Ways to make this house 4 bed? ( link included )

[Wednesbury]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51233273.html

This house is perfect for us ( and at the top of our budget ) except with 3 DC and my mum staying regularly we ultimately need 4 bedrooms. I have been staring at the floor plans trying to work out if it could be done, either by reconfiguring the internal space or adding to it.

Anyone got any ideas as to whether it could be done? Thoughts welcome!

I'm on the app and can't make the link work though.

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I wouldn't change this house further. I think costs would be huge, look at the thickness of the original walls. You can't alter the snug as it effectively serves as a hallway giving access to the living room, downstairs loo and stairs.

How old and which gender are the DCs?
How often and for how long does mother visit?

The house is already top of your budget, so if 2DC sharing and one in the third bedroom is ok then I'd buy a good sofa bed for the living room and have that as occasional guest bedroom. Then think carefully about how to furnish and use the snug and living/dining space in the kitchen. Furniture is much cheaper than plans and building works.

Longer term I'd save to either convert the garage and store, or, investigate garden cabins. Eventually your DCs will move out or you'll want to move on and you don't want to have overspent on the property, so for me it'd be about spending as little as you can to achieve what you need.
The only other thing is to love the house but accept it's just too small for your needs.

It's lovely, but I think you need more space. I wouldn't want to lose some of the living space to create another bedroom, nor would I want to lose one of the bathrooms. Unless you can extend (i.e. would get planning permission and could afford to do it), then I'd look at other properties. I've just done a quick Right Move search that brought up plenty of 4-5 bedroom properties in the £250-300k range in the same postcode. Not as pretty as this house, but the trade off is more space.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32208693.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32864790.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48399364.html?premiumA=true

Clicky link to house from OP (I couldn't see if anyone had done one already!)

I think its too small for all of you .

If you're already looking for ways to extend before you move in with all of your stuff and its at the top end of your budget maybe its just not for you.

I think OP inappropriately fell in love because it's such a nice house.

I can relate! Gorgeous houses in our price range were too small. Gorgeous houses with the size we needed were beyond our budget. I had to compromise on love rather than space. Maybe OP wants only love...but I think she will regret it. Like marrying a rock star who proves too unstable to bring up kids and provide an income.

I think I hit 40 and got too practical!

It's easily done though isn't it. It's a beautiful house and looks very well done too.
I don't know the area, the schools etc. and OP didn't say how old the children are so we don't know what's totally appropriate for them.

I've lived in a tiny house after having a huge one. Four of us just had to streamline our stuff right down. It was very liberating to be honest.

I wasn't too keen on the bigger houses suggested, they're so very different from what the OP's chosen and I'd personally rather find good ways of making the first house work especially if utilizing the garage would work.
I wonder what long term value would be like there? I'd imagine much better than a modern estate type house. The house shown is in a lovely looking lane.

True, age of kids would make a difference. If they already teens, and one soon to leave home, and they are all happy with it compared to what they currently have...great.

If there is a baby and some young children, I think they will outgrow the space soon. Mine are all under 10, but it's gone quickly and I'm well aware teenagerdom isn't far off!

I know the houses I linked are very different, but it was just an example of what space you can buy for less money than the house that the OP has fallen for. She's said that the house is at the top of her budget, which doesn't leave many options for making changes once in the house. Like I said, it's a trade off between space and prettiness.

I would leave the ensuite tbh - you'll need it.
As others have said, the garage / storeroom looks like the best option. I've had mine converted into a study and it's fab.

Could you shave a bit off the garage and convert the storeroom? Or, since it's got a spacious roof, leave the footprint as is but put spare bedroom above?

For sure Matilda it wasn't a criticism of you giving options at all. It's a very valid consideration. I was more thinking out loud and expressing my own ideas

I certainly wouldn't lose the ensuite in the house.
If it were feasible I'd put one or two windows and a half glazed exterior door into the store or the garage wall facing the house.
Leaving the exterior garage door intact I'd put up an insulated stud wall the width of the garage about three feet in, so that the front becomes a storage area. The body of the garage with further insulation could be a bed sitting room and the current store could have a cloakroom or small shower room installed. Heating could be plug in heaters and lighting enhanced by lamps so nothing too fancy.
All dependent upon relevant permission and cost of course. It could be that in X years time one of the DCs takes on the 'annexe' so it could be versatile.

The cheaper option if the house was ok for the resident family is clever furnishing.

As said before, it depends on the DCs ages and also how much time mother spends visiting. You have to get the maximum use of the space for the benefit of people who live in the property the majority of the time and you work around for visitors.

Could you make one side of the kitchen diner into a bedroom? If you walk in through the side entrance to the house, could you make a doorway on the right into the snug, and the current door into the kitchen would enter into a small bedroom instead. I reckon if you partitioned the diner area and lost about 8-9ft from the room, you might still have a area big enough for a table and you would still have your snug, sitting room and all your bathrooms.

Thanks for all the responses. I think it probably it is too small despite my wish to minimalise our lifestyle. Where would we put 5 guitars, mixing decks, work desk (I wfh, DH has two big monitors for photography )? Children are a baby, 5 and 7.

The reason for the location specifically is that it is where the DCs go to school. Lots of us live in the much cheaper town nearby but the village is very desirable hence the price. I've not been happy in the town and we're trying to find somewhere to settle.

I think if it was just unrealistic idealistic me I'd go for it but DH is very practical and unsentimental and he and some of you are probably right - there's not enough space here for a family of 5.

But there are some very good ideas here, thank you to everyone who replied.

That's a shame, it really is a lovely house, but from what you've said now about the DCs' ages, working from home and all the equipment to house, I do think you have to accept that it's not going to be practical however much you squash up

Hmm I think it's doable actually....

Guitars mixing desk etc go in snug. Main bathroom becomes a bedroom. En-suite becomes main bathroom. You have front bedroom, baby has bathroom that has become a bedroom, unless your mum is there in which case baby goes back in with you. When baby gets bigger they go in with older sibling when your mum visits. If your mum is there pretty much permanently I still think at least one of the bedrooms would be large enough for two kids.

You have a downstairs loo which looks like it could accommodate a shower, and the space the side door goes into I'd have washing machine etc in there.

Here are your options:

1)Convert the garage into a guest suite (expensive)
2)Make the (huge) kitchen a kitchen/sitting room and then use the sitting room as a sitting room/guest room (decent sofa bed). You should not miss the sitting room with the kitchen/sitting room plus snug and so your guests should not feel like they are putting you out too much.
3) use the small bedroom as an occasional guest room. Put a trundle under your or the other kids bed and whenever you have guests turf that child out of their small bedroom and onto the trundle.

FWIW I have a dedicated guest room (and family and friends who like to come to visit) and I find it the greatest extravagance - waste of space and money I ever thought of. In my next house the rooms will all be duel purpose. EG the guest room will be a study for the 48 weeks of the year I have no guests staying! Or the kids rooms will double up to accommodate each other when guests take over their rooms.
In your plans I like the sitting room/guest room best.

Where would we put 5 guitars, mixing decks, work desk (I wfh, DH has two big monitors for photography)?

In the garage

When the children are say 5, 9 and 11 and Granny comes to stay it would be quite a considerable squash though. If DH isn't on side it's going to be hard to convince him.

Last ditch thoughts.
If converting the garage didn't appeal how about the garden cabin idea?
Taking This as a random example (I have no connection with any garden building company) and adding more costs for a proper base, erection and kitting out, you should be able to do a grand job for say £4-6,000 max.
Most of the time it could be where you work from home OP, or given over to DH's stuff and also accommodate occasional guests if you included facilities.
It would certainly be an asset to the home.
Otherwise living room with a sofa bed is where you work and your mother sleeps and DH has a lesser grade garage conversion for his stuff.

Perhaps the house owners have a bit of room for negotiation in their asking price? or have you already accounted for that?