Can a house be too big/make you feel lost?

kipsterno1

PunkRoquefort said:

I have considered a 4 bed detached, 3 bathrooms, separate dining room and living room.

More rooms mean more cleaning, especially bathrooms even if you rarely use them.

GrubbyGirl_2

Location, location, location.

Don't worry about the size of the house buy in your perfect location.  I live on my own and bought my house 2 years ago in the absolute perfect location.  It was 4 bed, a style I hated but it did need full refurbishment so I made it into the house I wanted, reduced the 4 bed to a 3 bed by creating a huge ensuite and walk in wardrobe.  I knocked walls down to create a big kitchen/dining/living room with the thoughts that I would use that during the day and the lounge in the evenings.  Instead I only use the large kitchen so I ended up with 2 rooms I don't use at all plus 2 bedrooms that only get used occasionally.  I would have happily had a much smaller house but this is what came up in the location I really wanted to be.  Go with your heart, don't worry about how big or small the house is

TripleH

We have a new 4 bed house but there are 2 of us. We both have our own home offices for working and the house feels about right for us.

My father's mother lived in the basement of her house but she had a guest house in a seaside town. As kids we were convinced the house was haunted, that was too big.

My parents had a 6 bed family home and my mum lived there on her own during covid. She was desperate to move for years but my father when alive was reluctant to sell. He didn't have to clean the place.

I have a view that each room should have a use on a regular basis so see no point having a guest room with a made up bed that is used 3 nights a year, but an office used frequently throughout the week with a guest bed makes more sense.

elsien

PunkRoquefort said:

I have considered a 4 bed detached, 3 bathrooms, separate dining room and living room.

I am, however, a person who prefers privacy in my own home and rarely have visitors.

The larger houses where I live do not have the good view of a field that I have.

Why? It’s just more cleaning to do. What’s the point of so many rooms that are never going to get used? 

Feels like you’re looking at places because you can and maybe feel you should for some reason, not because you want to. 

What do you enjoy doing with your time when you’re not working. 

housebuyer143

I thought this when I bought a 4 bed detached from a 2 bed and thought I had made a real mistake on moving in.
Fast forward a year and no, I don't think a house can feel too big (unless you buy like a giant mansion).
Space is nice and you will quickly grow accustomed to it, although you might not like the associated bills 😅

Chickereeeee

Judging by the state of some the houses with older people living in them - yes, a house can feel too big. Lots of rooms crammed with ancient 'valued possessions' but covered with dust and fluff. Rooms they seldom go into. Expensive to heat, and maintenance problems can go unnoticed, until substantial  damage has occurred. They would much rather be in a smaller, easily cleaned and maintained home, but can't bare the thought of leaving the area and neighbours.

I don't know how old you are, but worth bearing in mind.

(Also, I personally would feel guilty of depriving a family of a suitable home, if I was one person moving to a 4 bed house)

TELLIT01

Why are you considering moving?  Is it simply because you can, or do you really want to move from where you currently live?  If my house was large enough for my needs I certainly wouldn't be considering moving to a larger property in a worse location.

elsien

Chickereeeee said:

Judging by the state of some the houses with older people living in them - yes, a house can feel too big. Lots of rooms crammed with ancient 'valued possessions' but covered with dust and fluff. Rooms they seldom go into. Expensive to heat, and maintenance problems can go unnoticed, until substantial  damage has occurred. They would much rather be in a smaller, easily cleaned and maintained home, but can't bare the thought of leaving the area and neighbours.

I don't know how old you are, but worth bearing in mind.

(Also, I personally would feel guilty of depriving a family of a suitable home, if I was one person moving to a 4 bed house)

Well, if that’s the line of argument, presumably people like the OP and myself should be moving out of our three bedroom homes and into one bedroom flats? Ridiculous comment. 

Silvertabby

There's only ever been the two of us, but we are certainly not 'rattling round' in our 4 bed/2 bath.  We initially did look at 3 beds, but they lacked one of the things on my 'must have' list - a separate utility room (kitty litter tray, washing machine and sink for washing mucky stuff).  

Main bedroom and en-suite, guest bedroom next to the house bathroom, study and hobby room.  Would really struggle in something smaller now.

As for Chickeree's comment about depriving a family of a larger house, we are owners not Council/HA tenants, so that doesn't apply.  There are plenty of 4 beds for sale.

Gavin83

Chickereeeee said:

 (Also, I personally would feel guilty of depriving a family of a suitable home, if I was one person moving to a 4 bed house)

Don’t feel guilty, there will be plenty of other 4 bed houses available for them to buy! Of course there will be plenty of families that can’t afford a 4 bed house but yours being available won’t change that.

There’s two of us in a large 4 bed/3 bathroom/2 reception house and I’m certainly glad of the space. We don’t need it as such but it’s nice to have. We do however actually use it all and every room in the house gets used on a daily basis. 

The only thing we don’t need is the 3rd full bathroom. We have an en-suite, a full bathroom upstairs plus another full bathroom downstairs. When we moved in the previous owners hadn’t used the en-suite for 12 years as the shower didn’t work but we have since fixed it. When we properly renovate downstairs we plan to remove that bathroom and just have a toilet downstairs instead.