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We have a house we like with a first floor master. We have never had a first floor master but am thinking I kinda like the idea. I think in the day of baby monitors, 2-way intercoms, etc it is a nice way to have some privacy. Just curious what others think that have first floor masters, are considering first floor masters or would not consider first floor masters and why
Many people like it if they plan to retire in the same house....great for older folks not having to claim tons of stairs.
My one friend who has such a set up loves it overall....but does say that it's noiser if she wants to lay down during the day with other people in the home then if she had the tradional upper master suite.
I think its 50/50. Some prefer the downstairs master and some don't. I had a client who THOUGHT he wanted the downstairs master...he bought the house and then decided he didn't like sleeping on the first floor!
I also had a client who bought all the bedrooms upstairs, with teenagers. Both went to college and he sold and bought a downstairs master.
I prefer sleeping upstairs. I am down to my last child, age 13. The other 3 are either in school or actually have their own homes! Yipee! When ever I talk about having a downstairs master, she is not happy with the idea that she'd be "upstairs all alone". This coming from a child who some days doesn't even look at us!!!
It dosn't really matter to me whether the master is up or down, but, rather a place where there is privacy. Having older kids now, I prefer a bedroom a distant away from my teens. If it is downstairs I prefer that it is down a hall, not off a living room-kitchen area (which you basically see a lot in the newer homes).
We looked at a really nice model just recently (I think at Sunset Oaks) & I loved everything about it--the layout was great--except--upstairs they had a stair well going up and on one side was a guest room/bath area (very nice, but, on the small side--fine for guests) and then they had a fairly large landing area for setting, etc...and on the other side (a good distant away from the guest room) was all the rest of the bedrooms with the master in between all the other rooms. Way too close to my kids and their music! For me it would have been the perfect house if they had the master where the guest room was. And I'm sure they couldn't do it because of size restraints and they wanted the master much larger...but, it was otherwise a great house!
I have a 1yr old house with a master on the 1st floor. It is hard when you have a little one that needs to be attended to. It is great for when you have teens.
I came from a ranch home and remember when I sprained my ankle REAL bad, this now would have come in handy.
I dont think that it is a deal breaker, I am currently looking at houses and the overall house is more important than one feature so I am open to both. It has pros and cons.
also I wouldnt do it just for the reason of getting old unless you are there already, most people these days move alot anyway.
If you have a subdivision that doesnt have alot of these types of homes that can be a selling point for you when someone is looking for a master down.
Last edited by ducter; 02-16-2007 at 08:54 AM..
Reason: added text
When we were looking at houses in WF in August it seemed all the houses had downstairs masters except for a few. My husband really liked the idea but I don't because we have a 2yo dd and we're planning on having another child once we move down there. I do not like the idea of having to trek up and down the stairs all night and day. One floor plan I really liked had a guest bedroom downstairs and the master plus 2 other bedrooms and the bonus room were on the second floor, but the master was on the other side of the house. I really liked that plan and will look for a similar layout when we eventually get down there.
No kids. We were looking for a rancher, got frustrated and bought a first floor master. My office is in the 4th BR upstairs, and we have two guest rooms with jack and jill bath. 2nd floor laundry.
House is great for us, for folks with teens, and I wouldn't think so good for families with infants.
I sometimes wish I had a first floor office and the laundry was on the first floor, though. When/if we buy again, it will be one level.
I personally do not care for a first floor master, but I do like having a bedroom downstairs guests-especially grandparents that visit who can't do stairs so easily. Also, it could be used as a master as we age, should we choose to stay in the house.
Maybe it's the "city person" in me (I'm from NJ) but as we look for houses I'm having some trouble feeling comfortable with the idea of sleeping on the first floor.
I'm sure I'll get over it.
I got a chuckle out of this because my kids feel the same way. They will not spend the night at a friend's house where the kids sleep on the first floor.
I've been pondering this master on the main thing myself. And I've informally polled my friends who sleep on a different floor than their kids. All these kids are 4 and up, but under the age of 13. The biggest complaint I've heard is when the kids are sick or have bad dreams then there is a lot of up and down like when they were younger.
My oldest is still in elementary school so I can't speak to the teenage years. But if the master is on the main and they are upstairs I wonder if they will be able to sneek out or sneek in friends. (My husband did this as a teen... so they have the gene. ) My sister's house has the master on the main, and her daughters room is the opposite end of the house and the stairs are no where near the master bedroom. That would make me nervous. But if the stairs are ear shot of the master I might be ok.
I personally will gage what my kids need. Moving is going to be a big enough deal for them. Wherever we live, I want them to feel safe and comfortable.
No kids. We were looking for a rancher, got frustrated and bought a first floor master. My office is in the 4th BR upstairs, and we have two guest rooms with jack and jill bath. 2nd floor laundry.
House is great for us, for folks with teens, and I wouldn't think so good for families with infants.
I sometimes wish I had a first floor office and the laundry was on the first floor, though. When/if we buy again, it will be one level.
We'll rent until we find a ranch. We have no kids and got used to one floor living in Texas. We now have a split (they call it a "daylight" because because basement's not totally underground). DH chose to have office downstairs and he hates it. I got the upstairs office. Agree with laundry room on same level as bedrooms. The ideal arrangment for us would be a ranch with master on one side and two bedrooms on the other with living areas in between. I've only seen this in Arizona. My mom in law installed a pull down bed in the wall for guests and it works for us.
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got one
) My sister's house has the master on the main, and her daughters room is the opposite end of the house and the stairs are no where near the master bedroom. That would make me nervous. But if the stairs are ear shot of the master I might be ok. 
