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.

I do have to stay in the south east but those properties are beautiful, and the locations are stunning.

Exciting and a bit scary!

If one more person suggests a conservatory or knocking a wall down ...

I’m surprised nobody has suggested buying the house next door and knocking through…

😂😂😂

This bungalow sounds perfect for you. I say grab it while you can then you have all the time in the world to think about how you will use the rooms and to buy suitable compact furniture.

FrogFairy "This bungalow sounds perfect for you. I say grab it while you can then you have all the time in the world to think about how you will use the rooms and to buy suitable compact furniture".

Totally agree - please think hard here ... both of us have disabilities & are living among thousands of bungalows & will never afford one now they have shot up in price

This is what I'd aim for if possible.

Do you actually want a TV in the living room? Depending on how you like to spend your time, I'd make the living room a dining/relaxing/reading space but not have the conventional TV and sofa unless is something you actually want - takes up so much space and inflexible.

If you do want to watch an actual TV, I'd put a small one in one of the bedrooms, otherwise, I'd watch on a tablet or other device.

As for the finances, even if you only have the state pension, you might be able to afford and qualify a small mortgage or loan to knock the wall through. Or you could probably finance it using a money transfer credit card and roll the money over the next few years on 0% deals.

I would definitely give up dining space to live in a better area. It'll be strange at first, but you'll soon get used to it.

If there’s space in the garden you could get a permanent covered gazebo structure, and some decent patio furniture even a patio heater then you would have usable outdoor space for most of the year for a relatively small outlay.

Buy the bungalow! Compromising on dining space is nothing when you consider the upsides. They are like hens teeth where I am and get snapped up within minutes by developers who extend them and sell them on at a much higher price.

If it were me I'd get a folding table for the living room, and a wall bed for one of the bed rooms. So day to day I'd use the folding table, but there would be the option of folding up the wall bed and using one of the bedrooms as sitting room/dining room.

I spent years living in a one room studio, the wall bed meant it was very comfortable.

This is my drop leaf table in my flat living room. You can eat at it without extending it if your meal is already plated. It wouldn't work for additional serving bowls. The point being that you wouldn't have to unfold it to use it.

Tbh I hardly ever use it, and I can't be bothered to buy new chairs (came with the purchase) but it's nice to have for when I do need it. It sits behind my sofa.

Thank you for sharing the picture of your table. I think a folding table is the way forward.

I think you decided against a coffee table but just for further options, we have one similar to this which lifts up if you just want it coffee table sized but higher, and folds out to a full size tablehttps://amzn.eu/d/doDW3Vk

We do have a dining table in kitchen but in the winter the front room has the fire so we sit there on cold nights and we use it for kids craft etc. it wasn't expensive and has been brilliant.

There are loads of clever table designs out there

I have this extending table from wayfair for small kitchen diner. I don’t know why it’s saying sensitive image it’s not. It’s big enough for 2 but can be extended if needed. We have some stackable chairs for it as well.

this is the link.

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/home/pdp/marlow-home-co-bowerbank-extendable-dining-table-rily1033.html

Someone else posted that very table! This is the one we will go for I think, I really like it.

So, have you decided to go for the smaller bungalow OP?

I think so….

I’ve just looked it up online. Beautiful