Move or not? How small is too small?

[Toolateplanting]

We live in a big (rented) flat. Secure tenancy.
Have found a house with a garden in budget to buy (rare). Also it’s within our secondary school catchment (also rare).
It is only 69square metres. 2 bedrooms one of which looks titchy (2.5m wide). There are four of us - me partner two girls of primary school age.
Any thoughts? Our flat has probably close on 100square metres but no outside space whatsoever, not even shared. But how would it feel living with so little indoor space?

If it's your only option to get on the property ladder right now then I would definitely consider it, but make sure you have a plan to be able to move on in a few years so you have an end goal in sight.

We currently live in around 85 square metre house with 2 DC and it's definitely too small. It just ends up looking so cluttered and messy. We are actually moving into something smaller for a year or so while we finish building a new house. It's totally doable if you know it's not forever and have something to work towards.

@Onfire I had to really think about that as it was so long ago :). They were 10 and 9 when I did it. It was driven more by when I had the money than their ages but I think, looking back, another year and it would have been more difficult for them to share (girl/boy).

I didn't get my own room till I was a lot older than that but we were all girls so slightly different!

I would definitely go for it, it’s actually bigger than most 2 bed flats and with a garden you will have space for shed etc.
If you can look at new builds, they tend to be smaller, but are so cleverly designed with good storage and furniture that is a little smaller to make them feel much larger.

IKEA has a whole section on the website linked to smaller spaces etc.

You can get single beds that are small singles for 75cm wide, where the base is slightly smaller than the mattress, look on the Warren Evans website. That way no one has to have the top bunk and you could have storage under each bed. With a bed against each wall, you would still have a metre down the middle, even if they were both 90cms wide you would still have 70cms down the middle. I think it’s key to look at the beds footprint, as in a small room those extra cms can make all the difference. As others have said flip down desks are good. Also it will be yours so you can decorate it how you want, with paint or paper, that you all choose.

In the living room look at smaller sofas and a small table etc. In the kitchen a flip down table might work.

This gives you a home that you own, now, with no landlord to suddenly give you 2 months notice. Yes your children will grow, but you will make it work. It also paves the way for a more secure future, so if it were me I really would go for it.

I'd move to get the outdoor space, get your own place, get in a good location that suits you. A small place can be a nightmare, but if you get a good sized shed, use the loft space and have plans for an extension it could work out well.

I’d go and view it and check out loft space and potential for extension/shed in garden. It looks like there’s space under the stairs for storage, and your bikes will now live in the garden shed (bike store in front garden maybe?) so you’ll need less room in cupboards. There must be some kind of loft even if not suitable for extending into, so you’d have storage for Xmas decs and other bulky but not in constant use stuff. Look at the street on google maps and street view and suss out whether any of the other houses have done a loft conversion - look for windows in the roof.
I’ve just moved into a ground-floor flat with a garden and the garden is amazing and a massive plus after having had no outdoor space at all.

It's honestly not that small. Our house isn't much bigger and the four of us have been perfectly happy in it for eight years now - though we did a kitchen extension and put in a downstairs loo a couple of years ago which helped.

DD's bedroom is the size of your second bedroom, and she has a single bed, decent sized wardrobe with integral drawers, a desk, a bookcase, and a toy box. Plus loads of decorative "bits."

I'd imagine with a set of bunk beds in it would be perfectly fine for two sisters (I have a DS, so he's in an even smaller box room, about 6x6).

Our main bedroom and living room are smaller than yours, and our garden is tiny, but it's a nice little house in a great location, and it was what we could afford in a very expensive area. Within the next few years the DC will need bigger bedrooms, but we've improved it enough we should be able to afford it then. Certainly when we recently had the house valued it was almost double what we'd paid for it.

You need to be clever with storage, but it's perfectly doable.

@Toolateplanting

Pics here of floor plan. Imagine small kitchen extension maybe 3m deep after a few years. But don’t imagine a second storey extension! Don’t think we could afford that for so long it’s not worth figuring it in.

I've just checked my overall floor space and mine is 64sq metre. So slightly smaller. Ours just has a different layout so they've squeezed three bedrooms in to the upstairs space by making bedroom one smaller and having a thin bathroom. we've had an extension on the back joining the kitchen which we use as an extra living room.

[quote StrongArm]@Onfire I had to really think about that as it was so long ago :). They were 10 and 9 when I did it. It was driven more by when I had the money than their ages but I think, looking back, another year and it would have been more difficult for them to share (girl/boy).

I didn't get my own room till I was a lot older than that but we were all girls so slightly different![/quote]
Thank you @StrongArm
We have boy/girl sharing and it’s good to know we have a few years yet to decide what we do. (Both under 5)

I would do it if your family are prepared to do it. For your girls that would mean having a clear out of their stuff before the move wouldn't it? We were in a 55m x m flat before we moved, it was fine but there were only 2 of us. Garden, own home and being in secondary catchment all very important.

Good luck @Onfire !

Thank you all so very much for your input. I am completely in love with the house but after lengthy talks with DH about it have decided not to go for it.
Due mostly to him not feeling up to moving right now - he is just looking at getting his life back in order after years as SAHD and does not want to suddenly have to focus on a house move instead. Which I get, although I am persistently optimistic and think oh go on, it’ll be fine, we’ll have it all done and dusted in a few weeks….
He has at least agreed to go along with getting a mortgage appointment and a decision in principle so if this happens again we are more prepared.
Thank you so much for all your help - really makes me see how possible this will be! (Even though we are letting this one get away..).

Fair enough. More houses wil come up.

What about a kitchen extension and a loft conversion? Is that possible?

Or a little studio room at the bottom of the garden?

Oh just saw your update! You’ll find something else when you’re ready!