I’m starting with a confession: I dream about houses.

In fact, I dream about houses at least once a week and the amateur psychologists among you will easily spot that I am borderline obsessed with getting a new one. I am that person who looks online three or four times a day to see if anything brilliant has come onto the market since the last time I looked – about an hour ago. It hasn’t.

The fact that we aren’t ready to move yet and that we’re still finishing off the final renovations to our Sixties terraced house doesn’t come into it. When your heart starts to yearn for somewhere new, it’s over.

This all began as my daughter transformed from a chubby-ankled toddler to a long-legged and energetic small girl. Her needs were changing too and every time I looked at our house and garden, I could see that it wasn’t the right fit anymore. Physically speaking it is big enough, but mere square footage is not always the problem.

Before we started a family the house was fine. It suited our needs as a couple and was a good deal larger than many of our first-time buyer friends had. Even with a baby it was okay, though there was a lot more stuff packed into it and a new resident in one of the three bedrooms. As our daughter grew into a toddler we were grateful for a large living room in which she could cruise around and even for our small garden – after all, there’s less trouble to get into in a tiny, enclosed space.

But with children the way you use your house changes over time. On the ground floor our house is divided into two fairly spacious areas. But divided is the key word. The large front room is two doors and a long, draughty hallway away from the kitchen/diner to the rear. When you're making dinner, it's not ideal to leave your small child all that way away. If she’s alone in the living room for more than 10 minutes, I have to pop my head round the door to make sure nothing catastrophic is happening with glue and glitter.

Light is also a problem. It doesn’t really matter which direction a property faces when it has a row of houses blocking out most of the morning sun and trees behind it blocking out the evening sun. But the things which wouldn’t have even occurred to us as fresh-faced buyers 10 years ago, turn out to have enormous importance a decade on. I have come to realise that most houses, and particularly first-time homes, have a shelf life. And ours has reached its sell-by date.

My point is that houses are important. They are far more than a roof over your head or a place to store your family heirlooms. I'm not about to spout clichés about Englishmen and their castles but you know what I mean. They matter and that’s that. And I know that what no longer suits us will be ideal for someone else.

So sorry house. It’s a case of 'it’s not you, it’s us'. Our days here are numbered and I won't stop dreaming about houses until I've found your replacement.

CR, Kent

Further information

What makes a house a home and why does it matter so much? Our new series, 'Moving Stories', inspired by Savills new advertising campaign, explores the complex relationship between home and home-owner with funny, sad and bittersweet reflections on moving out, moving in and moving on.

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