To think this house IS big enough

[Coconutsandpalmtree]

For 3 kids and wfh (needing an office)

im not sure it is, but surely it should be and I’m missing a trick as to how we can make it work, DH and I have decided we’d like another child.

it’s a new house (6yrs now) so I took a pic of the floor plan from the developers. It’s pretty generic but it’s tight on space.

the front double is our bedroom, built in wardrobe and the space by the ensuite is a chest of drawers that we really need.

the smaller back ‘double’ (on floor plan) is more a single tbh, but that’s my eldests room. Front single youngest. Other double is a guest room/ office.

we really need an office for wfh. There’s no place for stud walls due to the windows.

we do have a garage though and a classic new build garden aka small.

what do you think? Can another kid fit here?

yabu- no way
yanbu- yes with some outside the box thinking that I’ll share :)

Yeah my ideal isn’t a semi but I suppose something has to give at some point, obviously this is just hypothetical. But I don’t love that it doesn’t have an en suite

extra room downstairs could be ideal for an older parent though I’m wondering less stairs etc?

I think if this is for added elderly parents then it isn’t big enough. though occasional use for guests would be fine. Not a perm bedroom.
defo need more bathrooms too.

We live in a 3-storey and it’s a bit of a pain. Plus side is Dh works night shifts so is handy having a bedroom at the top of the house as he doesn’t hear any downstairs noise.

Will have preference for a 2-storey when we move though :)

There’s a shower room adjoined to it?

theres 3? Ideally an ensuite would be there but is 3 loos for 5 people not sufficient?

It’s an extra storey to clean too right? 😅

for older kids I can see it being handy because they’ve got a bit more space and privacy but younger less than ideal

But there won’t be 5 of you if you move in elderly parents and they would basically mean no one else has access to that bathroom? So then you’re 2 toilets and one bathroom for 5?

sorry if I’ve got confused with your proposal!

we have 4 loos and 3 showers for 6 of us. I wouldn’t even consider any less ( though we do have teenage girls!)

perhaps but comprises may have to be made budget wise, esp if we want to go disruption to the kids as minimal by staying in the same area

theres one other on the market 6 bed even has a library and a drawing room and a game room, cool 1.5 m. Slightly out of grasp 😅

@Coconutsandpalmtree

One of my friends grew up in a 2 bed sharing a room with her 3 sisters and the downstairs area was a single combined living room/diner/kitchen. And this was in the 80s/90s not pre war 😆

Obviously not ideal, but none of them are suffering any trauma from the experience!

My hatred of hoovering stairs started when I lived in a 3 storey house, but other than that it was fine - and mine were toddlers when we lived there.

I really can’t believe many of the comments on this thread! The house is fine for 5, the kids would all have their own room with space for a bed, desk and wardrobe so can get privacy there.

So the question is where to put the office and there are many options:
1). The storage space off the living room. Pro is that it would be (almost) free to do, con is no window and no privacy.
2) remove a bathroom. Personally I wouldn’t, it’ll devalue the house and sharing one bathroom between 5 will be hell as the kids get older.
3). Convert half the garage. Can be done very cheaply, especially if there’s already a window or door at the back of the garage.
4) Garden office. The most pricey, but likely to add value and also gives the kids an extra living room / games room when not being used. My brother recently put one in a relatively small garden for a similar reason and it works really well for them

So I’d go for 4 if you can, or 3 if you really can’t afford the garden room

We really miss our downstairs full bathroom now we have moved. We have a en-suite now but I’d much prefer a second bath/shower room somewhere where people don’t have to go through my bedroom to use it. 3 loos is plenty for 5 people.
That semi detached has an ideal downstairs gym room with shower room that means no one upstairs needs to be disturbed.
I think that house has a really good amount of space and I’d love to be able to find something like that near me. Going from detached to semi is a compromise I’d be willing to make.
But I also think your current house could be big enough if you can fit in a garden room and still have enough garden space (in our new build garden we couldn’t but the plots on our estate seem especially small)

Total American thinking here: we rely on basements for living space. If you have one it could house living space, bedroom, office, another bathroom and some storage.

Your house is totally fine for five, with two generous spaces on the ground floor, four good-sized bedrooms and ample bathrooms / WCs. Don't change any of them.

A garage is usually a large space, long and narrowish, if single - which you could easily convert it into two rooms / offices or one room plus shower room / wc / laundry - which could serve for overnight stay.
Or convert part of it to make one study, if you wish to keep part for storage.

If you do convert the garage, you can always get a shed for storage - cheap to buy and put up and loads of choice and styles, with windows etc. Have a look at B & Q or similar for ideas of sizes and prices. Problem solved. Everything will work just fine, with plenty of scope for the growing family.

When you move in years to come, you may want to go for a house with downstairs bedroom and walk-in shower or wetroom and WC and laundry space, which comes in useful as people get older.

Feels claustrophobic- such small rooms. When kids grow up they will need more private space for homework and friends.

How rude.

rude?! Merely speaking from experience. Yes, subjective but also looking ahead and how things are likely to cjange

Yeah it is rude, imagine being so derogatory about someone’s house! 2 singles and 2 doubles claustrophobic, yeah how embarrassing we live in such a hole

Too small you will outgrow it within 5 years. Before buying any property you need to know the upgrade potential- either loft (done properly can add two double beds and a shower) or extension (L or 1/2 storey). The garage conversion is also good. Plus shed office/ summer house.
Otherwise good luck affording a move up the ladder

I haven’t RTWT but you agree with everyone that it’s small for three and there are already four living there.

Is moving to a cheaper area where you would get more space for the money a possibility? If not, a garden office (or converting the garage to one, which is maybe the best option as you say the garden is small) seems like the easiest and most cost effective solution. I take it there’s no attic you can convert or other space you haven’t mentioned?

Mumsnet is absolutely a parallel universe at times. OP will have three children all with their own bedrooms. 🤷‍♀️, the office can go somewhere else. It’s only today that we think we ‘need’ a home office. I’ve got one as my house is too big for us now, but for years I existed working from a laptop and my work bag in the dining room.

I know. I grew up in a house so big you could get lost in it but I still think op's house is perfectly fine for 3 children. In fact my sister and I shared for years even though we could have had our pick of loads of bedrooms!

If it was me and I had no budget to make another room, I would put two kids in the double, one kid in the single and last single guest bed/bedsettee and work desk. Absolutely nothing wrong with little kids sharing rooms. And 10 years down the line you may be in the position to move to something bigger. I have always wanted to move for more space, but it is just too expensive. If only we could all live in big houses. 😉 PS don't get a conservatory, don't recommend them.

It’s small for 3 people?!

i don’t especially want to move somewhere cheaper as that invariably means a worse neighbourhood with worse schools, crime etc. We live in a suburb of a big city. And the areas you’d want to live in are priced as such, the cheaper ones tend to be rougher.

In all honesty i regret posting the floor plan of my home, to the extent that I actually feel a bit ashamed now that this is all I have.

It looks like a really nice house, people are just being dramatic in an attempt to let everyone know what vast houses they want to pretend to have.

It looks fine for 3 children