4 beds, 2 bathrooms vs 5 beds 1 bathroom (or….?)

[OneDayIWillLearn]

We have just bought a period house which has 4 good bedrooms and a box room upstairs plus a large bathroom (no shower) with huge cupboards. Our initial thought was to make the box room a better size by losing the cupboards in the bathroom and just moving the stud wall.

However though we’d have five good bedrooms upstairs we’d then only have one bathroom/ toilet.

So another choice is to turn the box room into a shower room/ another bathroom and stick with 4 good size bedrooms. It’s me and OH plus 2 children aged 5 and 7.

So 4 bedrooms is more than enough for us, but we have a big extended family and friends and want to be able to easily have visitors to stay (we are moving away from lots of friends and family due to work but it’s a holiday type area). So one spare room seems tight.

Or have I missed some way of getting a second one in without losing a bedroom? I’m not a big en suite fan but would consider it….

we could put a shower in downstairs (though I’m never sure that’s a good move?)

5 beds I bath is unbalanced.

A well balanced house would be 4 beds 2 baths and one off the kitchen really won’t cut it and will make the property hard to sell when the time comes.

This.

In theory you'd be able to sell for a higher price with an extra bedroom but in reality you'll end up dropping it loads as everybody would struggle at the idea of 1 bathroom if they were filling all the rooms!

1 bathroom with 2 adults, 2 children and what sounds like multiple house guests sounds like a nightmare! I'd lose the box room for an extra bathroom and have a sofa bed in 1 of the reception rooms.

Thanks for all the comments, it’s given me lots of food for thought. I thought of a compromise where we turn the current bathroom/ box room zone into a bathroom, a (small) shower room and a small but square bedroom (see attached image). That would keep 5 bedrooms and give us two bathrooms upstairs.

Is this too much of a compromise all round though? You could fit a small double or bunks in the bedroom, and the shower would be like a small en suite, and the main bathroom would be big enough but obviously a lot less spacious than in its current form. My OH has come around the to idea of having a really spacious bathroom as a good trade off for losing a small bedroom so will need some more convincing if we do pursue this plan I think!!

oh totally, I use mine a lot for doing bits while the kids are doing stuff - it’s really nice way to connect with everyone. Maybe it’s a way of sounding like you’re above all these things…which are actually just practical! Whatever works for you best as a family is great! We have a “play zone” in our open space area which horrifies some people but we deliberately put it in because our kids want to play very close to us. Leads to mess…. But nice family times!

Could you put one in between bedroom 1 and 4, borrowings about a metre from the length of each room?

Why not turn the box room into an ensuite for Bed 3? It's the most logical solution IMO.

I'd say a house with 4 good bedrooms and 2 decent bathrooms I'd better than a house with small 5th bedroom and small bathroom. So go for splitting box and bath into decent sized bathrooms.
Also, i would be tempted to move the bath under the window and get a free standing shower in the main bath if you can.