Bedroom sizes - what do you expect in a 4 bed house?

[Livingonthecoast]

About to start work renovating our existing bungalow into a beautiful 4 bedroom home by going into the loft do a large box dormer. The aim is to put three bedrooms (plus bathroom) upstairs and one downstairs. If you are buying a 4 bed home, would you be happy having two of the smallest bedrooms approximately 3.25m x 3m? We have small children so those room sizes would work for our family and of course you can get a double bed in them (but not loads else). OR would you rather make one of them a little bigger (3 x 4.5m) but sacrifice some living space downstairs?

Sounds like average size doubles or good size children’s rooms. The latter is what most people are looking for in a family home. Personally I don’t see the point in giant bedrooms: I use mine for sleeping, sex and storing clothes, I don’t need room for random items of furniture to collect dust or spare floorspace big enough to dance in. I definitely wouldn’t want to compromise on living space for a slightly bigger bedroom.

In a 4 bed I would expect two doubles and two singles, with the singles being big enough for a bed, desk, wardrobe and drawers. The basic stuff a teenager needs to sleep and study in peace .. unlike too many new builds we saw which barely fitted a single bed. Plus two bathrooms.

Thank you. Yes, I completely agree. The master bedroom is a particular source of contention in this project because my DH thinks it needs to be huge and I couldn’t care less as I’m up at 5 each morning with the kids and can’t remember the last time I relaxed in our currently very average sized bedroom and I can’t see that changing any time soon but it’s nice to know I’m not the only one that doesn’t see the point in giant bedrooms! The master bedroom is currently 4 x 4.5m plus walk in wardrobe and en-suite so it’s massive already to me but this was the compromised version.

Thank you, I must admit to looking at the floor plans of a couple of the big named house builders and being surprised at how small some of the rooms were. Very cleverly staged for the photographs though.

Do what works for your family. Try not to think too much about resale.

People want different things from 4 bed houses - someone might look at your house who has no kids but they want a master bedroom, a guest room and an office each. Or someone might want to use the downstairs bedroom for a playroom as they've young kids, or use it as a gym... the list goes on.

Sounds fine. Two big and two small. As long as the layout with doors, radiators and windows allows for the stuff a teenager needs as above.
Do you have two bathrooms included? Or at least a cloakroom.

When we bought our new build 30 years ago it was described as having 2 double and 2 single bedrooms. When next door was sold a few years ago it was described as having 4 doubles. It has exactly the same bedrooms as our house had 30 years ago. You could probably get a double bed in the singles but it would have to be against the wall so you could only climb out of one side.

This describes exactly why we bought a 4 bed house.

None of the bedrooms are huge but all are perfectly adequate. All could fit a double bed, but 2 of them wouldn't fit more than a double bed, desk and wardrobe. But that would be fine for most kids.

I would like a slightly larger main bedroom - we don't have room for anything in ours other than the fitted wardrobes (and drawers). I'd like more of a feeling of space (it doesn't feel cramped, but it doesn't feel spacious). But I wouldn't remodel our current house for it - I'd think about it if starting from scratch though.

Yes, so looking at the 2 kids bedrooms, family bathroom, master bedroom and en-suite upstairs with the guest room and en-suite downstairs. We will also have a small cloakroom for visitors. We were debating having the master bedroom downstairs and the guest bedroom upstairs (with no en-suite) which would allow three really good sized bedrooms and one smaller one but obviously the master bedroom downstairs takes up more room than a spare so I’m leaning more towards having it upstairs to give us more space in the living area.

Those room sizes sound fine OP - similar to what my teen boys have - fits a double bed against a wall plus armchair desk chest of drawers and big wardrobe .

I would not have bought a 4 bed with master away from the kids downstairs though . Wouldn’t even bother looking .

I actually have a 4 bed with 3 doubles and a very small single ( which needs to miraculously get larger somehow )

The sizes sound fine BUT, I wouldn't buy it if I wanted 4 bedrooms. The downstairs room would be a playroom/office/extra living space not a bedroom to me.

Agree with above poster- what size is the room downstairs? That wouldn't be a bedroom to me, so would have to be one of the smaller ones so I could sell as a 3 bed plus a study I think.

For an older house ....mine has three doubles and a single -
3.5m x 3.5m
3.5m x 3.8m
3.2m x 6.4m
3.8m x 2.2m

In a new house, much smaller.

Thank you, not sure yet but slightly larger than the kids rooms to accommodate a king size bed but not as big as the master. The downstairs is another 4m long and my DH has his own business so we will be having a separate office and (possibly) a playroom partially separated from the lounge if space allows. I’m lucky that DH is a builder so anything is possible but it’s the first time we have done a project where we are effectively taking out all internal walls/floors/ceilings and starting again and I’m finding it much harder starting with a big empty space than working around existing walls.

2 good size doubles, 2 singles/small doubles.

I find equalish size the best. Else kids fight. Feels mean everyone having a decent room then squeezing one child to grow up in a box room. 🤣 i dont mind couple smaller rooms, just need them to be equal sizings.

I got a teen and a tween. I would say 4 beds, including two 3.25 x 3 bedrooms are very good. A teen's bedroom should to be able to fit a single bed, a wardrobe, a desk, their crap and some space to move around. Mine both play instruments so having enough space to put and store a music stand and their instruments is great too. (They used to practice in the living room before we had the extension. They fight over who get to used the living room for music practice).

For resale, have a look at other 4 beds around your price range and see what they have. If your area is full of new builds, the bedrooms will be smaller. If it's predominately older houses, then likely larger bedrooms and leaving the house as 3 beds is better. It's a harder sell if your house is the one that have tiny bedrooms. I live in a new build area so 3.25 x 3m are very good sized. We have many 4 beds here with two doubles and two box rooms that you can only put a single bed in and nothing else.

That’s really interesting. I was thinking about the bonus points of not having to sneak up and down the stairs with my children and their bat-like hearing shouting “MUMMY!” every time I walk past their door. I didn’t even consider people might want to be close to their kids on the same floor so thank you 😅 (I promise I am a good parent really)

I would put a reasonable sized downstairs bedroom in that it'd fit a double bed and an armchair and not look too cramped, as this could be a good guest bedroom or an extra reception or lounge for a 1 child family, a study for a work at home family etc ie a versatile room. Make it too small and study-like and you lose the versatility. I'd also try and keep it near a downstairs loo and shower - ideally walk in or wet room style as you can also wash down the dog easily as well as for disabled people. Even if it meant adding a small single storey extension. This then makes it ideal for an elderly parent to come and stay for recuperation or even longer term etc. and gives a lot of flexibility

I would also want to have my kids upstairs with me. But I don't mind a 4th bedroom downstairs because I'll be using it as my WFH office. Lots of people WFH nowadays so a bedroom downstairs isn't a minus. Also, if it's large, DH and I can share it. We currently are in different rooms WFH.

We have a similar conversion. Two decent doubles (could easily fit kingsize) , a family bathroom and a huge master (superking) with en suite upstairs.

Two decent bedrooms downstairs (could al both hold king size- one is currently used an an office, the other as a spare). Cloakroom toilet, Kitchen/diner, utility, living room and family room downstairs.

There are only 3 of us, though, so our considerations were a bit different.

I think as long as it works for you, then I wouldn’t worry what others think.

I also wouldn’t count a downstairs room as a bedroom, and if I was looking for a bungalow I would have thought the whole point would be to not have an upstairs due to mobility!

But it’s your house and your family and seems to suit you perfectly, so I’d carry on.

Well yes I know but the beauty of this bungalow is the garden size which is difficult to find in a traditional 2 storey house in our location so we thought we’d build a second storey instead.

It’s interesting to hear a few of you would discount a bedroom based on it being downstairs. Not much we can do about that as it would make the upstairs rooms really quite disproportionate to the downstairs but definitely food for thought if we decide to do this again!

I would only discount a bedroom downstairs (and we have one!) if we NEEDED it on a permanent basis. We use ours as an office and it has a futon in it for occasional guests which is absolutely fine. I wouldn't want one of the kids or us in it as a permanent arrangement.

Bungalow conversions like this are pretty common where I live, and tend to be popular due to the garden/plot size. Depends where you live and the nature of your family.

The bedroom sizes are fine. I wouldn’t pay a 4 bed price for a house that only had 3 bedrooms upstairs though, it’s a 3 bed with a study/playroom downstairs not a 4 bed.