En Suite or Not - Your Preference

[FolkloreEvermore1989]

Hi all!

I’d love to get your views on our options in our renovation.

We already have one family bathroom which we are refitting. It’s not that big and has limited storage, but it does have a bath and shower etc.

Our plan was to then build an ensuite in the corner of the master bedroom. It would be small - just a shower, sink, toilet. It would have a pocket door to save space.

Other people have done it in our house type. I know it’s possible… Our builder has cleared it and is due to start in a couple of weeks.

The problem is it makes the rest of the room quite small. We’ve done the maths and with fitted wardrobes on the opposite wall (we’d put drawers in here) you’d end up with about 65cm space to move around a king sized bed. And that’s it for floor space.

For storage, we also have a large wardrobe in the spare bedroom for the rest of our clothes.

We have two small children and I know it would make our lives easier to have a second bathroom, especially as they get older or at nighttime so we don’t disturb them after bedtime.

But thinking of resale in a decade or so - what would you prefer? En suite which makes the room smaller, or only one bathroom and four bedrooms?

thank you!

@JadeSeahorse I must be weird as well. I can’t abide downstairs toilets especially when they are near dining rooms and kitchens 🤢. Obviously I understand the convenience (ha ha) of a downstairs toilet. I moved to a house without one and I much prefer it. Plus the stairs give me a bit of much needed exercise. I love an en-suite. I am currently getting mine redone it’s a generous size as is the bedroom and as a PP mentioned it’s just for myself. My DH uses the main bathroom.

Will it have a window? We've had an ensuite put in, we had a walk in cupboard in our bedroom though, and we've just taken a bit of space off the bedroom to incorporate the extra window we had.

It is our only upstairs loo though as our main bathroom is downstairs. In our circumstances we thought it vital before we decide to sell in a few years.

Berryslacks my partner in crime! 👍😁

We will get slated for this though. 😂. According to MN, en suites are a curse and downstairs loos essential.

I wouldn’t buy a 4 bed house that only had one bathroom

I'm not bothered about an en suite. However, I wouldn't consider a house without a downstairs toilet.

I love my en-suite, it is essential for me, I have MS bladder issues so I use the toilet a lot, it makes life a little easier, wouldn’t consider a property without one.

I’d expect at least 2 bathrooms for a 4 bed house.

we have several en suites plus a family bathroom plus a downstairs loo

You wont regret it especially when the kids are older

I'm not a fan of en suites, much prefer the bathrooms to be separate.

But, in a 4 bedroom house I would definitely want/expect two bathrooms and ideally a downstairs loo as well. If one of the bathrooms was an en suite it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I loved the house otherwise.

I'm not keen on small bedroom areas but I have a lot of stuff, more than the average person and I like to use my bedroom for lounging and sometimes doing yoga etc. Most people just use their bedroom for sleeping and dressing and have more sensible amounts of stuff so it wouldn't put off everyone. Lack of second bathroom more likely to put buyers off.

How would expanding the downstairs loo into a bathroom change the dining room. Would there still be room for table and chairs? If so I wouldn't mind a smallish dining room if you only use it for dining as people tend to be contained around the table and not need to spread out. I wouldn't be put off by a downstairs shower. It would be quite handy on the days I'm up before everyone else and trying to get ready for work quietly. Also handy for keeping an eye on kids showering while I'm cooking or unloading the dishwasher etc. Our second bathroom (the one with the bathtub) is two floors up from the kitchen and I am often cursing when I have to run up 2 flights when youngest yells down that she forgot her towel etc!

@JadeSeahorse we will tough it out together 😂

We have two en-suites and a main bathroom so I’m a fan, and I really miss mine if a holiday house doesn’t have one.

But - I wouldn’t want one without a window. In fact, I’d definitely rather not have one than have one without a window.

I'd prefer a bigger bedroom.
Don't really like ensuites.
I'm not that fussed about downstairs toilets either but as there's already one there then I really wouldn't bother with an ensuite.

Wouldn't bother me at all as long as it had a downstairs loo. We had 6 adults living in one with 1 bathroom.

Our master bedroom is smaller than the other bedrooms, maybe because it has the en suite. I'm still glad we have it though. Wouldn't want to traipse to the main bathroom for wees in the middle of the night. Mind you the main bathroom is on a different floor.

Can you post a floorplan OP?

You definitely need more than one bathroom. In my experience most people who say that they hate an en-suite, can’t afford a house with one so are trying to convince themselves it isn’t actually something they want. Let’s face it no one is ever ripping out an en suite because they hate them so much

I wouldn't buy a house that didn't have an ensuite.

I don’t like bathrooms without a window and shower cubicles that you can’t swing a cat in. Whether it’s en-suite or not is irrelevant to me.

I have actually done this! The bedroom was a bit awkwardly small with the ensuite so we removed it. We did at the same time convert the smallest bedroom into a new family bathroom though - I doubt we would have done it otherwise.

I wouldn’t buy a house without at least one ensuite but it would have to be a proper size.

I understand why people are put off by an windowless cupboard in the corner of a room

I would.
I'd definitely rip one out if I bought a house with one.
Such a waste of space.

No to an en suite and yes to more storage.

I like en suites. I hate ones forced into the corner of a bedroom that are too small, take up useful bedroom space, and are just damp cupboards. For example, a friend of mine put in an en suite which doesn’t have enough room in front of the loo to sit facing forwards, you have to sit at an angle. For context, I’m 5’3, and my legs don’t fit. You also have to squeeze past this loo to get to the tiny shower.

In my dreams I’d choose a house with a big purpose built en-suite. In reality I’d be very happy with an en-suite just big enough to give the extra option of using a shower cubicle, loo and sink if the main bathroom was occupied or we had visitors. We’ve had visitors feel so at home they come through to use our small en-suite! That’s made me extra happy as we try to be a ‘make yourself at home’ household. So small or not if it’s available, in our experience, it’s a bonus.

Why do people say this kind of thing? I live IRL and I hate them.

It’s weird to assume everyone thinks the same as you and that people are lying on here.

Another weird post. I wouldn’t have to rip out an en suite because I wouldn’t buy a house with one. I hate the new builds that typically come with them.

But I understand lots of people love new builds; I don’t assume they are all lying and somehow jealous of me with my older home.