Kirstie Allsopp's relatable reason for disliking downstairs bathrooms – despite homeowners being 'obsessed' with them

They may be 'one of the top five requests' for homeowners, but the property expert is hilariously not a fan

collage of Kirstie Allsopp and a downstairs bathroom painted in dark blue with a white floating sink
(Image credit: (Kirstie Allsopp) Getty Images | Jeff Spicer / Stringer (Bathroom) Future | James Merrell)

Location, Location, Location's Kirstie Allsopp recently revealed how the much-coveted downstairs bathroom is now her least favourite room, but probably not for the reason you might think.

The property expert made her humorous observation while sharing her top house-selling tips and tricks with Gaby Roslin on her Heart Radio show, alongside Channel 4 co-host Phil Spencer.

Kirstie cites the 'obsession' with downstairs loos as the reason she has never seen the upstairs of many of her friends' homes – and that is what she dislikes, being robbed of a chance to snoop.

"Close friends of mine, I've never seen the upstairs – and it's just weird," Kirstie says while appearing on the radio show. "How many more times have I got to come to dinner before you say, 'Do you want to see upstairs?" Relatable, right? We all want to have a look around other people's houses.

To which Gaby interjects by asking, "Hang on, do you not do what we all do, and when you go to the loo you have a snoop?"

"Of course, but the problem is people have become so obsessed with downstairs loos over the years – it's one of the top five requests for house hunting, isn't it?" Kirstie says, gesturing to her work colleague Phil Spencer. "'We need a downstairs loo, we need a downstairs loo, ' and I think well your guests are never going to see upstairs."

Traditional sink with an iron towel rail in a green panelled cloakroom

(Image credit: Future)

And therein lies the problem, according to Kirstie, the downstairs loo is the reason you no longer have an excuse to snoop around upstairs when you're visiting your friends' houses.

Although let's be honest, having a downstairs loo in a practical sense is a game-changer because it means no stairs to navigate every time we need the toilet, which is heaven for our poor knees.

Not to mention the fact that you don't have to clean the entire bathroom when you are expecting guests over. Typically speaking, a downstairs bathroom is much smaller and therefore easier to spruce up at the last minute. So, while as a visitor we can hugely relate to Kirstie's frustrations, as homeowners we wouldn't change a thing.

Maybe we all need to be more open about our desire to snoop, then everyone is happy.


Kirstie's gripe with downstairs loos is not as drastic as those of common en suite design mistakes, but it is a thoroughly relatable reason because who doesn't love a good snoop around someone else's home? It's the reason we love it when celebrities let us glimpse behind the scenes – take Holly Willoughby's kitchen, for instance, even Zoe Ball's garden transformation.

Tamara Kelly
Lifestyle Editor

Tamara is a highly experienced homes and interiors journalist with a career spanning over 23 years. Now the Lifestyle Editor of womanandhome.com, she previously spent 19 years working with the style teams at Country Homes & Interiors and Ideal Home. With these award-winning interior teams, she gained a wealth of knowledge and honed her skills and passion for styling and writing about every aspect of lifestyle and interiors.

A true homes and interiors expert, Tamara has been an ambassador for leading interior brands on multiple occasions, including appearing on Matalan’s The Show and presenting at top interior trend forecasting events such as the Autumn Fair and Spring Fair.

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