Small house for a family

Small is relative. We lived in a 2 bed flat for years with 3 children so I do understand.

What would concern me is the width. I’d struggle with that I think. But if you are renting, it would be easy enough to move after a year if it’s really hard to live with.

I have a friend who makes her own Christmas decorations each year because she says she doesn't have room to store any. She and the kids make them out of cardboard and spray paint with gold glitter paint and dry orange slices and hunt for pine cones and all that. They have fairy lights up all year long and just put them on the tree at Christmas. She buys second-hand suitcases for going on holiday and donates them to the local family refuge at the end of the summer, together with all their summer clothes. She is very, very good at not accumulating stuff though - she was really into "toy libraries" when her kids were young and asks parents for £2 rather than presents for her kids' birthday parties. She even puts on the invite "Sorry we have a small house and so can't accommodate presents, so a card or £2 would be lovely, thank you" apparently 😂.

It is narrow, but it's a step up from you current place and you have a plan to buy then it could be perfect .
Is it a back to back, it looks like the type that would be I the end of a terrace with to others b2bs joining it so potentially noisy?

It's not about spare rooms etc, but I asked if there's a loft because if they wanted to keep stuff for a hypothetical baby no 2 e.g. side sleeper cot, clothes, bouncer etc there is very little space to keep it. Ditto suitcases, Christmas decorations.

I think personally that location is very important. If it’s good for school, work and local amenities go for it.
Do you have a garden and a shed or garage? You can buy storage shed did the garden for bulky items it will help , make place tidy and will add resale value.
Tidying up the loft for storage is another option for things like Xmas decorations and summer chairs.

It's fine for 3 - we live like that but have a bigger garden which we use a lot in the summer.

It'll be fine with three of you. My old house was almost exactly this floor plan and we only moved out because we wanted another child.

Loft storage, a shed and/or waterproof storage in the garden will all help. You will need to be a ruthless declutterer. But it's totally doable long term.

Well, she's managed in a single bed with no garden so not sure why she needs strangers' validation for spending couple years in this house.

Or maybe it's the effect if all those threads where unless you have three bathrooms, a spade bedroom, a study and a playroom, your life sucks.

@Monkeysatonthewall I mean it IS a small house, there’s no point in pretending otherwise. It is smaller than the house I share with just my DH which I mention to point out that we will be looking for a bigger house in a few years as we feel the need for more space despite having an extra bedroom and toilet, and the reception room and kitchen being larger than on this floorplan. The OP is being sensible in considering the limitations on space, ability to host, ability to keep tidy etc. which are always present in a smaller house.

That is not the same as it not being doable, and not the same as it not being an improvement on what they currently have, which it obviously is.

And if you’re not good at this, a small house will force you to improve!

Looks perfect and with a good location and a garden, I would snap it up.

It’s very narrow, is it one of those London infill/garage conversions? Would be fine for 3 though. Like others have said you just need to be on clutter alert.

You have one child, what exactly is small about this house?

Jeeeezo.

Well it’s certainly a lot bigger than the one bedroom flat you currently have so it will definitely be an improvement. If you are hoping to buy then it doesn’t make sense to spend any more on rent than you absolutely need to so looks like a good option

We live in a 2 bed. It was perfectly doable for a while, and allowed us to save money to now hopefully buy a bigger place (fingers crossed, as offer accepted). And a garden is so brilliant to have with little ones.

My one issue with the house above is that you can't keep an eye on your child if DC plays in the living room and you are in the kitchen, where there is not a lot of space for them to do so. My unusually energetic child would not be able to remain unsupervised for even the briefest moments, but I know many others of their age are a lot less tricky, and yours is a bit older.

There is no storage nor any places to shove any junk.

Are you fairly minimalist? Are you very efficient at shovelling outgrown clothes/discarded toys out of your living space?

That would be my downfall. I'm not. They tend to hang around for months (even years 😬!). I have a small loft that I shove stuff into, until I can get round to sorting/binning/taking to the charity shop.

If you're good at keeping stuff to a minimum, it could work for you (and will certainly be better than a 1-bed flat!).

I think you'll be fine and can make it work.

I'm sure for 3 of you with a view to buy you'll make it work for a few years! When I saw the 4 I thought you meant 4 of you which I think would be verging on stressful, but 3 I'm sure you'll be fine.

Looks lovely - you’ve got a nice size lounge / living space which should serve you well!
id go for it
No point in going huge for rental if you’re saving for buying
Sometimes a smaller place can have benefits - eg easy to keep an eye on little one, cheap to heat and easy to clean!

It looks plenty big enough. Enjoy your new home

It looks so cute and a huge step up from a 1 bed apartment. And a little garden for the little one also, couldn't be better! If the area suits you, and the rent is within your budget, go for it! Best of luck.

Does it have a loft?

Looks fine to me.

I would go for it. Sounds perfect to me!