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?

We should have a room tax, or a playroom tax
Or land tax
It'll never happen because the MPs all have property portfolios and those turkeys won't vote for Christmas

I can kind of see what the OP means in a way. What other people have doesn't really bother me and I am aware that my husband and myself had a 3 bedroom house for years before we had kids, in a nice area, very near a two good school both primary and secondary and that we were potentially depriving a family with kids that house when we bought it but we needed a place to live to and I work from home and needed space for that.

Its also true that a lot of single elderly people are living around here in 3 and 4 bedroom houses which a family would be better suited to but it is their home and I'd hate for someone to force me out of my home.

I do know people friends and family members who have bought large houses they cannot afford to try and keep up with the joneses and I do think that is crazy as most of them then have to scarifice massively on lifestyle or end up in debt because of it and I think its a very poor life choice but ultimately it is up to them.

A previous poster mentioned minimalism and its a good point to raise. Often we want a bigger house or a garage for somewhere to put our stuff and our stuff grows to fill the space we have and a lot of it we don't really need. I think it would be good if people did think twice about buying things that they will probably not use and will just take up space. If we did that we might be happier to live where we are!

I think there's a difference between a big house and a house that's "unnecessarily" big. Having a 5+ bed with 3 or 4 children isn't on the same scale as a 6 bed with 2 occupants. I don't see it as greedy as such, just a bit odd?

Op.... what's your house and family size?

Chances are it's massive compared to where some people live..... why do YOU need all that space??

Well, from a worldwide perspective, if you live in a house with more than one room and has a toilet (especially one with a door on it), you're on the lucky side.

So from that perspective, you're probably living in a house that's too big for you too.

Jacques exactly...mine was built in 1835, so is impacting diddly squat. The house we rent abroad was built in the 20s or 30s, but has been 'wrapped' to a high level of insulation and extended at the back. Surely it is better to utilise existing housing stock that is well built and extend/alter it in that case?

Space is wonderful if you use it! I have been in some homes where the space is just for show but don't criticise that either, it just feels so empty to me when all these big rooms are barely furnished and barely used. Our house is quite big but every inch is used regularly, including the study and small conservatory. I love that there's different places to be with my cup of coffee and different places for the kids to hide and play and have some peace and quiet. You won't like this OP but I can't wait to do an extension and replace the conservatory. I want a modern kitchen and a 5th bedroom as I need a spare with my family visiting from far away very regularly and currently the baby gets moved when we have visitors. The quality of our sleep is so much better with them all having their own rooms... though I do hope to put them sharing when they are a little older. An extension would also allow us to at least close up the entry points used by mice every winter which is some of the motivation for me too!

As others have said, it's a good investment as I know with they type of house ours is (period property on land) we will get the full value (probably more) of any improvements back if we sell or downsize in our old age.

Being able to afford a nice or big home is quite a privilege these days so let people enjoy it when they can.

Maybe they have lots of guests staying overnight?

Yanbu. Some family members always buy massive houses that are more than their needs (semi retired couple, children left home). They are super stingy with the heating as such a large space costs an absolute bomb.

So they sit there shivering in their massive house.

It's quite uneconomical to heat a huge house!

I agree up to a point. I live in a fairly big 5-bedroomed house with 5 reception rooms & 3 bathrooms, but it functions like a 2.5 bedroomed house with 3 reception rooms & 2 bathrooms, because of DH's hoarding tendencies

I'd love to live in a small house with no clutter, as long as the rooms were well-proportioned. 2 or 3 bedrooms would be plenty - I'd want 2 bathrooms though.

Are you a communist op? Dh and I bought a new 7 bedroomed house 2 years ago... it's just us and the housekeeper.

Suspect the OP would rather be a commie than a wanker.

CoolJazz I agree that there is an interesting discussion to be had. Maybe you should start a thread using your post, and then it could be discussed without the obnoxious overtones of the OP.

I think there is such a thing as 'too big' - but not just having a play room or a couple of extra bedrooms - I mean 20 - 30 bedroom mansions. I've been looking at bigger places recently (currently have 6 beds, but they're all full) and I just can't imagine living in some of the really massive places, even with a big family. You'd need walkie-talkies or something to find each other.

Yanbu

We have too much space and too much stuff. And we are getting an extension

Minimalist living requires effort. It's easier for me to sprawl out and make loads of mess than sort and tidy up stuff.

"Nice to see all the responses coming in. Keep on coming."

Op is a journalist. Stop feeding it.

Round the corner from me is a development of small but very expensive new builds. Outside one of the town houses are parked a jaguar and a farrari. All shiny and new. I know they belong to the same person who owns the property because I have heard and seen him driving in his loud attention-seeking way up and down the main road lots of times. I have seen him getting out and going into his house while talking loudly into his iPhone.

His small house and cars probably cost more than the largest 11 bed recently up for sale house in the area.

Consumerism isn't all about size.

So you're saying if you could afford a £2.5 million house with extra bedrooms, rooms and bathrooms you would rather just live in a 2/3 bedroom terraced in a not so nice part? Mmmm I know what I would pick.
Each to their own

We have a relatively large house. No cleaner. And lots of pets and kids. It's a bit of a bugger cleaning wise to be honest. No it hasn't got a playroom - and I wouldn't want one but we've got lots of garden too. What is interesting is the new houses round here have extra rooms but they are smaller in size and on lots of different floors. And tiny gardens. I agree with you OP - I wouldn't want 'more' house as I couldn't cope with it and you can only be one place at one time.

Meh. One of the essentials on my list when we're house hunting is an extra room for the kids' playroom (and a bedroom for each of them, and a study, and a utility room).

I don't want to share my living room space, which I use for my down time, with their plastic crap. I don't want to have to watch my eldest (who is older and therefore stays up later) playing computer games when the littlies are in bed. And I want them to have a communal room to play in because it's isolating to have to play in their own bedrooms and reinforces the idea that something is only 'theirs', rather than shared. And it's my money I'm spending on it, so I'm allowed to set up my own household in a way that suits me.

We bought the biggest house that we could comfortably afford in our area, partly as an investment, and I love it! Own bedrooms for the children, comfortable spare room with a proper double bed for guests, separate reception room for the teenagers' stuff (TV, x-box, table football etc) and an office each for DH and I. Plus a large but cosy kitchen/family room and a separate dining room which we use every weekend and whenever we have guests.

Apart from the guest room we use most rooms every day, and certainly weekly. Do we NEED the space? Absolutely not. Do we enjoy it? Yes. And meanwhile it's increasing in value more than almost anything else we could have done with the money, providing us with a healthy pension. Frankly, I don't care if you think that makes us "greedy" :)

Feel free to live in a tiny cottage if it makes you happy, why so much hatred against people who like and can afford space? If you are not jealous, then what are you? Why is it a waste of space not to live in a cupboard?

You should read about the communist era and the distribution of "homes" in the cities, to see how fun it is to have a set amount of space per family. Educate yourself, and read testimonies of people who were only given the space someone decided they"needed".

Housing that's not too small is what should worry/upset people, too big is just subjective and will depend on preference and where you live. We've moved from city center and bought a house in the sticks, we've bought a relatively big house here with a garden, in our old neighborhood we could afford a 1, possibly 2 bed flat! The house isn't too big it's just a lot bigger than our old home which had no storage/felt very small. A playroom was important to me as I want somewhere to stick all the toys downstairs and thankfully here it was within our budget, and walkways? you mean hallways? not every inch of your house needs to have stuff in it.

When I bought my house I had a playroom for DS1. We'd spent years crammed into shitty, tiny private rental places, with no heating/shit windows/various problems. Everyone commented how it was so big for just the two of us. 6 years on and there's 5 of us now, and the boys share a room.