Has anyone turned first floor living space into a bedroom and regretted it?

[ksr5377]

Or know someone who has?

We do not have a master bedroom.  I hate this about our house.  It's a 2-story with 5 bedrooms upstairs and one very large bathroom.  When we initially moved in our plan was to turn 2 bedrooms upstairs into a master suite.  However, once we had possession of the house it became clearer and clearer that the renters who had been here had damaged things to such an extent that we ended up having to redo the kitchen and downstairs bathroom and put all new flooring on the first floor.  That ended up taking our entire budget.  So, here we are 5 years later and we're discussing plans for a possible master.  Initially I thought we would stick with the original plan on the 2nd floor but knowing we probably won't begin this for 3 years or so I started wondering if it makes more sense to do something on the first floor.  At the point of completion we'll only be about 45, but since this is our 'forever' home (family farmland) I want to be able to stay here as long as possible.  On the first floor we have a kitchen and family room that are open to each other, a full bath and laundry room, a small entry and an office and a room we use as a den/tv room.  The den is close to the laundry room, which is pretty large, as well the bathroom.  I think we could reconfigure all of it into a master suite as well as putting a small guest half-bath as well as opening the family room to the office to have a nice large gathering space for all 4 kids and future partners and children.  Due to the positioning of the rooms it's not really possible to make the den a bedroom and not open up the family room to the office.  At the very least a door would have to be put in between the two rooms.  DH is concerned that we'll really miss having 2 living spaces, especially when everyone is home.  I agree it is nice to have the room with the tv as well as another room for talking.  I think he has a valid point.  I'm just not sure it's reason enough to not do it.  I also think people could go upstairs to a bedroom or into our bedroom on those rare occasions.  The only other way I see to get a first floor master is to add on a bathroom to the office, but that's on the other side of the house from the plumbing and I know that between the plumbing plus adding to our structure it would cost quite a bit more.  Plus, our home is already about 2500 sq. ft.  The idea of adding on to that is ridiculous to me.  

So all of that to ask has anyone regretting giving up living space to a bedroom and if so, why?

[PeterPan]

How many kids and how old are they? In general a first floor master is good, but most of the time I've heard people doing it they were converting an unused dining room. It sounds like you already have modernized your flow and use the spaces. Do you have a basement to use as overflow for watching tv, talking, etc?

Were you wanting a bath as part of this master? 

What happens in a few years as your kids leave and you're left with FIVE bedrooms unused? That to me would get weird. I have 6 bedrooms and we use them. (homeschool room, sensory/respite room, guest room, ds room, dd room, master) However if I were building *now* looking toward my kids leaving, I would go with 4 bedrooms. If you were to convert two bedrooms upstairs into a pleasant master, would it be more *spacious* than what you'd get doing it on the main floor? I think, just me personally, that's what I would do, only because I think you're giving up vital, useful to modern living styles living space. 

You don't really know how your needs will progress. I know people who are chugging upstairs just fine at 65 and 70. And by the time you get there, you might have downsized, gone to assisted living, retired to Florida, or any number of other things. You might find you've sold to your kids and moved to something smaller or made an addition to be your MIL suite.

So no, given that you (only) have 2500 feet and that your people USE your very modern layout, I would not eat up your current living space for more bedrooms. You already have a large number on top. Now if you wanted to put a master on the main floor, I would make doggone sure it has a bathroom. And then I would STILL alter the upstairs (assuming you don't need 5 bedrooms, don't know your number of kids) and convert two together into a play area/leisure space for gaming, conversing, foosball, etc. If you do that, you're simply trading, moving leisure space up and living space down. That would be fine. Just seems like double expense for little gain. 

I will also say that as your kids become teens (again, can't see the ages), it's nice to have some space. So if you could move the master down AND convert two upstairs to leisure, it could be really nice. They're going to want some separation to kind of be themselves.

Have you thought through your changing desires in a master? As I've aged (ahem), I realize more things I'd want. When we built, I didn't really care about those things. Now I kind of smack myself a little, wondering why I didn't press for them. (space for sitting, closet connected to shower, etc. etc.) So if moving downstairs precludes you from having features, that too would be a reason not to do it. The idea of a master on the main floor is fine, but I wouldn't do it at the expense of features, not given your age. It's something you could do 20 years from now if you really needed to, no problem. Also you said your flooring down there is new, so that's another reason not to tear it up. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Have you thought about doing the conversion upstairs and putting in an elevator?

I knew a lady in San Francisco who had an elevator in her house.  It had a phone in it just in case of a power failure, but these days there are probably battery backups or something like that.  She and her husband built their house into a hillside, and the bedrooms were down stairs from the main entrance.  The main floor was the one with the views, which is why they did it that way.  It was a great set up.  Of course, there was also an inside stairway, but for later in life or recovery periods having the elevator was really nice.

Also, the moving stair seats are far more compact now than they used to be.  My folks had one put in and it’s really helpful.  
 

If I were you, I would want my best bedroom upstairs and out of the normal flow, more of a retreat.  

Crazy alternative to think about—what about an ADU that is designed specifically for accessibility?  I’ve often thought that if I had more land I would do that.  It would be a little guesthouse to host relative that were recovering from surgery, and it could be the place a widow or widower (maybe even me) would move into late in life while renting out the ‘big’ house.  It could be a temporary living space for a boomerang kid or other family member.  And it could be used as a quiet office or studio in the meantime if that would be attractive to you.

[Jaybee]

I'd want a bathroom with the master, so depending on the layout, etc., I'd make a master downstairs. But I would also convert one of the bedrooms upstairs into a den/sitting room, because it is so nice to have a second living space. I really like our house in lots of ways, but I do wish we had another public spot where one could go to talk with friends or read while others watch TV.

[ktgrok]

I'd do your plan, and eventually turn two upstairs bedrooms into a larger "sitting room" if you need a separate living space for when people come over, etc. Before then kids can go to their bedrooms to talk/hang out, or you and DH can go to your bedroom. 

My parents only have/had one living area, and it was not uncommon for them to step into their bedroom to talk away from us kids, or take one of us in there to talk, etc. 

Heck, from the sounds of it you may be able to create a small sitting area IN the master bedroom, come to think of it! I'd do that for sure, if space allows. 

Edited January 12, 2021 by ktgrok

[Slache]

DH's family did this for GMIL and it was only awful because they didn't close it off, just put a bed in there. Other than that it was great because she was old and broken but close to the kitchen, had easy access to the bathroom and never fell down the stairs. I think it's a great idea. I had a friend in a home like yours except the downstairs master was just part of the house, but all the other rooms were upstairs. When my friend and his wife could no longer make it up the stairs they couldn't clean the bedrooms when the kids came to visit, but the rooms never actually got dirty because they never went up there. When the kids came they planned on 20 minutes to dust and vacuum the upstairs and make the beds. Easy peasy.

[Katy]

You could also consider putting a master on both floors. That way you have it if you need it but in the meantime use it the way it is now. I’d try and make the main floor one somewhat wheelchair accessible. 

[Kareni]

My sister has a large two story home plus a complete finished basement. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms upstairs. The basement has a guest room and a full bathroom. The main level has a powder room (half bath). There have been a number of times (after falls or surgeries or parent visit) where they wished for a bathroom with a shower on the main level. 

I'll look forward to hearing what you decide to do.

Regards,

Kareni

[ksr5377]

Thanks everyone.

A couple of answers:

We have 4 children.  We live a little more than an hour from a decent sized city, 2 hours to larger ones.  It's likely none of our children will stay in the area or all of them will.  A lot of people leave, but a lot stay as well.  Our town has actually increased it's population but about 1,000 people per year the last 5 years.  Unless one of them wants to live in our home there is very little chance we would build something smaller.  If DH is alive he will want to live on this farm until he needs a nursing home.  

We do currently have a full bathroom on the first floor that is handicap accessible from when DH's grandparents lived here.  It's off the entry area we have from our side door that leads to the kitchen or the laundry room, then the bathroom.  On the other side of the laundry room wall is the room I'm thinking of converting.  I am hoping that it would be possible to turn the laundry/bath area into a full bath that could could be connected to the current tv room, as well as a half bath you would access from the entry area.  I really don't care where the laundry gets access.  We currently have first and second floor laundry hookups as well as hookups in our machine shed.  We could move the full size units upstairs and put something smaller on the first floor if we need to.  

I have already though of making an upstairs bedroom a living space if we need to.  

What we call the office was technically DH's grandparent's bedroom.  There is a full closet in there that we use for all our homeschool supplies. So it's really a 6 bedroom house.  They built it in the early 70's and they had 9 children.  It is small on living space but big on bedrooms and closets, which is what his grandma was desperate for when it was built.  The staircase is also enclosed with a door which gives you the capability of closing off the upstairs entirely.  This is how it always was when I knew his grandparents here.  The HVAC is set up with 2 zones, so it's very easy and efficient to only use the first floor without wasting money heating and cooling the second floor. 

I had never thought of an elevator before.   That makes me wonder about pricing out the options on both floors and seeing if one makes the most sense financially.

[PeterPan]

Any chance you can draw this out? (print graph paper, something relatively to scale) 

[PeterPan]

34 minutes ago, ksr5377 said:

That makes me wonder about pricing out the options on both floors and seeing if one makes the most sense financially.

Sure, I would think the person you call in would be able to give you a relative sense of options and the better path. They might even have ideas you hadn't thought of.