Living in a 6'6" by 6'5" bedroom...

Mrs_Imp

I grew up in a small room and loved it.

I don't know the dimensions, but it was very small. The bed only fitted in one way round, and had the stair-head at the foot of it. On top of that was my chest of drawers, and on top of that my stereo. Next to my bed was a desk, which also served as a bedside table. There was no room for a wardrobe as the ceiling sloped slightly. The bedroom door opened outwards to give me more space. My bed was one where you could shove stuff underneath it.

phill99 is right. It is a bedroom, whether people chose to use it as one or not.

abankerbutnotafatcat

mrcow wrote: »

Oops and now you're turning insulting because you're getting yourself all frustrated. :rotfl:


Nice.

Still doesn't make the room any bigger though does it?

In fairness, you got personal first: "highly strung".

Now cut it out, boys. You both make good points and sum up well the contrasting attitudes that the OP is going through themselves and is aware that future buyers will have.

Personally, I'd probably not buy a house with a third bedroom this size, perhaps a fourth though. But then I don't have children so my main consideration was large living space. But I think that if OP decides that this is the best option for them then utilising under bed storage and high shelving is the way to go as suggested by others. The customised route if possible seems particularly practical.

Good luck OP with whatever you decide.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Leigh1987 wrote: »

I basically have to choose between an older, bigger house which might be expensive to heat and require some work, and a newer, smaller house which should be in good condition, energy efficient and decorated well but with a tiny third bedroom.

I would go for the older, bigger house and get used to wearing jumpers indoors. You can save up for insulation and double glazing, but you can't make a cupboard bigger.

pinkteapot

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

I would go for the older, bigger house and get used to wearing jumpers indoors. You can save up for insulation and double glazing, but you can't make a cupboard bigger.

And if by older you only mean up to 20 years old, it won't be that expensive to heat anyway.

New-builds offer terrible value. You pay a significant premium for them which you lose as soon as you move in because you'll always be selling it second-hand. A lot of new-builds have poor build quality so unless it's detached you're unlikely to avoid neighbour noise. Completely agree with Mr Jelly.

diska

Personally I always see houses with a small third bedroom as more suitable for young couples without or with young children. Growing up my younger sister had a similar sized room which was fine for her until we moved into a bigger house and she nabbed the bigger bedroom when I left for Uni.

It may put some buyers off but for me one of the things I was ready to concede when buying was the third bedroom size. As long as I could get a desk in there to act as a study I would be fine with it. Though in the end the house I'm in the process of buying has a generous sized third bedroom and a separate study room.

hazyjo

Saw these at the Ideal Home Show (over last few years):

http://www.studybed.co.uk/

Great idea. Can incorporate a wardrobe too, I think. No idea on price, but definitely worth a look. You don't have to clear the desk to pull down the bed, it just goes underneath with everything still in place on the desk.

Jx

itch_for_a_glitch

My daughters bedroom is not much bigger, she has a bed and a wardrobe and lots of "stuff" jammed in it. She thinks its too small, I agree. She does have access to other down stairs rooms for use and storage so she only uses her bedroom for dressing and sleeping. If her bedroom was any larger she might decide to stay for ever. As soon as she leaves I will move her brother from his larger room to give him a hint too.

newbian

pinkteapot wrote: »

And if by older you only mean up to 20 years old, it won't be that expensive to heat anyway.

New-builds offer terrible value. You pay a significant premium for them which you lose as soon as you move in because you'll always be selling it second-hand. A lot of new-builds have poor build quality so unless it's detached you're unlikely to avoid neighbour noise. Completely agree with Mr Jelly.

Agree that an older but relatively new house would address the heating issue. But your point on new builds is really a generalization. It's really down to the fact that people tend to look at number of bedrooms instead of square footage/meters like in many other countries. Before settling on a new build we saw many expensive Victorian terraces shouting 3/4 bedrooms but you saw the actual floorplan and the house size was actually quite small in area.

Number of bedrooms seems to be a trick used by house builders and estate agents in this country and buyers sadly seem to fall for it.

OP according to the Greater London Authority the recommended size for a 3 bed with 4 people is 87 sq m (936 sq ft), with 5 people 96 sq m (1033 sq ft). If the property you're looking at is smaller than this, I'd seriously reconsider.

Alibat

Around here (Leicester) unless you're looking at a three bed terrace (which usually means the bathroom is downstairs) the vast majority of three bedroomed houses have a tiny third bedroom. So even before you start thinking about affordability you've got a challenge on to find one with three decent sized bedrooms. Realistically I think you'd have to buy a four bedroomed house to get three decent sized bedrooms but of course they cost a heck of a lot more.

I love our home but the two things I would change about it would be to have a downstairs loo and the third bedroom to be bigger. Hmm, sounds like a small two storey extension is in order. :cool:

[Deleted User]

Like a lot of people, my smaller son is in a small bedroom. Its called 'the box room'.., and they have been around since the turn of the last century. Yes, people call them the box room for a reason but they also, if they have two children, have their children sleep in them.

My son has a cabin bed with a chest of draws underneath it, and a pull out desk which is permanently out because his TV and pc is on it (although the TV could be mounted on the wall). As he is a boy.., there is no real need for a wardrobe.., my older boy doesn't have one either. I hang his ironed shirts neatly on the back of his door, the rest of their clothes go in a chest of drawers. Its not a problem. There is room under the bed for his boxed toys, a garage, and a large play tunnel as well. Its only half height so not as high as a bunk bed.

However, I think u might be limiting yourself a bit by assuming all non new build houses are expensive to run and entail repair costs and discarding them automatically from your 'possibles' lists. That's what the survey is for. U can assess whether a house is what u want in terms of energy efficiency, state of the roof, boiler, repairs needed etc before buying. You can ask for utility bills, feel if there are any draughts/cold areas to the house, check the windows are sealed properly quite easily. Possibly more so than with a freshly painted new build. Also there's no 'snag list' or chasing after the builder to agree to the work u'r asking to be done, and no need to get it done (more chasing). I've been there lol!

You can have 'bad build quality' problems with new build houses. NHBC warranties aren't always as reliable as you think. Just do a search on the net under 'new build houses' and 'complaints'.

However, you might STILL have a 'box' room for a third bedroom, albeit a bit larger than the dimensions in the house type you are looking at. You will almost certainly get more for your money though.

I hope this helps.