Souvenir

It's about bedrooms.

Our late 80's single family house has three bedrooms (plus 1 I created in the basement and which is now legal). It's not big. Our bedroom is a reasonable double with an 8' wide built-in the separates it from a roughly 10x10 that we don't use. The third is a small room I use as my office.

'Er indoors is starting to make noises about joining our bedroom to the 10x10. Her view is that it would create a very large and lovely bedroom. She may be right. My view is that it will lose us a lot of storage space and cost a fortune (there's a supporting wall involved). My main concern regards resale value; I don't intend living here forever. What is the conventional wisdom when it comes to reducing the number of bedrooms? I've always believed it to be a complete no-no.

daft batty

Dont know what the realtors would say but can you do something that just involves a doorway so you can use the room as a dressing room/grown up sitting room??

We use our spare room as a dressing room, its just across the landing. This works well as it seems to keep out bedroom tidier and when one of us gets up much earlier that the other we dont have to get dressed in the dark/quietly etc.

Souvenir

I see where you're coming from but what she wants is a huge bedroom.

daft batty

are you expecting company??

your room might seem bigger if you then shift some of your furniturer, ie the drawers into the new dressing room. all we have are the bedside tables, and the two built in closets. The small room seems huge.

Can you make the builtin into a corridor with clothes racks on either side leading into the smaller room?? I reckon if you suggest a dressing room. maybe even a comfy chair/futon and small TV girls room then you may be onto a winner.

steve666

Surely diminishing the number of bedrooms will in turn diminish the number of potential buyers when the selling time comes, unless you intend to replace it when that happens. As a future buyer of a property in Ottawa, and looking at it from that angle, we look through the mls listings on a regular basis and when carrying out a search we always list the minimum number of bedrooms we want, probably the most important requirement when buying a family home I would think. If it's less than 3 we ignore it as a possible purchase. There must be other people who do that. If I were living there till I die I'd go for the big bedroom, otherwise I wouldn't.
I'm not a realtor of course so maybe I'm talking $hit

Souvenir

If we are, her gynae surgeon and my urol surgeon have some pretty tough questions to answer.

Souvenir

Your $hit echoes exactly my thinking.

steve666

Then your next task, should you accept it, is to convince your other half to abandon the plan based on that argument. If she's anything like my wife she'll ignore it of course, the idea of a large bedroom is now branded onto her brain.

Novocastrian

Steve's right, Souv. There is no use applying financial logic in a situation like that.

You have three options:

1) Sell the house now and buy one with a bigger master bedroom.

2) Shoot Souvette.

3) Shoot yourself.

I recommend option (1), then (3) if (1) doesn't solve the problem.

daft batty

You men are all wrong. My compromise has merit and if put properly then it will win out over a large bedroom. Souv has an office, Souvette needs her room now, and a connecting door into a girly dressing room sounds heaven, especially if through a walk in closer/corridor.

It may cost$$ but as it leaves 4 beds doesnt take $$ away from the house and may even add to it.

plus Souvette will be happy

macmike41

Why not reduce the nag effect by enlarging the bedroom now and when you come to move put lightweight walls (2X2 and drywall) back up.

Novocastrian

Ooooh. When you sell your house, please don't let me know.

Souvenir

1) does have merit. We're making so many changes to the place we may as well have bought somewhere else.

2) Iffy. She's a far better shot than me and has access to nastier weapons.

Souvenir

a) because it's a supporting wall.

b) because I would get my arse sued off when the roof caved in.

Tangram

I've always been told reducing the number of bedrooms ( however small ) is 99% of the time a no no and reduces the value - logic aside regarding space.