The Three S’s: Sex, Sleep, & Shoes

This is an article I wrote for the “Homes-Extra” Section of the Edmonton Sun – it was in the paper on Sept. 22/12.

These three S’s all reside in the master bedroom or what is commonly referred to now days as the master suite. The master suite sure has come along way. What does today’s consumer expect in a master suite?Master suites have gone from simple 10×10’ rooms with one tiny closet in the early 1900’s, to larger rooms with 2-piece ensuites in the 70’s, to the massive, lavish suites of today.

Today 4-5 piece spacious ensuites with exotic materials rule the day with granites, tiles and glass showers accented by thoughtful custom cabinetry are in vogue. The master suite may include such luxuries as a fireplace, and the walk in closet in no longer just a shabby place to throw your clothes. While the room sizes will vary, what’s notably different Is the windows have become larger and more numerous compared to previous eras. Everything about today’s ensuite is about living and enjoyment through thoughtful design.

So much of the master suite is about personal preference – if the shoe fits wear it so to speak. Here’s a few things that you may want to consider to add to your enjoyment and resalability.

1. Furniture Placement. Is there a logical place for the furniture to go? This will be dependant on window and electrical locations. This may also be dependent on where a T.V. might go and while I’m a subscriber to the school that believes that there are only 2 things to do in a bedroom and watching t.v. isn’t one of them, there are others who subscribe to the school that the master suite must have a TV

2. What size of bed and furniture will the room accommodate? If you are just starting out and have no kids the thought of a king size bed has probably never occurred to you – you like to snuggle spoon achem ect. Well let me remind you those activities often lead to little ones. Add a couple of little ones and a pet and before you know it you barely have room to yawn let alone sleep. If not for yourselves consider that in the future when you try to sell, your buyer may be a little more advanced in the family stages. I have had homes not sell just because they couldn’t accommodate my client’s supersized bed and furniture.

3. The Closet. Closet size does matter and so does utilization of space. I’ve seen pimped up walk in closets make the sale in a tough market. As the title suggests there should be a place to keep your jimmy choo’s (men this is a brand of shoes not her secret lover).

4. Privacy issues. With the addition of more windows and natural light comes a reduction in privacy. Our window covering designer (who by the way was amazing and much more reasonably priced than I expected) help us pick perfect silhouette blinds that can be drawn down from the top and up from the bottom. There can be a party on the bottom that is not exposed to the outside but you still get the enjoyment of your windows. Many builders have deals with window covering companies and if not let me know I’d be more than happy to recommend our designer to anyone.

5. The throne. Open floor plans tend to lead to open master suites, and there is one area of the home that definitely should not be open – the “throne room.” Men are stinky and loud so do everyone a favor and get the lou enclosed. I’ve never had a women say to me that’s a brilliant idea they left the toilet out in the open! More often than not they gasp imaging the possibilities and when it gets to much they turn around and leave.

Central Tub

6. The tub. Many builders are putting the tub between the two sinks so that if you want to cop a feel you have to walk around the tub. I call this the intimacy killer but that’s just me. If a builder tries to upsell you on a jet tub go for the air jet, but really, unless you love, love, love your baths it’s a complete waste of money. The number of times I’ve had clients tell me they only used their tub once or not at all is staggering. We’ve never used ours.

7. Material choices. This is obviously price range dependant and worth talking to someone who is an expert in interior design. You’d be surprised how amazing they can make your private retreat look for very little extra cost.

8. Cabinets. This is not the place to be shy or cheap with cabinetry. You won’t regret going the extra mile when it comes to resale and for finding a place to put all the amazing things you have collected that you almost never use.

9. Fireplace. They can add real wow factor to an ensuite but sometimes subtlety is the way to go. This is not a must but certainly the higher in price you go the more likely it’s a good idea to help differentiate your home.

10. Electrical. Last but not least is the electrical. Consider how you will use the room. A good builder will have plugs in all the right places. Some builders put no thought into this whatsoever and you could find yourself in a beautiful room with only one plug conveniently located right behind your headboard. Light switches by the bed area are also a nice touch.

About Sheldon Johnston

Sheldon is very familiar with the ins and outs of real estate; he has been licensed to sell Real Estate in Alberta for over 20 years. Sheldon has served on the Real Estate Council of Alberta, the Real Estate Insurance Exchange and the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. Find Sheldon on Twitter @edmontonsheldon.