We all have the potential for decreased mobility. We built the Master Suite on the ground floor with handicapped bars in the bath. If fact, all the doors on the main level are 3' except for the basement stairs door. Larger doors are not always neat or convenient- unless you really need them. And retrofitting can be very difficult.

I love having my master on the first floor. I do have kids ages 10, 8, 5, and 3. They are upstairs and I have no problem, strangely enough, hearing them if they need me. I was initially concerned about that, but it has fortunately proven to be a non-issue. I will say that we are (thank God, knock wood, throw salt & spit!!) past the infant stage where they are up in the middle of the night. I have great sleepers and rarely have to have a middle of the night experience. Hopefully permanently (knock wood, throw salt & spit), but then again we're Catholic;-) so you never know. Like bus driver, our doors are wide and that makes the entire first floor accessible in the event of decreased mobility for whatever reason.

Our guest room is upstairs, and the only dead space we have in the house we left on purpose in case we need to install an elevator for elderly parents in the future. So I really do never say never.

I think some people who have expressed disinterest in having a master on the first floor are parents with young children who don't want to be removed from them by a floor. Sometimes I feel like even a floor isn't enough. Just kidding!!

Amy

See: "Is Master on the Main A Huge Selling Point" in the Buying and Selling Homes forum here.

DH and I passed on houses with only the MBR on the main floor. When would we ever use the second story rooms? It was difficult to find a deluxe, single story home with large rooms when we started looking in 1998. We had a choice of 1950's ranches like the one we already owned or -- in higher brackets -- only two-story things w/turrets.

In the last few years more builders are putting up nicer, larger single-story houses, sensing the Boomer population's needs and desires.

We eventually bought an old ranch in a top location; did a teardown; built a traditional-styled home where we live on one floor. The house has a massive attic that can become additional BRs and baths for a younger family. (Land cost prohibited building merely the single floor w/2 BRs.)

Neither DH nor I have lived in a two-story since we were children, although most homes in suburban Chicagoland are that style. As a young mom with aging DM and MIL, the ranch style was a boon. Now that I have had two hip surgeries, the single-floor style is still the easiest -- especially with 3-foot wide doorways and no thresholds.

For us, it's not enough to have only the MBR on the first floor, we want *everything* on one floor.

a first floor master gets no vote from me (or dh). my inlaws are in their 80s and climb their stairs several times a day. so did my parents, and grandparents. to us, the first floor is a public space. we'll have a guest room w/full bath on the main floor but that's about it. i don't understand the appeal at all. so not a choice we would make, but everyone has their own preferences. and i'm usually in the minority anyway!

When dh and I were looking at plans to build our home for our retirement we looked at alot of 2 story with the master on the first floor. We just figured when we had company they would feel more private and so would we if they had the "run" of the second floor; grandkids included :) We finally decided on a one story with "split" bedrooms where the master is on one side of the house(behind the garage) and 2 bedrooms are on the other with the open kitchen/dining/great room in between. Still kind of the same issue so we can have our privacy and so can our guests.

We have our master suite on the first floor. Cliimbing stairs in your 80s is a nice thought, but the reality is that it is difficult for many people. My DH was in a bad car accident 16 years ago. His ankle was shattered and his back was broken. He can walk and gets by pretty well, but traumatic arthritis has set in in his ankle and back and it's nice to know he doesn't have to climb the stairs several times a day. It's great if you are in your 80s and can still climb stairs several times a day everyday of the week, but the reality is that many people can't. That's why you see both kinds of houses built because different people have different wants, likes and needs. At our old house, our MB was on the 2nd floor and the kids bedrooms were on the first floor and we never had any problems hearing the kids at night. I love a two story house and our kids are both still at home so every room and bathroom gets used every day. But when they leave home, I won't mind having the second floor ready for their visits but not used every day (although our office is on the second floor because we have a great view from up there so we will still use the second floor every day for as along as we are able). There is no right or wrong location for the master suite.

For me it isn't a question of being 80-- my 83 yr old mother handles stairs just fine.

But I didn't, last time I broke a leg: Yeah, you can do stairs on crutches, but it sure gets old. Same with my 70 year old aunt, who has very bad knees, or my 32 year old nephew, when he was doing Chemo for Hodgkins.

IMO, every home should have at least one bedroom on the mainfloor: sooner or later, you'll be glad of it, not just for the awful, extreme cases where you'd have to move a hospital bed into the dining room; but for the occasional situations where a family member or guest could get up the stairs, but would rather not.

I'm with lindybarts. My kids are past infancy, but there are still nightmares, the flu, and, worst case scenario, some kind of emergency where they'd need help...so I'm staying close. I think stair climbing will help us stay mobile and healthy. If my bedroom was downstairs, I'm afraid I'd get lazy and only holler up the stairs, letting the kids take over up there, and who knows what it would look like! I'm only half kidding. I think it'll be easier to keep things in order and running smoothly if we're a regular, consistent presence on the floor.

I did make sure that in our new house we have a full bath on the main floor, and a room that can be used as a bedroom for someone with a sprained/broken ankle, or if necessary as we get older...but it's no suite.

Our main level is walk-in at the front of the house but two stories off the back. MBR is on the main level. So is one guest room. It had a third bedroom on the main, but we turned it into a sunroom (faces lake/mountain view and I spend most the my spare time there). The lower level is open on the back/sides and has two bedrooms and a third we made into an exercise room/bath, etc. We deleted the upper story with an additional bedroom, bath and bonus room over the garage since we added the lower level and did not need the room.

We like being able to basically live on one level. DH goes to bed earlier than I do, so I head to sunroom. I sleep later than he does and on those mornings when he's home (semi-retired, self-employed) if he's too noisy, he can bother me. That's the only down side for us.

Here is the reason I would never do a master on the first floor if I had younger children - fire. I do not see how it is feasible to evacuate your family safely if you need to go upstairs to get them.

I master on the first floor also will usually cost more and the house will have a larger footprint, if land is an issue.

Even if you can hear the children if you need them during the night, unless your kids are great sleepers you will be climbing those stairs half asleep pretty frequently.

Our master is on the second floor, but we considered a having a guest room on the first floor. We decided against it because we knew we would get pressure from family members for MIL to move in. I love her, but I don't want to live with her (not if I want to keep my sanity and marriage intact).

When I was in my thirties I thought how wonderful it was to have a four-level home with the MBR on the topmost floor reached by narrow twisting 19th Century stairs as befitted access to the original servant's quarters. As the decades have marched by, my taste for multi-level living has diminished. The further I can be from my loved ones in a multi-wing horizontal home the better. Separate mbr suites, too, are a fast-growing trend in luxury homes.

When my son was young, I was on the same floor with him. He's grown and gone now, so I prefer the master on the first floor. Ours is very private from the public areas. I redesigned our floor plan to include an L hallway leading to the master suite so that no one can see into the area.

BTW, I fell down our stairs just two weeks ago -- I have vertigo problems. I had been upstairs working out and was coming down the stairs. I caught myself, but a few years ago I did the same thing and tore my rotator cuff and got frozen shoulder from grabbing the railing to stop my slide. So...main floor for me! I'm in my 50's, but I've been doing this kind of stair slipping my entire life! LOL

We have our Master on the main floor. I actually wanted to be as far away from my teenage kids as possible. After living in a small basic 3 BR ranch, just a few feet from my kiddos I'm LOVING this new found privacy that my hubby and I have.

It's usually more expensive to put a bedroom on the first floor because it requires more foundation work (this is what I was told) Building out is more expensive than building up. But it was worth it for us.

We did master on the main floor for a couple of reasons...

-We have no kids so that wasn't an issue.
-We want to be able to close off the entire second floor if heating and utilities become an issue, so our second floor is all bonus space. Energy efficiency is going to be a huge issue in the very near future and we think this will be a huge selling point.
-We don't want to be climbing stairs when we're old.
-If one of us is sick, we don't want to be isolated on a second floor, away from the rest of the main house.

Danger! Danger!

New found privacy can lead to greater intimacy! It's true! Forget the viagra, never mind the enzyte. Throw away all of those spam messages that promise your increased pleasure! A little privacy may be all that is required. But, be careful what you wish for!

Honestly, I love having a newborn. So what, there's a 15 year span between him and the middle child. Hey, we wanted the first floor master and we got it. I'm just saying, you may want to go for the vasectomy ~before~ moving into your new space.

I am enjoying reading the responses from everyone here. Have had a few good laughs.....

For us, for now we think we are done with kids...so after reading bungeeii's post, I think we should go for a master on the same level as our current family :-)

Also, I had never thought of the possibility of second level being hijacked with kids completely if there is no master there....something to think about!

But yeah.....I think all the reasons for/against listed here are sound.

For me, there was one added attraction. You can live better outdoor life with a master on main floor. You can open the french/sliding door and step out into the yard directly -- and generally can have cocktails on summer evenings, and have a nice hot tub very accessible from the master.

(Of course that, for me, will happen in my dream house. Currently my entire house is 1 level and the master can access 2 yards but has only windows overlooking those....)

I for one agree with everyone here, from... "need to be near my kids"... to ... "need to have our privacy"... which can coincidentally lead to more kids!!!

Anyways, we feel like we've solved this problem in our new build. We have 2 masters, one on the main floor and one upstairs with the kids rooms. Both are Suites and have wonderful ammenities including 5 piece baths and walk in closets. We figure we'll live upstairs with the kids until they're a little bit older and then move downstairs. The vaccant master (which ever one it is) will be for the guests or in-laws when we want them to come stay with the kids while DH and I go away for anniversary vacations, etc...

Here is a link that might be useful: Our 2 Masters Dream Home

I much prefer the look of a two story house, and never thought about stairs one way or the other, until we moved to FL. Two story houses are very rare here, so nearly everybody is on one floor. After 28 years, I can't imagine climbing stairs! Also, our next (and hopefully last) house will be for retirement, so, as others have said, I want it to be fully handicap accessible- one level, 36" doors, etc. We are going to build very small (1200 sq ft), but will have a full walk-out basement, and possibly a little 2nd floor bonus space. The master will be the only BR on the main floor, although we may have a small den that would double for a guest room in a pinch. I like the idea of only heating/air conditioning 1200 sq ft! Our current house is what's called a split plan, with the kids rooms on one side, and the master suite on the other. It worked out well for us.

LOL! Bungeeii!
We have 3 kids, our youngest was a wonderful surprise. :) I will have to show your post to my DH...he has been procrastinating a visit to the Dr. for about 4 1/2 years...our youngest just turned 3. With our new private master on the main floor...maybe he will find his motivation! Thanks for the PSA!

We went with a daylight basement plan, so our best option was kids down, us on the main level. We also chose this thinking of the future in case we wanted all of our living on one level.

Bungeeii,that was hysterical!!
We have a master down in our current house and we moved in with a three year old and had our second child there. He stayed in a bassinet in our room till he was 4 months old then moved upstairs, we had a monitor and never have had a problem. He is three now and we are building a new house with the master down again. We are installing an intercom system from their shared bathroom to our bedroom (and the kitchen) for any problems. I have never missed a midnight yell for mommy, we have always woken up and no one has fallen down the stairs running up in the dark. The new bedroom has french doors to our covered porch which has an outdoor fireplace and we plan to be old and feeble in this house so all main living is down. We tried to plan for the future as well as now.

I vote for the master on the first floor but I also don't plan on having children ( not sure it would make a difference anyway, maybe, maybe not) Anyhoo. My reason would be privacy. When guest stay over you and your husband will still feel free to make all the noise you want plus I would like to have a private garden off the master that I could go and read in and have a hot tub for relaxing.

Plus in the middle of the night when I need some juice or a snack I wouldn't have to go all the way downstairs. When your tired its just a drag to do so.

Haha!!! Bungeii. Thankfully, my hubby has already had that vasectomy. But he is a quick healer, something about a high platelet count, so maybe I should have him go get it redone just in case. :)

we just finsihed building our dream home and it has a master on the first floor. all of the rooms we use on a daily basis - with the exception of the gym, are on the first floor (gym is in the basement).

I love not climbing stairs - and I am 47 and in pretty good shape but have a bad knee. First floor living is wonderful.

The downside is that the house footprint is big to have the master on the first floor plus all the other rooms you need (kitchen, dining room, family room etc). It is not as efficient to build out as it is to build up. But I did not care - it is the dream home. The next stop is a pine box (I asked for mahogany but was told by DW that this is too expensive, and given the overuns on the house, cardboard is looking attractive right now!)

When we designed the house - we made one of the second floor bedrooms big enough that it could be considered a second master with a attached bathroom. We also put a washer and dryer in the second floor suite. Those two adds should help us if we ever decided to sell down the road.

I can see why a house like this would not be for everyone. But if you have no kids (maybe a few cute pets) then a first floor master is something to consider.

My wife was a special ed teacher who did her master's project in universal design and we thought we'd apply it when it made sense but otherwise shove it.

This was until we met the developer of our neighborhood. He was a high seniority US Airways captain until some drunk rear ended him several years ago and he's been in a wheelchair since. Not only is much of the essential living space (front door, kitchen, laundry, master suite) on the first floor and accessible, but we have an elevator spec'd out to serve the other floors.

Our youngest is 24yo now and we're not planning to resell this house so the market trends in where the bedroom goes can suck eggs...

As someone else has pointed out, it's near impossible to predict the future trends: small house, large house, kitchens, baths... do what you want now. Hopefuly you're not building custom for the short term, that makes no sense.

in the middle of the night when I need some juice or a snack I wouldn't have to go all the way downstairs

To avoid just that trek, I roughed in a kitchenette for the MBR in a large custom house I built many years ago. I thought it was a coming trend. But I haven't seen the idea implemented much since. I guess I was just waaaay ahead of the curve!

BTW, when I wrote of two MBR suites, I meant "his" and "hers". Familiarity breeds contempt.

We designed the study to be adjacent to the master bedroom, connected by pocket doors. Closing the doors to the LR makes the study an extension of the master suite. For now though, the study will be a nursery for our 1 and 4 yr-olds. They'll move upstairs in a couple of years.

The fire issue does scare me though - unfortunately, building 15' above grade made a one story way too expensive, and the master being downstairs was one of DH's must-haves.

For all those in favor of master on the main:

Placement - a majority of main level master bedrooms share a wall with the great/family room. The wall that they share happens to contain the television and a fireplace. Isn't it tough to sleep with the TV on the other side of the wall? What about people hanging out and conversing? We're creating a game room where the kids can watch tv and listen to music loudly, but for the most part we want our great room to be a place where everybody gathers on a regular basis. I want privacy and I want a master on the main. Any advice?

I have thought about asking our architect to place a set of stairs (down to the walkout basement) between the great room and master hoping that it will create a sound buffer.

Hey, Niebry. We insulated the wall between the Great Room and MBR. Other than that, DH takes the dog for a walk so I can sleep in. ;) Actually, 99% of the time, he doesn't bother me and I'm not a heavy sleeper in the mornings.

Is the game room/tv area in the walkout basement? If so, the sound will come up the stairs into the MBR when they are older and you are trying to sleep.

Hi Niebry,
We created a 'foyer' going into our master, so we will in effect have two sets of doors to close off to help with noise coming up from the downstairs, or from the great room. Also, I am hoping that the wall between the master and the great room will be somewhat insulated by the fireplace and built-ins which will make the wall 2'-4" deep. HTH

Quote: in the middle of the night when I need some juice or a snack I wouldn't have to go all the way downstairs

To avoid just that trek, I roughed in a kitchenette for the MBR in a large custom house I built many years ago. I thought it was a coming trend. But I haven't seen the idea implemented much since. I guess I was just waaaay ahead of the curve! End Quote

I don't think I would want a kitchenette in my bedroom. I don't want to think about trying to put every possible item I could want in that fridge and the one in the kitchen. Cravings are funny things. Trying to fill up two refrigerators doesn't seem like something I would bother to do. I know its not that serious LOL but it would be a brain teaser for me to figure out what to put in there, to me there is just something not right about a kitchen in my bedroom. Mixing of worlds and all that. lol

I guess it depends on the lay out of the home you designing but I don't see why you have to have the Master bedroom on the side of the house were all the activity is going to be. I would place it on the other side of the livingroom with the diningroom, kitchen, family room etc. being on the opposite side of the livingroom. Basically the other side of the house.

Niebry - We share a wall with the great room. I have always slept with a cheap box fan blowing on high. A tornado could come through and I wouldn't hear it.

We did put extra insulation in that wall to buffer the sound. It helps.

Niebry, our master is next to our living room. We had them frame the wall between in 2x6 and we insulated it. If you really wanted to go all out you could use special sound deadening insulation, but we didn't think that would be necessary. We also have a small foyer area behind the door to our bedroom so I'm hoping the distance from the door combined with the insulation will make the master quiet.

Our rec room is upstairs over the living room so hopefully any major party action will stay up there.

I never wanted a master or any bedroom on my first floor, for privace reasons. Then, two years ago, I broke my foot and tore some ligaments that required surgery. When I came home from the hospital, I had to scoot up and down the staircase on my butt because I was afraid to try it on crutches. It was either sleep downstairs and take sponge baths in the powder room, or stay upstairs all day and starve until my DH got home. I finally got smart emough to have the hubby go buy a mini-fridge and microwave for the bedroom! The very first thing I told my architect I wanted in the new house we're building is a 1st floor master. Wouldn't even consider building a new house without one.

Mainecoon [hope you didn't trip on a kitty!]:

Your story is an important one: Virtually any of us could end this day differently abled than we started it. Probably more likely to happen to the active than the sedintary, too.

Generally, it will only be a temporary thing, not worth remodeling the house over. But even then, getting up and down stairs for the next two months could be a real, literal pain.

So even if it isn't the 'real' master, I firmly believe that every home should have either a main floor bedroom with access to a full bath, or an elevator.

The residential elevator business is booming, but it's still a much more expensive option in most cases.

Oruboris,

Nope, didn't trip on a kitty, but I have a Maine Coon who likes to lounge in doorways! I actually broke my foot skiing. But I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of accessiblity in house design. You make VERY GOOD points. Now I'm not old or incapacitated, but I plan to live in this new house for the rest of my life. One way to remain independent in the Golden Years and to stay in your home is to plan for accessibility BEFORE you need it. My DH and I can vault up and down the steps now without a problem, but we may not be able to in 20 yrs or so. Nothing is promised for tomorrow either. And we're both still skiing, so who knows what might get broken! ;-)

Allison, Luckymom23, Charliedawg, and Cork2win - thanks for the feedback, I feel a little bit better about the placement of our master suite.

Game room/theater is in the walkout basement and you're right, the sound might travel up the stairs.

Luckymom23 - we'll have a foyer also. Did you end up modifying a stock plan (I remember that you found a plan that you liked) it or did you go with an architect/designer? Good luck with your build.

Hi Niebry,
We ended up using the stock plan as a starting point for the design. I found out that an aquaintance of mine is married to a very talented designer who has been great. I think when you and I had emailed we were looking at a Mascord plan, but when we switched to a Daylight Basement style it was a Don Gardner plan we were considering. I was able to find a virtual tour of the plan we liked that was really helpful. We used the stock plan as a starting place, I drew 'our' house out at scale and our designer has been helping us refine it. In the end the house retains only the flow of the main living areas. Our final plans are going to be ready today or tomorrow then it is on to engineering. We are hoping to break ground in April. How are you guys coming along?

Our master bedroom was on the main floor in the last house, but upstairs in this one. We have three children ages 6 - 15, each of whom have a bedroom on the second floor. I much preferred the master on the main living level. In our next house, the master will definitely be back to the main floor.

Chisue,

Not to get off topic, but I hope you don't mind answering a question. I read your post above about building a 2 bedroom home with a large attic for future expansion, for resale. We are kind of planning that with our next house but for financial reasons. My DH's job requires relocation every few years. This is our 6th house in 16 years. Chances are good that he will get transferred in the next year. Now that the kids are older they do not want to move AGAIN. So our plan is to sell the current home (4500 sq ft) and build a smaller home in the same school district, with 2500 on main level with about 1300 unfinished on second floor. We would buy a townhouse for DH in the new location and he would only come home on weekends. The financial burden of operating two homes is the need to figure out how to cut costs. The kids and I would live on the main level and I would GC the finishing of the second level, while doing as much as possible of the work ourselves.

So now that I have given you too much background, my question(s) is(are)... how much did you have to pay per sq ft for the unfinished attic space? It would be nice if I could just figure 2500 x $X sq ft, but I'm sure the extra framing and higher roof line will cost something, as well as materials to cover the extra exterior height.

I'm sure it seems silly to ask questions when we don't know if/when a transfer will happen but once it does he is usually gone within the week and the company only covers his expenses for 90 days. I always have a file on hand with as much info as possible so I will be prepared when the time comes. Besides, I love the planning aspect of a new house!

In our floor plan, the master bedroom "Hers" closet and the laundry room separate the master suite from the rest of the living area.

We are in our thirties with children that are 3 and 1. We are building a ranch with a full walkout basement. There will be 3 bedrooms on the main, including the master and 3 bedrooms in the walkout basement. For now, we will enjoy one level living, which I prefer. :) Someday, I foresee that either my DH and I or the kids will want to have some space from Mom and Dad so at that point, the kiddos can take up basement bedrooms. This seems like a good arrangement to us.

we have a third (second if not counting walkout basement) floor master bedroom with a computer/sitting area loft. We have two bedrooms down on the main floor for our 3 yr old and our soon to be little one in less than 4 weeks =). We like our privacy.

Master Suite on Main Level=sanity for Mom/me. It can't happen soon enough. Try sharing one bathroom with 5 boys,(yes, that includes DH too), and only 3 bedrooms, all on the same level. It's horrible. I deserve it and I'm counting down the days. (I know they'll find me...)

eventhecatisaboy, locks. Many and varied locks. In the building stage when I was going over our interior doors on paper once again I noticed my double doors that enter our bathroom from the bedroom didn't have locks. HA! I informed the gc I would likely never be alone again. He changed the doors, and unless I lock it, I am not alone. Ever.

Amy

Amy...locks would work in "normal" houses...of course not in ours!LOL! On our one and only bathroom, we had to take the lock off because our oldest kept locking himself in, (we didn't have a key--why would we?) But I promise, once I get my masterbath, I'm having a deadbolt put on!LOL!

Ha!! I understand completely, eventhecatisaboy. In fact, in our last house, my daughter figured out just the right spot to kick the bathroom door, and even if it was locked it would fly open!! She would then calmly enter with her book and ask me to please read to her now. Oy!!

Amy

14 years too late on this topic but I despise the idea of a main floor primary bedroom. I want my sleeping space far away from all daily ruckus. I don't want my bedroom smelling like dinner and I don't want any chance of unwanted traffic. Calm and serenity, that is what 2nd story bedrooms have. Having worked from home these last 2 years had made my 2nd floor primary even more of a retreat. So, my vote, bedrooms belong on the 2nd story.