Bedrooms on different floors

[salliekate]

H and I are thinking about selling our house and buying a new one.  The one we both agree on so far has great space, is in an almost perfect location and is at a great price (needs lots of updating).  The only thing holding me back is the fact that 2 bedrooms are on the main level and two are on the second level.  I know eventually this won't bother me, but now we have 3yo twins and a 2yo.  Will I hate this layout?  Or is it not a big deal?  For reference, H and I both grew up in 1 level homes and now own a 1 level home. 

[new2this]

It depends.

Our house is similar - the main floor has 2-3 (the third is very small) bedrooms and the lower level has 1. We have the bedroom on the lower level since it has an attached bath. DS and the nursery are on the main level. The third bedroom is used as a playroom. It's kind of a pain to go upstairs during the night but I don't hate it. I know plenty of people who DO hate our layout though and it would never work for them.

[heygrey]

if i had other options, i wouldn't choose a floor plan with split bedrooms.

i really like a traditional - bedrooms up, living space down - layout.

[Deleted]

My house is similar, 2 bedrooms up, 2 bedrooms down.
It's never phased me.
H and I both grew up in houses like that.
With the invention of baby monitors and the like, I just can't get worked up about it.

[Chelle]

Mine has 3 up and one in the basement with living/dining/kitchen on the main floor. I really like it.

[eliza22]

We wouldn't consider it for our family. I like sleeping close to my kids for safety reasons. I think if the floorplan had 3 on one level then it would be doable but not with 2 and 2.

[sunshineandpinot]

Our master is on the first floor and we have 3 bedrooms on the second. I actually love it- it was just what I was seeking. We didn't have children when we bought our house but now have a 4.5 year old and a nearly 2 year old. I love that their rooms are up and don't have to be 100% tidy while ours is down and easy to clean-up. Also, in OUR area (not true country-wide) having the master down is very appealing to buyers.

[penguin23]

Our house is a multilevel, so the MBR is on the top floor, then 3 bedrooms on the second floor, but it is only 6 steps down (open MBR door-can see his room, small landing is there, 6 steps and a landing with 3 BR's), so it doesn't bother me. If it were a full flight of stairs, I wouldn't have done it. This wasn't my ideal plan either, but when we bought this house was our only way into this town (HCOL,,excellent schools) without buying a total gut job house.

With a full flight I would be too worried about the kids falling in the night coming to my room, then there is the concern if there is a fire that starts downstairs, can you get to your kids easily. For me, 6 steps is just like a 4 foot hallway. But a whole flight of stairs if its smoky is something else entirely. But I also am a little bit of a worrier at baseline:)

[auroraloo]

We have a 1.5 story and H and I are in the attic DS (and DD when she gets here) are on the main floor. We have a video monitor and have never had any issues.

But I'm a pretty laid back parent.

[Deleted]

I think that if both of you grew up in 1 level homes and currently live in a 1 level home that it will be a hard adjustment.  However, your kids aren't newborns anymore so it might not be as bad moving into that layout.  For our family, I prefer that we are all on the same level at this stage.  My kid is 2yo and can wake up in the middle of the night screaming for me.  If I have to go up the stairs constantly in the middle of the night I would go crazy.  Now, if we were done with kids then that's a different story but we plan on having at least one more.  DS stayed in our bedroom until he was 4mos and then we moved him into his own room.

How do your kids do with sleep?  Do they STTN without issues?  Will your kids go down the stairs calling for you in the middle of the night?  If mine wakes up and I don't get to him right away, he will fly out of his room looking for me.

[julygal]

It would not be my first choice, but it could work if everything else was perfect. I have 3 kids (6, 4, & 2). With that layout my older 2 would go upstairs and my youngest downstairs. I would be fine with my 4 & 6 year old away from me, as they rarely get up in the middle of the night. In our area reasonably priced 4 bdrms are hard to come by, so when we finally go to move, we would consider a master down and other rooms upstairs now that the youngest is 2. We know that it will only get easier with less trips up the stairs in the middle of the night as she gets older. I also don't worry too much about stairs, as we currently live in a 3 story TH, so I know my kids are pretty good at getting up and down stairs.

[wawa]

I grew up in a house with rather an odd layout - so my brother, sister and I were in the (walkout) basement and my mom was on the main floor. I don't think it ever bothered mom. I know it never bothered us. We moved there when I was 6 and my sister was 1. It's not like she was coming down there for night feedings or anything.

[salliekate]

Jul 25, 2013 8:09:24 GMT -5 @choco said:

I think that if both of you grew up in 1 level homes and currently live in a 1 level home that it will be a hard adjustment.  However, your kids aren't newborns anymore so it might not be as bad moving into that layout.  For our family, I prefer that we are all on the same level at this stage.  My kid is 2yo and can wake up in the middle of the night screaming for me.  If I have to go up the stairs constantly in the middle of the night I would go crazy.  Now, if we were done with kids then that's a different story but we plan on having at least one more.  DS stayed in our bedroom until he was 4mos and then we moved him into his own room.

How do your kids do with sleep?  Do they STTN without issues?  Will your kids go down the stairs calling for you in the middle of the night?  If mine wakes up and I don't get to him right away, he will fly out of his room looking for me.

My kids sleep great, minus the occasional fussing when one is sick or something. I'm not sure what they'll do if they need me in the night once they're older.  TBH, we still have everyone in cribs because they still like them and it's easier for now, but we're about to move the twins to real beds.  I think I'm more nervous about going from only knowing 1 level homes to this.  But the prospect of getting into a million dollar neighborhood for $400k is really appealing.  There's even a 5th bedroom and another bath in the nice, finished daylight basement for guests (my mom and other family visit frequently).

We are finished with kids, so no night feedings, etc., and we're pretty laid back parents...I guess I just wonder if I'll "feel" far from the kids.  I don't know...maybe that's silly.  Argh...why can't you just test out houses???

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2013 9:12:02 GMT -5 salliekate said:

My kids sleep great, minus the occasional fussing when one is sick or something. I'm not sure what they'll do if they need me in the night once they're older.  TBH, we still have everyone in cribs because they still like them and it's easier for now, but we're about to move the twins to real beds.  I think I'm more nervous about going from only knowing 1 level homes to this.  But the prospect of getting into a million dollar neighborhood for $400k is really appealing.  There's even a 5th bedroom and another bath in the nice, finished daylight basement for guests (my mom and other family visit frequently).

We are finished with kids, so no night feedings, etc., and we're pretty laid back parents...I guess I just wonder if I'll "feel" far from the kids.  I don't know...maybe that's silly.  Argh...why can't you just test out houses???

My son is 2yo and we transitioned him to a big kid bed already, so he can get in/out of his room by himself.  It was nerve wracking for me to try and get to his room before he opened the door in the middle of the night when he first transitioned from a crib.  We moved him into a big kid bed b/c he literally launched himself out of his crib when he wanted to get out, so my kid is a little daredevil.  He knows how to go up and down the stairs and we have yet to find a baby gate that he doesn't know how to get through.  So, for me having the master on a different level was a deal breaker when we looked for houses.  However, if we were done with kids and they were older, I might feel a little differently. 

I think the "feeling" far issue will go away as your kids get older, but you need to be comfortable in dealing with that at the moment. 

[cajungal]

Jul 25, 2013 7:24:20 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

Our master is on the first floor and we have 3 bedrooms on the second. I actually love it- it was just what I was seeking. We didn't have children when we bought our house but now have a 4.5 year old and a nearly 2 year old. I love that their rooms are up and don't have to be 100% tidy while ours is down and easy to clean-up. Also, in OUR area (not true country-wide) having the master down is very appealing to buyers.

Ditto this.  We have gates on the stairs to be sure our 2 and 3 year old don't try to go up and down the stairs when we aren't with them.  We've really loved the new house, we had only lived in 1 stories before.

[salliekate]

Jul 25, 2013 15:07:25 GMT -5 cajungal said:

Jul 25, 2013 7:24:20 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

Our master is on the first floor and we have 3 bedrooms on the second. I actually love it- it was just what I was seeking. We didn't have children when we bought our house but now have a 4.5 year old and a nearly 2 year old. I love that their rooms are up and don't have to be 100% tidy while ours is down and easy to clean-up. Also, in OUR area (not true country-wide) having the master down is very appealing to buyers.

Ditto this.  We have gates on the stairs to be sure our 2 and 3 year old don't try to go up and down the stairs when we aren't with them.  We've really loved the new house, we had only lived in 1 stories before.

This makes me feel a little better about it.  We haven't for sure decided if it's for us yet, but I want to try to think through all pros and cons.  


If it helps, here's the listing.  If you walk in and go to the right you walk into the lovely salmon colored room.  If you go to the left, there is a short hall to two bedrooms and a bath.  The other two bedrooms are up the stairs in the corner of the keeping room (room off the kitchen).  The room with the red sofas and the pool table is the basement room.