House size: does it matter?

Moving up the housing ladder can mean a few different things. It could be about getting to a better location or upgrading to a new build rather than an older property – but for many it’s simply about upsizing. More rooms and larger rooms are one of the big changes you’re likely to see in your home as you reach the second and third rungs of the ladder.

Of course for many people the need to upsize correlates with starting a family and needing more rooms than ever before, but others may want to create a home office or a gym and so on. In a recent survey by Barclays, the majority of respondents indicated that house size does matter; and of those saying size matters, the majority also said that they need more money in order to move to the size of house they’d like.

Firstly, working out your re-mortgaging options can be a real pain. So, before you start hunting for new deals, you’ll need to do your sums and figure out where you currently stand. Many companies, such as Barclays, offer calculators to help you asses your mortgage or re-mortgaging options. But let’s say you can’t re-mortgage and you’re struggling to upsize, what can you do to make the most of the smaller home you currently live in? It’s good to remember these basic concepts:

Don’t’ store things you don’t really need

While you’re living in a small home you should take the opportunity to clear out all the bits and bobs you’ve been hanging onto for no particular reason. It’s really easy to keep moving stuff from house to house, but it can make a real difference to a small home if you get rid of all that extra baggage. And if you don’t do it while you live in a small place there’s a definite risk that when you do manage to upsize you’ll end up with all that junk in your new attic.

Clothes you never wear, games you never play, books you’ve read and aren’t particularly attached to – they can all go to charity shops or be sold online or at a car boot sale. It’s surprisingly refreshing to free yourself from all the things you don’t need, and it gives you space to just enjoy living in your home.

Be confident about the space you have

There’s a myth that a small room feels even smaller once you fill it with all your furniture essentials – but is that really true? In my experience a room can actually seem bigger once it’s been kitted out. When you live in a small place you become convinced that it’s going to be cramped, but rooms can come into their own once you see them furnished and realise that it’s perfectly possible to make a home comfortable and cosy even if you don’t have a lot of space to work with.

Just make sure that any sofas or beds are going to fit through the doorframes before you buy them! Even online furniture stores indicate the sizing and dimensions of their products. There’s nothing worse than getting home with a new sofa and finding that there’s no way to get in in the house.

Let the daylight in

Make sure that you don’t block out any daylight with furniture or use blinds or curtains that don’t fully expose the glass during the day. Lack of daylight can really make a small house seem cramped, but let the light in and the whole place opens up. The same goes for artificial lights – use up lights and well-positioned lamps to prevent rooms from seeming closed off and dark during the evenings.

photo credit: tinyfroglet via photopin cc