Tiny bungalow…..

[MinnieGirl]

We currently live in a 3-bed terrace in a not very nice part of a not very nice town. We are in the south east, and the area is the one everyone wants to avoid..
Both getting older, have mobility issues so stairs becoming a problem. Looked at flats but would miss outside space and don’t want leasehold and service charges. A bungalow would be ideal, but…there are very few for sale and they are either beautiful chalet bungalows that are way too pricey, or complete wrecks that need gutting.

So one has come on the market that is in our price range. Nice area, parking nice garden and two good size bedrooms. Kitchen is tiny but I think we could make it work. The stumbling block is the living room…. It’s very nice, double doors leading out to the garden… but it’s our only living space. No dining room, and not even a table. Current owners eat their meals on an occasional table.
The house itself is lovely. Modern, up to date, neutral decor. We could move in and do nothing. We could meet the asking price and it’s a much nicer area than the one we currently live in. But is that living room too small? We would not be able to move again as we would be using a lot of savings.

There are 3 of us (2 adults and 17 year old) live in the same kind of bungalow you described. Not sure how big your living room is but we have a table in ours. We don't have tons of room but we love our little place and we make it work. Not much we could have afforded in our village and these bungalows never come up.

The couple who owned ours before us had extended one of the bedrooms and they had that as their living room and the living room was like some dark dingy room ...but odd. Anyway it's all nice and bright in here now and obviously we need their living room as a bedroom so we have less space then them. Can always show you our set up

Get a couple of trays and eat sitting on the sofa. I have done this for years. My grandparents used to do it too.

I would take out the wall between the kitchen and living room and move the door further back.

My parents have a large bungalow but also have a conservatory and honestly that’s where they spend most of their time. Even a small one would give you enough space for a dining table. Don’t forfeit this move for an issue you will be able to solve.

That is a lovely looking table.

if there is any space all, maybe also look for a table with benches that go underneath rather than chairs, though I’m not sure how well that works with mobility issues. I have also seen coffee tables that can be raised to be a table.

re: mobility. I think I can see your bungalow online. Have a think about the bathroom. It might be ok for now but I know my parent struggles with the lip on the shower and could really use a wet room.

My PIL had one of those chair/tablet sets. I hated it. The chairs are not comfortable and they are small. They only use it really on Christmas Day so not an issue. But I wouldn’t buy one for every day.
Id get better quality folding table/chairs. Or see if you can have a folding table like above and 2 better chairs sitting out. Some folding chairs for visitors stored away.

maybe plan to eat outside in the summer more if you can get an awning or something.

I think the living room looks big enough that you could put a small dining table to one side.

There are lots of different types of convertible tables nowadays if you'd prefer something that takes up less space.

This is expensive, but gives you an idea - https://www.mobilifiver.com/eu/en/easy-extendable-console-table-with-extension-leaves-holder-45-305-x-90-cm-rustic-oak/?currency=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%3A%20UK_ENG_Consolle%20allungabili&utm_id=17430441251&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17430468869&gbraid=0AAAAACwhxifFRZwH8u8KbrIqe6Pb7P6Iw&gclid=CjwKCAjwpMTCBhA-EiwA_-MsmZBA8iZWlj7nK8W-5g8zNOsvbyIQabB8mrWSrU9scnsaRihX1GNx5BoCxVgQAvD_BwE

Something like this that's really adaptable is good because you could potentially host Christmas, etc, still.

When I had a small flat I had a table that looked like a console table, but the top rotated round and flipped over to become a small square table. Big enough for 4 people to sit around.

I've still got the table and use it as a side table in my dining room. Was a godsend when we had a party and had an extra couple of people to sit. DH came in and saw an extra table set at the end of the dining table (it's coincidentally exactly the same height as our dining table) and was very confused about where it had come from! 😂 Turns out we've lived together for almost 15 years and he didn't know the side table turned into a dining table!

My Grannie’s house wasn’t a bungalow but she had the dining table in her sitting room, so a sofa and two armchair around the edges and the table in the centre. It was a nice room to use , similar size to one you might buy, and the table was fine. I have a folding table in my sitting room as we use it for more special meals eg Christmas Day, rather than the kitchen. At the moment DH is using it to work on. It completely workable to have a table in a sitting room, I would go for the bungalow.

I'd take out the wall between the kitchen and sitting room and block up one of the doors. I'd say £2k to have it done if your area isn't too expensive for builders.

The bedroom with the bay window could fit an armchair and extra tv.

I think it sounds like it's got a lot going for it. There usually is some sort of compromise.

Do you have space out the side into a driveway? If so, a small kitchen extension cd be much cheaper than a conservatory as it wd not require extra heating, electricity etc. you cd still have a back door. U cd fit a small table at the end - even an extra 1.5 metres can make all the difference. See photo attached - red dot is my attempt at a table 😆

Then something like this at the end.

Either way, bungalows are fab - I’d go for it.

If you took down the wall between lounge and kitchen, you could make use of the 'corridor' space taken up in the kitchen.

You know we need a link *MinnieGirl 😄

I absolutely love this! I think it’s the nicest we’ve seen and it’s such a good price.

You could use a bedroom, or otherwise, what about, as there are double doors, putting a small conservatory on to use as a dining room/sitting room number 2?

Definitely agree with this! The living room is a good size, you’d just have to go with relatively compact sofa and dining set but could easily fit it IMO.
ETA you wouldn’t have to buy stuff brand new - you could probably cover the cost of nice second hand things from selling some of the excess furniture from your current home.

That’s what we did when we lived in a similar bungalow. It was fine (actually rather good, as it meant there was a decent sized table for writing, crafts etc). It’s amazing how much space a bed takes up.

I would take it. Better to live in the worst house in a nice area than a nice house in the worst area.

There are amazing multi-functional furniture choices specially for small spaces on Google.

And I agree with everyone else. Buy it! You sound like you would be really happy there.

I'd take the wall down between kitchen and lounge, block off kitchen door, and run a breakfast bar to divide the two rooms.
Would give a feeling of space, somewhere to eat, but maintain a separation of rooms.

However you solve it, definitely move to your lovely bungalow🙂

I’m really reluctant to knock walls down. The kitchen is tiny but we are decluttering a lot and it will work. I think the folding table and the right size sofa will be the best option for us.

Minnie has said that the budget is tight and building work isn’t financially viable.

we can all offer solutions to make the actual living space bigger, blocking off both doors in the kitchen would give you a horseshoe shaped kitchen leading straight into the lounge, and you could put an all year conservatory on the back for more space. It would be wonderful if you have £20,000.

We are looking into a bungalow, and I personally think extensions are very difficult to do on a bungalow because you always end up with either flat/perspex/glass roofs because the roof line is already low.

If this was my bungalow I would do what I said above, but no conservatory, have the table and chairs near the kitchen/opposite the fireplace,and the sofa on the back wall looking out the French windows, the tv would be above the fireplace on a swivel bracket.

i truly hope you find your happy bungalow.

That is so true! And it’s what I keep coming back to. The loft is a really decent size and easy to access so any precious or sentimental bits we want to keep can go up there! But I think we really need to make this work because the benefits so out weigh the negatives

We would be very happy to get rid of all our furniture! That’s not a problem for us.