We recently published what turned out to be a very popular blog about downsizing entitled, “The Downsizing Dream“.  Whilst the post seemed to strike a chord with lots of our readers, it has been pointed out that the more popular term nowadays is “rightsizing” rather than simply “downsizing”.

Thinking about it, the term makes perfect sense, it’s not only those people ‘of a certain age’ who should live the dream and buy a home that suits their lifestyle, ideally everyone should live in a home that suits their needs as closely as possible.

The term ‘rightsizing’ has long been associated with commercial organisations, and more often than not it is a euphemism for cost-cutting, layoffs, and generally reducing a company’s overheads.  However, in domestic terms it is about making sure you have the space you need and that you are making the best use of it.

By it’s very definition, we naturally assume we have to move on a regular basis to ensure we are living in the right size of house, however with the cost of moving home, and in particular the duty and fees involved, is it practical to move every time our circumstances change?

The time to upsize and downsize are fairly easy to identify and justify; we usually buy our first home when there is no family involved, then we move to bigger homes when children come along – the size of the family home will normally be determined by the number of children.  We may then move to a bigger home again  as we prosper and have the luxury of more income.  When the family leave home, we will think about downsizing to something more manageable and that suits your lifestyle as you get older.

All fairly simple, but what about the bit in the middle?

There will be a time when you need the space because the family have partially left home – they may be studying or working away, but returning in the holidays.  You need to keep rooms for them for the short but fairly regular times they come home.  Downsizing at this point is not a realistic option.  Perhaps a good alternative is to explore what you can do with your home to make more use of the space whilst the family are not there.

We recently had a client who converted a bedroom to a reading room, but retained the sleeping capacity by using a good quality sofa bed.  This was a direct decision to accommodate a  lifestyle choice – the husband watched lots of sport, the wife preferred to read without distraction.

Have you got a hobby that you’d like to develop?  Now might be the time to make use of a little-used room to encourage you to hone your talents!

Other clients have converted bedrooms to home offices.  With the ever increasing cost of office space, and the much improved ability to communicate remotely, your employer may very well welcome the option of you working from home.  Again, it is a lifestyle change that you will most probably enjoy as you get older, and the office can easily accommodate a good quality and discrete fold-away bed for the returning offspring.

So, we believe rightsizing doesn’t necessarily mean moving frequently, we believe it should be about making the best use of the space you have available at any given time.  Our design team has worked extensively with clients who have done all manner of conversions within their homes, a chat with them may just inspire you to fulfil a dream without moving at all.  It’s certainly worth exploring the options before you take the expensive step of moving home.