Should I compromise on bedroom sizes over downstairs space

[Chellors123]

A bit of background, we have a 3 bedroom detached and are currently under offer, moving in our area is quite difficult as people tend to stay in the larger houses as children attend the local school and only move on once kids have left home.

We have been looking for a 4 bed detached for a loong time and have seen a house we like , here's the pro's:

• Nice Road and a bit quieter
• Close to our children's school (we are though at the moment)
• 4 bedrooms (we only have 3)
• Off road parking x 3/4 cars (currently we have ORP for 1 car but its

behind the house which is a annoying)

• Good size secluded south facing garden (we have a south facing

garden now but its smaller

• opportunity to extend to rear to make 9m x 5m approx

kitchen/diner/family room which would be a great space and we would also have the original lounge (no opportunity to extend at all in current house)

• opportunity to add a study by taking up part of the integral garage

(garage is detached at rear of house so again no opportunity to convert/do anything with it)

Cons:

• Bedroom sizes B1 14'6 x 10'0, B2 9'9 x 8'2, B3 9'8 x 7'0, B4 9'1 x 7'8
• loft conversion unlikely due to roof shape

So basically we would be moving from a 3 bedroom detached house with 3 double bedrooms to a 4 bedroom house with 2 doubles , 2 singles and I am getting hung up about the the kids (Age 9 & 12) having smaller bedrooms than they currently have. Not so much DS as he would have B2 which is ok for a double bed as he gets older it's more DD as she will have a room which is only big enough for a single. It sounds a bit ridiculous given the pro's and I know we are lucky to be able to upgrade to 4 bedrooms but I just cant get passed paying more for less (bedroom wise). The property has an integral garage so we could extend over the garage which would make B3 & B4 both doubles but I am worried in case we don't get planning permission.

If I was buying a house on the estate that had 4 'decent' size bedrooms I would be looking at an extra £50k plus money to do the house up and convert/extend for a kitchen/diner

Did anyone else compromise on bedroom size over downstairs and not regret it? Do I just need to accept this is 'the compromise'

Thanks

I had the boxroom growing up and my sister had the massive second bedroom. It didn't bother me as I liked having my own snug little space. I had the hall cupboard as my wardrobe, which helped in terms of how much space I had in my room - is there anything like that you could do? To be honest at 9 and 12 I'd just ask them!

Can the singles be made into a double? Can one of the singles be made big enough for a double bed? Can you bear in mind that, as long as you are not fat, a four bed is fine? Can you and DH take the smallest room which accepts a double bed?
The latter is a puzzle to me with all assumed family sleeping arrangements, as it is almost invariably taken for granted the adults require the most wide open prairies of floor. Why? To lay out their train sets?

edit, four foot bed. sorry

I'd absolutely compromise on bedrooms over downstairs space.

Each of the children would have their own room and privacy which is more than many other children have.

Regarding the smaller room there are loads of really innovative space saving furniture options available now (largely driven by the tiny house movement).

I'm thinking of beds that easily and quickly convert to desks (with a mechanism that keeps the desk level so you don't need to clear it).

Equally look at desk bunks where the bed is elevated above a desk (or sofa area) which often also have built in wardrobes.

A friend got a local carpenter to build an elevated sleeping platform in her DS's room with built in storage underneath (draws/wardrobe/shelving for books etc) which freed up a lot of floor space for a desk/gaming chair and space for visiting friends on a blow up bed. In the end he had more storage space and free floor space than his older sibling in a bigger room dominated by a double bed.

Essentially with good design/furniture you absolutely can make a single bedroom feel spacious and get everything in it that you need.

If you do this there's no reason for your younger child to feel jealous because although her room might be smaller it will still have everything she needs and also be a bit quirky and fun.

What do you need the 4th bedroom for? I agree with a pp that you could combine 2 of the small rooms into one larger room and potentially the study? You'd save the money that way of converting the garage.

As you say, you may be able to extend above the garage in time (subject to the foundations) if you needed the extra space.

If you need to keep the 4 bedrooms as they are, then get to space saving / dual purpose furniture.

Thanks DeRogourMortis there are some really good suggestions there, you always think you have to buy off the shelf when it comes to furniture but a hand made set up could be an option, we would also have the 4th bedroom as storage.

The downstairs space and garden are really appealing, DH keeps saying bedrooms are just for sleeping.

Thanks Africa2go, the 4th bedroom was ideally for when my parents visit but there is no way we will get a double bed in there but I'd say they probably would come up no more that 2 times a year.

If we combined the two bedrooms then it would be back to 3 bedrooms which we have now so not sure it would be worth the cost.

Argh it does has everything else we need though!

Re: your parents visiting.

Your other option is to give both girls single rooms (well designed) and use second bedroom for guests.

My parents did this so both sets of GP's would have somewhere to stay.

It can sound counter intuitive to have the second biggest bedroom as a spare but I much preferred having my own smaller room than a bigger one I'd have to be turfed out of when we have guests.

Having my own space/privacy that wasn't going to periodically be invaded was far more important than a bigger room most of the time.

It helped DF was pretty good at woodwork so he made built in furniture for my room so every inch was really well utilised. I had a single bed with a truckle bed underneath for sleepovers. A bedside table, a wardrobe, dressing table/desk and lots of shelving. It was really pretty and cozy with everything I needed.

This would also provide equality for the kids assuming the 2 singles are roughly equivalent in size.

You could of course extend in the future but I don't think you need to. Do it if you think it would add value but tbh it sounds like you'd still have 4 bedrooms - just 3 doubles and one single and that won't help the guest issue if you give both girls bigger rooms.

In that sense that added equity would be quite limited I think - I'd rather invest (far less) in bespoke furniture in the smaller rooms (that will add value if you sell as people will see how usable they are).

I don't really agree with your DH that it's just for sleeping. Tweens/teens spend a lot of time in their rooms. They will need a desk to work and they will want friends over so some capacity to put up a blow up bed.

However that's absolutely all possible with a single room. You just need to plan it properly and you can end up with a design that's both practical and stylish.

Sorry I referred to both girls and I see you have a boy and girl 😀

@20mum are you suggesting a couple sleep in a 4' bed? Even a regular double feels small once you are used to a bigger bed.
Parents should get the biggest room because there are two people, they need more wardrobe space, and frankly they are the ones paying for it!
I'd gi fur the four bed, would consider making the two singles in to one if that's possible unless you have regular visitors. I don't go in to my bed room during the day unless I specifically need to use my printer. The kids rarely uses theirs during the day except at weekends. Downstairs space is what I'd prioritise over bedroom.

Going against the grain here, but no - I wouldn't compromise on bedroom spaces over downstairs space. Many houses have options to extend the downstairs space as/when you can afford it, but it's much harder to increase the upstairs space if you find you need to.

I'd agree with leaving the double as a spare. The girls can use the double for sleepovers or for having friends over to watch telly or whatever, then have the singles for their own beds and study spaces. A childhood friend's parents did this in her house and it actually worked really well.

It sounds like the only downside to the house are the bedroom sizes but if you do the above it could be completely workable.