Removal of ensuite- thoughts please?

[SeLHopeful2024]

Back again with more questions!

What are everyone's thoughts on removing an en-suite?
Would it negatively impact future value?

For context, small house in SE London.
Main bathroom is not much bigger than ensuite, tiny landing so very close.

Bedroom could have big walk in wardrobe or just more floor space if removed.

Downstairs WC is also present.

Ensuite would need to be replaced as it is old, but claustrophobic with sliding doors and I believe no natural light.

As a family of 3, we definitely don't need it, but would this affect future sales?

Thanks.

How big is it anyway in sq m ?

A tiny ensuite is hardly going to suddenly acquire the properties of the TARDIS and covert itself into a giant luxurious walk in wardrobe which seems to be the way this is being sold.

Maybe if there is room for wardrobes you would be better off just closing it off and not using it, or as other people have done use it as a storage cupboard.

As for en suites being gloomy, I mean for pretty much half the year in the UK if you are working normal hours you will be getting up/showering in the dark and probably getting home in the dark. So we invented lights to deal with that.

All these people saying couldn't live with an ensuite must be in the minority in reality because most houses in the UK don't have them. Or else they're actually living in shoeboxes and dreaming of castles. Great if you can afford a house big enough to have one, crazy to lose storage space in a small city house.

I just don’t feel like it’s necessary tbh, if I get to the stage of being unable to walk to the house bathroom I’ll move to a bungalow.

I’ve turned the room with the en suite off it into my office with a day bed for guests. Mind you no one comes to stay really, not like they used to pre COVID.

ETA it isn’t a poky en suite conversion either, probably 9ft x 9ft. I’m just not into it.

This. Then when you do come to sell the new buyer's options are open and you have a wider buying pool. It can be included in the advertising.

This is just a small terrace of 4 houses. The rest are different designs.
It looks like next door has one, but it's an old listing.

Now I've had our offer accepted, I feel more comfortable sharing the floor plan.

Can't believe I'm finally going to have a place to call home. Even if it is small.

So seeing the floor plan I would definitely lose the en-suite. Then I’d lose the cupboard on the landing which should make everything feel less constricted. You still have storage in the bedroom and can use the ex en-suite for some wardrobe space, although I’d want the light from the window coming into the room.

Unfortunately the cupboard on the landing has the water tank in.
We'd need to put a new combi boiler in, which we will in time. But as the current boiler is only about 5 yrs old we will have to prioritise other jobs first.

Im guessing the dc is young - wait until you all get a bad case of gastro and you'll soon be wishing for a 3rd loo instead of extra wardrobe space!

It has to go! That's a small bedroom and that space can be much better used.

Seeing the floor plan, lose it! That room doesn't have enough space for any of a chest of drawers, dressing table or WFH desk once you've got a double bed in there. An extra quiet work space will be worth way more than a tiny toilet

We are thinking of a compact desk in the 3rd room with a sofa bed chair if we can make it work.

The whole place is tiny though.
If only we could stretch another £100k or so 😫

Hate en-suites! Bigger bedroom, more wardrobe space! What’s not to love!

I don't understand why you would have an em suite next to a family bathroom. We took the entire suite out in our house and had extra storage / wardrobe put in.

What’s not to love!

Not having an ensuite.

I can't be doing with more toilets in a house than there are bedrooms.

Congratulations
Oh with that floor plan and a bathroom next door hardly worth the lack of space.
Someday MAYBE, consider a Jack and Jill, bathroom (access from two sides).

I love my en-suite I hate sharing bathrooms. And I have a door to mine so smells wafting to the bedroom.

DH can spend an age in the bathroom so ensuite is a bladder saver. We have a downstairs toilet but it is claustrophobic and doesn’t tolerate much ‘waste’. DD (a young adult) has friends to stay, from Uni sometimes two at a time (spare room and living room sofa bed) and having the ensuite gives us privacy and her friends their space without us interfering.

That definitely makes sense.
I've got 15 years before uni...let's hope we are in a better sized place by then!

Ask a few estate agents how it'd affect value, if you remove or don't remove the ensuite toilet/basin (assume no shower). Also get quotes for the cost of removing the toilet/basin and converting to whatever your idea is. Just look at it from a financial point of view and make a financial decision. Quite likely the house would sell with the ensuite for the same as without but with bigger bedroom. So the cost of removal would lose you money.

And nobody expects a dressing room in a tiny 2-bed.

DD (a young adult) has friends to stay, from Uni sometimes two at a time (spare room and living room sofa bed) and having the ensuite gives us privacy and her friends their space without us interfering.

Same situation here. We also have friends or family to stay so having two bathrooms and a downstairs loo is very handy.

Looks big enough to me - I would definitely keep that, maybe replace the sliding doors with a stud wall and opening door.

But ultimately, why do you have to make a decision so quickly ? Why not just see whether it gets use or is useful to you for a year or so and then make a decision ?

It's not like you won't have hundreds of other things to do on moving in.

We definitely don't need to make a decision quickly, although I don't actually know where we will store clothes as I believe the current owners only has bedside tables in terms of furniture.

We don't have the luxury of doing everything at once, this will have to be several years of prioritisation.
The ensuite is just awful though.
If we keep it, it will need to be fully replaced as it may be nearly 40yrs old.
It's definitely not been upgraded like the main bathroom.

That would give us the opportunity to just install a shower cubical rather than the bath tub though. It would feel less cramped there.

I still think we will struggle for wardrobe space.
A lot of decisions will be made once we are in and see how things fit though.

The en-suite has a bath ? No wonder it feels cramped.
Get rid of the bath and put a nice shower cubicle in. You can get smaller sinks with storage under.
Sliding wardrobe doors ? Get a proper door, maybe a pocket door or at a push bi-fold.

Or just have a toilet and small sink in there with the rest of the space storage.