Change a 5 bed to a 4 bed for a bigger bathroom

[LexiMia]

Hi everyone,

I’m a new member here and could use some advice. We recently bought a new home and are struggling with the layout. It’s a 5-bedroom house, but two of the rooms are quite small.

Our current plan is to use the two smallest rooms as home offices for working from home, have our main bedroom next to the bathroom, use one of the larger bedrooms for our child, and keep the other larger room as a guest room (or potentially for another child in the future).

The challenge is with the bathroom. It’s quite small and has a separate toilet, but they’re not close enough to combine without significant renovation. We’re debating whether to leave the layout as is or knock through the bathroom and one of the smaller bedrooms to create a larger, more functional bathroom. Would this negatively impact resale value?

Also, what’s your opinion on having separate toilets and bathrooms? I’ve attached a photo of the layout and would appreciate any advice or suggestions!

Thank you!

Is c this an extended 3 bed? 5 beds sharing 1 bathroom sounds a nightmare but sounds like you aren’t using them all as bedrooms.
id make the bedroom next to the toilet the bathroom and knock through and make the current bathroom either an en-suite or another bedroom if you need an office each.

Is this a house you plan to stay in for a while?
If it is and your family can grow into it with 4 bedrooms then make the house work for you and your family's needs.
A house, over time will likely go up in value, so if having one useless bedroom but a functional (even fabulous) larger bathroom works for you then go for it time and the housing market will continue to build equity in your house.
If however it's an investment property that you want to flip for most money over a short period of time keep the 5 th bedroom and suffer the bathroom issues.

The bedroom between the toilet and the bathroom is really tiny, does it even make sense as a bedroom? I would knock through to the toilet and make it a bathroom with a bath, and keep the existing bathroom but remove a bath and put a shower, to make space for a toilet. This way you will have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If possible, and if you want, you could make the bathroom next to your bedroom an ensuite, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Combine bedroom 2 with the toilet and turn the bathroom into a bedroom

Personally, I'd make what is now the bathroom into an en-suite for the master bedroom and then combine the small bedroom and the loo to make a family bathroom.

Based on a few minutes of thought and not knowing much about the house, I think I’d want to do this:

Given the two smallest bedrooms are miniscule,- I can't see many people who want a 5 bed being interested in it anyway. I'd combine the top left bathroom with the toilet, then make the existing bathroom either an ensuite or walk in wardrobe. If you have a second you'll eventually find only having one bathroom annoying.

That bedroom 7'2 x 7'2 should never be classified as a bedroom (I think legal minimum is 72ft squared) You can knock the wall through between the bathroom and that 'box room' under permitted development. Also you can run a toilet against that far wall as it can be plumbed into the sewage pipe of the solo toilet. So you would have at least 2 toilets upstairs and 4 beds.
You will also be able to have a separate shower cubicle in that new space. It looks like a new build so that wall will come out easy and I doubt it load bearing.

Personally I would sticks toilet in the bathroom. Remove the bath out in a huge shower with a quarter bath.

Then I would take a small piece of a room to make the toilet into a wet room. If you are planning on selling I wouldn't remove bedrooms. That's a huge difference in price.

I'd merge the toilet and corner bedroom to make a bathroom and make the existing bathroom an en-suite. You could steal a bit from the en-suite to make the family bathroom even bigger if needed. Shouldn't be too difficult as the plumbing is all in those areas anyway.

Thanks all, appreciate the replies and I’ll have a good read through and see what’s the best option for us!

Is it a period semi with the rooms
on the left being the extension? The layout a pp has drawn looks good but I think they means playing with the original structural wall which would be expensive. I'd rejig the existing bathroom to add a toilet then use the smallest room as the other bathroom and incorporate the toilet into it.

We only have one bathroom in the house and a separate toilet. The separate toilet has been a godsend with a house full of teens! I’d keep the seperate toilet whatever else you change.

I’d be fine with a separate toilet as long as the sink is in there too.

Do what is best for your lifestyle. Things can be changed back in the future and you want the layout for how you live now

I would knock the bathroom wall thought to create an en-suite/ walk in closet and then I'd also turn the box room into a bathroom adding the other half of the bathroom to it so you'd have a big bathroom AND a closet/ensuit