Trading in Edwardian house with charm for family friendly new-build

[Doubtfyre]

Hi all, so I'm really struggling with this decision and I'm hoping posting on here might help me figure this one out.

We're very lucky to be currently living in a beautiful Edwardian 3-storey detached house. It's full of character with lovely high ceilings, large rooms and looks very grand; but it's also cold, with no driveway and a small garden. As a family of four with two young kids, we worry in the long-term the kids will want a larger garden to run around in.

A house has come on the market which was built in 2017, so 7 years old. Whilst the rooms are slightly smaller, the overall square footage is more than our existing. It's detached and fronts on to a country park, so you don't feel like you're surrounded by other houses (although the garden does feel somewhat overlooked). The house has a better flow to it for families, in that we could have a playroom off the kitchen which leads into the garden; and the garden is much larger.

I'm just not used to new build houses. It's a stunning house, but it doesn't have the charm we obviously get with our Edwardian property. I feel like I'm trading in style and charm for functionality...but, maybe that isn't a bad thing?!

Anyone made a similar move before, for the purpose of their kids? The new house is walking distance to an outstanding school, but we don't really struggle with schools in our area anyway.

Edwardian house is closer to town, whereas new house would be about a 40min walk, or quick bus ride

Thanks for reading!

So on the ground floor we have a lounge, dining room and large kitchen with island. The kitchen is great for eating breakfast etc along the island, but we could do with having an extra space off that kitchen for the kids to play. The dining room isn't really used as a dining room, but as an office for DH who permanently works from home. So I don't think there's much potential for re-jigging (or building an extension).

At the moment, our 5 year old mostly plays in his bedroom or living room. Other DS is only 6 months old. Biggest factor for me is probably our small garden.

My DH has his office upstairs (self employed) using one of bedrooms (not used as a bedroom) that was our solution to layout. Or
If the kitchen is very large could you get rid of island (of course this wouldn't work if sink is in it...or might be trickier to redo) and put table there instead? Then storage at side of room (ie banquette seating) for children playthings (some of it) it's not forever.

Still, I see your dilemma.

I lived in a new build when I was renting, twice in different areas

A cold house is indeed an issues, and I say that living in a stone Georgian house with rubbish double glazing

But I could cope with the cold better than the overwhelming heat of a new build that traps the heat in in summer and doesn't let it out again

After spending lots of time in lots of different period properties, I agree!

We've decided to sell our current Edwardian house in favour of something much newer - and all the houses I've lived in previously have been much older than Edwardian!

I've concluded that period properties are certainly the best, but mostly only if you have the spare £ to maintain them.

We don't right now sadly, so I'm currently on the hunt for the most soulless, easiest, simplest to deal with 00s build that I can get my hands on

I wanted to say the same as one of the PP - could you not upgrade your current house to make it warmer/more efficient? New boiler, double glazing, insulation where possible?

How small is your garden? My kids have never played much in ours, maybe if it were really big to accommodate swings etc. they would - but they preferred parks and playgrounds.

But I could cope with the cold better than the overwhelming heat of a new build that traps the heat in in summer and doesn't let it out again

I would love to know why this is. On a warm day when it’s 22 outside it is 22 inside, even when we have kept the very, very thick, lined curtains closed all day in anticipation of this and haven’t opened a window or door. It’s horrible. And our room sizes are vast, so you would think it would be manageable, but it’s not.

You need EXTERNAL shading, either angle of roof (often older properties have this "built in to design), vegetation/summer leaf cover, or even shutters/awnings.
You have to stop the sun hitting the glass. It's the greenhouse effect.
Even a pergola with summer vines/climbers will help mitigate. In winter you just get sun, when you need it

How much will it cost you to move? Add up the legal , estate agents’ & surveyor fees plus stamp duty. And don’t forget the costs of re carpeting, decorating etc in the new house.
Would those costs (or some of them) be better spent on improving insulation, etc in your existing house?
Think about how much you use your garden now- how many rain free days have we actually had this year? Small children don’t actually use the garden that much and pretty soon they swerve it in favour of other activities. A bigger garden is also a chore unless you’re into growing stuff and that’s very important to you. If you’re not, it’ll either run wild and look awful or you’ll have to pay someone to maintain it.
Location- are you prepared to run a taxi service for multiple children getting to school/activities/seeing friends or accessing local amenities. Do you currently run 2 cars? If not, can you afford to or are you going to be constantly juggling journeys/transport?
What about access to schools now and in the future?
Finally, what made you buy your existing house? Can you recreate that feeling in the new build? It does sound like a head v heart decision. Which one will you be happy to come home to?
PS I bought an old house and couldn’t live anywhere with 8ft ceilings, standard in new builds - not least because DH & DSs are all tall! Also love its light, space and uniqueness, proximity to amenities, thick walls and lovely neighbours.
Good luck with your decision.

That makes sense. Our roof is vast - enough for a man to stand up and have six foot above him, and there are many, huge windows and doors in this house.

At least we know what to avoid for future!

Our loft is so huge that it seems to have its own weather system :(

We moved out of our charming Edwardian house in 2013. The heating bills were 5k a year.

We moved to a semi. Heating bills dropped to 1900 a year.

I'm not sure the edwardian is the perfect house for you but I think the new build might not be either. Maybe wait a while and see what comes up.

A small garden isn't that bad (we have one but our kids mostly went to the park). Your downstairs layout does sound less than ideal. As your kids get older having a room where teens can hang out without you would be great.

I live in a 1911 house with a lot of charm/high ceilings compared to some of the newbuilds where I live. But we have spent a fortune on replacing windows/insulating, updating systems, replacing roof etc etc.

I hate new builds so would choose character and curb appeal every time

I wouldn't ever buy a new build to replace an Edwardian house.
A 1950s 60s 70s 80s with good location (near school, park, shops)and larger garden yes but NOT a new build that hasnt stood test of time, and isnt near town.

I think you need to find plan C.

I very much agree with this. My experience has been that houses built up until the 1980s or 1990s have generally been better built and also people have updated them over time - either that or the lack of being updated is reflected in the price.

You also generally get more space for the same amount of money than in a modern new build.

I think that plan C, finding a newer home than your current Edwardian property, but not a modern new build would be a better choice. A house that is currently 30-50 years old (so built in the 1970s-90s) is going to be much warmer and cheaper to run than your current home and won't have any of the issues which you may face in a modern new build.

Yes, it may well have an avocado coloured bathroom suite but you can easily change that.

I'm having a similar struggle OP, on a smaller scale. I have a Victorian end terrace , rooms are massive, ceilings high, open fires, original tiles, beautiful (long narrow) cottage garden ...bloody freezing, draughty, needs lots doing to it, muddle of nowhere. Have seen a new build, looks lovely, very livable .....but......no character. Great location, near to family, facilities etc.

Whatever budget are you in? So think about how much moving and stamp duty would be and then spend that on upgrading aspects of the current house.

@Doubtfyre would you post a picture or at least garden dimensions? I have a nice edwardian garden but you couldn't play football in it but we are 5 mins from a park. We have a swing and no other toys but they are fine

So the grassy area is about 6mx5m, which fits a rattan set and a small narrow climbing frame with a slide. Not much else can go on. We then have an additional patio space to the side of the house, which fits a trampoline, so the kids do have things they can play on outside. I guess it just doesn't fit my "large garden for kids to run wild" dream...

Now I've actually written that down, I realise how ridiculous it sounds...we're terrible gardeners who just kill everything, so perhaps a large garden isn't right for us!!

Perhaps you're all right when you say the kids might not necessarily play outside all the much! The eldest is thrilled with the trampoline, and we do spend an awful lot of time at parks, of which we've got two pretty decent ones 10 mins walk away!

The new-build house we're considering is £700k, so the stamp duty alone is enough to make me shudder. There's isn't much scope for re-jigging our existing house, but we could lose some patio space and extend the kitchen to create a more versatile kitchen diner 🤔my brain then goes a bit crazy though with "but then where would we put the outside bins?" 🤣 And it might impinge on the trampoline space...

I hate that blooming trampoline 🤣

The more I read the more I'm arriving at this conclusion too! Plan C...!

I wouldn’t but then new builds depress me hugely and I love Victorian and Edwardian houses. I would miss my floorboards, sash windows, fireplaces, ceiling heights, cornicing. Older houses are generally more solid builds as well.

I've lived in a north facing new build that was much colder than the south facing Victorian house I now live in.

You can make a garden private - but you can't insulate it from the noise of lots of other newbuild gardens around you.

This is where we're at since moving into a new build. It's just so much more practical and warm in winter.

Considering the non-existent summer we're having this year, would you really get much use out of a larger garden?

Moving is costly and stressful. Imo it has to be worth it in every respect.

Ours isn't like this. We've chatted to both sides of us (we're in the middle of a terrace of 3 townhouses) and we're all pleasantly surprised as to how little we can hear. We could hear more neighbour noise in the Victorian semi we lived in last.

I used to sell insulation back in the day and new houses have to comply with Part E in relation to acoustic insulation (Part L is thermal).

Well with two small children there is no time to be brilliant at gardening. That would come later
But a 30ft max depth garden IS pretty small. I can see why you are thinking ahead.
And imagining your house is better for someone older perhaps seeking elegant, low maintenance etc.
Whereas what you want is space and functionality.

I feel 60ft garden if you are going to spend so much is minimum size. Lawn and shrub borders is low maintenance after all - you don't need green fingers.