Absolutely tiny lounge!!

[LightsOutHere]

Hi everyone!

We’ve been house hunting for over 6 months and 2 times we’ve been told our sale won’t be going through due to collapsed chain.

We are chain free and have found a property that was originally semi-detached, but has now been extended and split into a 3-bed and 2-bed end terrace property.
The 3-bed was sold STC but we Viewed and offered on the 2-bed, which has been fully renovated and ready to move in.

I’ll be honest, we’ve been starting to get desperate and although I’m not in love with it, I do think it’s a good “starter home”.

The kitchen is new and spacious, and both rooms are en-suite, 1 has a bath and the other a shower. Extra toilet downstairs too.

Now to the only (but major) minus point. This makes me cringe cz it’s 2 things I’ve always disliked in homes.

No entrance/hallway and Stairs in the living room.

I’ve accepted the stairs bit. But I can’t get over the lounge bit.

It’s literally, you open the door and the lounge is there. And not only that, it’s an absolutely tiny space before leading up to the kitchen.
It’s probably the size of the average uk box room.

I can’t envision how to decorate this? Also, we are in the habit of removing shoes when entering the home. So what do I do about mucky shoes etc?

There’s no way to extend the entrance because our door is sideways entrance facing the 3-bed (also sideways) entrance with about 1.5m between us.
I can’t even begin to think what I’d do during winter. The only space I can think to store shoes even is under the stairs but again, I’m supposed to walk through the lounge with dirty feet?

I know you’re probably thinking why I chose this property, but quite frankly it’s in the catchment for a good school DD and after all the previous disappointment - the fact there’s no chain and is ready to move in, was attractive to us!

Any ideas on what I can do with this lounge please?!

I'd keep looking for a different house.

If the kitchens big could you have a big, social kitchen diner and just do a little “snug” in the living room?

Use the back door

can you post the floor plan?
any chance to put up a shelf or narrow wardrobe in the entrance that you can use for coats/shoes?

I love a floor plan.

I mean can you fit a sofa?!

Mmm think of the resale issues, is there anyway you could swap rooms around?

Can you use the back door instead of the front?

It's not the house for you.

If the wall between kitchen and lounge is stud, you could make it all one room and put an internal porch in. Have you a floor plan?

If it’s that small can you fit in enough seating , tv etc or is there room for all that in the kitchen

Put a shoe rack inside the front door. Only way round it. Unless you use the back door.
how spacious can the kitchen be though, how big are the rooms?

There always seem to be issues with two bed houses the top and bottom of is their just not big enough. We downsized to a two bed a few years ago.
We have two en-suite bedrooms and a down stairs toilet. We have a small hallway with the staircase of it. But the kitchen is small no room for a table as is the lounge.
I’ve never loved it but there’s only the two of us, so we manage. Have you only got one door. The only thing I can think is you’d have to take off and carry your shoes until you can put them away. We have an under stairs cupboard in the lounge with coat hooks.

In my area (and I assume most areas) the number of bedrooms is the key determining factor in the selling price. I'm sure you would be able to find an alternative 2-bed house within your budget. You've said that you're only considering this one due to the lack of chain. But in a couple of years' time you might regret prioritising that aspect over the suitability of the living space. More properties are starting to come to market now Spring is here, so I'd be inclined to keep looking.

The property you describe doesn't sound like a family house, more like a starter home for a single person, or couple without children. It also sounds like an odd development, as though someone was out to make as much money as possible, without considering how the property would be used.

Personally, the lack of hallway and insufficient living space would be deal-breakers.

We had a similar set up and did exactly this. We made the living room super cosy, a wood burner, candles, lots of throws- the works! We put a big dining table in the kitchen and would entertain there. Shoes and coats were stored in the cupboard in the kitchen under the stairs. Yes, it meant mucky floors in winter, but if all the floors downstairs are hard ones it’s fairly easy to keep on top of.

You just need to think about how you manage the transition into the house - once you're in and shut the door it's fine.
Hard floors? If not take out a chunk of the carpet and put down replaceable sisal matting. Then either take shoes and coats to storage areas or have a basket/rack for shoes by the door. Lots of houses have this arrangement with families. My Mum's old house was like this - no porch or hall areas front or back, just straight into the room. 2 up 2 downs are often like this. Lots of families in them on her road.

Possible solutions: add a porch. Add storage in porch. Have a muddy boot store in the front garden. Keep looking for another house. Lots of cottages are like this. The house isn’t wide enough for a hall which limits space and storage.

I would never buy a house where the stairs goes up from a room again. All the heat and noise goes straight up the stairs and downstairs is cold. It's also noisy if someone is in bed and the other person is watching tv.

I also don't like having the door open into the living room for the reasons you mention. And all the rubbish has to go out through the living room too.

This isn’t the right house for you. If it were, you’d be able to see beyond this issue.

What do you mean by tiny, your tiny might not be my tiny

10x10?
8x8?
12x12?

It also sounds like an odd development, as though someone was out to make as much money as possible, without considering how the property would be used.

Yeah, I don't really get having 2 en suites in what sounds like a relatively poky house.

How tiny is it? Is the kitchen big enough for extra storage (e.g. shoe rack) and could you use the back door rather than the front as your main entrance? If you can, building a porch would really help.

What are your time pressures?
How long before DD has to go to school in that area?
Just don't let your own impatience beat you into accepting something not entirely suitable.

Put hardwood and a shoe rack by the front door?
It all depends how small we are talking about here.

In my living room, previous owners have constructed a small internal porch to avoid entering straight into the room - but my living room is not small so I don't know how workable that would be here.

How are the stairs oriented in relation to the front door? Floorplan would be helpful.

I would keep looking. It's a buyer's market and it's a big investment. Don't settle for something that's not right and can't easily be put right.