Home trends of lofts instead of walled bedrooms

[ILoveMyDVC]

Anyone know why open lofts instead of closed bedrooms is such a trend?

I keep seeing giant open spaces on the second floor that could easily be rooms but they are just left open and I simply don't get it. I can't imagine the benefit. The noise will be awful and will amplify all the sound. It will make temp in the home super difficult to manage as all the heat will collect up there in the summer and winter. Then there is the obvious issue of privacy and not being able to use it for sleeping quietly or dressing with privacy, even disallowing it as a private workspace or permitting another family member to watch their own TV shows. I can't see it being useful in any way on the second floor although I do like wide open concept a lot on the mail floor that allows a lot of choices for living space use.

Is this a zoning benefit thing? Is this an insurance benefit thing because bedrooms drive up value and the goal is to keep it cheap? There has to be a nuts and bolts reason because the space seems like such a bad idea but I keep seeing it and it is even in renovations.

Also, ISDS - you have to prove waste water removal capacity for the number of bedrooms. No closet = not a bedroom.

 

[tvguy]

We had a house like this in the early '70s. Definitely NOT a new concept

Didn't the imaginary Brady Bunch house have a small loft at the top of the stairs? That show dates to 1969.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I too live in Metro Atlanta and these upstairs lofts/bonus areas have been common for a very long time.

I have read nothing into it, except that it could be used as a playroom or a secondary sitting area/common area/study. I have been in plenty of homes that have these common areas that still have five bedrooms, so I really do not feel like they are replacing bedrooms with these areas.

I have walked through new construction, as recently as this weekend, where the homes have these rooms upstairs. However, some are more inclosed than others. I do not mean with a door, but more tucked away upstairs as opposed to at the very top of the stairs. I agree that the rooms at the top of the stairs may have limited use in that if someone had a TV on it would probably disrupt whatever is going on on the main floor.

How many bedrooms are you seeing because the homes I am seeing are 2-3000 feet with only 2 bedrooms and all this open space. I suppose it would be nice 20 years ago if I had 3-4 bedrooms AND the open space. I'm all about shrinking space now to age in place. I do not want to be dragging my 80 something self up stairs to dust all that, sounds awful

 

[LuvOrlando]

Also, ISDS - you have to prove waste water removal capacity for the number of bedrooms. No closet = not a bedroom.

So they could just leave out the closet, better & seems like an easier wiggle than no walls

 

[tvguy]

How many bedrooms are you seeing because the homes I am seeing are 2-3000 feet with only 2 bedrooms and all this open space. I suppose it would be nice 20 years ago if I had 3-4 bedrooms AND the open space. I'm all about shrinking space now to age in place. I do not want to be dragging my 80 something self up stairs to dust all that, sounds awful

We bought our house with the mindset that it would be our first and last house. Other than 2 1/2 years of College, I have never lived in anything but a single story house. So single story was the first thing on our shopping list. My house is between two, 2-story houses and both those houses at some point have changed hands because of the stairs. In one case, while the owners were in their 60's when they sold, it was because of the issues of caring for elderly parents with all the bedrooms on the second floor.

 

[morgan98]

How many bedrooms are you seeing because the homes I am seeing are 2-3000 feet with only 2 bedrooms and all this open space. I suppose it would be nice 20 years ago if I had 3-4 bedrooms AND the open space. I'm all about shrinking space now to age in place. I do not want to be dragging my 80 something self up stairs to dust all that, sounds awful

These are large homes 4-5 bedrooms and generally 3,500 square feet and up. We would like to downsize too. However, that is generally a whole other story as it is hard to find smaller homes with larger common areas and nice kitchens with fewer bedrooms.

I have not seen 2-3 bedroom homes with this feature, but I have not really been looking at 2 bedrooms home.

So we are focusing on still probably what will not be a "small" home, but at least one where the master is on the main and eliminating the large, finished walk out basement.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

So they could just leave out the closet, better & seems like an easier wiggle than no walls

Yes, they absolutely could. I was explaining why another "bedroom" might be an issue - much bigger than the cost of the finish work. I'm not a fan of the loft space - see my other comment.

 

[Deb]

These are large homes 4-5 bedrooms and generally 3,500 square feet and up. We would like to downsize too. However, that is generally a whole other story as it is hard to find smaller homes with larger common areas and nice kitchens with fewer bedrooms.

I have not seen 2-3 bedroom homes with this feature, but I have not really been looking at 2 bedrooms home.

So we are focusing on still probably what will not be a "small" home, but at least one where the master is on the main and eliminating the large, finished walk out basement.

I've seen plenty 3 bedroom homes with lofts. Generally 1800 to 2400 square feet. If they are new builds you often have the option of the loft or a 4th bedroom

 

[NotUrsula]

Also, ISDS - you have to prove waste water removal capacity for the number of bedrooms. No closet = not a bedroom.

No closet, or no water-closet? If you say no closet, then about half the homes in New Orleans have no bedrooms. (In most of Louisiana, built-in closets were not a thing until about the 1920s; before that people just used free-standing wardrobes in bedrooms.)

The midwestern home I presently live in was built in 1933 with no bedroom closets; we only have them now because of remodeling, but the smallest bedroom (now being used as my office) still doesn't have one; there's a mahogany wardrobe in here.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

No closet, or no water-closet? If you say no closet, then about half the homes in New Orleans have no bedrooms. (In most of Louisiana, built-in closets were not a thing until about the 1920s; before that people just used free-standing wardrobes in bedrooms.)

The midwestern home I presently live in was built in 1933 with no bedroom closets; we only have them now because of remodeling, but the smallest bedroom (now being used as my office) still doesn't have one; there's a mahogany wardrobe in here.

Based on Northeast zoning laws and applies to construction in the 70s and 80s >.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

No closet, or no water-closet? If you say no closet, then about half the homes in New Orleans have no bedrooms. (In most of Louisiana, built-in closets were not a thing until about the 1920s; before that people just used free-standing wardrobes in bedrooms.)

The midwestern home I presently live in was built in 1933 with no bedroom closets; we only have them now because of remodeling, but the smallest bedroom (now being used as my office) still doesn't have one; there's a mahogany wardrobe in here.

Quick random reference. I'd post the link but I not know anything about the business.

Second, what did that have to do with the size of the septic system?​

Many falsely assume that the size of a septic system is related to the number of bathrooms in a home. This is not true! A septic system is determined by the number of bedrooms in a home.

For example, if your home was originally built as a 3 bedroom, then the septic system was most likely designed to meet the anticipated capacity of the dwelling (6 people; 2 per bedroom).

Now, if you add a 4th bedroom, or what the building official or health code considers a bedroom, your septic system must meet the needs of 2 more people. To meet the requirement, you may have to increase the capacity of the septic system at considerable expense.

 

[tvguy]

No closet = not a bedroom.

Here are the rules for is a legal bedroom. A closet is not on the list.
https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/what-is-a-bedroom-features/

 

[disykat]

I don't know why they call those "lofts." It's just an open space on the second floor that is used as a family space. My son's new home has one. It's not at all like the lofts of the 70's and 80's that overlooked the rooms below. It seems like a space efficient way to create a second living space to use as a playroom or family room.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Here are the rules for is a legal bedroom. A closet is not on the list.
https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/what-is-a-bedroom-features/

Yes, it says it can still be a bedroom without a closet. For years, the closet was the indicator that it was a bedroom. In any case, anything that could be misconstrued as a bedroom is a potential septic issue

 

[tvguy]

I don't know why they call those "lofts." It's just an open space on the second floor that is used as a family space. My son's new home has one. It's not at all like the lofts of the 70's and 80's that overlooked the rooms below. It seems like a space efficient way to create a second living space to use as a playroom or family room.

Or an office as that seems to be a very popular space to have in a house these days.

 

[barkley]

No closet, or no water-closet?

In any case, anything that could be misconstrued as a bedroom is a potential septic issue

here it's not a requirement for a closet but that drives the bus on the property tax assessment and septic. there are MANY homes near us that have only 2 or 3 'bedrooms' but a wealth of 'craft', 'art', 'office' rooms (all identical in size to the counted non primary bedrooms, with identical ingress/egress/fire safety...) each absent a closet so they save on property taxes and were legaly permitted for septic purposes.

i remember a neighborhood near where i lived in california. new homes that were all 3 and 4 bedroom. one of the big 'look at us!!!' draws was a cool bonus open space room built above the detached garages. people were 'oooh an office, oooh a kid's hangout' but realy thinking 'yeah baby, separate bedroom, maybe a studio apartment i could get some change to help on the mortgage with'. thing was-the septic in the development was restricted to the size of the existing bedroom allocations of the builds so no permitted plumbing could be installed. not much of a bonus space when you have to walk down a flight of stairs and across a backyard to enter the main house to use the bathroom. i've seen newbies near us now buy and begin to talk of the changes they will make to a home regarding bedrooms 'why they never converted those rooms to bedrooms, why they never finished the basement and the loft with extra bathrooms...it just screams out for it'. ummmmm if it just screams out for it and nobody dating back multiple owners before you did it then it's probably legaly impossible to do so.

 

[MrsPete]

We once -- once -- rented a lake house with the master bedroom in a loft. It was a lovely space with an upstairs bath + glass doors opening out onto a balcony looking over the lake.

But so impractical. We could hear every noise downstairs, so when the kids wanted to stay up and watch horror movies on the only TV, they kept me awake. Likewise, my husband and I couldn't have a private conversation, as it could be heard downstairs. He likes to get up early, and I could hear him knocking about in the kitchen.

No, I wouldn't want to own such a space.

 

[AustinTink]

We have a large loft upstairs that spans the entire width of the downstairs living room. It’s our second family room with a sectional couch, tv and wet bar. It came in very handy when my kid was growing up. Just send all the kids up to the loft and they had their own space- while not being too far out of earshot.

The bridge across the walkway upstairs has spindles. Our dog has a fear of heights (can’t make this stuff up ) so we have to carry her across the walkway and put her down near the stairs. She won’t go anywhere near the bridge.