually having the second garden room as an office/study/play room for the small person room is a huge thing to have. So their bedroom is just for sleeping and clothes and they get a second room. I would have loved that as a teenager. And not sharing a room with parents. Having the option for getting ready in the mornings with 2 bathrooms is huge.

For 3 beds plus en-suites are the modern standard so you could find it difficult to sell without one (it devalues more than a smaller 3rd bedroom)

I think if the structure is already there, go for the ensuite.

I think as the children get older, you'll need an extra bathroom. I don't think it makes much difference to the value of the house - as this thread demonstrates, its a question of preference - and I think you'll have as many people attracted by the ensuite as peeople put off by the unequal bedrooms.

I would go with whatever is your preference for how you want the house to work for you. With the set up you have, with ample living space / separate space for hanging out with friends etc, I'd have the ensuite.

Bigger bedroom. A 2 double 1 single house fits your family , but other family configurations might need to juggle bedrooms around and more equal sized bedrooms will give flexibility. I think more people will be put off by a small bedroom than by the lack of an en-suite.

I love en-suites and have had two in my last three houses but in your situation I’d pick a bigger third bedroom. Then both your DC will have plenty of room and you also have a downstairs toilet. If you didn’t have the downstairs toilet or space to install one then I’d say pick the ensuite.

I vote en-suite, one bathroom isn’t very practical for a family of 4.

New build houses now all seem to include en suites but they also tend to have tiny rooms and for that reason many people actively avoid them.

I find it so odd that people seem to think that going to the toilet in a tiny cupboard in your bedroom is something aspirational.

The vast vast majority of housing in this country is Victorian which for the most part isn’t set up well for en suites to be added so it’s still not the norm to have one. And as can be seen from this thread many people actively dislike them
so it’s not going to make her house unsellable.

3 doubles every single time, always. Even if there was only one loo (buckets are available for emergencies, and I've never had to use one despite having only one loo util we moved here, and I'm ancient).

(I'd offer less for a house with ensuites- whatever it would cost to get them stripped out)

Three bigger bedrooms would be my preference I don't see the point of an ensuite they just lead to usually much smaller bedrooms.

Definitely 3 doubles for me.

I would always choose the bigger bedroom. I would not like to have an en-suites in our home. I do think a second toilet is beneficial but not an en-suite, we chose a downstairs toilet instead.

If you want a second bathroom then having one downstairs or in the loft (if you are planning to convert it) would be better than an en suites, much more flexible and a loo on each floor is more useful.