Master bedroom sizes are getting smaller, but how do they compare to the 1930s?

Master bedroom sizes are getting tinier year-on-year, but surely they're not smaller than rooms of eighty years ago?

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Our bedrooms are one of the most important rooms in the house, so you'd think master bedroom size is a priority for new build homes. Think again.

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The first half of this year has seen more new homes built since 2015. But it turns out these are some of the smallest new homes built in decades.

Master bedroom size through the decades

bedroom with wooden floor and white walls and bedding with grey cushions and throw

(Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles)

Research from the Sliding Door Wardrobe Company reveals the extent to which our homes are shrinking, and it doesn't look good for new master bedrooms.

Since the 1930s our bedrooms are slowly downsizing. There has been a bit of up-and-down over the decades when it comes to master bedroom size, but the 2010s hasn't been a vintage decade for this.

Here's a breakdown on how master bedrooms sizes compare to eighty years ago:

1930 average master bedroom size: 15.34m²

1940s: 13.74m² – decrease of 10.43 per cent

1950s: 14.49m² – increase of 5.46 per cent

1960s: 15.05m² – increase of 3.86 per cent

So effectively, the bedroom of 1930 and the mid-1960s are effectively the same size. But then what happens?

bedroom with white wall and bedding with white cushion and throw with grey strips and bedside table with lamp

(Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole)

1970s: 14.71m² – decrease of 2.26 per cent

1980s: 13.93m² – decrease of 5.30 per cent

1990s: 13.95m² – increase of 0.01 per cent

2000s: 13.64m² – decrease of 2.22 per cent

2010s: 13.37m² – decrease of 1.98 per cent

So in the 1950s we had the smallest master bedrooms in decades. But in today's new bedrooms we have to live with nearly two per cent less space. Yes, bedrooms are the smallest they've ever been.

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In addition, we are also paying MORE for less! The stats also show that the average cost per square metre in 2016 was £2,395. Year-on-year from June 2018 to June 2019, total property prices (excluding London) increased by 0.94 per cent.

House builders take note – we are tired of shrinking bedrooms!