Guest Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 In the snobby area where I live, ;) first floor masters are considered more elegant, but it was always a no-way deal-breaker for me. When my kids are little, I wouldn't dream of being on a different floor from them and when they are big, I think it's better to have a good reason to be in the vicinity of their rooms on a regular basis. I doesn't sit well with me to think they have their own apartments upstairs and I have no reason to be mosying around up there. Maybe I'm just nosy. :D I also think it's weird if visitors can see my bedroom and bathroom on their way to the kitchen or whatever. I like my privacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Bedrooms belong upstairs, out of the way of public spaces within the house. :iagree: I've never had a main-floor bedroom in my life. I don't think I would like it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I like being on the same floor as the kids also. My only wish: that the laundry room was also upstairs! Our favorite house that we owned was the one with the laundry upstairs. We had a big master suite, there were two bedrooms for the kids, and a big bonus room that would have made an awesome schoolroom (the kids were too little for us to worry about that), with a closet that housed the washer and dryer. I so loved that house, my dh didn't so love that it was located in the state of Washington (Tacoma area). He lasted one winter and wanted to get back to the Rocky Mountains and clear skies. Oh well. If I were to build, I'd probably model my plans on that house, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Don't ask me. I like sleeping in the trees among the leaves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I've never had a house without the master bedroom upstairs. Granted, our house is not terribly big either. When we were planning on building a house, every builder looked at me like I had 3 heads when I said that I wanted the master close to my children so that I could parent them at night if they needed me. However, now that I have teens, it can be somewhat inconvenient KWIM. But, that also means that they can't sneak anything past us:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Funbythedozen Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm just a lurker ( first time posting, actually), hi everyone. I lived in a house when I was a kid (which was more of a shack, to be honest-in the middle of the woods in Maine) that had the master bedroom downstairs & kids rooms upstairs. Of course, our fire alarm wasn't working, but even if it had, I may not have been here today if the fire we had had started after we were all in bed. The entire upstairs was engulfed by the time my mother realized it downstairs. I'm sure it's way safer if you actually have working smoke detectors and don't live in a run down cottage, but I would be uncomfortable downstairs with all the kids upstairs. Now, when they all move out, in a million years or so, it would probably be nice to have our room downstairs as by then we'll probably not want to go up and down stairs when we're so old :-) Michelle, with 12 kids, oldest is almost 22 & the baby is 8 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I can't imagine having the master on the main floor. Most houses here have all the bedrooms upstairs unless they are in a retirement community. I can see the appeal for an older homeowner, but right now with three little kids it sounds terrible!! Most nights I'm up 2 or 3 times to deal with kids, I can't imagine having to haul myself up the stairs that many times in the night. I'd rather do the stairs 10x during the day than have to climb them in the middle of the night twice... I'm refusing to even think about what that would be like when they are sick! Plus when they are older, I'd rather know what's going on up there... I definitely wish the laundry room was up there too, but my house is too old to have a laundry room so I have the washer in the basement thing. I also wish there was a half bath on the main floor. That is just plain irritating. If we ever do an addition, that will be the first thing we add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I prefer an upstairs master bedroom at this stage in our lives. Dd would not do well if we were on a separate floor from her. Plus, as others have mentioned, I like to be able to retreat upstairs and be removed from the rest of the flow of the house. The stairs double as my exercise plan. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 It must be a regional thing. Where I live it is very rare to see two story homes with a master on the main level and other bedrooms upstairs. Usually all bedrooms are on the second level and there is an additional one or two in the basement. But when we were house hunting in Texas, it was very common (and desirable) to have the master on the main level. We are moving (next week) from a rambler (ranch) with three bedrooms on the main level and one (we are using as our master) in the lower level/basement to a two story home with four bedrooms all on the second level, including the master. Since master on the main is so unusual here it is not a scenario I would want or be comfortable with and in our search criteria four bedrooms on one level was a must since we are just over being on a different level as our kids (who are older). In our new house the master closet and bath will separate our room from the next bedroom, so no shared walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I'm just a lurker ( first time posting, actually), hi everyone. I lived in a house when I was a kid (which was more of a shack, to be honest-in the middle of the woods in Maine) that had the master bedroom downstairs & kids rooms upstairs. Of course, our fire alarm wasn't working, but even if it had, I may not have been here today if the fire we had had started after we were all in bed. The entire upstairs was engulfed by the time my mother realized it downstairs. I'm sure it's way safer if you actually have working smoke detectors and don't live in a run down cottage, but I would be uncomfortable downstairs with all the kids upstairs. Now, when they all move out, in a million years or so, it would probably be nice to have our room downstairs as by then we'll probably not want to go up and down stairs when we're so old :-) Michelle, with 12 kids, oldest is almost 22 & the baby is 8 months And this is why I like to be on the same floor as all my kids. All of our bedrooms are upstairs and that is the way I like it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 This. In no way do I want to be on a separate floor from my kids :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LillyMama Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We love our main-floor master and won't live any other way, if we can help it. BUT- we also only like open-floor-plan homes where the upstairs aren't really closed off from the main floor. I can stand in the doorway of my bedroom and look up to see both doors of my kids' rooms. In some ways, I'm closer to them than I would be if we were on the same floor, because some of their upstairs overlaps our bedroom. I have to go upstairs, sure, but it's still fewer steps than if I had to go down a hall across a whole house. Smoke alarms and fire wouldn't be as big an issue in these homes, as there really isn't a separation between the floors. The way we're set up, the kids' two bedrooms, a full bath and a large loft/landing are all upstairs, and all open to the main floor. The best part of this- the mess. No one has any reason to go up there but my kids and their friends. So they get to be a little messier, and I get to let their bathroom get a little dirtier. Not that I want to live like a slob. But there are definite benefits to knowing that ALL toys go upstairs at the end of the night. They don't always get put away- but one of their morning chores is to pick up their rooms. So I can go to bed each night, blissfully unaware of the mess. And I put a couch on the landing/loft area, so I can sleep there on the nights I want to be closer to my kids. And we can have friends over later and not keep the young ones awake. We're working with a builder to start on our new home, to be built in two years. A main-floor master, with laundry on the main floor, and a laundry chute, were all on my list of must-haves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 All of our bedrooms are on the second floor and we purposefully looked for a home with this layout. Our kids are still very young and we wanted to be on the same floor as them. I prefer it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 My ideal floor plan when we were looking was actually space for us and a potential baby/toddler/small child on the main level (so 2 bedrooms) and then room for the big kids either upstairs or in a nicely finished basement. But that was a little too specific to make a deal breaker! :lol: This is exactly what we have! Our master is on the main floor and my toddler has a little room right next to us. The four bigger kids sleep upstairs. My dh sleeps upstairs with them most nights. I want a master on the main floor for my old age, but I would like all the bedrooms to be upstairs right now. My toddler gets up early, and I don't have anywhere to take him b/c people are sleeping everywhere in this house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 ... that had forty-eight stairs between the kitchen and the bedrooms. In total there were seventy stairs from the bottom to the top of the house. I find it strange to live, as I do now, in a house where all the bedrooms are downstairs. And yes, the stairs kept us fit. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Where we live downstairs masters are rare. Personally, I hate them. I like all the bedrooms to be on the second floor; it feels too "exposed" having my bedroom on the first floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I liked being nearer mine when they were younger. We moved in a house with a downstairs master br when mine were 14yo, 5yo, and 5th. I absolutely love it. I love that I ilive on one level, I love that everyone has space. I love my windows that open to my garden. I would never go back to all on one level. But with the age of your children, I wouldn't do it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Any house I lived in that had a second level all bedrooms incl the master were upstairs. I have never heard of having the master on the main floor unless it was a bungalow. It would seem weird to me not to have the master upstairs without the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 All of our bedrooms are upstairs, and we specifically bought a home that way. I like to have the main floor for the public and the upstairs just for family and overnight guests. I don't run up and down the stairs a lot, because once we are up in the morning, we are downstairs until bedtime unless someone has to change clothes or we are doing laundry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Our last house had most of the bedrooms (except for eldest's) upstairs. It also had a little desk area. I loved it. In this house the master is downstairs and the kid bedrooms are upstairs with the laundry room. I hate it so much. My kids are older, so I hardly go up there in the first place. Then, I broke my foot and didn't go up there for about 6 weeks. DH was gone for a large part of that. When I finally did go up there? It was horrible. It was Mordor. It was a war zone. We will never have a house like this again, if we can help it. In fact, if we were going to be here longer than the year we have left? We would consider moving. Yep. We have this arrangement and I hate it. This house was just such a great deal at the time so we bought it but I hate the bedrooms being split like this. I can't put my toddler in his own room for a long time and yes, when I don't go up there for awhile (our school room is up there so I usually do go up but when we have a school break I don't) it is a disaster up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We moved into this house when most of our kids were older, and my oldest (19yo at the time) slept upstairs with the three youngest. We have two bedrooms upstairs (would have been three, but I converted one to a library), master main floor, and a very large bedroom in the basement. I like not having to go up and down the stairs every time I need something out of my room. Now that my kids are teens, and they have tons of friends over all the time, I like the girls up and the boys down, and me in between. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmama Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I am a klutz. I fall down stairs. When I buy, my bedroom will have to be on the main floor, but I also would like to be on the same floor as the kids. (I think my oldest inherited my klutziness anyway.) So we will be looking for a ranch. But I can see why others wouldn't mind them so much. It is a great way to get exercise. The house feature I really don't understand is a garage in the basement. It is a nightmare when you come home from the grocery store with two sleeping kids, you're pregnant, and you have to carry each of them up two flights of stairs to lay them in bed. This is why I go shopping by myself these days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett_ashley Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 I don't agree that it's a burden to walk up and down stairs. I think of it as a butt lift. Seriously, I get in some serious steppage during the day. Between up and down the stairs and back an forth in the house, I added a lot of steps during my day. It's healthy! This is a great perspective!! might have won me over. Another concern I have is that the stairs are just a straight shot. If one of my kids fell down my current stairs there is a landing and s/he would probably fall five or six steps at the most. I think on this staircase s/he could fall fourteen or fifteen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) I don't agree that it's a burden to walk up and down stairs. I think of it as a butt lift. Seriously, I get in some serious steppage during the day. Between up and down the stairs and back an forth in the house, I added a lot of steps during my day. It's healthy! :iagree: I gained 40 lbs in 2 years just due to living in a bungalow now not a 2 level, no other diet or exercise changes. But those stairs kept me at a consistent weight without thinking about it. Between the stairs up and down the basement(where the laundry and play room were) and then the stairs up and down to the second level(where the bedrooms were) I got quite a lot of exercise compared to now in a bungalow with a cellar for a basement(meaning it is rare to go down there and the stairs are more like a ladder) Edited June 13, 2012 by swellmomma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 This is a great perspective!! might have won me over. Another concern I have is that the stairs are just a straight shot. If one of my kids fell down my current stairs there is a landing and s/he would probably fall five or six steps at the most. I think on this staircase s/he could fall fourteen or fifteen! Baby gates for little ones and otherwise they just learn to be careful just like with 5-6 steps. It is possible to be seriously hurt falling down just 5-6 so while the extra crashing down the stairs is a risk it is not a significant one imo. Growing up we loved the friend's houses that had a straight shot of stairs. They were the best ones for mattress sledding down them :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We've always had single-level, ranch homes. In our part of Florida, it is extremely rare (I've only seen one) to find houses with basements, and it is not common at all to have a multi-level house with stairs. While househunting (in the Midwest) we thought it would be best to find a house with the master bedroom on the main floor. I have RA, and just touring the homes for sale and going up the stairs was horribly painful. Out of 20+ that we physically walked-through, only two had the master bedroom on the main floor. Just so happens that my dh's "dream house", which we are under contract currently, was one of them. My situation is different than some as I have adult children living with me of both sexes. This makes it easier to accept not sleeping on the same floor as the minor children. There will be adults up there with them as well. Since the children aren't use to multi-level houses, we'll have a fire drill and other safety lessons to address some of the changes. I'm glad we found one with the master on the main floor. As my disease progresses, I probably would have ended up sleeping on the couch on the main floor anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We've always had a split arrangement, with the kids rooms away from ours. That is common where we are from (OP, you know where I'm from ;)). But here, it's common to have all the bedrooms together upstairs. Kinda weird for me. But I do like it. Especially b/c when a little person needs me in the middle of the night , I don't have to walk up stairs to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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