Is 2000sq ft a big house??

[unikorn]

We've just had an offer accepted on a 2000sq ft house and now oh is saying he's worried it's not big enough. We're a family of 4. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms plus downstairs loo, 3 reception rooms, separate utility room, driveway, decent garden.

This is the layout of our house we bought 8 months ago. It's a huge 4 bed semi with a spare room and it's 1647sq ft. Bed 1 is 4.45m x 3.7m, bed 2 is 4.3m x 3.7, bed 3 is 3.6m x 2.97m and bed 4 is 3.6m x 2.19m

This house seems like it’s overextended. And it may be 2k sqf but a lot of it is going to be awkward with limited use (third bedroom in attack, garage conversion, conservatory). If I were you, personally, I would keep looking.

I mean it's adequate. No separate dining room, no utility room unless that's what the "storage" is for.

We brought up our 2 DC in something slightly larger and were fine, but if we'd had any more then we'd have wanted quite a bit more space.

It's not big at all imo.

Its threads like these that remind me how privileged some people are yet they can't even see it. Your OH lives in a bubble.

@flashbac

Its threads like these that remind me how privileged some people are yet they can't even see it. Your OH lives in a bubble.

It's not privilege, it's choice.

What would buy you a pokey 1 bed flat in one part of the country would buy you a massive 6/7 bed house in another.

It's all about where you choose to live.

"Research shows that the average property size in England is 729 sq ft, and with the average house price sitting at £266,742, homebuyers are paying £366 per sq ft in the current market. In London, the country's capital, the average size home currently stands at 705 sq ft."

From Housebeautiful.com

Tell you OH to stop being ungrateful. Get him a gratitude diary or something.

@nannyandjohn Some people can't even afford to buy a "pokey 1 bed". This is all a bit "my diamond shoes are too tight"

[quote flashbac]@nannyandjohn Some people can't even afford to buy a "pokey 1 bed". This is all a bit "my diamond shoes are too tight"[/quote]
They might be able to if they're looking in the right location.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111013634#/

Many people raise bigger families on much smaller properties and flats. It’s not a small house.

However if op is buying this particular house then here’s my tuppence. It’s around the size of mine although I am not counting conservatory until footage; it’s an odd layout though and the rooms look odd as a result. I hate converted garages personally as the room never feels like it was meant to be a room.

We have four bedrooms on one floor and while the smallest room is not “small” it’s quite a bit smaller than the other 3.

We have loads of storage and a small utility room which helps feel huge I think as less need for furniture. Also 3 of us living here full time as oldest is at uni and only pops home occasionally (yes I know we are spoiled).

What are the options on your price range? This is not a house you will struggle for privacy in; it’s probably not an optimum use of the space either but we have no idea what else your own personal options are as a family.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107380550#/

@NannyAndJohn many people could not even get any sort of mortgage or save a deposit in the first place due to job instability and low salaries, you seriously think a £60k flat is the answer to the housing crisis?

Zombie thread

We live in a 4 bed that's 1400 sq ft and it still feels large to us! There are plenty of families with 2 or 3 kids happily living in similar size houses round here. I agree with others though, the layout/flow maybe making it feel smaller.

@NannyAndJohn why are your cluttering the thread with links to 1 bed flats in order to try an disprove a point that the OP is privileged to have an above average sized home? 2000 sq ft is well over the average of 729 sq ft so her house is not small.

@LovelaceBiggWither

Zombie thread

I didnt notice that!

OP are you there? Did you buy the house?

[quote RJnomore1]@NannyAndJohn many people could not even get any sort of mortgage or save a deposit in the first place due to job instability and low salaries, you seriously think a £60k flat is the answer to the housing crisis?[/quote]
I support council housing being the norm for the less well off.

But even so, someone on minimum wage should be able to get a mortgage of around ~£60000 and then it's only a few years worth of savings for the small deposit.

[quote flashbac]@NannyAndJohn why are your cluttering the thread with links to 1 bed flats in order to try an disprove a point that the OP is privileged to have an above average sized home? 2000 sq ft is well over the average of 729 sq ft so her house is not small.[/quote]
You said that small 1 beds are out of reach to a lot of people.

I'm proving that wrong.

I think in your case, it’s adequate. My home is 1,800sq however it’s on two floors not three. My room (main) is 6.1m x 3.5m which is a bit narrow but I have an en-suite with a bath so much of the space is deducted by that.

Have you bought the house already? If not - maybe keep looking.

Oh I forgot the crucial bit of information. I live in a four bed detached house and the two smallest rooms are small.

I would say it’s generous and comfortable but not in ‘big house’ territory. It’s a good example of a house that has been expanded about as far as it can go, you will have plenty of space for living. It might not feel big in the same way a truly big (eg period) house would.

@nannyandjohn

Keep trying to prove something then.

So many people can't afford to buy, can't even get a mortgage.

Let them eat cake you say?

Our house is 3800 sq ft (four bedrooms, three bathrooms, over three floors. We also have a basement which is not counted in the sq footage).
To be honest, I sometimes wish it was bigger. We have only one child, but my office is also the spare bedroom. Of course, with Covid (and even before, really) I can't remember the last time we had a guest to stay.
Our next-door neighbor, whose house is identical, agrees that just one more room, or even one more floor, would be better.
Then I go home to my parents' house in the UK (I am now in the US) and I am amazed by how tiny it is. The sitting room has space for a two seater sofa and two arm chairs, with all those seats pushed right against the walls, whereas I have the sofas set in the middle of the room, plus a grand piano, plus a separate reading space. And their box room (which was my bedroom until I left home at 18) really is a tiny box. If you dropped in a small double bed from the ceiling, it would fill the entire room, whereas each of our bedrooms also has room for a small sofa/ arm chair and ottoman, in addition to the standard wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside table, plus lots of space to move around.
So, basically, I have become use to lots of space and now wouldn't want to be without it (even wondering whether we can covert our currently unfinished basement into a guest suite...). And then I see my parents' home and give myself a good shake!

Some people don't know how lucky they are (not you, OP!). Having just moved out of a 900 sq ft terrace, as a family of 4, posters saying things like 1700 sq ft is too small is bemusing 🙈 That said, we have just been accepted for a property that is 1600+ sq ft (including garage) and I confess I am looking forward to having more space. The terrace actually felt massive when we moved in as we had been living in a tiny 2 person flat!

Of course 2000 sq ft is more than big enough. HOWEVER, as some previous posters have noted, layout and number of floors can greatly affect how big a house feels. We viewed an 1100 sq ft property that felt much bigger than a 1500 sq ft property due to better use of space. And we viewed a 2000 sq ft property over 3 floors that we didn't make an offer on as the downstairs felt small (I suppose it was!) and the living room was tiny - they'd gone upwards
My friend also lives in a 3 storey home which ishas a huge square footage but feels really pokey.
Basically, there is more than enough overall living space for you, but does the layout suit your needs? We went for a 2 story house that we can extend eventually (so will be 2000 ish sq ft but with a larger ground floor).

Well, it’s bigger than two of mine, but smaller than the other two.

So, average.