August 15, 2018
Master bedroom: Upstairs or Down?
Buying a house is one of the most significant purchases you’ll ever make, so we understand how crucial it is to make the right choice! You’re about to make some important decisions—from location to floorplan, to price—that could affect your lifestyle for years to come. Right now, we’d like to help you tackle one of those choices: whether to establish your master bedroom downstairs or upstairs. Because it’s a matter of personal preference, we offer both options here at The Preserve at Tidewater; The Clayton, for example, has a spacious master bedroom with a walk-in closet on the first floor while another popular floorplan, The Bradley, is designed with all four bedrooms on the second floor.
What to consider
Privacy when entertaining
Whether you’re hosting a 25-person holiday party or a casual game night with your closest friends, you’ll occasionally have guests wandering around your first floor. When your master bedroom is located adjacent to your dining and living rooms, you’ll have to take extra care to firmly shut your bedroom door, so visitors don’t intrude — intentionally or not — into your private space.
Convenience
If you’re an active couple in your 30s or 40s right now, it might be hard to imagine struggling up a staircase. But assume you’re going to live in this house for decades. When you’re 65 or 70, your stiff knees might not appreciate having to descend a flight of stairs before enjoying that morning cup of coffee. Plus, if your laundry room is downstairs, you’d have to haul loads of clothes up and down stairs a few times a week.
You should also consider the mobility of houseguests. Maybe you and your spouse are young and spry, but you might have elderly family members that come to visit. You can make their stay comfortable, private and luxurious by setting them up in a downstairs master suite.
In general, having at least one bedroom on the first floor isn’t a bad idea. You never know when an injury or illness will compromise a family member’s mobility and necessitate having a readily available downstairs bedroom.
Proximity to children’s bedrooms
How close do you want your bedroom to be to those of your children? It’s a tough decision, because the answer will probably change as they grow up! Many new parents want to sleep on the same floor as their children, so they can easily check on the kids during the night. And the children are more comfortable knowing mom and dad are close by in the case of a nightmare or sudden illness.
But as your young children become teens, you might find that you all want a little more separation from one another. Giving the kids their own floor will provide everyone extra privacy. Plus, a master bedroom located downstairs and near the front door might help deter any post-curfew attempts to sneak out!
If you find yourself stressing out over this decision, we recommend a floorplan with a downstairs master bedroom as the safer choice. You can always switch to sleeping upstairs and use the downstairs master as a playroom while the kiddos are still young. But here at The Preserve, we’ve got plenty of floorplans with various bedroom layouts, so you can choose exactly what suites your lifestyle.