Bungalows / Storage

[Alltheshoes74]

Went to view a dorma bungalow at the weekend however it has a huge lack of storage. There is a shed in the garden and good built in wardrobes but not a
lot else. We would have to use a downstairs bedroom as utility and find some clever storage solutions. Obviously we would offer as a 3 bed not a 4. Has anyone bought similar? Has it worked out?

The garden isn’t big enough for a bigger shed. However the lounge is definitely big enough for some built in storage. I think I’m panicking - probably unnecessarily at the thought of the amount of decluttering to do.

Could you board up the open eaves in one bedroom or one section of the roof to give the storage you need? Alternatively, ottoman beds are what we use in our London flat! Just have to be clever about packing away winter clothes etc under bed when not in use rather than take up wardrobe space.

@Alltheshoes74 I would get on ikeas website pronto and have a look at storage options- also as you say May be worth changing 1 bed to one with space for stuff under the bed etc - is one bedroom big enough for a good run of built ins? Suprising how much you can get in a good 'run' of them

This was my thinking - will put 3 Kings in, hoping they will fit a fair amount! The house location is so perfect I’d rather get organised than look elsewhere

Ditch fake Christmas tree, buy real one each year. No storage needed.

The master has a large bank of them - i however have a large amount of clothes 😂. Other 2 haven’t been built in yet - I got far too excited about the house so need to get measurements to calculate.

We spend Christmas between UK and abroad so I have a large fake in each house! 😅

@Alltheshoes74 honestly OP you will make it work if everything else is great-we've moved 21,times in 28 years (we rent) and we have a lot of stuff- I am just used to looking outside the box storage wise, even when it has meant buying stuff and sometimes getting rid of it.

That’s what I was thinking.

@Alltheshoes74 is being unrealistic unless the 4th bedroom is one of those tiny ones that EA calls a bedroom but is really only big enough to be used as a study. Doesn’t sound like it though if the room is currently being used as a bedroom.

Dedicate one of the bedrooms for a storage room with giant Ikea wardrobes.

We have a three bed dorma bungalow. Still has a small loft for all the Christmas decorations, under stair cupboard is small. Luckily we do have a garage, so Dh moved the laundry out there and made a nice utility area with a sink and cupboards. We put a dish washer in the kitchen in the washing machine space. Big porch on the front with a storage bench thing that holds shoes and a decent sized hall so coat and bag hooks there.
I'd like more storage but make it work.

It’s 11’6*9’6 current owners using as a study/dumping ground.

Thanks all for your suggestions they were really useful. There was always going to be a compromise due to the location. Most of the great bungalows got snapped up through covid when people started to work remote according to the agent so looks like I’m going to have to get creative. The offer is in so now we wait!!

That’s a good sized room. Unfortunately I doubt you can expect to pay for a 3 bed bungalow because it is a 4 bed, despite the fact it isn’t currently being used as a bedroom.

We went from a 4 bed old terrace with a utility room, 2 double bedrooms both with high ceilings/fitted wardrobes around deep alcoves, to a 3 bed modern bungalow with small bedrooms and considerably less storage apart from a garage/loft space.

Massive decluttering before moving and much more when we moved in.

good luck.

Box in under the stairs? We have some similar problems, I shoved my massive plan chest under the open-underneath staircase to save space in my workroom....

We brought a bungalow with an attic conversation and the lack of storage kills me. A tiny under stair cupboard for the hoover and ironing board with no space for a mob bucket. And one shelf above the water tank cupboard for towels, constantly moving stuff from one room to the other with no where for things to live. Just don't do it, I curse it on a daily basis, wish I'd thought it through better.

We have a converted bungalow too and there is a loft and also eaves cupboards to the sides of the upstairs rooms, plus under stairs storage. How is there not a small loft any more? If the upstairs rooms have totally sloping walls, down to the floor, you could add cupboards here, in the unusable floor space.

Does it have any current/old fireplaces? We have alcoves in all the downstairs rooms which are storage. Could you add anything like that?

It's the downsize word that's the problem not the storage in the dormer bungalow which sounds totally normal

You need to downsize means you need to let rid of loads of stuff

From memory we stored coats on a hook by the door - because we had 2 each
Linen and towels under the beds
Vacuum cleaner and such under the stairs sort of out of sight behind the sofa

Do you really need 4 bedrooms if you are downsizing ? It's just Most people do that once a few kids have left home and people in smaller homes don't keep guest rooms for every possible visitor - people share a room or sleep on the living room

And you can't expect to reduce the price to a 3 bed house just because you have more stuff to store

We converted the loft on our previously 2 bed bungalow. We have storage along the eaves on two sides. Tonnes of storage. Christmas tree, decorations, and more recently added spring and autumn deco storage (I blame Instagram). We have plastic boxes of clothes our DS will grow into that have been handed down to him from cousins, boxes of my uni books, DH's school stuff, stools and there is even more space that isn't used but I didn't fancy climbing over the soil pipe from the upstairs bathroom. We did have to nag our builder to board it out. We can access it from two little doors in two of the four rooms upstairs.

We plan to build a cupboard under the stairs for coats and daily school/work bags storage. We currently have them in the hallway but I find it cluttered.

Your answer is the eaves. Unless the dormers were built to all elevations. Our dormer is only to the back.

Hi all, the move is on! Offer accepted - 60k below asking.