To ask if you are happy in your 'small' home?

[Apricotmuffino]

We bought our house about 4 years ago and have been very slowly renovating it, it has cost a fortune in all honesty with the ever increasing costs, and we are due to get our very old kitchen refitted with new units.

We have 1 child, and would like another within the next few years.

When we bought the house we intended to upsize after 5-7 years but in all honesty it seems so out of reach now, despite having managed to put to the side a decent amount of savings it's not touching the surface, and the costs to move (legal fees, stamp duty, interest rates being high if we were to borrow more) is putting us off.

We are trying to make living in the current house better so we can happily live in it maybe 10+ years from now on, and considering perhaps putting money into the garden/bathroom instead. Problem is, it's small.. a small lounge, small kitchen (just about can squeeze a small table in there) and 3 bedrooms, albeit the 3rd is extremely small and space is limited in there due to the stairs eating into the room. Our garden is OK, but needs work.

Living here long term would mean we would have more disposable income but I'm not sure how happy we would be in a small house with 4 of us.

We are in a dilemma whether to spend our money on this house, or try and skimp and save over the years to make upsizing become a reality!

I know small is subjective, our house is around 1000sqft, perhaps not small to others but feels it to us. Hope this doesn't come across as goady in anyway.

Any thoughts opinions would be greatly welcomed!!!

We have 5 children now, 4 when we lived in our last house which was a 4 bed, 1400sqft with a decent garden. Downstairs was all open plan and we felt like we were living on top of eachother. We moved to a 6 bed 2800sqft with 4 receptions on a big plot, it was honestly life changing. However, the garden up keep in the summer is insane, I can never take my foot off the pedal when it comes to cleaning and the up keep and utility bills are very high. I find myself feeling slightly envious of people in smaller homes with less up keep and small out goings. I think if you can make it work, keep your fun money! Life is for living, not slaving over stuff.

Many have a cabin bed type built over the stair jutting out bit if want to use as a bedroom

or kids share bigger bedroom

yes great if can have own room and maybe in time build a cabin in garden for an office if want own

but it’s also fine for kids to share.

many friends of mine when I was a child shared in their parents mortgaged house as brother and sister as only 2 bed

obv in council they are not meant to share after a certain age

don’t stretch yourself to buy bigger

I am in a similar scenario. I will stay in this small house (2 large bedrooms, one box room) as a family of 4 because the location is absolutely ideal and there is no chance of bigger in this area. It's very peaceful, short walk to town centre, nice neighbours. I wouldn't sacrifice the location for an extra bedroom or two.
So it's not just the size of the house.. other things matter too.

1-bedroom apartment in a prime central location of a major global city (think the equivalent of Knightsbridge in London).

Beautiful apartment block. 24-hour concierge.

Lovely neighbours.

I could not be happier. 🥰

Interesting thread
I have an 850 sq ft end of terrace but there is only me here all the time and DS half the time. I was thinking of getting an extension this year but the garden isn’t all that big either. This thread is making me think that I don’t need it. I don’t really need a second toilet if there is only two of us in the house for half the week and only me the other half.
My mortgage is a meagre £500 per month but as I used to rent it out, if I sold it I would have to pay a hefty capital gains tax as well as the usual costs to buy and sell a home so it makes sense to stay. I earn well and can easily save getting on for £2k per month so perhaps I should keep it this way for a while.
I also own my car and don’t have expensive tastes in anything/expensive hobbies and I have done this house up to my taste and it is really quite cosy

Ours is 802 square feet, may or may not include the integral garage.

It houses 4 of us adequately but there is a definite lack of storage and the rooms aren't exactly huge.

On the plus side there is a main bathroom, ensuite and downstairs toilet so no queuing in the morning. When the kids want showers every morning it's easy for them to take turns just like me and my husband do.

I would like somewhere bigger but it's too expensive currently and I would just end up filling it with crap.

I'm as happy as I can be with what I have, I definitely dream of a bigger house but I also dream of a private gym, a big garden with a gardener who also maintains a hot tub and sauna. Never going to happen so I'm putting a slightly bigger house into a similar category, it's unlikely but a bit more possible in the future.

Change the door to the box room, having it open outwards on to the landing would give you a bit more room to play with.

It sounds like a similar size to ours, though maybe our smallest bedrooms very slightly bigger as it does fit a single divan bed in, and has a slight alcove which we were able to have a built in wardrobe/drawers.

It has been manageable with 2 kids (6 year age gap). First, the baby went into the small room in a cot which could be made into a bed, this was fine until he was 4yo. We then switched rooms as older child didn’t really play with toys anymore so didn’t need as much storage. When older child was in GCSE year we swapped again so that she could have privacy and space to study, then we swapped for the last time when she went off to Uni and was only back in the hols.

We also boarded out the loft and stored stuff that we didn’t need all of the time up there, and we have a garage for our bikes and outdoor stuff etc

We have two children in a small (850sqft) house. 3rd bedroom is a box room - at the moment, the baby is in there but once she’s a little older they’ll have bunk beds in my eldest’s decent sized room and this will become an office with a built in storage unit type thing.

I love it - means we declutter and don’t accumulate random stuff, easy and quick to clean and cheap to run (well as cheap as anything is these days). We do have 3 toilets though (new build) and 2 showers so never have to worry about queuing for a bathroomz

We have a shed which is full (albeit organised) and I store the kids garden stuff e.g bikes in their Wendy house - and just get them out if they want to play). Also utilise the loft!

I live in a 2 bed semi with a conservatory that has a sofa bed , spare tv and a bit of storage. We paid off our mortgage within 19 years and when I was 39. The house is approx 820sq feet and we make it work. I had to be creative and had a desk built in under the stairs. It’s basically a cupboard but with a full door and I set up my office in there as fully wfh (part time) it’s my Harry Potter style office under the stairs 🪄we only have 1 child and she has a decent sized bedroom and we’re going to get a double bed in there now she doesn’t need a desk - she’s off to uni in September so just waiting until she’s done her A levels. We boarded up our loft and have a shed so those are used for storage . We make it work and enjoy travelling and being able to put money away and upgrading parts of the house each year . Got composite doors last year and new windows. we could afford a larger house but we’d rather have the money and enjoy making our little house cozy and travelling. Being mortgage free gives us so much freedom.

It is a personal choice though but I have enjoyed reading other people’s views on this

We have a large house (over 3,000 sq ft) and it's not all it's cracked up to be. Bills are sky high, cleaning takes forever and it's never ending maintenance. I appreciate the space (and the ability to be away from neighbours) but I also think I would be happy(ier??) n a smaller house. Ultimately its easy to criticise what you have without seeing the downsides of what you want.

Op your house is not small. Our house is about a third smaller than yours. Around 670 Square feet. We've got 4 peoole plus dh working from home. And you've got a garage, which we don't.

So you've got plenty of space. Perhaps your house is too cluttered with belongings?

Totally agree. A smaller home may well be easier to clean and all within potential lay more disposable income but personally I’d rather spend that money on enhancing the quality of my everyday life and have a bigger home. More than one toilet, potentially an additional lounge or study also. Larger rooms with kids and potentially pets also just makes it easier to breathe! Re cleaning just get everyone to chip in and have a organised rota! Once kids are grown you can downsize and enjoy your additional disposable income then. I have a pretty large home now and when I visit my family/friends I find the smaller rooms stuffy and stifling and know despite the larger bills, cleaning etc, I’ve definitely made the right decision for now!

1000 sq ft is pretty average really, ours is about that, a lot of houses are only bigger because they have extensions.

We are in a tiny house, but only one teen DC and it’s obviously easier with teens than little ones as teens just stay in their room or go out a lot. (We did live in a bigger house when she was younger and moved right before her 14th birthday.)

There are definitely positives. I spend a lot less time cleaning now. As others have said, de-cluttering is key - it makes you realise how much unnecessary stuff you hang on to when you do have somewhere to put it!

Growing up I was one of three, we always lived in four bedroom houses but it was always three decent rooms and a box room, so my sister who was the youngest always had a box room (until we did move to a bigger house when she was 9 or 10) - and I’d think that’s pretty normal in all families with more than two kids that someone always gets a small room or they share.

I grew up in a house that sounds similar to yours - although we couldn't have fitted a table in the kitchen. Barely two people could fit).

My sibling and I never thought anything of it and were very happy there. My parents divorced but I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with the size of the house!!!

Ah yes we have a huge loft / attic to store stuff so that makes a difference.

Our house was 1000 feet. We moved, extended and now live in 3000 feet. The problem with a bigger house is that everything is bigger - the bills, the stress, the worry. Sure, I love the space. But my children have too many rooms to sit in that don't include me. I don't earn enough to have a cleaner and gardener so I spend my life doing that. I have filled the house with tat. But mostly I worry that I won't be able to afford to live there when I retire because of how big the bills will be and that will then involve moving out. I hate moving. I'm a huge home body. So all I'd say is think very carefully - could you make it work? I couldn't make it work so moving was the right thing for us. And if we do have to downsize then it hopefully wasnt money wasted. But if you can make it work then when you're back on your own you might find 1000 is just perfect once again.

We live in a large house with ample space and good furnishings and a dreamy garden, however I've often thought that life would be simpler with a much smaller house, with less to go wrong, better energy efficiency and cosy rooms.

Go i to the loft for another room? Have 3rd small room for stars and study?

We are 4 of us in a 750 sq feet house (2 bed). Do love it here but feel like we have definitely outgrown particularly as the eldest is now 10 and is needing more space. Hopefully moving soon.

Could you maybe open up the loft or build a garden office if you need more space in the future?

@Catza that's lovely. I often think smaller houses make for closer families.

I live in a 3 bed mid terrace that is only 6m wide. We have a tiny downstairs bathroom but the plus side of that is three double bedrooms.

My FIL was one of six kids brought up two doors down and lived there til he got married. He remembers that house as quite roomy despite sharing a room with two brothers. Standards have changed a lot.

I think clever furniture also makes a huge difference. I have a narrow, long table which is technically an IKEA desk top. It means it fits in the kitchen with a bench seat.

I also recently bought a coffee table for the living room that lifts up and then folds out to become a dining table/craft table. I love it.

I don't see the point in paying loads of money for square footage that only contains a pot plant. I think versatility in use of spaces is what we should all aim for when property is so expensive.

A lot of this really resonates with me.

Particularly the bit about families in smaller houses being closer, and your kids sitting in different rooms.

In a lot of way I feel like our 1,000 sq ft bungalow was big enough and we shouldn't have moved.

The garden is a problem for me here. And the heating bills are high, but I hadn't actually factored in how we would afford the bills in retirement.

At the moment, the mortgage is due to be paid off when I am 60, husband 61.

Hoping to make some overpayments "at some point" to bring that forward a bit, but don't know how / when.

The plus side is that the house has two bathrooms, and the layout is such that will give the kids some space and privacy, particularly if they end up living at home as young adults.

It is also not huge (although bigger than old place) and will hopefully be fine as we get older as I don't really want to ever move again. It has a downstairs bathroom etc so I'm hoping not to ever have to move.

Is there loft conversion or possible extension as an option?

small house, big life