Argh crisis of confidence about new house. Help!

[Penguin13]

We just moved into our new house yesterday. We hadn't been seriously looking to move but our victorian semi was just that little bit small for us and when the opportunity to look at a big house not far from us came up we thought we would have a look. It is a bit of a fixer upper, 1930s I think and lacked the charm of our current house but we saw the potential and all the space and ended up putting in an offer. The one thing that has niggled at me from the beginning is that it is on a main road but we are in a village and the noise isn't really an issue as we are set back from the road etc.

Had no doubts yesterday and was really happy to be in but for some reason am having a major crisis this morning and am wondering if we have made a horrible expensive mistake. I was sat at the dining room table which joins onto the front room and suddenly all I could see were the cars constantly going past. Our old house actually had the same but much slower. This is meant to be our forever home and I am terrified we have made a massive mistake.

Did anyone else have similar concerns after moving in and end up loving their house in the end? It doesn't help that it it needs a lot of work done which will take years to save for so things like manky carpets etc add to the overall sense of doom!

Extra space is very exciting. We are having less space. We have a house of 2100 sq feet going to a flat of 1550 square feet so not tiny. Decluttering is hard!

This was my original 1930s fireplace (the surround, not the actual fire). I nearly threw it out when renovating as it looked completely nondescript, but changed my mind and had it French polished as I loved the shape. We had lovely floorboards as well, plus the original door handles - I decorated in a modern style but kept some of the old features.
You’re right about your current fireplace, it’s nice but certainly not in keeping with a 1930s house.

I'm absolutely desperate (DESPERATE) to buy a house this year. Never owned before and it'll be an absolute dream come true.

This is an interesting thread, I should stop assuming I'll be happy as a pig in shit the second I get the keys. I'll probably feel so intimidated I'll cry for a year! 🤣

I hope you achieve your dream Always. Maybe not a year, just a week Seriously though, your comment has reminded me that this falls firmly within 'nice problems to have' territory. 'Oh, woe is me, we have moved from really nice, average sized, house to even bigger, currently slightly less nice house with loads of potential in a lovely village ' Am on a mission to get everything ship shape unpacking wise then we can crack on with the renovating!

Someone will love your fancy marble fireplace surround, so try to sell it.
1930s surrounds were very plain often tiled and you might not like them.
A cheap option is no surround at all, just a hole with a floating chunky wooden mantlepiece above

Super common to feel like this!

You'l grow to love your new house once you are decorated, have all your stuff in and have had some fun ties there.

It took me 18 months to love my house.

It was a challenging move due to nightmare vendors (there were debts to our new address, the vendor was violent, nasty, pulled out 3 days before, exchange and completion fone in 48 hrs) and the fact they had lived st my house tarnished my feelings for months.

We only moved for schools, deadlines were tight and had been in our previous beloved house for the whole of my children's lives. So many memories. All our friends were there (silly really as we moved a mere 3 miles).

On our first night, water poured through the bathroom ceiling (they'd concealed a problem) xnd I cried.

I used to fantasise about my old house every day, but it was too painful to drive past.

I brought in a valuer a few months into moving into the new house as I couldn't warm to it.

There was some work needed (mainly cosmetic though), it was colder, creakier, had condensation, jobs had been bodged so weird plumbing etc. I could only see the negative points.

Then, after 18 months of doing up the house to our taste, settling in to new schools, I began to fall.in love with the house. I saw the positives: bigger, nicer area, privacy, space - the kids love it!

I read so many threads like this, advising that it can take 12-18 months to like a house, yet I was sceptical, yet here I am.

I hope the same happens to you. It was only really personalising our house ho our taste that really helped. The kitchen was a big one. Currently working on the bathroom. Still lots to do, but slowly this is becoming 'my' house and while I still love my old pad (and can now drive past with just a tinge of sadness) it was a good move in the end.

Good luck!

By the way, the first thing we did was replace manky old carpets OP!

We are looking to sell our beloved family home that we've been in for 14 years to downsize. This isn't something we want to do but is due to financial reasons. I think I'll have so much sadness which will be made worse by the fact that the new house will probably be smaller and not as nice.

I felt exactly the same when we moved onto a main road, even though the limit is 20mph because of the school.

The first evening we were there the road seemed like the Loudest Thing In The World. Out in the garden, it was Holy Hell We'll Never Get Quiet Here.

Then... it just tuned out. Our house filled with furniture and noise, and the road noise became background that we don't even hear.

The fireplace is art deco and very much in keeping with the age of the property. Please keep it, it's fabulous.

and probably worth around 4k.

Don't panic! The benefits will show themselves over time.

I was a little dismayed looking at the slightly grotty view from our bedroom our current place as well, but then there are so many benefits like having our extended family over for dinner, being able to be at home but in a room far away from the kids after 7 years in a two-bed flat!

Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree about the fireplace.

Mrs F have a look at this! www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-samsung&source=android-browser&ei=BTBrXI2AENmN1fAPkrCNCA&q=art+deco+marble+fireplaces&oq=art+deco+marble+fireplaces&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.12..41j0i8i30.2785.5572..6763...0.0..0.89.507.7......0....1.........0i71j0i67j0i7i30j0j0i8i7i30.DFrzs1uSI78#imgrc=LJEYXfPTWf2f4M:

I don't think it's art deco. Fake Victorian imo.

Honestly, it doesn't matter if it is "true" to the age of the house.
What matters is, do you like it?

I feel like it's a weird mix of victorian style corbels and an art deco ish er....middle bit Ultimately you're right just don't really like it so i think it's got to go. Doubt we will get much for it as it will only allow for a gas fire and not a log burner because of the shape.

I think you can pick up new fireplaces like that for about £795 and then you have to pay for the fitting & metal bits. Definitely not original or Art Deco.

I am feeling much better about getting rid knowing that it doesn't really belong with the house but am going to need to ponder carefully what to replace it with.

I agree - not Art Deco, just a weird mixture of styles.

Totally normal to feel that way I think.

I actually quite enjoy moving normally, and had never had that sinking feeling of moving into a new place until we moved into our current house. We bought it off plan but had a huge hand in all the design details, so all of the hard finishes, kitchen, paint colour, flooring, etc are my choices. Still, the day after we moved in, I felt sick, like we’d made a horrible mistake. The house is enormous and echoed horribly when we first moved in. We’re still ‘getting to know each other’ a bit I’d say, but 6 months in I’m feeling more at home. We’ve gotten carpets to dampen the echo, and it feels more and more ‘ours’ as we put up our art and family photos on the walls, paint and decorate spare rooms, sort out storage, etc. It’s the little lived-in touches that make a place like home I think, which is why it takes so long for a new place to feel like home!

Fireplace is a right mishmash. I like the art nouveaux metalwork but as the marble has been carved to fit the shape it might be difficult to replace the marble. It would certainly be better with a simple dark hearth.

This is so common! When I moved into this house I cried for a week and then I actually did really love it.