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Original poster

A quick poll. Which is better new (warm) estate house or old (draughty) and characterful?

104 replies

MrsSeanBean · 28/03/2009 15:18

I was always an 'old house' fan, but I am having my head turned by all these new estate developments. They are so nice and shiny/new and warm. I have gaps in my floor and draugts.

Would you sacrifice your love of old and antique for warmth and modernity?

OP posts:
EyeballsintheSky · 29/03/2009 17:25

The house we should have bought had a downstairs cloakroom, family bathroom and ensuite. I think of that every time DH calls me out of the bath because he needs a wee...

noddyholder · 29/03/2009 17:27

I must say I would like an en suite as coming face to face with teenage boys (ds friends) in the night is a horror(for them)

JeanPoole · 29/03/2009 18:33

lol noddy!

Northernlurker · 29/03/2009 19:41

oh I love our en suite - it is truly wonderful - especially when you are ill!

CMOTdibbler · 29/03/2009 19:50

We've had two old houses (120 and 110 yrs old), and now live in a 12 yr old house on a very small estate. I love the lack of damp, straight walls and the fact that the plasterboard stays on the walls unlike our plaster.

And bathrooms that were designed, rather than shoehorned into a house that only had an outside loo

trixymalixy · 29/03/2009 19:52

I live in an old georgain farmhouse and we have an en-suite.

ilove · 30/03/2009 10:40

Love our ensuite too!

Cost is relative...with a new build we have no worries about heating packing up, repairs, extending etc.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 30/03/2009 10:43

Old, old, old. Despite the fact that due to the 12-ft ceilings and the floorboard gaps I walk around all winter wrapped in a fleece blanket. I love the quirkiness and the space.

jeee · 30/03/2009 10:45

Our house is tatty, cold, and to make matters worse the windows in our bedroom are broken, so we can't shut them - on the plus side, the outside is often warmer than on the inside. But we have a massive kitchen, two large receptions, and 5 double bedrooms. There's simply no way we could afford anything like this new.

NotPlayingAnyMore · 30/03/2009 11:21

Renting: new - so that you don't have to chase the landlord up to make it warm.
Buying: old - so that you can do what you like to make it warm yourself

lucykate · 30/03/2009 11:23

we've gone for something in between, it's a late 1960's build. doesn't have the character of an older house (although, the whole of the downstairs is stripped oak, real wood flooring), but does have the space. all the rooms are large, plus a driveway, garage, and the plot is much bigger than you get with a new build. and i'd agree about the light, we have huge windows.

when we moved it was a relocation to a different part of the country, there were only 6 houses that fitted the bill to choose from so it was a bit of a 'best of a bad bunch' choice. but we're happy with it.

ladyjuliafish · 30/03/2009 11:25

I would buy new. My house is 6 years old but its no more of a characterless box than a Victorian house. Its probably less of a box as builders seemed to use the same basic layout from the Victorians right up until the 1980s. Besides which, I have my own character, I don't need my house to have one too. I would rather have warm and easy to look after so I can get on with my life. We have plenty of space, a nice sized garden hardly any maintenance. We live on a pretty estate with lots of families and a nice park. Most people have nice gardens and there is plenty of parking and lots of trees. I would rather have a big detached Edwardian house with massive garden and outbuildings than a 2 bed Barrett house squeezed into a corner with no garden but £ for £ I would choose new

Jux · 30/03/2009 11:46

Living in old and antique and falling down and constant drain on our pocket I have been fantasising about new!

On the other hand, soul-less, boxy and small. No high ceilings, no interesting wobbly walls which never saw a straight line, no floors which can tip you over after a small drink because they're so uneven...

goldenpeach · 30/03/2009 15:06

The reasons why estate houses are warm are that the ceilings are low and the rooms are small. Ironically my daughter was very happy in our previous house, a single glazed Victorian semi, she didn't mind that some rooms were cold and walked on bare floorboards on bare feet since she could walk and even in winter. I felt the cold. Still we managed to make it cosier with thick curtains. The heating bills were not that high as we switched to cheaper supplier. Old houses are colder if detached, semis are a bit warmer and my first house, a Victorian terrace with double glazing, was quite toasty. I prefer old as there is not way my furniture will fit into a modern house. The only modern houses i like are on Grand Design, estate houses have crappy gardens as squeezed on tiny plots.

Hulababy · 30/03/2009 15:09

I have always preferred new houses with all the benefits of good insulation, double glazing and good cental heating systems.

I don't go in for the old and characterful arguement, esp when character means having to spend a fortune on keeping a place warm and draught free, and in constant repairs and updating - have a number of friends in older properties and they spend way more than we do on extras like this. I simply don't get the appeal TBH - old features have never really appealed at all.

I like modern and new

noddyholder · 30/03/2009 15:11

I have lived in both over the years and renovated both 2 and the new ones never make any money no matter what you do to them.Period houses are money pits at times but they hold their value really well and people seem to love the features.My mum is like you hula she doesn't get it and I am sometimes swayed by her spotless toasty home

MitchyInge · 30/03/2009 15:12

old

but have never lived in a new house, ie anything built less than 150 yrs ago

Lilymaid · 30/03/2009 15:13

We went from older and more characterful, but costly in repairs both as far as time and money was concerned, to a brand new house on a new estate. DCs were happy as they made instant friends with the other children on the estate. We saved money and effort but then spent all the money on private education. I'd love an older house - provided someone else had already done it all up.

NotanOtter · 30/03/2009 20:07

old!

i am in a bloody cold beautiful old vicarage!

Sidge · 30/03/2009 20:44

New house for me.

Would rather be warm, dry, comfortable and not have to spend neverending amounts of money on the upkeep an old house needs.

What use are attractive mouldings when you get a 6 billion pound heating bill?

NotanOtter · 30/03/2009 20:50

Sidge - i LOVE my plaster

I call it art therapy

surrounding myself with things of beauty makes me content!

i do spend several minutes EACH DAY looking at my coving atm! The room has just been brought to life as we could not afford to heat or furnish it since we moved in two years ago have just knocked through

Sidge · 30/03/2009 20:55

LOL NotanOtter - you enjoy your coving it sounds like you deserve it after 2 years of hell rewarding renovation

BonsoirAnna · 30/03/2009 20:58

I have lived in houses of lots of vintages and have to say - I hate houses built before WW1! They are all wrong and complicated and old and drafty and don't suit modern life.

Personally I would like to build my own brand new house or else convert an old house or apartment by gutting and remodelling.

BonsoirAnna · 30/03/2009 20:59

draughty

BonsoirAnna · 30/03/2009 21:03

We went to stay with friends a fortnight ago to admire their new built house - 600 lovely square metres of it! Six bedrooms and five bathrooms, LOTS of space and light - SO MUCH BETTER than a horrible creaky old house.