How could we make this work?

[Jul17]

Looking at houses, have seen a major doer upper that we really like but wondering how we could make it work. husband and i and 3 daughters 16/13/11. Really wanting a 4 bed so each girl can have her own space, 2 of the bedrooms are fab but front tiny one is under the eves and back bedroom is square ish but v small. Thinking about using garden room or dining room as an extra bed? wwyd?

I grew up with a box room and it was fine. As long as there is a room you can go in with friends somewhere else then it shouldn't be an issue. Teenagers don't have loads of toys or anything that takes up loads of space.

If you knock the wardrobe out of bedroom 4 it isnt too bad and she could always have a chest of drawers or wardrobe on the landing outside.

Honestly, I don't think that is the right house for your family.

I was going to suggest this too.

@SirVixofVixHall makes the most sense to me and the snug will be fab for offering separate family time. Whichever kid gets bedroom 3 gets 4 too as a walk in wardrobe maybe

I know a family with five children and they have a similar arrangement, their bedroom is in the old ground floor dining room.

How likely is it that the 16 year old will leave home at 18?

What is the "family room" like? Will it be freezing in winter?

I would pass on this, if you really want a 4 bed.

"Bedroom 4" looks like a windowless cupboard, not a bedroom. It's difficult to see how it could be described as a bedroom and I don't think you could make it work as a bedroom.

The only bathroom also appears to be windowless (or does the "v" mean a velux window?)

Garden room as extra bedroom: possible but a bit tricky if it's currently the main or only access to the garden. (Also will it get too cold in winter? It has 2, possibly 3 exterior walls and nothing above it.)

Dining room as extra bedroom - OK but then you'd be dividing your living space between the lounge and kitchen. Where do you eat as a family in this scenario?

"Major doer upper" rings alarm bells. I would look at a property that would work for you with modest improvements and go from there. Any talk of moving bathrooms around or changing structural walls, etc. is a recipe for spending more money and time than the project is really worth. You can't polish a turd.

I wouldn’t buy this house if I had 3 kids. It’s basically a 2 bedroom house. Keep looking.

Move the upstairs bathroom into skinny bedroom four - then combine current bathroom with bed 3 to give you three ok size rooms upstairs.

Current lounge becomes master bed. If you’ve got the cash to go across the back I would, ditch the ‘family room’ which looks like a later addition and have open plan kitchen/living.

Or, ‘family room’ becomes the fourth bed, kitchen/living in the current dining room/lounge

Thanks all for your ideas! Will keep looking I think...🤔