Well, I think it is a great idea to get more use out of the space you have. :) Around here you see study's or office's off of the DR pretty often. I don't know that I would call it a bedroom, but if someone needed the room for that they could obviously use it as such.

Totally. For listing reason I would want it as a bedroom, to put myself above the other homes in my price point ( am at the top according the my agent) being as adding the door way would be under 200, and the framing or adding a closet would run about the same. An extra room for 400. Still thinking it over though.

It appears your home does not have a basement. What is the storage like? I might be inclined to spend the money on storage racks. Your idea is sound and the office idea rocks..but I think I would need storage.

Go for it!

I can easily see that new space as marketed as a possible "home office" or "library" or "craft room" -- as well as listing it for a bedroom of course!

I think that most buyers really want to know how each space could be used -- at different times ....

The room behind it is about 12x12 with tons of storage, but I totally get what you are saying, also have a huge closet behind the fireplace, about 10 feet deep and 6 wide. I suck and getting things to look right on paper, but this is a big house. I have had this room empty for a year or so, aside from some of my furniture re-do's.

A friend of mine had a room that was similar to yours. It was used as an office with an exterior entry by the previous owners. My friend opened it up to the rest of the house and added a closet, so they could use it as a bedroom or one of their children. They had a bit of a problem when they tried to sell their house as a 3/2. Buyers were turned off by the fact that, while it met the legal definition of a bedroom, they couldn't see it working for them because of the distance to the bathroom. If you're entertaining, there's no way to avoid having a small child traipsing through the party to get to the bathroom. They did eventually sell it, and the current owners have remodeled it extensively.

Would there be a way to add another bathroom? Perhaps just a three-piece (toilet, sink and walk-in shower)? Maybe re-work the whole area -- utility/laundry as well as the new room/space?

I thought about that a few times but money is in the way of that. I don't have it and wouldn't get it back. This is a starter house in a starter neighborhood with a starter price. Gotta work on a lower budget.

I think the flow as you have drawn it is the best option (coming off the DR). A lot of people who see a house listed as 5 BR would plan to use the 5th as an office already. That way they'd have a master, 2 BR for kids, a guest room, and STILL have a dedicated office.

I think if I saw a listing for a 5BR, xBA house and another for a 4BR, xBA house I would assume the 5BR has more rooms than the 4BR. In other words, the number of beds and baths is put in the headline. The number of craft or extra spaces is not. It can't hurt your ability to sell in the future.

I think it's great. I think the room could work as a library, office, guest room, play room, music room, or older child's room. Yes, it's a bit of a walk to a bathroom, but that certainly doesn't make the space unusable. Having the closet allows you to list it as a bedroom and future owners to use it as a bedroom if so desired.

i think it would make more sense (and may appeal to more buyers) if you made that the office and converted the current office to something else... whether it be a 5th bedroom or whatever. i think having a 5th bedroom immediately off of the formal dining room would be awkward, and it would be hard to market it as such, even if it does have a closet...

I don't think it's practical for an actual bedroom unless you make other changes so there's a bathroom. Making it a private living area for aging parents or guests is a perk as is having any additional room like a library, office, or playroom.

This room is out of the way in a formal section of the house that most people don't use a lot so it's function or usability should relate to that.

The current office space is tough off of a fourth bedroom if it's used for that.

Do you use the formal dining room area for meals or eat in the breakfast nook?

I'd keep that existing doorway int the utility room and wall off a closet behind it rather than framing in a new closet and door, I'd market it as a 5th bedroom/office for sure. Great house!

You can't ever guess what the next buyer is going to want. For that reason, I would only add the closet in the manner skatiero suggested and then only if it will benefit you. That way if someone wanted to convert it back to a garage, it would be easier.

If I bought your house (as it appears on the drawing), I would be inclined to switch the 4th BR with the office(moving walls, doors, etc.) and add a bathroom in that area. If possible, I would also put a deck where your raised garden is and open a door off the kitchen. Not saying you should do this, only saying we each see different things in a house according to our needs/wants.

Versatility is key. A closet seems to be a no brainer. I too wondered at the expense of adding a half bath, making true guest suit. An outside door is very risky, for resale, IMHO. Playroom, media room, office, bedroom all are possibilities.

LIZ OMG you are a mind reader! That is what I have wanted to do since I moved here!

Thank you everyone! I think I will set it up with a closet, and list it as a bonus room/ect 'maybe bedroom.'

If I had all the money, this is what I would do with this house. Remember nothing is actually to scale, I tried! The back bedroom/4th/bonus is almost twice the size of the current bathroom.

Opps, twice the size of the current MASTER BEDROOM!

I like your most recent floor plan for flow. For keeping costs down, I bet it would be much cheaper to run plumbing for another bathroom right behind the existing master bath rather than pipe it all in a new spot. If it was my house, I would not want double doors from family room into bedroom. I'd make it a single door. You could always build the walls for bathroom now and use it as a closet, then when you have $, do plumbing and turn it into a bathrm later. Just another idea.

I wouldn't want the master (or any bedroom) right off the family room either. Would it be feasible to bump out the current master? I don't know. But I'd like the 4th bonus room as a sun room with the other room as an office or exercise room off of it, not as a bedroom. Something so far out of the way as the 5th extra room I'd be thinking of as an inlaw suite or guest room, if a bedroom at all. It could also be a craft room, being close to utilities. What else is going on in the utility room other than the water heater?

Unless you have a specific purpose that works for you, I wouldn't invest in changing the house for someone else unless you want to spend a good bit on changing the layout so it's more flexible and accommodating.

If you don't have an attic or basement, the extra room is very welcome storage for a lot of people.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Jan 17, 13 at 13:48

Was it a single garage? I don't see dimensions in your post but maybe I'm missing it.

I don't think I'd want a dining room with a door into the bedroom. In my world, (since the sleeping space isn't needed) I'd add bathroom fixtures to the utility/laundry space or carve them out of the room and add a closet either in the room or in the utility space, add a tiny efficiency kitchenette, leave the entrance to the outside and the house the way it is and turn it into a mother-in-law space/a room to rent to a college student, etc. Make it pay!!

I wish I had the time or money to add bathrooms and so on. But I don't. I have a very small budget and only my husband and I to do anything. I think I may open the space up with French doors to bring in the light, and make a study/office/bedroom if someone else wanted to use it as such.

As far as entertaining goes, My husband and I are in our mid 20s. Any parties we do is a bbq with the neighbors and friends. Nothing formal. I don't think people in my neighborhood are the formal kind. Just laid back, porch chilling friendly people. Anyone who sleeps over ends up on a couch or kids room with kids in another :) So if I put in a daybed/twin/ or couchbed then my quest would be much happier ;)

Her is an awful doodle of what I am thinking.

Here is a link that might be useful: The room it would be in.

this is no ms paint masterpiece but this is the view from the foyer.

I like seeing glass doors there. That would make a nice quiet office or library.

Great job on the house!!