Must haves when house searching that I don't 'get'

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All open plan.
Why? Much nicer to have separate rooms where people can do their own thing, and to not have cooking smells invading the whole downstairs.

Kitchen Islands.
Usually just become dumping grounds for loads of rubbish and take up loads of floor space.

Always fantasised about open kitchen /living room when my kids were little. Seemed ideal. And then my friend told me it's a bloody nightmare stopping small kids from emptying your kitchen cupboards, going into the fridge, as soon as you leave the room. So it's off my list now. I've seen more and more quirky/fashionably decorated houses on Instagram with separate small kitchens, I wonder if open plan is now seen as the norm and a little passé.

I have no need for a ensuite. But I'd love a wide hallway for the feeling of space.

Semi-open plan/ room dividers is what you want - best of both worlds and you can choose what's convenient

So with Noodle on the banquette thing - I would love one and think they're a really good use of space but DH has put his foot down and said it will make our house look like a diner. Spoilsport

Not a fan of en-suites or squeezed-in kitchen islands. They're fine if you have space for one, but I've seen so many houses where they're shoehorned in with 3ft or less of space between the island and another row of units. Nope! En-suites are tolerable only if: they have a window, there is some sort of 'corridor' space past them into the main room. Flooring has been thought about and you can't step out of a wet room onto carpet

My old house had a kitchen diner which was handy when the kids were younger. I could cook while they did stuff at the kitchen table or have friends sat at table while I cooked. It was probably the most used room downstairs.

I think open plan makes a small house feel bigger.

Yes! This is why so the vast majority of new builds are open plan now, it gives the illusion of space but actually so many of them are really pokey.

I really don't 'get' ensuites. I don't need to hear DH doing his morning shit thank you very much and I'd much rather have the extra bedroom space. I do like a downstairs toilet though, very useful when you have small children.

I like my island because it has a bit of storage and two seats. It replaced a table, which we didn't really need for most meals as there are just two of us, and it gave us more storage space.

I don't like open plan. we're thinking of moving and I'm not sure I could manage without an ensuite now. I can't make it through the night without needing a wee so its handy.

Dream of having a utility room and a hall though!

I have always lived in 'old' houses, lots of character etc.
Then when dh and I were first married, we bought a flat, which we lived in and then let out while we went overseas.

It was a revelation!
Huge beautiful light windows, sun streaming in, no poky spaces etc. I discovered I love space!
But still don't like open plan!

Down votes from me:
Open plan - too smelly, no privacy/calm, escape from the blasted TV, will go out of fashion (you mark my words!)
Decking - slippery AF when wet!
Ensuites - yet another bathroom to clean, probably doesn't have a window, but has a really noisy fan.
Conservatories - either too cold or roasting hot. Noisy when it rains, cobwebby, feel like a budget version of a proper extension.
Postage Stamp Gardens - why even have a lawn when your garden is too small to have a shed to store the frickin lawn mower?!?

Needless to say we've been looking for a house to buy for 18months and still going....

My parents have an open plan kitchen diner thing and it's not at all relaxing. Its intense when everyone in a family is doing their own thing in the same living space. Sometimes I would just sit in the loo for some peace and quiet!

Something I see often in flats is the kitchen and sitting room combined. I suppose it's open plan really, but the room is usually just the size of a regular sitting room with kitchen units at one end. This is of course so a one bed flat can be two bed by doubling up on the use of one room. It must feel very cramped in this set up.

I don't mind real open plan where it's all about big airy communal spaces. I stayed in a holiday let once that did this, and had a separate sort of 'snug' type living room as well as the main area.

When we last moved there seemed to be a lot of new builds in our area where they just put the kitchen in the already tiny living room to save money and space and called it open plan. For some reason these miniature 2 bedroom doll houses all had a downstairs loo though. It was a very weird set of priorities.

Downstairs loo and family bathroom are a must. DP shitting in the ensuite - no thanks.
Open plan is fine if you are immaculately tidy and have a utility room and a snug. Open-plan often means the floor space is tiny.

Also heartily agree with PPs who say that new builds are all open plan now because otherwise the rooms would feel tiny...

We're wise to your trickery modern house builders!!

A downstairs toilet. We have one and I've probably used it about 15 times in the 5 years we've lived here. I'd much rather have that space for soemthing else. In a 2 bedroom house it seems a bit unnecessary.

Converted churches. Graveyard as a garden anyone? And often the big large windows are cut in half to create a upstairs so look rubbish..

Ooh. Great thread. Love a bit of 'planning my dream home'. I'm totally with you OP. I have to shout at Kirsty quite regularly when she walks into every house and tells them to knock all the walls down

I do NOT get people who prefer loads of separate rooms downstairs. Maybe if you live in a castle! But otherwise, one lovely big area is so, so much nicer, and so much easier to clean and keep nice

I take it you don't have one dc who needs to do their trumpet practice at exactly the same time as another needs to be doing their homework and a 3rd dc needs to be watching a film with their besties all whilst you want to cook whilst listening to a particular podcast or commentary on the radio, whilst dh is working from home ?
Oh, and in terms of 'keeping it all nice and clean' - I rather like the idea I can quickly close the door on the one Reception room (maybe where washing is drying, or maybe you are halfway through sorting some piles of paperwork or your dc have paintings drying or a half made construction model) and have the other one tidy / calm / presentable so I can pretend my whole life is like that.

One enormous space is so impractical for most families, IMVHO, but we are all different.

Ah now, I really like a downstairs toilet, ours is at the back of the house so you can pop in from the garden and means not traipsing though the house. I don't like en-suites in small houses though, a bit pointlesss

I love open plan! We remodelled our house to make it more open plan. And put in a downstairs loo and an en-suite (it's an ex-council house with large rooms).

Don't care for conservatories.

I love a ensuite, but then all te ones I've had have been decent, and haven't eaten space from the bedroom.
Our current one is perfect, as we have a mini hallway with ensuite, dh's study and master bedroom off it. So we can shut the door and it is all our domain!
I love going to the loo in the night and not having to put on a dressing gown.
Only relevant though really as we have 3 kids, and our bathroom is not used by the kids, it is my space.

I love downstairs loo, but we have church meetings in our house regularly, so people who are not close friends in and out all the time, and couldn't bear it if they all traipsed upstairs to the bathroom, especially when kids were small and asleep.

Open Plan- I like a kitchen/diner but I prefer a sitting room to be closed off.
Kitchen Islands- I like them in a huge kitchen but most I've seen them in seem to small for me for an island.
En Suites- I need one, totally obsessed by them- with a huge shower.
Decking- no, I'm not a fan in the UK
Conservatories- I understand some people need that bit extra room, I think as long as it's used it's fine.
Downstairs loo- definitely yes, I have 4 children.
Separate dining room- definitely.

....just my opinion!

Love open plan and an island - suits us perfectly.

Hate the idea of ensuites, though I can see why people would have one.

I have lived in a large Edwardian semi with a sitting room and dining room with dividing doors - lovely for parties - and we also had a kitchen breakfast room. It was lovely when we had the children growing up.

We downsized 12 years ago to a 70's detached property which had a kitchen diner and a sitting room. A couple of years ago we separated the kitchen and diner and put dividing doors between the sitting and dining rooms and the kitchen now has a breakfast bar. We did this so that in later years if health needs dictate we could put a bed downstairs.

I agree with pp that a utility room is wonderful. I sometimes go and hide in mine with the radio on and enjoy doing the ironing away from everyone else.

Oh dear most of you would hate our house then. It works for us though. It’s 60s so had no character to rip out. It was dark and pokey doenstairs but is now a large open plan lounge, dining area, kitchen, but slightly blocked between by small pillar walls. So I’m sat by the front window looking into my back garden. The kitchen looks like furniture, the oven is out of view from the living and dining area, but I can sit in my front window and see into my back garden. Before I would be in a small dark room, with a small very dark dining room in the middle and a small but very bright kitchen.
We also have a downstairs toilet, but through a utility so no one can hear you wee, and an en-suite.
We have four teenagers, can all fit downstairs easily, but when they have friends round, do homework, spend hours on FaceTime, they do it in their rooms. Not having to share a bathroom with them is a massive plus!

Definitely no to open plan; with teenage children bringing mates home all hours, you'll be desperate for a separate sitting room.

Downstairs loo is great if you have visitors you don't want traipsing upstairs, elderly relatives etc, or if you want a wee while the family bathroom is occupied.
I would definitely say storage space something to look for.
If you are thinking of furniture that is not flatpack or built in, you need to consider will it fit and will you get it through the door, and if applicable up the stairs.

Kitchens that look like operating theatres - all white and chrome and sterile looking. I really dislike them.

I really dislike:
Open plans

En-suites - much prefer the guest room to have its ensuite, and that's it.

loos in bathroom in general. Who wants the smell of poop where you clean your teeth?

Conservatory: I find them ugly and factor the price of taking them down when buying a house.

Living-room on street side. Why? The room where you spend most time is the room I want most private, most quiet and with view of the garden!

Street noise in the kitchen doesn't bother me however, it's the least quiet room of the house anyway.

Flat roof extension with skylights, or roof lantern style. That would actually put me off buying a house.