What’s the smallest space you could live in??are we crazy??

[Cottagelife1]

Family of 4- 2 adults and 2 DC under 7. We are thinking of moving into a tiny (old)cottage (TINY being that it is 5m x7m outside measurements) on our land while we build a new house. It needs work done first but we will do that new windows etc, so it will have a small living/kitchen/ dining (wall mounted folding table) and two bedrooms (bunk beds for DC) and a wet room, are we crazy!!?? It will be for max a year but it will save us A LOT in rent!! Would you do it??

I would kill for so much space! Do it op, it's only for a short while and your kids are still little so it will feel like a cosy little family adventure.

Not crazy at all. People do this all the time on Grand Designs.

So in feet it’s about 375 sq feet all one floor so no upstairs. Smaller than a caravan but I think I can make it work! I’m thinking ikea style space saving techniques 😂

@StatisticallyChallenged yes my dad owes me a favor so has kindly offered to pay for our storage! We would DEFINITELY NOT fit in our furniture. Our current couch won’t fit without taking up too much space 😂😂🙈

@SmallFastPenguin yes over an acre to play on so plenty of outside space thank god!!

I think you'll be fine for a year, your kids are quite small.

Easily doable. My Dsis did this when she built her house - buy in a mobile home, over 18 months - at least you will have 4 walls.

To get some ideas try looking up those tiny house blogs on the internet or Pinterest - I use them to inspire me to tidy up but they have amazing ideas for living in a tiny house with kids - usually in the US in Ohio or Montana.

And when you do build, you will have learned to live minimally so will be able to plan a more financially comfortable house if you need to.

By the way, Dsis did this with 2 adults and 2 kids. The outiside space is key to keeping the DC happy.

outside!!!

Well there's four of us living in a one bed flat and we manage so I'm sure you'll manage ok with an extra bedroom

My parents did this when my dad built our house. We (mum, dad, me aged 4 and brother aged 6) lived in our neighbour's guest house which was essentially a large bedsit, so in one corner we had a bunk bed and a double bed, a dining table in the middle, a tiny kitchenette in one corner and a TV. It must have been tough on my parents but I bloody loved it. I got to sleep next to my entire family for a year. And my best friend lived next door. I'd do it!

Look at it like this, short term pain, long term gain.

yes i think it is doable..will you have washing machine and tumble dryer space ? that would be my only problem especially as kids will be outside a lot getting muddy and in bad weather trying to dry clothes without a tumble might be hard going.

If you could afford it id look at investing a few hundred quid into an old small caravan or a shed that could be a playroom/playhouse..so kids could keep their toys and plastic tat out of the cottage.
OR you could have a tv / escape room in an old caravan if one of you needed it !
going into summer yes lovely easy fingers x for a heatwave again
middle of winter, endless rain and mud ..might be harder...so prep for that time, weekends away, stay odd night with family, and definitely have a tumble dryer installed !!!

yes look at some tiny house videos make things do more than one thing underbed storage,
there was one with drop down drawers/cupboards about 6" deep from ceiling for keeping tinned stuff wine etc in
if you do it well you could rent it out for tiny house holidays later

drop down table from one wall , even folding stools for kids

there are lots of ideas available

declutter, wall mount, multi function good outdoor dining set you can take to your new place a good BBQ

Could you get a big Tent to put up outside also so that the DC have a bigger playing space (if they are old enough), so that you can say cook dinner whilst they play in the tent for example.

We had a tent in the Garden (big one) and the DC loved taking their toys in there and playing.

Blooming good idea from theredjellybean about getting a shed for a washing machine and tumble dryer.

I would absolutely do this. Great idea!

So you have a kitchen,bathroom, sitting/dining area and a bed for everyone. Sounds fine to me.

@Aftereights91 yes I know but when I say bedrooms they are approx 1.5 x 2.1m each 🙈

@theredjellybean yes there are thankfully a few outhouses at the back that we will make into a makeshift laundry area and one into a toy storage area!

The kitchenette will be a corner of the main room and then a fold down table, a stove and a couch. That’s about all there is room for. The tv will have to go on the wall,

@feelingverylazytoday kitchen sitting and living all in one room about 3m x 2.5 m 🙈

Ooh that’s tiny but the end goal will make it worth your while.

Yes, do it. It will be a nightmare. The kids will love it. You will hate it. But you'll save and that will help in the future.

I'd do it if it were temporary but no way I could do that tiny house action forever.

Yes, definitely. We definitely need more room for furniture, books and toys than we do for us. As long as storage is taken care of, you'll be fine!

I'd put a biggish shed right outside as a playroom if poss.