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October 6, 2009
En Suite bathroom
Are en suite bathrooms a good thing or a bad thing?
They seem kind of silly to me. But they seem to be touted by some.
The irascible Rob the Butterfly ("Don't poop where you sleep!") and the gallant DaveinBedStuy ("Oh, the luxury of pooping where you sleep!") -- two enjoyable favorites on this site -- are forever battling this point, sometimes playfully, sometimes distractingly.
But what do others think?
Perhaps all of us together can settle this point once and for all.
Comments
don't listen to rob about anything other than cheap beer and video games...
Posted by: denton at October 6, 2009 3:38 PM
It may be nice for a single but once you have two people using it ... disturbing in the night or morning.
Posted by: BH76 at October 6, 2009 3:49 PM
My husband and I have an ensuite bath. Closing the bathroom door provides plenty of privacy. I have seen layouts where the bathroom entrance was just a few feet away from the head of the bed; I think this is to be avoided.
In addition to being convenient, I like an ensuite bath because it's meant for your use only--no kids, no guests.
During the night or morning, I'd say rummaging around in our walk-in closet is more disturbing than bath use.
And ditto on denton's comment.
Posted by: tinarina at October 6, 2009 4:09 PM
where's shill when you need him?
Posted by: cmu at October 6, 2009 4:44 PM
I like mine - it's particularly nice to have when there are guests since my floors creak.
Posted by: Arkady at October 6, 2009 4:47 PM
lifestyle choice. but I wouldn't cram one in just for sake of having one. If live alone or as a couple the whole apt/house in ensuite. Some people are more finicky shy about toilet,hearing bodily functions, walking around naked, half-dressed than others..
Posted by: Petebklyn at October 6, 2009 4:50 PM
I hate hearing toilet sounds, teeth being brushed, etc. Count me in the 'no ensuite' camp.
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at October 6, 2009 5:28 PM
I have to laugh...I hadn't actually fully admitted to myself and been confirmed by something I am able to read in Zeebee's post. I too find the sound of the husband unit brushing his teeth a bit annoying...although I'm so used to it, it's also kind of comforting, familiar. He is a loud toothbrusher...sounds like a train chugging along! The only way I don't hear it is when he's on another floor.
I think "en suite" bathrooms are fine and really, pretty convenient. It's really a luxury for most because it implies there is at least one other bathroom in the living space. Now, if you live in a studio or small apartment, yes, everything is en suite, I agree.
What no one is talking about here or ever seems to bring up on Brownstoner is his and hers (hers and hers, his and his) bathrooms. Either two bathrooms off one bedroom suite or some other arrangement. It's not uncommon.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at October 6, 2009 7:34 PM
Seperate bathrooms, BrooklynGreene? One for each half of the couple? Hmmm... sounds like a good idea.
This would help keep personal hygene personal. And it would eliminate the toilet seat power struggle.
Ideally, neither of the two bathrooms would be en suite, right?
Posted by: Pigeon at October 6, 2009 7:56 PM
It depends, really. Depends on whether there was one originally and, if not, what was sacrificed to get one in.
As to the practicality, the house I used to live in had one, and it was very convenient. In fact, it was on my "must have" list before I encountered the realities of family-sized places in Brooklyn. Now we have a powder room downstairs and a full bathroom upstairs, I found that I don't miss the ensuite bathroom at all. The guests use the powder room, and our schedules do not create shower traffic in the morning.
What makes absolutely no sense, though, is the ensuite half-bathroom.
Posted by: kensingtonka at October 6, 2009 8:12 PM
I had shower with glass wall in the middle of the hotel room in Luxembourg. I do not think it would work well if I would share room with somebody. Even a loose European girl.
I also had glass wall in Roppongi residence. Apparently so you can watch TV from the shower. But they had shades so to make environment private if necessary.
in two words - I would not recommend it.
Posted by: bobjohn at October 6, 2009 10:15 PM
I like mine. Yes, you have to have another full bath as well. shillstoner will rant about carving up those small victorian rooms with two entrances.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 7, 2009 10:09 AM
We plan to add an en suite bath to our master bedroom. But in our house we have an extra alcove room in our master plus a good size walk-in closet either of which could be used to create the master bath without cutting into the bedroom space. I really think once our son is school age I want him to have his own bathroom to use, the one in the upstairs hallway, so both he and I have privacy. My husband already uses the bathroom in the basement exclusively. A house like ours on our street that did add a master en suite bath just went into contract for a much higher price than has been achieved here before so it's clear the en suite bath is a good investment for resale. I think our future en suite bath would pay for itself.
Posted by: traditionalmod at October 7, 2009 10:12 AM
the ensuite thing seems anal retentive to me (lol)... i build enough of them in massive lofts (7br, 8 baths) ..but it makes no sense in a brownstone, unless you have poopy privacy neuroses
Posted by: eman1234 at October 7, 2009 8:31 PM
I have one and I like it. Im sure i would like it even more if we had children or other people living with us. It makes the master bedroom feel a little more luxurious and private.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at October 8, 2009 10:37 AM
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