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Larger families

Would love to know what sort of house you all have....

41 replies

thefabfour · 12/04/2008 19:22

Currently live in a three bed semi. It is a new build (5 years old) and the rooms are quite small- think the childrens rooms are 10" by 8" and 9" by 7". Two boys in one room, DD in the other. Baby (11 mo) has no where to go and is still with us !

We don't have space for a big fridge or freezer (both small, under work surface type). We don't have a utility room or dishwasher. We don't have a garage or driveway.

Garden is resonably sized.

The house is currently on the market.

If it ever sells we would love a huge rambling house but think this is out of our price range.

Soo, what sort of house do you all have? As we woukd like more DC I am especially interested in the arrnagements of those with 5 + DC.....

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immaculateconception · 12/04/2008 20:57

We live in a 4 bed house with conservatory, its 30 or more years old and is huge! Looks tiny from the outside but is massive. Front room is 19" long, massive kitchen and all the bedrooms are big. Look for a older house and you will find what you need.

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mummyrex · 12/04/2008 21:12

If you don't mind a mid-terraced I'd have a look at those. I have been amazed at how much space many have and they are the best value for money.

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kittywise · 13/04/2008 10:34

We live in a 9 bed Regency Rectory with a very big garden. It's lovely, most of the rooms are very big, but it's the devil's own job to look after. Costs a fortune too, heating, mainteance, gardener etc.

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Psychomum5 · 13/04/2008 10:50

ours is like IC's......looks small from the outside and is like a tardis once you enter.

we have 4 bedrooms.......10x7, 11x11, 12x12 and ours is 14x18, plus we have a crumbling lean-to conservatory (playroom at the moment), huge 26x18 lounge, 12x10 dining area (tis off the lounge as is open plan), and the kitchen is 12x12. no futility room as yet tho, altho at some point when we finally replace and rebuild the conservatory I am having one incuded on the end of that.

one thing I do find indespensable is the downstairs toilet.........I have a couple of friends with 4bed houses who don;t have one and I have no idea how they manage! oh, one thing I would love also but just have no way of doing is having an en-suite for me and DH.........when the girls are all in their teens, I am going to be in bathroom hell[arghhhhhhhh]

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staranise · 14/04/2008 20:00

kittywise, want to do a houseswap?

My three-bed semi with a handkerchief garden is ideal for large families (fingers crossed behind back), and we've jsut had a downstairs loo installed

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kittywise · 14/04/2008 22:48

Staranise no thanks I wouldn't be able to hide from the children and that is veeeeerrrrryyyy important!!!!

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CarGirl · 14/04/2008 22:50

we live in a very compact 3 bed mid terrace with a tiny backgarden (all patio) tis very cosy & noisy, open plan houses look spacious but have their downsides.

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QOD · 14/04/2008 22:55

we live in a large detached 4 bed LOL - I LOL as I have 1 child.

Upstairs are 3 beds, 14 ft square, 16 by 7 (odd room) and 8 by 8

Downstairs, large hall (a friend has a smaller lounge!), downstairs loo, playroom/bed 4 which is 14 by 14, lounge, 20 x 14, dining room and kitchen now cojoined and across back of house so about 26 by 14ft. Utily room too.

No we havent got a conservatory LOL its a 40 yr old house so BIG square rooms, small and odd garden (house to the backs garage is kind of IN our garden - a chunk out of it) and we overlook a row of lower houses

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137wallis · 14/04/2008 22:59

we have a 2/3 bed terraced house, big back garden (thank god!) two sets of bunkbeds, in the 2nd bed, oldest ds has tiny 3rd bed with cabin bed, and ds5 is still in with us at 10 months, but he will move into the spare bunkbed when hes big enough! the rest of the rooms are average size, but with all our stuff it always looks untidy!

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TeenyTinyTorya · 14/04/2008 23:24

Lol at 19" long - did you mean 19'?

I am one of six and we all used to live in a two bedroom house - three boys in one room, three girls in another room, mum and dad on the sofa bed in the living room. We then moved to a five bedroom house - bliss!

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cazboldy · 15/04/2008 11:49

We live in a 3 bed house with 3 large bedrooms.

Downstairs we have a living room, a playroom {which is supposed to be a dining room), a large hallway, a shower room and toilet, another toilet/cloakroom, a large kitchen/diner which i assume was knocked through at some point, and a utility room. We also have access to our double garage through the house, which is only used for storage. We have a massive garden, and no neighbours for about half a mile

We would love a couple more bedrooms, and there is scope for this as planning has already been agreed, and the living room sticks out on the end of the house. They would be above this........

but it is not our house. it is tied accomodation (i.e it goes with my husband's job) but if we decide to settle here long term, the farmer might consider doing this (I better leave it for now though as he has just put in a new kitchen!)

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Divastrop · 15/04/2008 11:59

i live in a 3 storey,4 bed victorian mid-terrace.we have a front room,a back room and a 'breakfast room'(which we call the computer room)downstairs and a very small kitchen right at the back of the house.

i would like to have the 2 living rooms knocked through as theres not enough space in the back room when all dc are in there,plus i would like the bathroom(which is massive and a waste of unused space)converted into a bathroom and bedroom,but they are just fantasies and i would never be able to afford it plus its a HA property so i doubt i'd get permission

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thefabfour · 15/04/2008 13:22

Thanks for spotting the mistake TinyTeenyTora- had been a long week .

That said, our house sometimes feels like it has rooms that size

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Idobelieveinfairies · 17/04/2008 21:32

We live in a 5 bed victorian house-no garden though, just a shared safe courtyard for the kiddos. We have balconies off lots of the rooms which is lovely to relax on come the summer once all children are tucked up in bed! Huge amount of paint needed though, and extra large dp to reach the high high ceilings!

We have HUGE park/wood/football pitch combined at a stones throw away in one direction. The beach 2 mins away walking in another direction and our town 5 mins away in another direction. So based pretty central which is great for the teenagers to get out and about.

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thefabfour · 17/04/2008 21:37

Idobelieve- that sounds like a gorgeous house...

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Tas1 · 22/06/2008 10:26

We live in a 4 bed victorian semi.
Ground floor has a large through lounge/diner, and a kitchen.
Floor 1 has 3 bedrooms and a shower room.
Floor 2 has the family bathroom and the master bedroom with dressing area.
I would love a utility area but we cannot expand on the ground floor as we have a fairly small garden.
In an ideal world I would also love a playroom.

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zaphod · 22/06/2008 10:41

Our house started as a 3 bed bungalow with an attached garage, When I was expecting no.4 we converted the attic, so we have two large rooms and a bathroom up there. We sleep in one the other is an unused playroom. At the same time we converted the garage, and the tiny room above it by putting in a sliding glass door, and wooden ladder(think little house on the prairie type thing) to the small room which is ds1's bedroom.

Despite there being enough room for everyone to have a room ds3 and ds4 share, though ds3 often sleeps in dd's room with her, and ds1 often sleeps in ds2's bunk beds with him.

We were just lucky that dh insisted that there be roof space to convert when we built the house. I remember thinking that would ne3ver happen!

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struwellpeter · 22/06/2008 22:43

We have a Victorian semi with as my dd says, 'enough bedrooms for one each though Mummy and Daddy want to share'. Fantastic, especially as the last house had 3 bedrooms and ds2 slept on the landing. Anyway, despite having their own rooms, ds1 and ds2 often go in together (spare mattress under bed)and as I type dd and ds3 are tucked up together in his room having spent last night in hers. I'm thinking of putting the bunk beds back together.

When we broke the family tradition and had 3 then, shock horror, 4, there was a lot of talk about bedrooms from other people as if you could only have a child if you had a box to put it in. We always thought it didn't really matter as we'd cope and the dcs wouldn't know any different. I'm really pleased that mine go bedroom hopping. I know they're really lucky to have their own spaces but it shows they must like each other.

IMHO a utility is tops on the list for must-haves, and I don't have one of those.

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cupsoftea · 23/06/2008 00:21

A house with room for me to hide in!! importantly there is a tv room,laundry room & basement. Cold in the winter!! understand now why people used to wear nightcaps! - but blissful when hot outide.

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misscutandstick · 23/06/2008 07:37

we have a 4bed semi (1920's), fantastic HUUUUGE garden (70' x 20'). DS1 has tiny bed4 (8' x 5'), DS2 & DS3 share bed2 (14 x 15) bunk beds and ample storage room, DS4 & DS5 share bed 3 (10' x 12') cot beds and a bit of spare room. Me and DH have bed1 (very large) but also all 22 toy boxes!

Bathroom downstairs, kitchen and unusable dining room because of 2 doors and a large fireplace. We have a conservatory leanto "thing" which stores both washing machines and the dryer, and a multitude of crap paraphinalia.

We'd like to convert the loft, it would make 2 ample b/rooms, but dont have the money

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KatieDD · 24/06/2008 22:29

We have 4 bedrooms and I intend to convert the garage into the west wing for me and hubs when they reach the teenage playing music stage.
Am currently debating weather I need to convert a small bedroom into a study or a bathroom {hmm]

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Ate · 25/06/2008 15:36

3 bed terraced thing (most commonly referred to by me as 'the pit') my which is going to be just about big enough.

The extra loo downstairs is handy, the washing machine that's enclosed in it's very own lair is essential, the gardens are woeful!

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bumpybecky · 25/06/2008 16:45

3 bed mid terrace townhouse built in 1970. We've completely changed the ground floor and not quite put everything back together again - sigh!

ground floor has garage, huge hall, fantastic (half finished) kitchen with utility area and downsatirs cloakroom

middle floor - lounge, bathroom and the old kitchen! which will one day be a study / computer / craft room

top floor - bedroom 1 with dd1,2 and 3, bedroom 2 with me, dh and ds (5months) and bedroom 3, currently a junk room, but will be ds's room when he's a bit bigger

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bubblepop · 26/06/2008 17:59

we live in a 4 bed cottage style house,but it was originally 2 bed but we extended it. absolutely love it here because of the huge garden and sunny aspect, the house is adequate for us at the moment but not sure if we'll stay here long term once the kids grow up a bit (oldest is 11yrs,)simply because i think we will outgrow the place. we've got 4 decent sized bedrooms, mine with ensuite bathroom containing a bath!,shower room, 2 reception rooms,large dining kitchen with utility and downstairs loo. sounds fab on paper but actually its not a brilliant lay-out as there is no hallway and the stairs come down into the 2nd reception room,also the front living room is very crampedcosy! still, im always looking at houses for the next step..but slowly learning to appreciate what ive got.

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alysonpeaches · 06/07/2008 14:06

3 bed semi circa 1930. It has a downstairs extension so dining room is twice normal size, kitchen too. The dining room is just a playroom. The back bedroom is big and could accommodate 3 no trouble, but the box room is just a boxroom, so just one bed a single wardrobe and drawers and its full.

Love the house though! Dont want to move.

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