Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Do you love your house?

151 replies

Goodnightjohnboy · 18/12/2021 22:07

Just that really, do you love your house or is it just a roof over your head? Has anything made you change the way you feel about it?

OP posts:
JustJustWhy · 19/12/2021 08:16

I'm grateful for it but no, I hate where I am and where I live, even though I know I'm lucky. Three up two down semi in a cul-de-sac. When I win the lottery I'm going to find somewhere rustic and remote.

noideabutstilltrying · 19/12/2021 08:20

My house is rented. It's a flint cottage. We used to love this place.

A bad break up here has changed the feel of the place.

I'd love to move but a similar sized property would double my rent. I can't do that on a single income.

Home now feels like a prison with no escape route. Working from home has been the final nail

maudmadrigal · 19/12/2021 08:27

I love our house, and am very glad to live here. It's a large, shabby terrace (so one of the kids has the attic bedroom with a dormer window that I longed for as a teenager). I didn't grow up locally, but many of our local friends have memories of spending time here and in the next-door house as teens - there were two large, sociable families here in the 90s. It's a great house for the kids to have friends over (see large and shabby). Teen DS had his friends over after a football match recently and while I was getting the pizzas they all started playing hide and seek (there are a lot of cupboards!). I love that.
I also feel very strongly that we won't stay here forever. I think the house is a house for growing families, and when we're finished with that stage of life I want someone else to have it here.

Enzbear · 19/12/2021 08:33

Yes I absolutely love my home. It was 99% what we were looking for. We live in an expensive area considering it's not London or SE, because it's got so much going for it. Lots of people want to move here which meant our old house sold quickly and for a good price.
Ours is spacious, yet cosy, good sized rooms, and we've done everything we wanted to do to it.

RoseMartha · 19/12/2021 08:34

I don't love it, but I am grateful I have it and it is mine. I had no choice but to move from the family house which we sold, into a flat, after my divorce.
I don't see it as a 'forever' home and if I had the opportunity to move into a house I would, but likewise if that never happens that is ok.

Wond3rment · 19/12/2021 08:37

I love our house

Karmatime · 19/12/2021 08:38

I have a 2 bed Victorian terrace that is draughty and occasionally leaky, despite efforts to insulate. Aesthetically I love it as it has loads of original features. It’s in a great area too. I love it in the summer, winter not so much especially as the heating bills are crazy and I’m still cold most of the time.

nannybeach · 19/12/2021 08:38

Sometimes I love it,but like others wish I could move it. There's always a budget and always compromise,after arseholes next door, insisted on detached,that doesn't work, unless they are a hundred yards away!

Choccorocco · 19/12/2021 08:42

Fairy lights and a fire in the evening and a window that lets the sun stream in and I can be happy in any home. In my 20s, I had a room in a house share with white walls, white furnishings, white painted floorboards and fairy lights. I have replicated a room like this in just about every house I’ve lived in, and this is my happy space. Now includes art and bits and bobs bought during my adventures and given by friends and family. Every piece has a story and I feel surrounded by happiness - even when the rest of the house is a mess/damp/horrible. Having moved lots of times I would say that the most important thing is to put your favourite art pieces up on the walls around the house, get some houseplants (from £2 at Tesco!) and hang up some fairy lights and lamps (warm white) as this is what makes it feel warm and cosy.

Firstshoes · 19/12/2021 08:48

Yes, definitely love our home. The third bedroom is a little small so we have discussed moving but the thought of anyone else living here makes me 😢.
I don't think I'd be able to go through with a sale. I've lived in many houses but I've never been attached to any of them......until now. Think I will stay here until the end 😃

Nc123 · 19/12/2021 08:56

@Goodnightjohnboy

Just that really, do you love your house or is it just a roof over your head? Has anything made you change the way you feel about it?
I love the fact that it’s my home. It’s a very happy home with kids and cats and stick insects and me and DH. And it’s definitely looking nicer - we bought it as a fixer upper and we’ve now finished the downstairs, and are getting the bathroom done in a couple of months.

Once we’ve done a bit more we are selling up though, to find somewhere that’s further away from the shops, has more space downstairs for the kids to have friends round and us to entertain, and has less damp! I am VERY excited about the thought of moving to our next house.

BitterTits · 19/12/2021 09:04

Mine is ugly and boxy. It's a 1970s detached, a far cry from the cottage I grew up in. We've been living in it as a stalled renovation for months now, so there are non-live wires hanging everywhere, patches of plaster and old sheets hanging at the bathroom windows because I haven't had chance to sort new blinds. The kitchen is a disaster - old cabinets part ripped out. We're using a camping table as a surface and food is stored in boxes under the table.

Whatever state it's in though, I love being at home. We make the best of it. It's spacious and private.

Cassimin · 19/12/2021 09:05

Love ours.
We spent over 20 years here.
We’ve extended upwards, backwards and sidewards to accommodate our growing family.
We love spending money on it and are constantly changing decor.
We’ve finally got the garden looking exactly how we want it and it works well for our young grandchildren.
Our eldest bought the house next door.
We bought it really cheap and could never afford to buy it now.
The only sad thing is that we realise that as the children get older and move out it will be far too big for 2 of us so we will need to downsize.

AllotmentTime · 19/12/2021 09:05

Ehhh I don’t love it. But for what we can afford, in the area we’re in, it’s good. And we’ve had the space to work/school from home during covid, so we’re bloody lucky.

The downstairs layout is shite, in our block of new builds, everyone except us has had work done to change the layout. NY resolution is to engage an architect and work out how much my dream conversion would cost!

That said, we love the location, we LOVE all our neighbours, and we are near to countryside. I’d put up with a worse layout for that tbh.

megletthesecond · 19/12/2021 09:08

No. Most of the neighbours are a pain in the backside, the area is grotty and DD has damaged almost everything in it.
I don't even have it listed as "home" in my phone contact list.

User2638483 · 19/12/2021 09:11

I love it when it’s tidy which it never is

Tillsforthrills · 19/12/2021 09:12

Amazing just how much neighbours can impact on happiness in a home. It’s such a gamble.

rifling · 19/12/2021 09:14

Mine is a compromise. To stay in the location we wanted, I had to give up on some things I really wanted- a garden, a parking space, a big kitchen! But on the plus side, we can walk everywhere (school, work, shops etc) which I love and my neighbours are lovely and quiet!

Oldraver · 19/12/2021 09:14

Yes I do but things are starting to break down and the house isn't that old and I do keep thinking 'what now'

I have a damp smell in the utility that I can't find the source of at the moment and don't really want to deal with it before Christmas

MrsTophamHat · 19/12/2021 09:17

I love my house but it needs a lot spending on it. I suppose it makes me feel sorry for the house rather than disliking it Smile.

We don't really plan to move so hopefully over time we'll be able to fulfill its potential.

ShinyballsAndChocolateTinsel · 19/12/2021 09:36

I love it , it has everything we need and more. We made huge sacrifices to do all the work it needed but I'm so glad we did.
It just has a good feel to it, visitors comment on it
I never want to move

mdh2020 · 19/12/2021 09:37

It was our first and only house. We worked very hard to pay for it and for a long time we could do nothing to it. We have been here over 50 years. I fell out of love with it in the middle years but now I am comfortable with it. We brought up our family here and our GC like coming here. The kitchen is too small and it needs more radiators but we love the large patio we put in. All in all, comfortable is the word to describe it. We are going to have to move but my husband can’t bear the idea.

VictoryLap · 19/12/2021 09:41

I think if your property is warm, dry and not absolutely falling to bits then you can put your stamp on it and learn to love it. All of the places I've owned and lived in I've managed to make feel homely. Rented places not so much as limited to what you can do with them. (I suppose this depends on landlord and how long you intend to stay).
A friend of mine has a huge house with a huge garden in a highly sought after area. But the house is very damp to the point that some rooms smell, it's falling apart, they have mice and it's incredibly messy. It doesn't feel homely and she has admitted to me that she doesn't love it and it stresses her out. They can't move due to complicated reasons. And can't afford to do it up. Honestly this would be my worst nightmare.

abigailsnan · 19/12/2021 09:48

I loved my former house which we sold nearly 20yrs ago after youngest AC left home we could not justify 4beds/2 lounges/huge kitchen & conservatory.I can close my eyes and visualise that house room by room it was so special to me.
Now living in same area but in a 2 bed bungalow which is very nice & nicely decorated but my big family house will always be special for me.
I do wish the new owners would put up decent hanging baskets it looks so forlorn nowadays.

Tumbleweed101 · 19/12/2021 09:58

Mine is a council property and lockdown made me restless so I’ve been looking at exchange sites. So far I haven’t found anything I like more than the one I already have! The bedrooms and bathroom here are a bit small but we have a lovely garden and nice views. Looking at others has made me think perhaps a bit of declutting and decorating is all it needs to be loved more.