Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I suggested the open foyer with resale in mind, since many buyers now view a more closed-off foyer as "dated."
Since you plan to live in the home for quite a while, though, you definitely should choose the best option for your lifestyle.
I agree about the open foyer - we have a 1 1/2 story home with a nice sized foyer - it gives the house a little grandness and the feeling of space when anyone walks into the house.....I wouldn't give that up for another bedroom/bathroom - it would change the whole feel of the house. There should be more to a house than cramming as many bedrooms and bathrooms as you can into the floorplan.
Around here, I would go with the extra bathroom. Those huge foyers are a nightmare to heat and also a big issue with noise bouncing up to the second floor. I've had 2 friends who, after living with those high foyers for a number of years, decided to close them in and each made an upstairs room out of the space.
Also, the trendiness of those foyers is starting to wane, and (again maybe regional) I hear more and more people now referring to the high foyer as "dated", with the biggest concern being energy efficiency.
The 3 bedrooms and the spare bonus room share a full bath that is located in the hallway. The second full bath on the second floor is located in the master bedroom. The first floor has a full bath in the guest bedroom and a powder room.
This is essentially a 5 bedroom house (plus bonus room) with 3 full baths and a half bath for a family with two children.
The thing is that the house should be built with both the current family and any future families that may be using the house. This is potentially a 6 bedroom house with 3.5 baths. That could work except that 5 of the bedrooms are upstairs and one of the bedrooms has a dedicated bathroom (the master).
Most married couples do not want to share the master bath with the kids. So you are left with a potential buyer seeing a house that has 4 upstairs bedrooms (including the bonus room) sharing 1 bathroom. That will make the house unappealing for many buyers. You have to realize that most buyers of a 6 bedroom house will have a large family.
I do not think resale is the ONLY thing that people should consider when building a house, I do think that most people eventually have to sell at some point, even if that point is well into the future. I know that on paper having 3.5 bathrooms for 6 bedrooms seems adequate, but the placement of a full bath downstairs makes it much more practical to have another full bathroom upstairs.
given what you are describing, I'd go with the foyer. as you can see, a lot of people have different opinions on this. I basically don't see the value in adding another bath, you have 3.5. If it were giving you a better layout, or a different use of space that was needed maybe. but you really don't need another bath. In my area 2.5 baths is the desireable config, 1-2 baths are more normal. 3.5 is a lot. the thought that you need 4.5 for resale, is a bit nuts to me. Especially since a 2 story foyer is desireable to a lot of people in larger homes.
That said, if you really want the extra bath b/c you will use it a lot, I see no reason not to get that if that is your preference.
I think that what people are forgetting is that 1.5 bathrooms are downstairs. That leaves you with 5 bedrooms (including the bonus room) upstairs. Since one bathroom is attached to the master that leaves 4 bedrooms sharing 1 bathroom.
I would prefer to see 2 bathrooms for those 4 bedrooms. I can't imagine trying to get 4 kids out of the house if all the kids were trying to share 1 bathroom (I assume the downstairs room is a guest room). It just seems impractical if you ever have to sell the house.
If that were really true- houses would look like a boil on an ass!
The reality is it works the other way around.
One of many reasons why a layperson shouldn't "design houses", or make wild accusations about builders.
Righto, I guess that 5 years I spent in Architectural school and that degree I have hanging on the wall makes me less of a designer then some builder who just throws up houses as quickly as possible using dime a dozen per-designed builder special home plans
I would prefer to see 2 bathrooms for those 4 bedrooms. I can't imagine trying to get 4 kids out of the house if all the kids were trying to share 1 bathroom (I assume the downstairs room is a guest room). It just seems impractical if you ever have to sell the house.
It would be ideal if the bathroom above the foyer could be a bathroom connecting two bedrooms. Then only two bedrooms need to share the hallway bath.
Thanks all for excellent suggestions - we have made up our mind to take the additional bath!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
