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Renovating Design Dilemma Bedroom

Creating a master bedroom with a large wir by combining 2 bedrooms

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We have just bought a federation style house but there is no master bedroom. We want to convert 2 bedrooms into 1 bedroom and allow for a substantial walk in robe (bedrooms 1 and 2 will be combined) There will be 2 sets of beautiful french doors flowing outside that I want to remain symmetric and equal distance on each side to the wall. We will block off one of the passage doors and am not concerned which one. Any ideas? The view is over vineyards and is pretty spectacular and symmetry is essential.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Featured Answer

dreamer

5 years ago

Why do you have to block the doors to have your walk in robe?
Have your hanging on three walls, with draws in a middle island.

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Comments (8)

Austere Hamlet
5 years ago
I wouldn't. If having a master suite were important to me I would buy a modern home that has one. The thing about historic homes is that they typically had three equal sized bedrooms. It's part of the character of the home.

If you combine two squareish bedrooms you will end up with a strangely shaped rectangular room that's not really all that useful. Particularly as you mention they both have french doors that go to a verandah. Those doors pretty much limits what you can do with the rooms. You will be trying to either preserve the symmetry of the doors or build a wardrobe wall up close to one and have the whole look of the room thrown off.

A heritage home is what it is. It's never going to be a modern home and it's limitations are what people expect when they buy one. The limitation is a traditional floorplan that doesn't necessarily reflect modern lifestyle choices. One conversion that is often done on federations is part of the verandah is built in, and turned into a WIR or ensuite. Many of these homes already have built-in verandah sections so doing so won't necessarily ruin the character. Particularly if you infill them with a nice casement windows and appropriate trims on the outside.
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I would be worried first about the other problems in your plan before addressing the compact ensuite. The narrow dog-leg corridor is a bit dark and nasty, but hard to avoid with such a narrow lot. There are design tricks you can do such as relocating the hall window to bring in more light, introducing some 45 degree angles to the corner walls, widening the middle part of the dog leg to 1200mm (it looks about 1000mm), and some careful placement of mirrors to improve this bad situation. While replanning your ensuite/WIR think about your bedhead position and the relationship to the door. It looks like the only option is under the window, which is too bad if you have a bedhead that is much higher than the window-sill. It is also a bit tight opening the door to bedroom 1 to be confronted by the end of the bed. An offset door, as previously suggested makes more sense for furnishing, and a better entry. A good designer should always place typical furniture in a plan so the client knows how the space flows. I would be annoyed having to walk around the bed to go from WIR to ensuite, which is why they are traditionally adjacent to each other (and not four metres apart). There are lots of better options, I would make your designer come up with some alternatives. Or engage a better designer. Best of luck with your new home, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls
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Thank you so much for your comments and great ideas kiwimills , Pleased to Bijou Design , Leeder Interiors and oklouise . I agree with the door at the end of the bed being a better and more convenient position. Originally I had not included it there to access some of the light from the other window (obscure glass slider), and to avoid the feng shui coffin position with feet facing the door. On further reading I might be able to remedy it with a tall solid bed-end and blanket box/bench. I can see how walking through the WIR each time would be a pain. An alternate ensuite plan (below) as also suggested by Leeder Interiors. I wasn't sure if I had enough room for this... it would get me a larger vanity 1200+ rather than 900. Not sure however what: the recommended distances from the vanity front and toilet should be ? minimum width i need to have for the toilet space (between the wall and slider opening) ? If not, the extra bench space over the cistern also sounds like a good idea. Thank you
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This is my initial thought, taking into account the size of a king bed. But it is not the best use of space. The new position of doorway into bedroom, and the new doorway into bathroom position, appears to waste space with walkways. The bed can move to new position or still stay on wall as per your plan, but pushed off centre to fit robes. Built in robes are a better use of space. WIR you waste the 'walking' bit. I'm sure there is a better way, but I have not thought of that yet.
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Kate
5 years ago
Perfect dreamer. And if future buyer wants the bedroom back it’s an easier change. You could even leave the door to hall and create a linen closet there.
dreamer
5 years ago
Sorry Karen, I misread your post. Yes, passage door to be blocked into bedroom 2. Leave French doors as is.
0
Anne Monsour
5 years ago
Just lock the passage door and leave in place , with dreamer’s excellent plan .
JE C
5 years ago
Gorgeous house. If you have an eye on resale, I think the answer might depend on where you live. I live in a historic zone in SA that is full of Federation villas and it is very much the done thing to convert a bedroom into a walk in robe ( and ensuite) to make a Master suite. In fact, not doing so would have a big negative impact on resale value. I think the ideas above are sound.
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C P
5 years ago
If you're not bothered by the bedroom loss then turning a second bedroom into a dressing room isn't a bad idea. But you need to avoid it looking like a modern walk in robe with an excess of melamine. A drawer island and plush bench seating would be desirable. Also unless I had lots of fabulous clothes, shoes and bags to display I'd put gorgeous doors on the cupboards.

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