How big should a 3bedroom be? (Dallas, Terrell: apartment, rental, appliances)

[luvmykids08_10]

Ive been looking at some houses online and it seems that what i think is big is really small for a 3 bedroom so what do you guys consider a good size for a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house down there in texas?

[Haute Mom]

if u NEED 3 bedrooms, u make it work at any size. just my opinion. i have learned i don't NEED as much space as i think i do! as a family of 4, we have lived in a 1200 sq ft, 2 bedroom apartment all the way to a 4 bedroom, 2800 sq ft home. we adapted to whatever we were in at that time.

[TurtleCreek80]

1700+ square feet will get a master bedroom around 17x12 and 2 decent sized (12x12) secondary bedrooms, 1 tiny bathroom (closet sized) in master, 1 8x10 guest/hall bathroom, a kitchen big enough for a small table and a living/dining room around 14x20. Any 3 br's smaller than 1700ish square feet and the bedrooms start to shrink below 10x10 or you can't get a kitchen table in the kitchen.

The poster commented on the size of the Terrell home you posted for several reasons. If you don't have a good grasp of space/square footage, grab a tape measure or walk off (1 normal sized step is 3 feet) these room sizes in your current home->

Kitchen is 10x10. A table definitely won't fit and it will be hard for more than 1 person to work / cook in the kitchen. After accounting for appliances &'counters, the actual floor space would measure 4x4 or maybe up to 4x7. You can barely turn around in a 4x4 space!

The secondary bedrooms are 11x11 and 12x10. After putting a bed and dresser in those rooms, there will be little space to play for your kids. If they're used to small rooms it may be no big deal. If they have tons of "stuff" it's not going to fit.

The living room is 14x14- not much more than a 6' sofa, tv, coffee table and maybe a chair will fit comfortably in that space. Again, depends on your furniture as to whether or not it's doable.

[Squirl]

A lot depends on the layout of the house. I have owned a 1200 square foot house that had an open floor plan between living and kitchen; then it had a really nice sized master and 2 tiny secondary bedrooms that were fine for kids. I have a 1440 square foot house that has 3 bedrooms and there's a family of five living in it. The parents decided to use the master bedroom as a playroom for the kids and they converted the 8x8 master closet (it has a window) into a nursery for their infant. Their other 2 kids share a bedroom and they use the smallest bedroom for themselves.....it basically fits only a Q-sized bed and night stands. But they like the rent, hugh backyard and location so it works for them. You just have to look the place over. I wouldn't go much smaller than 1200 sq ft.

[Macbeth2003]

Much depends on the neighborhood. Many of my friends and neighbors have 3 bed 2 bath homes around 1400-1600 square feet, but that is in a neighborhood built in the 20's. My own house (which I've almost finished unpacking/moving into) is a 3 bed 1 bath and is 1492 sq feet.
In north Dallas/ Suburbs the 3/2s are larger, as sometime after then 1950's people determined that a family "needed" bigger bedrooms, bigger living areas, etc. On the other hand I have a pretty good sized yard, and many of the northern 3/2s don't. Depends what you are after. Where in Dallas are you looking?

[ChristieP]

I said the 1400 sq ft was small based on my own experience. We lived in a 1200 sq ft 2 br, and while it used the space well, where we didn't have enough space and REALLY needed it was the bathrooms. The full bath was small, and the half bath was even smaller! 2 people could not get ready at the same time in either bathroom! Basically, you would be living in that house with one more small bedroom tacked on it. Ugh.

I would say anything under 1600 sq ft would be too small for a family of 4.

[Squirl]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I said the 1400 sq ft was small based on my own experience. We lived in a 1200 sq ft 2 br, and while it used the space well, where we didn't have enough space and REALLY needed it was the bathrooms. The full bath was small, and the half bath was even smaller! 2 people could not get ready at the same time in either bathroom! Basically, you would be living in that house with one more small bedroom tacked on it. Ugh.

I would say anything under 1600 sq ft would be too small for a family of 4.

When I was a young mother with 3 kids our house was 1556 sq ft...... It was just perfect for us for a few years before I converted it to a rental property. You always have to balance what you can afford with your needs. People in major cities raise entire families in 700-900 sq feet w/o yards. As they say, you don't always get what you want.....but you get what you need. Look every property over w/i your price and location before you eliminate based on size. Little kids adjust to small bedrooms just fine.

[galore]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

1700+ square feet will get a master bedroom around 17x12 and 2 decent sized (12x12) secondary bedrooms, 1 tiny bathroom (closet sized) in master, 1 8x10 guest/hall bathroom, a kitchen big enough for a small table and a living/dining room around 14x20.

Master bedroom 17x12 = 204sf
Two secondary bedrooms 2x12x12 = 288sf
Master bath 10x5 = 50sf
Hall bath 8x10 = 80sf
Living/dining 14x20 = 280sf

Total = 902sf

What are the other 798sf for? I left out the kitchen and hallways but assume together they don't account for 798sf.

I've got a floorplan that is 1500sf total with:

Master bedroom = 15x20 = 300sf
Master bathroom = 15x20 = 300sf
Master closet = 15x10 = 150sf
Kitchen/family = 15x20 = 300sf
Two secondary bedrooms = 2x14.5x12 = 348sf
Secondary bath = 5x10 = 50sf

Total = 1448sf. The rest is a utility space (which I'm not sure counts).

[BigDGeek]

I have a 3-bedroom house at 1820 sq ft. I live alone so I have way more space than I know what to do with but I think someone with children could live there very comfortably. The bedrooms are a good size and there is plenty of closet space, but obviously houses and floorplans vary.

[PlanoGirl]

Our first home was about 1700 sq ft and it had three bedrooms. It was just hubby and me, so bigger than we needed. Agree that it really depends on the layout and size of individual rooms, and what works for your lifestyle. For example, we only used 2 of the bedrooms...so the 3rd one just became a storage room. The living room was big which was great when our friends came over, and there was also a small "bonus" room that was used as an office. The kitchen was teeny weeny though. Plenty of space for a couple. Could have also lived there quite easily with 1 or 2 kids I think, though the size of the kitchen would have driven me nuts...considering that's where we hang out now. Now having small kids, I like an open living plan, so despite being big enough, the layout didn't work for us...the house was too compartmentalized.