To think that some people live in too big houses?

[URSick]

Lots of people live in (in my opinion) already big houses yet they want to move into even bigger ones.
I see so many families where all the children have their own bedrooms, bathrooms, big bedroom for the parents, guest room, study, living room, and yet they never seem to be satisfied and want to move into a bigger house. They all want playroom for the children. What's the point, when they could easily play in their bedrooms or the living room? There are houses where everybody has their own level, plus bathrooms on the landings, more toilets than family members, and yet they want Buckingham palace. It's good to have enough space and not be in each other's pockets but am I the only one who thinks these people are greedy and unreasonable? You don't need to live in a mansion to be a happy family.
Not to mention those houses where entire rooms are never used, lots of space is taken up by massive stairs and there are parts of the house that are just walkways.
What's your take on it?

Whiteroseofyork I love it that you think I'm too young to remember Mary, Mungo & Midge I do remember that!

I was more Crystal Tips and Alistair myself (also had a walled garden as I recall).

We lived in a house with 6 bathrooms once. I was dead pleased with myself until my mum pursed her lips and pointed out that was 6 bogs to clean.

If you can afford space, then why not? I like being able to go and sit somewhere else and read when dh is watching TV, without having to go to my bedroom, and without having to listen to whatever it is he is watching.

I like having the option of sleeping elsewhere if I feel ill; and being able to keep one room vaguely tidy if people come over. I like having a study, which means either of us can work in peace if we choose. I would really like a sewing room and a library, and a bigger kitchen and utility, but I can make do.

do you take this strange judgemental approach to everything in people's lives?

I always want to have one :(

Are you a communist op? Dh and I bought a new 7 bedroomed house 2 years ago. Our teens come and go from Uni so it's usually just us, our dog and the housekeeper but I love the downstairs floor space! I don't "need" it but dh worked for it and we're enjoying it!

I can't understand the desire to live in a huge house either.

I want a comfortable, self cleaning and self tidying house with a self gardening garden please!

But having loads of empty/unused rooms just leaves me cold.

Chop chop everyone. That copy won't write itself!

In t'olden days you could have 14 in a two-up-two-down. The playroom was the pit. If they were lucky.

The OP has identified an environmental and public issue not just a personal 'do what you want and I'll do what I want' type issue. It's not a choice with no impact on others like hair colour. The heating and lighting of unused/underused rooms wastes electricity. This has an environmental impact. The houses are presumably built of natural resources such as timber also. These resources aren't limitless and so there is a cost to all of us. We can and should question the size of the houses being built in our communities if they are becoming grossly out of proportion with the number of people living in them.

Or what CoolJazz said.

whether our quest for bigger and bigger homes way beyond our needs is a good thing generally

But the key word is "needs" - you might not think others need as much space, they would probably disagree. You can't stipulate what another adult needs by virtue of measurement against your own.

Bibbity there are such things as cleaners and gardeners available

Hi OP. I have seven bedrooms and 9 WCs. I'm greedy and totally unreasonable but I love it. Oh and all those stairs do wonders for my glutes of steel! It's me, DH and 3 DC - although two of them share a bedroom! That means I have loads empty that I float around between all wuthering heights like

Is this on the dm website yet?

Dean Actually I think you win, walled gardens are awesome- i'd squash my family into a broom cupboard if I could have a large,walled garden outside!

Over invested in other peoples lives much?

Is there an actual point to this? People will buy whatever they want it has no effect on you whatsoever. So why are you moaning about it?

DeanKoontz (absolutely love your work btw )

I WANT that wardrobe and I would be going through it never mind the kids!

Aroundtheworldandback

Really? Who knew! Thank you so much!

The houses are presumably built of natural resources such as timber also. These resources aren't limitless and so there is a cost to all of us. We can and should question the size of the houses being built in our communities if they are becoming grossly out of proportion with the number of people living in them

What about older houses though? What would happen to those? Mine is somewhere between 1914 and 1930 (nobody actually knows!).

Yes CoolJazz it is consumerism and never having enough. But maybe I am just a simple soul who is easily satisfied.

Oh, and make sure the wardrobes full of fur coats are properly locked.

You'd hate our set up.

Five bedrooms and my baby's playroom is the biggest room in the house.

There's only three of us. Most of the rooms aren't used but make great storage areas!

Greedy? Surely greedy would be having more children than I can afford and asking the state to house us, not working hard to be self sufficient and enjoy the results? Only on Mumsnet...

Bit odd OP but I do kind of see what you mean. We've lived (renting) in a huuuuge house and I hated it - hate the idea of rooms that are used for one purpose and spend a lot of the time empty. The cleaning, the heating - just seems so wasteful and not cosy at all. Space is good but huge extravagant houses leave me cold somehow. I like cozy and busy and utilised!

I'm not too bothered personally but I do think that a household who has far far more than needed to accommodate their family is perhaps not the kindest, given such suffering in the world anyone who holds onto wealth (in excess that is, I'm not saying you shouldn't give your family as much as possible to be comfortable if you can) but not doing enough about this huge inequality of wealth and resourses is probably something most of the western world are guilty of , not just the very rich