To ask is a 5bed house is a waste in these circumstances

I don’t see it as a waste. It’s lovely to have a home with lots of space.

Why would someone spending their own money on something they want be a waste?

My parent's 5 bed house is too big for them to manage now so I wouldn't go that big or downsize before I get too old but that's size as opposed to bedrooms.

If they can afford it it’s up to them.

My parents now live alone in a 6 bed and it is full. Every room has a purpose for them…

Personally, I would love to have the space but would HATE the clutter that it invites.

There are so many factors. 5 bed doesn't automatically mean massive house.

Why would this be anyone else’s business? It’s my house, I pay for it, from heavily taxed income. How big it is is irrelevant. I don’t need to justify that to anyone. We still live in a democracy (for now!)

Lucky you! Enjoy

DH had 4 bed (2 double /2 single) to himself. I moved in and we extended it to a 5 bed (5 doubles). We only had one child. We both had a home office each (hybrid working) and the 5th bedroom came in useful when DH’s snoring became unbearable. Only child left home now and we still use every room every day. We have an office and a bedroom each. 5th bedroom doubles as a guest bed and exercise room. It is bliss. If I could magic a 6th bedroom for a Pilates reformer I would!

We have a 5 bed, we only have one child. We’ve just moved from a tiny 2 bed which we had most certainly outgrown even if there were technically enough bedrooms.

The biggest issue was us both working from home. Now we have an office each and also a guest room which is so nice.
DD has her cousins staying tonight - though to be fair they will probably still all cram into one room, it’s still nice to have the option and enough beds for them. We have a relative come for Christmas every year and this year she won’t be turfing DD out of her bed.

We’ll probably convert the garage into even more living space to be honest - we don’t really need it but it will be nice to have, especially once DD is a teen wanting her mates round etc.

We’re looking forward to doing more hosting too and having friends and family who live further away able to come and stay as they have done for us in the past.

Edit to say - I feel incredibly lucky and still pinching myself to have ended up in this house. We’d have been ultimately fine in the smaller place but this is much nicer and we could afford it (just!) with no plans to move again.

So it’s not you then - so why do you care if it’s some sort of ‘waste’?

It’s not a waste, the house isn’t going to run out. WFH you say - 1 office each then perhaps. 1 bedroom for each child. Master. Spare room. Dressing room. Music room. So many options.

(Also thinking can they really be that young if they already have a kid each/one of them has 2, with custody arrangements, and the mean to buy a 5 bed 😄)

My husband and I live in a 4 bed detached house. Never had kids, we wanted lots of lovely space just for us and so that’s what we bought! We do also have a million animals so the space helps with them, but it’s not like we have cages of small furries in every room - most of them live outside (apart from the dogs 😄)

I do remember a couple of people raising an eyebrow when we bought the house - “what, it’s just the two of you??” which did make me smile. Our money, our choice - the more space the better!

We’ve lived in a five bedroom house for the last 35 years and have no children at home now, but we’ve got no plans to downsize. We’ve always loved having plenty of space.

1 room for them, 1 room for each DC, 1 WFH office room, 1 spare room for any guests.
why do you care???

My partner and I have no kids and live in a 4 bed house. Wasn’t aware this was something I had to worry about other peoples opinions on

Couldn’t care less, up to them 🤷🏻‍♀️

We have a house that's bigger than we 'need', if every bedroom were used only for sleeping. But we use the other rooms for other things (wfh, hobbies), so the space doesn't go unused. Speaking as someone who doesn't get out of the house much, the extra room has been invaluable. Definitely not a waste.

So, 2 adults, 2 kids. That's 4. In a 5 bed. Omigod.

Are you the other parent (or that parent's mum) of the kids who's pissed because you're a bit squished in a 2 bed semi or something?

I have a 4 bedroom house for just me. It's an investment for my future as much as a place to live. If I choose to have kids, want to take in a lodger, travel and rent it out I want to have stretched myself as much as possible when it comes to property to make sure I have as many choices as possible.

It sounds like you're talking about someone else in which case it's wholly for them to decide if it's a waste or not.

We have a 5 bed with 2dc, we use all the space in the house. I’m curious, what’s it to you?

Just because they are listed as bedrooms, doesn’t mean they need to be used for sleeping in. They could become play rooms, snugs, studies, gyms, craft rooms.

Perhaps they’ve decided to get a big house so they have space to downsize later. Maybe one of them has an extensive hobby and the other got fed up of it being everywhere so wanted it contained. Maybe they have plans for other children but don’t fancy sharing that information yet. Maybe they want a drying room or a walk in wardrobe. Maybe the just need a junk room so the rest of the house can stay clean. Does it matter? They can afford it and it’s them that has to maintain it.

Why do you care?

We have a 7 bed house with 2 dc and have just turned the extra bedrooms into rooms - a study each, a gym, a tv and games room etc people can do what they like with their money

On the one hand- their money their choice

howwver if it were an elderly couldn’t living in a 5 bed there would be mutterings on here about taking family homes from people who need them and how they should downsize