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 2 sounds best to me . Better price, better room set up. You can decorate gradually.

Well, for house 1, is there any access to the garden that would take a car and would it be big enough to subdivide one day? This might give you a better pot of money when you come to retire.

You can’t spend much time taking care of a larger garden. How inclined is dh to do it? Or how much is he prepared to spend getting someone in regularly?

Would it help to try to change dh’s thinking from “must have a larger garden” to “more useful garden space will enhance our life without creating other problems “?

I have a very large garden and honestly it’s a pain in the arse to keep on top of
I’d much rather have more inside space than a big garden