Right now mine are inside and their base is up against patio doors which lead out in to a secure garden. They like the garden and can zoom around and binky more but they're sometimes reluctant to go outside (especially Princess, once the boys go out I think she's like yesss peace and quiet :lol: so i have to bribe her out). if I leave the door open they would spend more time inside than out, but I don't know if that's because they prefer being inside or if they prefer the safety of their home/base. Princess was really fed up of the garden yesterday and started digging at the glass door really loud to get our attention so we'd let her back in :lol:
I think if I break it down
Pro's: You get to see much more of them, learn their funny little personalities more and also pick up if anything is 'off' with them, you don't have to worry about them (or go outside yourself) in extreme weather, and I love when I'm watching a film or doing some work and they're binkying around the room and jumping on the sofa to see what I'm doing
Cons: They're always going to smell a little, even if you've just cleaned them out you will smell their bedding and fresh hay, I don't notice because I'm used to it but sometimes my family will point it out. They can get messy, even the most perfectly litter trained rabbit will sometimes stick their bum a little too far out and wee over the edge of their tray, or flick hay/poo out when they jump in and out of their tray. Mine are pretty well litter trained, although we have had quite a few accidents where they've weed on the sofa and that's a right faff to clean up. Hay will get everywhere, you're bound to drop bits when you feed them, and the dust from the hay will settle around the room, not ideal when you have allergies (or black glass furniture) :roll: Finally there is a good chance they could really tear up your house, chew your rugs/carpets, pull off your wallpaper, eat your skirting boards and sofa.
I'm wondering what to do when I move next year, as we're hoping to buy a new build house and get all new furniture. I don't think I'd have them in the living room due to the mess/damage they can cause. Kitchen/diner could be an option and most new builds seem to have a door in the kitchen that opens out into a secure garden so it would be easy to let them in and out, but im not sure how much room they'd have (plus do I really want animals weeing and pooing in the area that I prepare food?). I would absolutely be willing to give them their own bedroom upstairs but they're very reluctant to go into their carrier, and once in they're too heavy for me to carry upstairs/downstairs so it would be really tough to get them into the garden, and after seeing how much they love running around a garden I don't know how I'd feel about keeping them confined to one room (even if it's big).
My other option (and the one I'm really leaning towards) would be get them a really nice shed and secure run set up in the garden with electrics so I can put my cctv camera in there, some sort of heater and a fan. I'd put a four-way cat flap in the shed and another into the kitchen, then open both when someone is home then they can play free-range in the garden and come inside to see us.