Standard / minimum sizes for bedrooms and bathrooms?

[GrendelsMum]

Looking for a bit of advice from architects and the like! We want to split an existing bedroom up into an en-suite bathroom and a guest bedroom, but I'm worried that the bedroom will then be a single rather than a double. (This bedroom has to be a double as it has to be the guest bedroom as the window is too high for children and me to see out of it.)

Are there rules of thumb for how wide a double bedroom should be to allow two adults to use it comfortably?

And are there rules of thumb for how wide an en-suite bathroom should be to avoid feeling cramped? We stayed in a hotel recently with an en-suite bathroom where you had to sit on the loo sideways it was so narrow - not what we're aiming for?

Thanks!

What size is the room now and what size will the 2 new rooms be when finished?I have one small double bedroom but a 4 ft bed helps and high level storage and big mirror!

Minimum space either side of a double bed is meant to be 550mm (22 inches). So add that to a 54 inch bed and you get 98 inches or about 8ft. Much less than that you would be struggling. Use a double divan so absolutely no bigger than it needs to be.

For guests you may be able to push a bed against the wall but you might get the GP's muttering about their poor ol' knees.

You can do all sorts of things with ensuites depending on the shape of them and how you lay out the hardware, but if it has a shower across one end then that is 80cm minimum. How long would it be? You can get spacesaving suites that go into corners or are narrower than standard.

I would say the absolute smallest a double bedroom can be is 9 feet square. That gives you about 2 feet of space down each side of the bed (enough for a bedside cabinet each side) and about 2.5 feet at the end of the bed. Obviously the more you can do over that size, the better - you'll need more space if you want a wardrobe in there. The bed against one wall will give you more space, but I think it's nicer to be able to walk around the whole bed.

For the bathroom, I'd say 5 feet by 6 feet is the bare minimum. That way you can fit a spacious shower tray at one end, a small basin next to that, and the toilet at the other end. If you get a short-projection toilet and basin, you'll have about 3 feet of useable space in front of them.

Thanks very much for your thoughts!

I think that that concludes that there is definitely not enough room for an ensuite and double bedroom. The room's about 13ft wide by 10ft deep, so there's no way it's going to fit a 9ft bedroom and even a 5ft bathroom.

Looks like we need to remove one of the existing walls and take a slice out of our bedroom as well.

The issue is that our house is listed, so we need consent for any changes. The conservation officer agrees that the current bathroom situation is bad, but thought we could squeeze in a bathroom without taking down an existing wall. My thinking is that that part of the house is 1850 with major 1950s alterations, so not very interesting, and losing part of a wall there won't matter too much.

I shall press on with discussions about taking down the wall!

GrendelsMum have you thought about using the Architect your Home service? I think this is just the kind of thing they help with and they offer a half day service to deal with upstairs (or downstairs).
I haven't used them but am seriously thinking about it as we too have a tricky issue with bathrooms and adjoining rooms (though our house isnt listed).
They have an East of England office so would cover your area.
Btw, if you are feeling garden inspired would love some advice on my latest gardening thread!

Thanks Pannacotta! We are actually going to get an architect to do the designs, but to save money I wanted to be able to tell them whether or not they should be doing a design which involves knocking down a wall.

I shall now head over to Gardening and see you there...

Our en-suite is tiny. 3ft wide x 6ft 6in long. There's a full width shower at one end, toilet at the other and a small cloakroom sized basin in between opposite the doorway. There is no door, but if there were it would need to be a sliding one or outward opening. Not ideal, but handy for a 2nd toilet and the shower is lovely. Tend to use the main bathroom for washing in though.