Terraced houses, bathroom upstairs or downstairs?

[HouseMove2024]

Looking at purchasing a terraced house, can't make our minds up whether we'd prefer upstairs bathroom or not.

I think I'd prefer upstairs , DP saying downstairs! 😆

Ah, ok, perhaps it would have been clearer if she'd mentioned 100+ year semi modernised terraces in the thread title.

I live in an area of London which is 90% London terraces and I think I've only been in 2 which still have the bathroom downstairs - and my reply is still the same, people generally prefer to have the bathroom upstairs.

Maybe it depends on budget in London.
All the ones I've looked at around £425k had downstairs bathrooms still.

I’ve lived with both configurations and actually prefer a downstairs bathroom, especially with children. You do need an upstairs loo though.

Have now downsized to upstairs bathroom and understairs loo - convenient, but not really suitable for visitors.

I have a downstairs bathroom but it's in the middle of the house at bottom of stairs. I like it - could get on with stuff while kids in bath and easy for visitors.

No different walking down stairs to get to it to walking along a corridor in a bigger house.

I much prefer an upstairs loo. Coukd you fit one in.

I'm happy with a downstairs family bathroom though. We have one and it's been great with the kids and for having a bath with music on whikst the kids are asleep, or morning showers without waking people up which happened in our old house with an upstairs bathroom.

I think id see an upstairs bathroom as a downside now, if there was a second toilet upstairs.

Downstairs is actually ok, as most bathroom trips are daytime when we are downstairs, especially getting kids out of the house.

Great in summer too when we are in and out of the garden as dirt isn't being traipsed upstairs.

Guests don't get to look in our messy bedrooms either. 😄

I agree with this!!

I find it great on school mornings, I can be getting on with stuff in the kitchen and my teenager doesn't end up being in the shower for 3 hours as I can monitor what he's doing.

Massively depends on the area and the expectations for this style of properties. In areas where there are lots of these terraces and most of them have downstairs bathroom, often it is the best layout for the space you have, and people know that and accept it. It doesn't mean in an ideal world they wouldn't like an upstairs bathroom, but if the compromise is to lose a bedroom or make a bedroom stupidly small, or have a bathroom that can only be accessed by walking through one of the bedrooms, often the standard downstairs bathroom at the back of the house is actually the best option. If it's an area of 3 beds with a downstairs bathroom, which attracts families who need the bedrooms, losing a bedroom to create an upstairs bathroom and making a bigger kitchen, won't be any use to them, but if it's in a hipster FTB kind of area where couples are buying, it might be the sensible move.