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 :)

It’s to do with the actual build of the house

Move the office to the single room at the front surely?

Then two children could share the biggest double and the smaller double for another child.

then you have the biggest room with en-suite.

Honestly I think it’s fine. Mumsnet is like a different planet sometimes, but in reality I know lots of people with 2 or 3 children and this is a completely normal house for a family. Yes two living rooms would be nice but it’s not reality for most average families.

Yes, I'd do this if there's space.

Could you get away with something like This somewhere, even in the hallway where the console table is on the plan.

I think that people have come to think that they need an office when a desk would probably do for most.

What about a fold down desk in each of the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms - one that can be put away at the end of the working day? The children will have to be in the living room when they return from school but it would only be for a couple of hours. The office chairs could be used by the children in the evening or weekend. As for guests, bunk beds in one room, trundle bed in the other so 2 children share when you have visitors and the visitors have a double or 2 single beds.

I think it's fine. And people manage with a lot less. My BFF growing up was one of 4 living in an old school 3 bed Taylor Wimpey home. Amazingly they all successfully made it to adulthood without have 2 separate living rooms.

The key will be keeping on top of kid crap... she says surrounded by kid crap herself! :D

Do you need three bathrooms? Remove the en-suite as is probably easier to have a toilet downstairs and that frees up space for a small office (plus storage). I have two teenage DCs and our second shower has been out of action for years, discovered it was a handy place to dry washing and found we didn’t miss it as long as we still had a second toilet. My friend has 3 DCs in a house with one bathroom (inc) toilet and a separate toilet - initially had one bathroom and put the second toilet in, I think you’d be absolutely fine with two bathrooms and 3 DCs.

I work home and use an alcove in our kitchen/family room but I don’t have many meetings and DCs that are in their rooms most of the time

My friend has three young children, similar set up. Her desk set up is in the hall with a desk, tiny filing cabinet and laptop, three days a week.

It's the quietest place in the house 😂

You could just not work from home but use a shared working space. It would cost a bit but would be a steady cost rather than a big outlay in one go for a renovation.

That’s a very small house. Even if you fiddle with floor plan it has no storage. Can you build a garden studio? Tbh, I’d buy something bigger, it seems skimpy for number of occupants and the bedrooms are tiny.

Agree- i'm currently living in a 2 bedroom flat with 3 children and i WFH. It's far from ideal but it's liveable until we can get a deposit for something a bit bigger.

New builds do tend to be a bit crowded but I think you can do it wiht a bit of workaround (garage office or convert a bathroom).

Well reading this thread I'm thinking o might have to put our third child on Etsy. Two youngest share and likely always will until eldest moves out. One living room. No garden office opp etc. I hadn't realised how awful my children's lives were going to become over the next decade

Just build a garden office. Leave your house alone - keep your walls, bathrooms and storage intact, and have a nice shed office. Really, really the easiest option lol

I know this is MN but there's absolutely no reason someone in a four bed house with two kids HAS to move to a bigger house

Re the garden studio @Coconutsandpalmtree says her garden is small. Removing space for children to play safely isn't a great idea imo.

I don’t think it’s a very small house, it’s absolutely fine. It’s a 4 bed house with three bathrooms, a dining kitchen and a living room large enough to house a dining table. Where I live Victorian era one bed flats with large kitchens and boxroom are very often converted into 2 bed flats y making the boxroom into a kitchen, what was the kitchen turning into a bedroom and the dining table goes into the living room.

You’ll only need planning if you change the front eg replace garage doors with a window
You don’t need planning to convert the inside of a garage into a room

I'm seriously aghast at all the responses calling this a very tiny house, stating the have to move, everything is far too small. I do think MN is like another planet sometimes. I'm raising 3 kids, and was raised as 1 in 4, in houses smaller than this and not only is it completely fine, they were both very happy and thriving households!

There's plenty of room for a desk, chair in the hall.

Op if you want a third, you'll find space for stuff.

You don't say how old the kids are, so what the ages will be re sharing. If they're currently 2 and 3 it's fine, if they're 12 and 13 not so much.

If they can share, the office goes in the small room and "sorry, we only have air beds / you can have our room" for guests.
Second option for me would be garage. If it's properly insulated etc you could even let the kids use it as they get older.
You say your garden isnt huge so I wouldn't want to take up too much space in the garden especially with three kids

https://www.houzz.com/photos/query/hallway-office

Ideas here

I'm mind boggled by some of the replies on here! For most people it's not possible to just move to a bigger house!?

Anyway OP, you could definitely make this work!

I think if you don't want any of the children to share a room, which I also think is completely acceptable, then a garage conversion would be a great option which wouldn't cost as much as an extension. You could convert 1/3-1/2, so you'd still have storage space.

YABU as you'll be squished and stressed. But if you want a child more than you want to consider how the children will feel about it, then:

No guest room; no hosting guests.
Move the office into the single room.
Give 2 of your children the current guest room/double to share somehow. Perhaps a bunk bed in the middle with 'walls' that divide the room into halves like you see on the internet suggestions.

Alternatively, they each get their own room, no guests, and work in the kitchen if you have to WFH.