Adjusting to a much smaller house (when you have kids)?

Those with children, how easy is it, really, to adjust to the smaller scale of living space? With limited storage?

Our house in the US is small by American standards. Some would say it's "cozy". However, when we come home from visits to Scotland it feels so luxuriously spacious and spread out. I notice the standard big fridge, big oven, big washer and dryer, storage areas, a barn/garage, etc. I know nobody needs all that, but it makes me worry there'll come a day when I'll deeply miss all those extras.

I wash clothing, bedding and pillows every day in our large washing machine and my full full-size dryer is a godsend. I worry about the no storage thing. Limited space to "escape to" if we need to work or concentrate. I worry we'll all be living on top of each other. 

How did you change your lifestyle as a parent to adjust to the smaller space? (I feel like it would be a lot easier without two kids!)

Is there a reason you're washing bedding every day? Please tell me it's not the same bedding because that seems excessive and I have a life back to make your life easier if it is

Storage is rough. I had a thread about it a while back. We got under bed drawers and it saves sooo much space. Like we don't have a dresser because of them.

I never had a garage or anything so I can't really say what a substitute would be. Our one friend here with one doesn't own a car so she uses it for excess storage.

A lot of newer houses have utility rooms with washers and dryers and even storage so that might be something to keep an eye out for when moving. (I certainly will be...)

Hi,

As mentioned plenty of times on this forum and probably others as well, that 'generally' UK houses for any given style and price range are smaller, sometimes significantly.

Also, as per usual, there's all sorts of different sized properties here in each type too. You might end up with what's known as 'spacious' in a property you end up buying or renting. The problem there is what's one 'estate agents' idea of spacious is often not what someone else thinks !

Many here who've made the move over and may have come from 'average' or 'a little above average' sized US houses have adjusted 'relatively' easily. Your situation is that you have two kids as well, so I suspect you'll want what'll perhaps be a large(r) UK property so that you don't have to compromise too much.

The area you look to buy/rent in along with your budget will play the biggest part of your evaluations. There's plenty of properties that are average here which do have a larger fridge and washing machine and dryer and also good amounts of storage space.

I recently posted about my own house, I live with family so we're one unit and after all our renovations, extensions, re-decorating etc, we've ended up with 'around' 3000 sq ft, 7 bedrooms (all but smallest one can have a double bed) with the option of 3 more rooms being used as bedrooms. We've been clever with using as much space as possible for storage i.e we have a lot! A main lounge, along with a second one which we use as a family/play room for my nephew and soon also my niece as she grows. The annexe has another living room and my bedroom too.

I'd guess that if we rented this whole property out, we'd get perhaps £1500/month for it. There's many UKY members who pay that level and considerably more for a 2 bedroom flat in many areas of London! Id' also guess that in many places around the UK, this same kind of property with the Sq Ft we have would rent for at least a few hundred less.

'ideally' for our family, we'd need another 1500,2500 sq ft of livable space. I know that many others want as small and cozy as possible for their 'situation' and even with kids. Many members on here have compromised to a level they're comfortable with for adapting into a smaller property, other's might have compromised more and others less.

I'd suggest you look at your budget, then see what that gets you in the area you may want to move to / live. Only you can decide what lifestyle aspects you love and cannot/won't give up or compromise on and which you don't mind losing/cutting/reducing etc

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I would have thought that everyone in Scotland has a mansion since there's so much space up there .

Like Dennis says, it's all a trade off.  There's plenty of giant houses, plenty with obscene indulgences like a dedicated laundry room, but you pay by being far away. 

obscene indulgences

  

I would have thought that everyone in Scotland has a mansion since there's so much space up there .

Love it when you show off your encyclopaedic knowledge of Scotland! 
 

I just want attention from you and Phatbeetle.! 

We came this () close to taking our August holiday in Scotland.  I've always wanted to drive to Skye and then drive all the way down and take the ferry from Oban.  One Day.

I had kids here so don't know differently.  My house is "large" by standards here in the southeast of England.  Still quite cozy.  It'll be an adjustment.  My best piece of advice is be ready to dress for the weather and get the kids outside everyday!  It will keep all of you sane.

The main issue we've had is that we'd LOVE an additional sitting room, so that one could be for adults and one for kids with all the toys. I'm also kind of annoyed that it's so hard to find open floor plans, but again, not the end of the world. My husband and I actually remarked to each other a few days ago how surprised we are that our smaller fridge is totally sufficient. We're moving back to the States now though, and tbh the thought of having a bit more space is nice!

I'm always flabbergasted as how much space everyone in the States has.  They seem to use it for storing junk though.  My parents have 2 eating areas and 2 lounges.  Friends who don't have children sold a 1600 sq foot house because it was "small"!  I could see that some of this is nice with kids but simply getting rid of the stuff you don't use will help immensely.  I'd love more space, but mostly we just make do with clever storage and getting rid of items which aren't useful to our current situation.

We're in a small flat now while we house hunt, but I'd kill for just a small dining area. Some places we look at have them, and a utility room.  My wants are nice kitchen, utility room and garden, husband just wants a garage...dreaming of a someday lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think it also matters how the space is used. We moved into a two bed end of terrace that is a few hundred square feet larger than our old two bed flat however the flat was more recently renovated and had an ikea kitchen and wardrobes that stored a LOT. I didnt realize just how much until we moved and the kitchen in the new place is nice, but older, and the layout isn't nearly as good. We have a Smeg fridge now but I absolutely hate the thing - the large Zanussi we had in the old place I could actually SEE what I had in there and the drawers worked great. We may have built in closets in one room, but they aren't optimized. We have a shed (and yard) but Im not about to store clothes or anything in there. And the bathroom has no storage at all, whereas the last place was a small bathroom but the huge ikea cupboards stored it ALL.

Other half is currently putting ikea together in the guest bed/office. We ended up getting a day bed with trundle that has underbed drawers and I am in HEAVEN they are HUGE.

Other half is currently putting ikea together in the guest bed/office. We ended up getting a day bed with trundle that has underbed drawers and I am in HEAVEN they are HUGE.

Right??  I thought our under bed storage would hold maaaaybe our sheets that weren't being used.  Nope, they hold all of our sheets, underwear, socks (including the many pairs of tights I have for work), pajamas and a lot of other odds and ends. Between that and a couple of narrow shelves in our closet, we don't need a chest of drawers in this place.

Thanks everyone. Love reading your responses. I'm weirdly looking forward to the challenge. We're actually used to smaller spaces (lived in apartments up until this house) but never with two kids.

We currently use our third bedroom as a playroom and also have a tiny office and dining room, and I know that's one thing I'll miss (having truly separate kid and adult spaces other than our bedrooms.) IKEA always has inspiring ideas for tiny spaces but we've always lived just a little too far away from one, so I look forward to having one closeby. I agree about getting the kids outside more. And the reason we do so much laundry is because we have a kid who's toilet training and... I guess that's pretty self explanatory. 

Love the idea of beds with drawers. I've always wanted one of those even here.

I'm always flabbergasted as how much space everyone in the States has.  They seem to use it for storing junk though.  My parents have 2 eating areas and 2 lounges.  Friends who don't have children sold a 1600 sq foot house because it was "small"!  I could see that some of this is nice with kids but simply getting rid of the stuff you don't use will help immensely.  I'd love more space, but mostly we just make do with clever storage and getting rid of items which aren't useful to our current situation.

The last time I went back to the states, my cousin was giving me a tour of his house that he had lived in for some years.  As we went through room after room, there was less stuff in each one.  Finally we reached a few rooms that were actually empty!  I was super jealous since I would have killed to have any of that space added to my house.