Given that you don't have a living room, where do you spend most of your time in the house?

Literally sitting on my bed.

What do you do when you have friends over?

I tend not to have friends over. I prefer to go out because there isn’t a comfortable space to hang out in the house. The kitchen is very small and there are only three chairs, so it isn’t really an option to have them over.

Did the lack of living room bother you when you first looked at the property?

It bothered me less than other factors, such as the lack of a clothes dryer or me drawing the short straw for the only room with a single bed instead of a double. Over time I've felt increasingly confined to my room for lack of a comfortable alternative.

Do you think that the lack of living space affects your relationships with your housemates?

Definitely. Because the kitchen is the only shared space, you feel like you have to be in a conversation, or you shouldn’t be in the room. It isn’t like you can just go in the living room and sit down and watch TV together or have some quiet time in a shared capacity. If you don’t want to be in conversation, then there is no other space for you to have the comfort of sharing a space with someone without actively engaging in chat. There is no room to have incidental conversations that build rapport, it is either purposeful and direct or not at all. I don’t have the sort of space where you can sit down and have a cup of tea together or open a bottle of wine and just relax into the interaction. You have to have a reason to be in the kitchen.

Do you think that not having a living room affects your mental wellbeing?

I think so. Moving from Australia has been quite an isolating experience as I am away from familiar environments and people and communities. I find that here I spend more time by myself in my room than I would naturally, just because I don’t have a comfortable living space. If I am having a crappy day I feel like I have to retreat because there is no option to decompress in space where you can seek comfort in other bodies without having to say 'Hey I need to talk to someone because I had a bad day'. Conversation has to be purposeful and planned and engaged, it can’t just be a casual, regular interaction.