No matter how much you love your neighbourhood, as you move through life, your family size and situations change. Here are 18 signs that you may need a bigger home.
1) You Haven’t Seen Your Table Top Since 2017
We have all been there. Whether you are creating a costume for your child’s school play, baking your Christmas goodies, or completing a puzzle with the family, everyone’s dining table occasionally disappears due to a project. But if your table has morphed onto an office/homework, laundry-folding, dump station, it may be time to reclaim your eating space and find a home with a den.
2) Your Front Entrance Feels Like A Mosh Pit
A small entrance is fine for a small family, but if entering your home has family and guests pushing and slamming into each other, a home with a spacious front entrance (and ample storage) might change the way you feel when coming home.
3) A Place For Everything…Not In This House
“A Place For Everything and Everything in Its Place” makes so much sense when trying to organize and simplify life, but if you have Marie-Kondoed the heck out of your home and STILL don’t have room for your possessions, more square footage might be the answer.
4) Your Legs Are Black And Blue
An easy way to tell if you have too little space for your furniture is to look at the number of bruises on your legs. If you can’t walk from one end of your house to the other without feeling like you have completed an obstacle course on a game show, it may be time for a home that fits your furniture.
5) The Kids Are Constantly Bickering
All kids (and adults) need downtime from sibling stimulus. If your family lacks space to relax with their thoughts, a home with an extra room or two might be the answer.
6) Your Oven Holds Dirty Secrets
Do you have to clear a countertop off just to start your oven? If the only place you have to store your pots and pans is in your oven, a larger kitchen with a pantry might be the answer to your prayers.
7) The Bathroom Line Reminds You Of Big Valley Jamboree
If you have ever been to a music festival, you know how crazy the bathroom lines can be. Now, if those lines don’t phase you at all and are reminiscent of your family’s morning routine, you may need a home with a second bathroom.
8) You Volunteer For Errands Just For Some “Car Solitude”
Have you ever driven to the grocery store for milk and then come home with a ton of groceries but no milk? Now, if you purposely forget the milk, just so you can enjoy a few minutes by yourself, a home with enough room for an escape might save your sanity. A flex room, private ensuite with soaker tub, or even an outdoor living room can offer that little bit of solitude which may save your sanity.
9) You Haven’t Seen Your Pet In Days
If your rooms are so cramped that you can’t even see your pet’s cage, let alone how much water is in their dispenser, it may be time for an upgrade. Pets are an important part of a family, and they can feel just as overwhelmed in a cramped space as you do. Your whole family’s psyche can change with a little more room to breathe.
10) A Family Supper Utilizes Several Rooms
Did you grow up watching sitcoms showing large families sitting together enjoying a holiday meal? Do your family gatherings consist of a small group at the table, more seated at the island, others perched on various chairs, and the kids dropping food on the carpet as they sit on the floor? If recreating those TV dining experiences is important to you, a great room concept floor plan and a table with multiple leaves may be the answer.
11) Each Room Has A Bunk Bed
My brothers shared a room when they were small, and they absolutely loved the bunk beds my dad made them. What they didn’t love was never having privacy. Many an argument ensued because all of their possessions were intermingled into one little bedroom. As a parent, I can confirm that separate bedrooms can be an answer to the great toy and clothing debates siblings often have.
12) You Invent Visiting Relatives When Friends Are Planning A Gathering
I love having friends and family over, but there was a time when the thought of guests struck fear in my very soul. If you live in a small home that had absolutely no room to entertain, you have probably made up a story to explain why you can’t take a turn hosting dinner on the weekend. A larger home with a great floor plan could make your home the one your friends want to visit.
13) Your Rooms Are Too Multi-Functional
A space that serves a variety of purposes is a great use of space, but if your living room is also your gym, office, dining room and playroom, your room might move from multi-function to malfunctioning. A separate family or recreation room can make a world of difference to your daily to how your home functions.
14) You Can’t Wait To Leave For Work
Many people dread Monday mornings and the start of another week of commuting to work. If you can’t wait to leave your home and head to your job, this may mean one of two things. Either you really, really love your job, or your home is causing you stress. There is nothing like the feeling of driving home from a long day of work and loving the space you come home to. A larger home may be the answer to your prayers.
15) You Misplace Everything
Are you a fairly organized person outside of the house, but when you get home, you can’t find anything? A cramped space can cause the most organized individual to question their sanity. It is easy to lose track of a pen, book, or hairbrush when cluttered surfaces engulf anything you momentarily set down. Frequently, more storage space is the answer to your brain fog.
16) You Are Considering A Second Storage Unit
You don’t have to be a hoarder to need more space. Growing kids, new hobbies, and family heirlooms can create an interim storage crisis, and a storage unit can be a temporary answer to your prayers. But if a second storage unit is on the horizon, a larger home might be a better solution.
17) Your Basement or Attic is Full
The majority of single-family homes in Alberta have basements. This extra space is perfect for storing your Christmas decor, bins your teen will someday take with them when they move out, and various pieces of neglected exercise equipment. If your basement and attic are full, and you can’t seem to part with anything, you may not have any choice but to look for more square footage.
18) You Binge-Watch HGTV
Do Drew and Jonathan feel like part of the family? Do you think “List It” not “Love It” when you enter your home? Do you make an extra “Ham Sammich” for Chip Gaines when you make the kids their lunches? Do you long for Mike Holmes to “Make It Right”? These may be signs that you are dissatisfied with your current home.
No matter your reason for beginning you home search, we would love to be the ones to help you find your perfect place!
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