What is it with a "family bathroom"?

seven-day-weekend

Our house in the UK has three bedrooms and one downstairs bathroom. There is no room for other facilities elsewhere. Another toilet and basin would be nice, but there is just no room. I have been known to go to the pub up the road if I've been taken short and my son's been in the bath!

My Spanish house has a shower room and on the first floor and a downstairs toilet/cloakroom. Just right for me and my husband, but we don't have a bath and he misses that.

One can't have everything!

(The thing about Billy Connolly was just TOO much information....)

emg

I always thought that a family bathroom meant a large sized one and that it's aimed at people with small children. When you are bathing toddlers it is useful to have plenty of room next to the bath, room to lie them down on the floor, room to put a baby bath or potty on the floor, room to store all their pesky bath toys, etc.

lessonlearned

I recently worked on a development (I'm a New Homes Sales Negotiator) where we were selling three bed/2 bath semis - one main bathroom and one en-suite.

The en-suite was so unbelievably tiny you would need to be a contortionist to sqeeze between the shower unit and the miniscule wash-hand basin, whilst the second bedroom was so small you wouldn't have been able to fit in both a double bed & a wardrobe. You'd be clean then but have nowhere to put your clothes!! The third bedroom could just take a single bed and a very narrow chest of drawers. Barmy.

Over the years builders and developers have squeezed extra bathrooms in wherever they can - even two bed apartments often have two bathrooms.
And yet the square footage of the houses has not increased (they are more likely to have decreased). It just means that you get pokey bedrooms and hardly any storage space.

The reason is, of course, money. An ensuite can add up to 10% to the price, whilst costing only a fraction of that to install.

Basically, the term "family bathroom" is just marketing speak. It doesn't actually signify anything and it needn't mean that the bathroom is particularly spacious or luxurious.

Quasar

I also have never understood all this fuss about having the "right" kitchen, the "right" bathroom etc. After all, when a buyer finds a house that is sound, has the necessary facilities etc, and it's suitable, they will buy it.

How many buyers go view houses and find a TV makeover lookalike? As for number/size of bathrooms, people make do if they have to.

nelly_2

daleyd wrote: »

That must have been really runny to make it down the plughole!!:eek:

Thankfully I was there to check

azjh77

Our EA took us to see lots of houses, and at the last one, 'you won't like this, the bathroom's down stairs and the toilet is separate' THe bathroom has the coolest fish wallpaper! Sold me! The EA was amazed!

How big does a bathroom need to be any way, I go in , have a shower, brush my teeth that's it. And the toilet being downstairs is a Godsend when potty training, or if the kids are playing in the garden, they just nip in without trailing mud all over my floors!

I'm always amazed by these make-over programs, especially that house doctor one. People come to view house "don't like it" - Anne paints the walls white, puts a bit of carpet down and hides some knick-nacs and suddenly "oohh...I like this, yes I'd put an offer in" IT'S THE SAME DAMN HOUSE YOU FOOL !!! You could have probably knocked a few grand off the asking price and painted it yourself!!!

I think the funniest ones are when you hear viewers moaning "I don't like that settee, those curtains are nasty, that quilt cover doesn't go with carpet" you are looking at the house! I'm guessing the sofa will be going with them!

Nelly - please tell me that was a typo - you weren't there were you!

kingkano

I had to laugh when our selling EA described our bathroom as 'luxury fitted bathroom'.... its a 199 white suite!! lol. sure its new and clean but still.....

TJ27

We have a pretty small bathroom. The bath just about fits down one side (1.7m) and the toilet and basin just about fit on the other side (1.8m).

Last night both of my kids were in the bath and I was giving them a scrub whilst kneeling on the mat. There was plenty of room for all three of us. I can't see the need for anything bigger to be honest, unless you've got half a dozen kids who play rugby and come home filthy together.

Addiscomber

I assumed that a "family" bathroom was one that had a door from the landing (or downstairs equivalent) as opposed to an ensuite which was accessible from one bedroom only.

The victorian house that I grew up in through the 50's and 60's originally had no bathroom, but a bath and handbasin had been fitted in what was originally the 3rd bedroom. That, however, was only accessible through the back bedroom, which my parents used. The WC was downstairs and only accessible by going outside. It did mean that nobody waited long if they needed a wee, especially in the colder winters we had then - it was too damn cold to be out there for any longer than absolutely necessary :eek: Needless to say as children we had chamber pots under the bed, and I think my parents did too. Imagine people being expected to put up with that nowadays :rotfl: I'd love to know how an estate agent would try and market that if it hadn't subsequently been altered yet again.

Romani_Ite_Domum

we've only got one bathroom and its a family bathroom. Not unusual for someone to be having a bath, someone having a shower, someone cleaning their teeth and someone taking a dump all at the same time. And they say families don't do enough together these days