To ask if you are happy in your 'small' home?

Sofa bed living room for sleeping over

It just felt big, it was very modern clean warm, but it felt too big and I felt a bit lost I think. I wanted to live in a small house with a little garden.

@Growsomeballswoman just curious, what did you hate about the big house?

Don't build a conservatory. They're either too cold in winter or too hot in the summer. I inherited one in a previous house and it was dreadful. I looked into putting on a proper roof and windows but the structure wasn't sound enough and the foundations weren't deep enough to take the weight.

Only if you can get a cozy roof, or solid roof, basically making it useable all year round. A glass or polycarbonate roof is no good . We can’t use our conservatory in winter and it onot gets used mid March to about October. Out next big upgrade will be new windows and proper roof on our 20 year old conservatory

Build a conservatory .

I had a tiny 2 bed terrace. I say 'had' because it's now a 3 bed due to a loft conversion and an extension into the garden.

Rather than looking to move, look at what you can do to the house you have. You have a garage. Can't that be integrated into the house, with a bedroom above?

The cost of extending and remodelling is way cheaper than moving.

Dh did that in ours. Moved a stud wall between a good sized bedroom and a very small one, to make them more even sized, but one still a good sized double, the other a much better single. He said it was easy enough, so why on earth the builders didn’t do it in the first place I can’t understand.

This is interesting timing as I was just thinking yesterday about upsizing. I have a mortgage of £140k ish on a house now worth approx £450k, a small 3 bed terrace in an expensive city.

If I sold and my partner went in on the mortgage too we could definitely get something bigger/fancier - but otoh i really like my >£500 mortgage payments and the house is just about fine for the 4 of us with regular decluttering. We did convert the loft so there is not much storage but we manage.

I think given the current climate we’ll be staying here!

Our house is small and we have two DC. It worried me too especially as I have always lived in big (and cold) houses.

However… there are upsides in that we only have one telly and all spend our time in the one (only!) room downstairs - we knocked the kitchen and sitting room into one when we bought the house. When I go to friends’ houses I notice that everyone is in a separate room on screens / headphones. We only have the one telly so we watch it together. I can chat to everyone when I’m cooking, we all watch telly together, we play on the games console together … so small isn’t necessarily bad! It was difficult when they were little as the toys were everywhere, but as they’ve grown they need less stuff. The only rule I ever enforced was no bloody Lego downstairs as accidentally standing on a block gives me the rage 🤣

@Growsomeballswoman that's interesting. I also grew up in an enormous (albeit run down and in places quite dangerous looking back) house and now love my small place.

I love my tiny house, I'd hate a bigger one. I grew up in a huge house with paddocks and gardens. I hated it. Much prefer my tiny terrace.

When husband and I split I had a choice of a small house that was “done” or a larger repossession that needed lots of work. I went for the larger house but wasn’t too bothered as ex was a builder and would do the work. Turns out he was already seeing someone else and was too busy to help me. The work cost a fortune plus it’s a lot more for carpets and curtains . 20 years later it’s still not finished . At times I still regret not taking the smaller house.

We live in a small terraced house with one DS . It has 3 bedrooms but only one toilet which is hard sometimes.

If your garden is a good enough size , consider a garden room. Can be a multitude of purposes, teen den when they are older etc, to keep the lounge for adults. Mines a music room( my kids both play multiple instruments and practising in a small open plan house can be difficult) /quiet/ office space. A neighbour ( two kids, small house) has hers as a playroom where the train set, Lego, messy craft etc all go.

We're in the same position

Have been trying to move for over a year but it keeps falling through

Feel as if we're doomed to stay in a small house forever

One tiny box room. Second bedroom is tiny too

Bathroom is ridiculous.

Just can't catch a break

Don’t know how to work out square footage. 3 bed semi ex council style house with lounge/diner and kitchen

tho do now have a single storey extension which is roughly same size lounge/diner across back of house which is a godsend as a playroom for dd

We had the same issue with our youngest child and the box room. Had to get a bespoke single divan bed made a bit shorter than standard which was worth it. It has drawers under for extra storage plus we chose a shallow/ low mattress which makes her bed nice and low to get on to sit on, almost like a day bed.

Theres also a little folding desk next to her bed which stays folded up most of the time but has a small shelf all the time to put her bedside drink etc on. We changed her radiator to a tall slim one to maximise the space as well and her wardrobe is one of those slim IKEA pax ones.

Omg I would love a three bedroom house with a garden even if it's small!

Is there loft conversion or possible extension as an option?

small house, big life

A lot of this really resonates with me.

Particularly the bit about families in smaller houses being closer, and your kids sitting in different rooms.

In a lot of way I feel like our 1,000 sq ft bungalow was big enough and we shouldn't have moved.

The garden is a problem for me here. And the heating bills are high, but I hadn't actually factored in how we would afford the bills in retirement.

At the moment, the mortgage is due to be paid off when I am 60, husband 61.

Hoping to make some overpayments "at some point" to bring that forward a bit, but don't know how / when.

The plus side is that the house has two bathrooms, and the layout is such that will give the kids some space and privacy, particularly if they end up living at home as young adults.

It is also not huge (although bigger than old place) and will hopefully be fine as we get older as I don't really want to ever move again. It has a downstairs bathroom etc so I'm hoping not to ever have to move.

@Catza that's lovely. I often think smaller houses make for closer families.

I live in a 3 bed mid terrace that is only 6m wide. We have a tiny downstairs bathroom but the plus side of that is three double bedrooms.

My FIL was one of six kids brought up two doors down and lived there til he got married. He remembers that house as quite roomy despite sharing a room with two brothers. Standards have changed a lot.

I think clever furniture also makes a huge difference. I have a narrow, long table which is technically an IKEA desk top. It means it fits in the kitchen with a bench seat.

I also recently bought a coffee table for the living room that lifts up and then folds out to become a dining table/craft table. I love it.

I don't see the point in paying loads of money for square footage that only contains a pot plant. I think versatility in use of spaces is what we should all aim for when property is so expensive.

Could you maybe open up the loft or build a garden office if you need more space in the future?

We are 4 of us in a 750 sq feet house (2 bed). Do love it here but feel like we have definitely outgrown particularly as the eldest is now 10 and is needing more space. Hopefully moving soon.

Go i to the loft for another room? Have 3rd small room for stars and study?