Do you have a downstairs bathroom - how difficult does this make life?

[Therollinghills]

I'm looking at a house that has a downstairs bathroom only, no loo upstairs. The bathroom is off the hallway by the back door, the house has 2 double bedrooms and a single. I could turn the single into a bathroom I suppose but then the house would be a 2 bed which doesn't bother me that much but wouldn't be great for reselling in future I suppose. The house next door has taken a slice off one of the double bedrooms to make a loo but then the bedroom is quite small after that. The downstairs bathroom would be a bit useless as anything else, the house already has a utility room and boot room.
If you only have a downstairs bathroom how difficult do you find it? I have a 3 year old DD so that is a bit of an issue in the night.

Our house only has a downstairs loo/bathroom. I hate it. But we have lived here for ever and have got used to it. If we ever move my requirement would be a loo on each floor.

We used a potty for toddlers in the night. It's a pain. Especially if/when poorly.

The downstairs bathroom is great when they are tiny though and you don't have to run back upstairs to the loo/bath

@Bankholidayhelp thank you, yes all I can think about is trekking down the stairs and through the living area and kitchen at 3am for a wee! My house now only has a toilet upstairs so use potties for DD downstairs. The dream would be to have toilets up and down!

My sisters house is like this and I hate it when I stay over and need a wee in the night! Would not like it at all.

I only have an upstairs bathroom in mine which is marginally better, currently heavily pregnant and resent the endless trips up the stairs in the evening when I want to blob on the sofa.

yes ideally I want a toilet on each floor, will be a priority in my next house…

My friend has this and much prefers it. Her rational is when the kids come in from school or playing they don't need to trail upstairs. She says she uses the loo at most once during the night but numerous times during the day & feels its actually more convenient for them when they're spending most of their time at home downstairs or in the garden

I lived in a house with downstairs bathrooms (through living room and kitchen to the back) when I was at uni. It was awful when I was sick and generally at night. I hated it every morning because it felt like a trek to wash my face and brush my teeth. I cant imagine what it might be like to have kids. I think most people dont consider this setup when buying a house tbh. I think the house would sell better as a two bed with upstairs bathroom

We live in a dormer. We have a downstairs large bathroom with shower and bath, but a small toilet under the eaves upstairs. (Can’t really stand up in it but there’s a toilet and small sink akin to the size of an under stair toilet).
I prefer the bathroom downstairs than upstairs; it is great for washing the dog after walks, great for DD when she’s little and means I can have a late night bath or my husband a shower after work without DD waking up with the noise. I don't think I could have it as the only toilet in the house though.

Yeah you may be right if I could repurpose the downstairs bathroom into something useful! Where I live quite a lot of houses have a downstairs bathroom so it's not uncommon here but people either move them upstairs or at least put in a loo.

I had twins living in a house with only a bathroom downside and it was fine, it's just what you're used to

Downstairs that is!

My last house was a downstairs bathroom, but a really small terrace. I didn’t like it, it felt cramped, I didn’t like the proximity to the kitchen, and annoying going downstairs in the night, but it was a horrible bathroom and very cold so think maybe my opinion is distorted by this. When I was buying I automatically ruled out downstairs bathrooms though regardless of the house layout.

Yes hoping I can get used to it as the house and location is ideal otherwise. I don't really mind going upstairs to the loo all day but for some reason the other way round seems really daunting I think it's the night time/being sick thing and it's quite a long way to the bathroom rather than just nipping upstairs for a wee.

If your main worry is night-time wees, is there room to fit just a toilet upstairs? Sort of the upstairs equivalent of a downstairs loo?

I think if you only have one toilet, whether it be upstairs or downstairs it's a pain. Everyone in the house either has to run up and down the stairs during the day numerous times for the toilet or people have to go downstairs during the night if they need to wee. Far best to have a toilet both upstairs and downstairs if at all possible then it doesn't really matter where the bathroom is.

I only have a downstairs bathroom. However, I moved from a HUGE house, where I slept at the other end of the landing from the bathroom, so I used to have to trek miles in the night for a wee. Down the stairs and across to the bathroom in my little tiny house is a shorter distance!

My stairs are quite steep so I keep a dim light on the landing and a nightlight in the bathroom so I don't need to wake myself up putting lights on. I also have to let the dog out for a wee most nights, so I do this when I go for my own wee.

I thought it might be a problem, but I got used to it really quickly.

It doesn't bother me 90% of the time, but I don't need the loo much in the night. It's miserable when you're ill (though better for collapsing on the sofa during the day). Handy for BBQs and having people over in the summer Vs only having one upstairs.

Net neutral to me, but I do see why it would put a lot of people off.

I could do, but it would make one of the bedrooms quite a bit smaller. Next door have done that but they have a loft conversion so have another large bedroom. I guess if I move there I can decide how much of a pain it is and whether it's worth the loss of room.

I would hate it personally. I like a toilet nearby for night time wees. And I'm sure, the older you get, the more you wee in the night. We now have an en-suite for the first time and I love it.

We moved from a large 3 bed with 2 bathrooms upstairs and a downstairs loo to a 3 bed cottage with only a downstairs bathroom (and paid £125k more for that as its a highly popular village). There’s me and DH and DD who is 4 (was 3 when we moved in).

I was concerned but it’s absolutely fine! I don’t mind it at all. It is sometimes annoying waiting for the loo, so if we can one day we may try and put a second loo in but there’s no way we can do a full second bathroom (small thatch, no scope to extend).

I expect when DD is a teen it will be a bit more difficult and we no longer host lots of people overnight but that’s fine.

I actually quite like the downstairs part. I think if there’s only one downstairs is more useful.

@Therollinghills there's always going to be something inconvenient with any house. The trick is to make the inconvenient thing either the thing that affects you least, or something you can workaround.

Location of the house can't be changed and is the biggest issue.

Only an upstairs loo is somewhat inconvenient in daytime hours, only downstairs inconvenient at night. In my view, if someone's unwell you can make temporary provisions. On the other hand, when little ones are out every morning, getting them up, downstairs to shower or wash and get dressed in the bathroom, then into the kitchen for breakfast, or vice versa could be a very streamlined routine.

Downstairs bathrooms are always divisive. Some people won't hear of them and others just make them work for their lifestyle.

we had this in our first house and I loved it when I had 3 little ones as I could put them in the bath and supervise from my kitchen. It was a bit of a pain at night. We eventually kept the toilet and made rest of room into an office and turned our smallest bedroom onto an upstairs bathroom. We did an attic conversion to get extra room back

We have this. It was great when the children were small and we have got used to it. However it's not a relaxing space - a warm, cosy, private bathroom it is not. Also much more difficult to keep the floor clean as people tend to be straight in from outside in their shoes.