Thoughts on buying a larger (more expensive) house just to have more bedrooms - Page 3

[taubel]

Originally Posted by journeymom 

Amen.  Go ahead and get a house with enough bedrooms for each kid.  Look for a good deal and don't compromise other factors: location, schools, neighborhood, yard size, etc.

This IS what we're hoping to do. I've been "looking" for several years. And now home prices have dropped more than ever. If we can get a good deal, we will likely go for it. Of course, we would then have to sell our house, which could end up being a problem. I am prepared to sell our house for a low price, but we're not financially prepared to have it on the market more than 6 -12 months (but that would be a whole other thread).

[redbirdlady]

We moved this year into a 3BR with a big bonus room and office (no door, no window, no closet, so it's not considered a "bedroom") with a huge unfinished basement/garage (room for three cars, plus it's roughed-in for a bedroom and an additional bathroom.)  Kids are 6 and 3, with a baby on the way and plans to adopt at least two more in the coming years.

The kids had previously shared a room, but now that they have their own rooms, still prefer to share a room.  (Actually, my older one would probably prefer to sleep alone, but her little brother feels the need to sleep in the same room as her.)  They very rarely spend any time in their rooms - the bonus room is mostly theirs (with room for some of my craft stuff), we do our homeschooling at the dining room table, and one day we will get around to finishing off the basement to give them some more room, especially when bedroom space starts to get tight. 

As far as having more space and filling it up with more stuff, we actually have gotten RID of a lot of stuff.  We like that the more we get rid of, the more floor space we have.  I realize that that's probably abnormal, but it has worked for us.  My MIL lives alone, with about 1000 square feet LESS than we do, and every inch of it is covered in furniture and "stuff."  She is constantly on us to get another end table or "something" for the foyer, or to decorate our "plant shelf" above the cabinets, but she sees empty space as space to put more stuff in.  Her house literally has a piece of furniture lining 90% of the wall space - curio cabinets, tables that hold picture frames, random desks and shelving and whatnot.  Some people just need to live like that; we are not like that.

And as far as payments and whatnot, the kids and I spend a LOT of time in this house.  I am totally a homebody.  I generally only leave to go grocery shopping in the winter, and we spend a lot of time on our own property (outside - our house is on 4 acres) in the summer.  On weekends, when DH is off work, we'll do day trips, but it's really important to me that I have a comfortable home, where we all feel, I dunno, homey.  I love to travel, but my home is my favorite place to be, and DH and I were both okay with spending a little bit more money to ensure that we got a place that we love.

[January---]

Wonderful topic.  Whenever we move someplace the layout seems strange and then later on it seems perfect because we meld into it.  Well, not perfect, but we make do.

I love love love looking at and designing home plans.  I am so interested in making space work, too.  We're currently in my parents basement while DH finishes college and DS has the bedroom all to himself.  DH and I have our bedroom area in what is really just a wide hallway and we have moving divider doors to close it off.  We don't have a stove or an oven or a disposal but we do have a dishwasher, although it's the little detached kind that has to be moved to the sink to run.  Our computer desks are on the far wall of our dining room next to the hutch and we have a lovely dining table area and a great family room.  DS is 2 and loves to run around and climb.  I like having so little now if only for the fact that when we do buy our first home it will be so luxurious even to just have a bedroom of our own.  We have a full bathroom and a wetbar and I do all our prep work cooking down here and what's more is the backyard entrance where DS has his little play structure.  I look forward to having land since our backyard is like a postage stamp but after going trick or treating with DS this year for the first time I think we might still want to be in some kind of a neighborhood area.  Only time will tell.

What's a lot to one person is a little to another, and layout is sooo important.

[meetoo]

We rent a 1100sq ft town house. It is in a nice area, with a large yard and extra storage in the basement.  We are a family of 5 with pets. It's sufficient for our needs, but I would love more space! I would really like to have a playroom for the kids right now, that could be turned into a 4th bedroom when the kids got older. And more counter/cabinet space in the kitchen. it's getting really hard to prepare meals/school lunches in such a limited space. Keeping the house clean is very hard because the kids each take out a couple things and we have a huge mess.  It's hard having family/friends over too. There really isn't enough room for everyone. I don't eve n like inviting friends over for the kids.  In the summer it's much less of an issue because we do have a nice large yard. in the winter ack! We drive each other nuts. lol Anyway I love where I live and am very thankful for this place, but I would be thrilled with a 1500-1800sq ft house with a good lay out and a nice big yard. :) 

Oh and our problem is not stuff. Our stuff is not excessive at all when compared to "normal" people.