Loft conversion - 2 bedrooms or 1?

moneySavingIdiot_3

Hi. I am just about to do a loft conversion and can't decide whether to have a large bedroom with ensuite or two smaller bedrooms with a separate shower room. The bathroom doesn't change size in either configuration. The large bedroom would be 4.7 x 3.3m and the two smaller bedrooms would be 2.7 x 3.3m and 2 x 3.3m. Does anyone have any views / experience of which option is better in terms of adding value to the house and increasing potential future rental income?

System

in terms of adding value, only go for two bedrooms if they can be classed as bedrooms by building standards, if they can't it's difficult to have them classed as bedrooms when you go to sell or rent...

Owain_Moneysaver

Depends, what is the composition of the rest of the house?

Eg if you currently have 3 bedrooms, going to 5 bedrooms most people looking at a 5-bed house would expect two reception rooms and probably a family dining kitchen as well. Too many bedrooms can unbalance a house.

2x3.3m is quite small especially under a sloped ceiling - what will the actual usable dimensions of the room be (ie headroom above 6')? Can you increase this with dormers? If the bedrooms are only suitable for younger children then many parents would prefer an adjacent bath, rather than a shower.

If you have one bedroom + shower room in the loft, you needn't make the shower room en-suite as it will be quite private up there, but still be available to the rest of the house to use if necessary.

If there isn't a good master bedroom then a sizeable master bedroom with adjacent shower room would be an asset; if there is an adequate number of existing bedrooms but they're smallish then an attic conversion that could be used as a playroom or home office might be more appealing than another two smallish rooms.

In terms of rental income, lots of small bedrooms might appeal only to the student or budget house-share market, which takes you into HMO territory with its additional planning and licensing requirements.

adam_ironside

We just had our loft done and had the same dilemma - our choice was two bedrooms - or one big bedroom with en-suite (so not quite the same as yours).
We had the luxury of looking at our neighbours conversions - Both of them had two bedrooms - in the loft, and two bedrooms on the floor below. We have three bedrooms on the floor below.
We didn't think having five bedrooms would add any more value to be honest and went with the one bed with en-suite. We are convinced we made the right decision - with two beds you tend to need some sort of landing to have access to the two rooms - this means space is wasted. With one bedroom you can make sure as much space is used as efficiently as possible.
It really does depend on your style of house to be fair. We have a large victorian mid terrace, which now has two big double rooms, one smaller double bedroom and one decent size single bedroom.
Good luck!

latecomer

Like the others I think it very much depends on the rest of the house and the roof structure. we just had one done and went for 2 rooms but of different sizes so we got one good size room and one small bedroom/study. If its letting potential then perhaps the 2 bedrooms would be better but only if they are of a size that peolpe would want to rent. Coombe ceilings in a small room can make it look very small!

fluffpot

Presumably you're not moving any time soon after splashing out on the loft, so I would put in what YOU want.

We're just finishing ours and decided to go for one big bedroom with separate bathroom (not ensuite) but have designed it so that it could be split into two very easily and cheaply using a stud wall. One reason we went for separate bathroom is so that both beds would have access. You just need to plan ahead a bit to make sure that the position of sockets and lights would work for both options.

Good luck!

Counting_Pennies_2

If you are looking at overall saleability, then I would look at the size of the garden (overall plot) and the size of existing bedrooms,

If you are losing a bedroom to create the stairs to the loft then it makes sense to try to get two rooms up in the roof.

However looking at the measurements I think that brings the rooms to less than 9 ft in the smallest measurement, that is really rather small. If the other bedrooms in the house are of a good generous size then I would think that would be ok, but if the other bedrooms are small then I would say go for one big luxurious master suite.

PasturesNew

One big bedroom, with a generous dressing room area and en-suite with a bath and shower. Go the whole hog.