Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
biochem101

Resale Closet Question

biochem101
14 years ago

Hi! I'm not selling my house but rather considering some changes, and I'd like to ask the real estate experts on here what their opinion is regarding resale. Don't want to make changes that are totally wrong.

The house is a SMALL older colonial with a tiny MB w/shower + 1 sink (no vanity). The only way to expand the MB is by pushng it into the hall linen closet. So then you have a house with NO linen closet.

I've come up with a plan that involves changing the closets in the 2 smallest BRs. The tiniest (#4BR) has a little closet that could be opened into the hall (closed over in the BR) and become the linen closet. Now I can't call this room a BR w/o a closet there. The only place to put one is to push into the #3BR. #3BR has a closet on another wall. SO...what if I opened up that closet (becomes an alcove) and moved the closet to the wall next to the new #4BR closet?

In other words, built 2 closets next to each other along one wall, one opening into #4BR, the other opening into the #3BR? This works well for giving the house a hall linen closet, and keeping the #4BR a bedroom. The drawback is the #3BR becomes narrower. It is 11.5' wide and would go to 9' wide.

If you were buying a house, what would be worse? No linen closet? Or two (out of 4) BR's being really small?

Thanks for your thoughts on this! :)

Comments (10)

  • sheilajoyce_gw
    14 years ago

    So what would all the dimensions of the rooms be with your changes?

  • graywings123
    14 years ago

    I would give up the hall linen closet to improve the master bath and stop there. Store your linens in the closet of the 4th bedroom or find a clever way to add some storage in the remodeled master bath.

    I have a older house (read cramped bathroom) and am planning to put shelves in an unused area that is 11 inches wide and 12 inches deep.

  • idrive65
    14 years ago

    I wouldn't even notice that there wasn't a linen closet in a small house, so I agree with graywings.

  • sue36
    14 years ago

    As long as there was somewhere to store the linens I wouldn't care about giving up a linen closet.

  • sweeby
    14 years ago

    I wouldn't mind giving up a linen closet -- But it seems like a lot of shuffle (construction costs) for a pretty minor net gain.

  • biochem101
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    By small, my house is 2500 sq. ft. Most houses in my neighborhood are 3000. Ours seems oddly smaller inside (although you can't tell from the outside). It's as though the builder made it too narrow. Most home have linen closets, some more than one.

    The house I've linked below is about 2 blocks from me and currently for sale. I went to the open house and they had 3 closets (one BIG walk-in w/attic stairs) in the upstairs hall. Our attic stairs are in the MB closet. Most halls are larger than ours too. There was actually a desk in the upstairs hall! In mine there is nowhere to sit any piece of furniture, or I'd put a freestanding linen cabinet there.

    #3BR is currently 14.5 x 11.5. I would be making it 9 x 14.5 (in the main) with an additional 4.5 x 2.5 alcove at one end. The room the other side of the front has the alcove feature so I know a single bed can be placed there. We had DS's bed w/headboard in the alcove when he was little.

    Is 9 x 14.5 (17 into alcove) too long and skinny?

    thanks!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Neighbor House For Sale

  • cindyb_va
    14 years ago

    9x14.5 is an awkward size for a bedroom; as a potential buyer, that would bother me.

    I don't consider a linen closet a necessity. It's one of those nice to have, instead of must have items that I consider when purchasing a house. I agree with the other posters who say leave the BRs alone and use the linen closet space for a larger master bath.

  • cordovamom
    14 years ago

    Your proposed bedroom size of 9 x 14.5 is an awkward size. It would be difficult for furniture placement and would turn me off as a buyer.

    How big is the linen closet you're going to reclaim? I have two linen closets in my house and neither are big enough to add significant square footage to another room. (the bigger of the two is probably 4 x 5) If you're not adding significant square footage to the masterbath, I say leave it alone. On the other hand if its a huge linen closet, is it possible to use part of the space as a linen closet and part for the bathroom expansion?

    I might be in the minority, but if the era and size home I was looking at was expected to have a linen closet, and I found many others that had linen closets and yours did not, I'd pass on by yours. But I'd also pass on by yours if the bedrooms were tiny.

  • lyfia
    14 years ago

    A 9ft wide bedroom would kill it for me. Any way you can take it off the 14.5? a 12.5x11.5 bedroom would be an acceptable size. Can you show a floorplan, just a sketch and post it? Others may be able to see other options.

    I would rather have no linen closet if the 9ft wide bedroom was my only choice.

    BTW we put kitchen upper cabinets above the toilets in an old house we had and put towels there. Blankets/sheets went in the closet in the bedrooms.

  • biochem101
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks very much for all your responses! (Hi Sweeby! *waves*) This was actually very helpful. The 9' was worrying me, but I wasn't sure. Now I am. It IS too skinny. That's what I thought.

    I'm going to take the linen closet into the MB and just do without one. My neighbor did this (that's where I got the idea). No changing other closets and rooms. The MBath really needs the space more. Planning for the new cabinetry in both baths to have more storage.

    Thanks again everyone! :)