Ensuite or larger family bathroom?

[justdobetter]

I need advice please. I live in a 4 bed 1930s house with only 1 bathroom upstairs (we have a downstairs shower room too). I've seen so many threads on here saying that people would expect 2 upstairs bathrooms for a 4 bed house.

we're doing up 'bedroom 2' on the plan and have wondered about removing the internal chimney breast and adding a narrow ensuite. It would be next to the family bathroom so im hoping the plumbing would be relatively simple. The distance between the left wall of bedroom 2 and the window is only 920mm so it would have to be narrow, and a max of 2900mm long. The bedroom has the best view of the garden but isnt the biggest so we'd probably retain the front bedroom as the master and have it as a guest room.

There would be more room in the front bedroom to add an ensuite in the top right (could be 2.5m x 1.35m) per the plan (the wardrobes are gone so its wider than the plan suggests - approx 4m) but it would need a maccerating toilet which wouldn't be ideal and would add costs.

In the current family bathroom we have a bath, corner shower and a sink that part of a boxed in toilet unit which I dont really like. It feels quite snug and I feel like a 4 bed house could do with a bigger one.

The alternative to an ensuite would be extending the existing bathroom, although ive played around with a few layouts and couldn't work out to make it much better due to it being narrow, save for a slightly larger shower. (id love a double vanity but lack the wall space).

Is an ensuite worth it in a room that isnt the master one? is a downstairs shower room and 1 upstairs family bathroom enough? is it better to make a larger family bathroom instead of an ensuite?

is a downstairs shower room and 1 upstairs family bathroom enough?

Definitely.

is it better to make a larger family bathroom instead of an ensuite?

I'd forget the ensuite as you have 2 x toilets and 2 x showers already. I wouldn't want to take space from a bedroom to make the bathroom larger.

I wouldn't bother with an ensuite, the rooma look nicely proportioned.
You already have a shower room downstairs by the sounds of it, whonreally needs 3 showers? We had 6 people in our house, 1 shower. You just develop a schedule that suits.
I would look to see if your bathroom can be extended into the odd bit of landing, including the corner cupboard, if you want a bit more space. But it may be a lot of faff for not much gain.

We recently renovated a very similar property, but it had been derelict for 7yrs so needed absolutely everything re-doing. We removed 3 chimney breasts, added 2 en-suites and opened the family bathroom and seperate toilet into 1 larger room.

How many are in your family and how often would the spare room and en-suite get used?

You could have the current bathroom door opening out onto the landing, or a slider, which would save 1m2 of floor space inside and make it feel larger. I too was going to say that you could move the wall and take some space from the landing. If its structural though- it would be costly for little gain.

Another option, apologies if this is what you meant. Where the cupboard is on the landing, move the door from bedroom 2 into that space. (Is the black rectangle the chimney?) The area where the door was, right across to the other side of room 2 could become an en-suite for bedroom 1. You'd just need a sliding access door to save floor space. It would be narrow, but you could have a toilet at 1 end and shower at the other.

The kind of ensuites that get squeezed into houses like this just for the sake of having an ensuite are what causes the Mumsnet hate for them. You've got decent proportioned rooms, don't wreck them just to squeeze cramped extra bathrooms in.
I'm curious about you saying it's a 4-bed though when there's only 3 on the plan. Where's bed 4? If it's a loft conversion, have you got facilities upstairs for that room?

What works best for your family, or are you renovating to sell?

Personally, if you have a bedroom and shower room downstairs, then a family bathroom for 3 bedrooms upstairs is fine, especially if you can increase the size.

Don't get me wrong, I love an ensuite and would struggle without mine, but I'm not sure it would work with your proposals.

A decent ensuite needs a window and preferably not a macerator, although a macerator isn't a deal breaker. We have one for our guest shower room in our garage conversion, but there is a window too. The shower is connected to it which is used daily, as one of our teens has claimed this shower for himself as we rarely have guests. He knows that poos are to be avoided in the macerator toilet if possible, but we do have 4 toilets including another WC downstairs.

Thanks for the comments. I cropped the plan so the 4th bedroom is on the other side of the bathroom and the 3rd bedroom continues to the left.

That's positive to hear that having a 2nd showerroom downstairs would be sufficient.

If we did a small narrow ensuite in bedroom 2 we could potentially add a small window on the external wall but im not sure if it would be worth the cost. We do rarely have guests so although bedroom 2 will be a guest room, it'll be used more as a hobby room/2nd office. The study in the former garage downstairs leads to the utility and showerroom and we plan on squeezing a sofabed into it, so guests can use that.

Thanks for the suggestions re the cupboard on the landing but unfortunately if it was squared the turning area on the landing would be too tight. the cupboard has the pipework from the boiler in the loft so not really practical to move it.

It looks like a lack of ensuite wouldn't be a deal breaker then, contrary to loads of other posts ive seen on here. hopefully saved myself some money.

Ah, well 4 bedrooms on the same floor with just one bathroom would be off-putting for me. Perhaps show the full floor plan, or at least the first floor.

We've got 3DC, if I was considering a house with 4 bedrooms on one floor I would hope for 2 bathrooms but I would also discount a property with an ensuite shoehorned in. I think it rarely works, even with big rooms unless you are completely rejigging the layout.

Ok, so i assumed bed 4 was either up or down. If it's to the left, can you put a 2nd bath there? Next to existing bathroom?
I'd still be concerned about the rooms looking odd, and squeezing a bathroom in for the sake of it, tbh. A separate loo room can be good. Our current house is a bit odd, bathroom without loo, a separate loo at front of house, then a loo understairs. So, two loos, one bathroom. Works absolutely fine for 4 of us. We never all need a shower at the same time, but both toilets are often in use.