Would you choose large garden or large kitchen diner?

[Downing4packsofharibo]

We have found 2 houses in the right location but neither house is perfect and trying to decide if one is a more worthy compromise than the other.
Both houses have enough bedrooms, bathrooms and a garage for parking (neither have a driveway)and are both in good locations. I’m mainly comparing differences below.

House 1 -
large garden,
utility room
nice views
kitchen is small and dining room is awkward
Attic is semi converted but has a ladder access
fully modernised - to our taste in bathrooms and kitchens but needs repainting/carpeting as has all been done grey.
absolute top of budget

house 2
Much smaller garden raised in places
large conservatory
large kitchen dinner that opens into conservatory - big social family space
no utility
no conversion in attic
dated looking - kitchen/bathroom needs ripping out, artex ceilings, exposed 80s brick in 2 rooms.
£45k less than house 1

we are mid 30s, 2 kids (7&4) not brilliant at diy

Our kids would love the large garden but I’m looking for a forever house and not sure we will be so glad of it when they are grown up. However the smaller garden isn’t much of an upgrade on our current house and we are mostly moving to get a better garden. The conservatory helps as the kids could be outside and we could sit and watch from there.

have you lived in a house with either of the positives or negative and have any advice for us?

House 1 looks like the obvious winner here. Is there scope to extend the kitchen, either extending into the garden or changing the downstairs layout?

Wait until something comes up that is right

In theory yes there would be space to do this. However we wouldn’t be able to afford to do it for a long time as it’s just slightly out of our comfortable price and there is 0 negotiating on the price (I’ve put in 2 offers that have been rejected)
The kitchen/dining isn’t too small it’s just more awkward. I can probably post floor plans to compare.

Floor plans

House 2 for me - the space inside is much preferable to a large garden for me, £45k is plenty to do the upgrades too.
What’s your preference?

House 1 sounded much better til I saw the floor plans. H1 seems to involve lots of walking through other rooms. I’d probably look for House 3!

My husband likes house 1 best, I like house 2 best. In honesty the perfect garden would be smaller than 1 and bigger than 2.

I’ve mainly convinced DH to move by saying we need a better garden for the kids so he’s sticking fairly firmly to this. Our current garden is on 2 levels with 10 steps between the levels so both gardens are an improvement on this.

We have looked at houses for years and not much comes up at the size/price we want, we live in an area that’s dominated by modern estate houses and I love older houses with high ceilings and a bit of character. Both of these are modernised older properties.

However the smaller garden isn’t much of an upgrade on our current house and we are mostly moving to get a better garden
So why consider house 2 at all? Either stick to your own brief or re evaluate what you're looking for and look at the market again.

From experience I always say to people go with the extra space in your house, having a big garden is great, especially when kids are young but they grow out of it and won't spend as much time in it as they get older, having extra space inside benefits you long term as kids get big so quick and what felt like lots of space is suddenly cramped.

We always think of we can extend but in reality this rarely happens as it's very expensive and anyone with a house knows there's always something to be done in it and never able to save enough.

Definitely house 1.

You many not be able to afford an extension now but in the future when you do, you'll have to space for it.
I would reconfigure the layout until then.
If this is to be your forever home then you're better of going for the one which gives you the most options. Buying has now become very expensive so better to buy once what you can adjust to your varying needs over the years.

Best of luck.

@U53rn8m3ch8ng3 our current garden has a patio then 10 steps to a grassy bit then 10 steps to a garage. When you’re on the patio you can’t see the kids at all as they are so high above. It’s off our kitchen so there’s no where to sit and see any garden.

This garden wraps around the whole house, is visible from the conservatory and there’s around 3 steps from the path to other level. So it is better but it’s about the same amount of grass and patio just flatter and more visible.

The other house has a massive slightly sloping garden that you can see from the living room patio doors. Which is why in comparison it doesn’t seem as much better as this one seems amazing in comparison.

@hellotomrwthis may be the answer, I’m just fed up of houses now and want to move forward!

Large garden

If you are mostly moving for the better garden then house 1.

Otherwise you carry on looking, house 2 doesn’t fit your brief

@GU24MumHouse 1 seems to flow nicely as you walk through it, I’m not sure what it would be like to live in. House 2 felt like you were visiting each space separately. Our current house has fewer rooms so the flow is less of an issue.
perhaps neither are right!

You kids won’t need watching in the garden for long . I don’t think either of these houses are right for you.
Bear in mind that an attic with ladder access doesn’t usually have planning permission to be used as a bedroom .

@Livingthebestlifethats my exact fear. In 10 years 17 & 14 year olds won’t be that bothered about the garden. Cutting the lawn might be fine at 45 but not so much at 65 or 75 for us!

House 1.
My dc practically lived in the garden until they were teens, then shortly after we completed a kitchen extension to give us a bigger indoor social space, they retreated to live in their bedrooms, reappearing only to hunt for food.

@OrangeBloo the layout felt fine when we viewed, but I know big kitchen dinning spaces are really popular so maybe we would regret not having that.

We have a lot of winter birthdays in the family so could be a nice social space, perhaps if we had summer birthdays we’d be busy having garden parties.

Large gardens aren't all they're cracked up to be, it's hard work. However I'd go for house 1 if future extension would be possible. Being able to live there a while then change to suit would be perfect.

House No 2 for sure.

No idea if you are outdoor people in all weather but think about how much time you will spend indoors and outdoors. How interested are you in maintaining a big garden?

Once the children hit teen years they may not need a big garden if they start spending more time with friends and so on.

Personally I would rather go for House No 2. I would much rather have a decent inside main space. It would be perfect for hosting.

are your dc “outdoor children” will you all use the bigger garden? Or are you just hoping that’s if it’s bigger then they will use it? You need to think of works first your family dynamics. Personally…I’m of the perspective that you LIVE in the house so I would prefer more space. The garden is still useable on the nicer days then it’s an added bonus.

Large garden… it’s like another room with children and brilliant for them not to be on screens all the time! Also great for socialising in summer and you can get a garden building for when they’re older and want to hang out with their friends, giving you lots of privacy.

@Anywherebuthere@Upsetbetty I think this is part of the issue, currently the kids are indoor kids because our house just doesn’t work for it. I have a health condition that means I can’t stand around for long, with all the steps in the garden and the little one being 4 means I need to be outside with them all the time. I’m up and down the steps moving from bench to bench and it’s really wearing.
My mum has a small flat garden off her living room with big patio doors and the kids are outside the whole time when we visit. Her garden is much smaller than ours but it’s flat and visible and she lives at the back of the house whereas we live in the front of ours.

I think both houses would be better for the kids playing out than this house is. We are not gardeners and would struggle to maintain a large garden when the kids didn’t care for it anymore.

Do they go outside and stay outside even when you go back in? Mine followed me everywhere so in order for mine to be outside then I did too, which was great but not when I wanted to get dinner on! 🤣