I have four kids so I understand the appeal of 5 bedrooms, but as my kids got older, I wanted them less close to me and my bathroom - especially my bathroom:) My daughters like my nice tub. Now that they are older and come and go more on their own, they clomp up and down the stairs while I'm trying to sleep. What seems wonderful when they are little gets claustrophobic when they are older. The full bath in the hall is enough for 3 bedrooms to share. Sometimes we have had minor skirmishes - but again, I think it helps the kids learn to get along and be thoughtful of each others schedule. When I take my daughters to Parade Homes, they always point out how many bedrooms have their own bathroom - and I remind them grandma had one bathroom in a family of 7:)

If that 5th bedroom is primarily for guest, nanny, mother-in-law visits or older child mostly at college, having it set up a little off from the rest of the family is a positive - especially if it can have its own bath. That might not be in the budget right now. We did not finish the basement and add the 5th bedroom till much later and some of our kids shared rooms for many years, which I think was good for them.

Having 5 bedrooms has not much increased the value of our home - though the nicely finished basement did. With small families the norm these days, homes with excess bedrooms do not necessarily have more value. A guest bedroom is best if it is a little separate from the family - and that does have some value.

We also thought of putting the master over the garage and making our old room the 5th bedroom. By the time we could afford the expansion, We wanted less kids upstairs with us, and it was less money to use existing unfinished space.

If your laundry is presently in the basement, bringing it up to the second floor makes sense. Be sure the area used is up to the task of supporting a washer. Some second floor washers bounce around a bit because of too much flex in the floor joist. They can be strengthened to handle the job.