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We have lived in our house for 3 years and have never used the formal dining room. . . . . well, I take that back. . . we put our Xmas tree in there each year. What a waste of space. We didn't even bother to buy dining room furniture.
See, now, I would love a bigger formal dining room. We use it fairly often and I would surely trade the useless bonus room that my kids are never in for a 14x20 dining room. And we use our living room now that is has been converted to an office. I'm in the "get rid of the giant master bedroom, all I need in there is a bed" camp.
I think that our society would be much better off if everyone just worried about themselves and their own families rather than what size house is appropriate for other people's families.
I think that our society would be much better off if everyone just worried about themselves and their own families rather than what size house is appropriate for other people's families.
Respectfully, I ask, who is "worried"? I haven't seen one comment on this thread the rises even close to the level of worry. It's merely a discussion.
See, now, I would love a bigger formal dining room. We use it fairly often and I would surely trade the useless bonus room that my kids are never in for a 14x20 dining room. And we use our living room now that is has been converted to an office. I'm in the "get rid of the giant master bedroom, all I need in there is a bed" camp.
I think your thought is the thought of many. Formal living rooms go unused but dining rooms are the one "luxury" that people actually use, even if it's not all the time.
I have more than one friend who has turned a formal living room into a formal dining room to increase the number of people it can hold. Then, the old dining room can become an office or something else useful.
We have a 3 bedroom house with a huge bonus over the garage. No office. We had no use for the big bonus so my daughter decided that it would be a great idea to share a room with her little brother in the big bonus... and voila! Now we have an office, and a guest room. As much as I love big homes, I don't think we will ever have an enormous home. In fact, we are thinking of re-sizing into a townhome when the time is right. I'm not sure if it would be downsizing, but we will eventually need a new configuration. I think that big homes are here to stay though. But yeah, the formal living, fomal dining, bonus and loft... that's just too many spaces for me.
Although I love our rambling home, I always loved a home that a friend of mine had. It was designed by a woman who was attending architectural school.
All on one floor, the family room, kitchen and dining room were all open, so it felt huge, and large windows and patio door faced the wooded backyard. The living room faced the front, so parents could be away from kids for peace and quiet. Two bedrooms shared a bath, the master had its own bath, and they were all just steps from a washer/dryer in the hallway. It had a full basement for storage. It was simple, but modern, light, and airy, and warm and comfortable. To me, it was the perfect home. I've never seen a layout I liked better, regardless of home size.
This replicates the floor plan: (Sort of.)
<--deck |family room with stone fireplace and cathedral ceiling - garage |kitchen with cathedral ceiling|wall| powder room |dining rm w/cathedral ceiling |wall| living room with cathedral ceiling-- front door of house |hallway with washer and dryer in hallway closet |Bedroom 1 -->bath<-- Bd2 |wall|bathroom, Master Bedroom 3
Cathedral ceilings may not be "green" because of the energy needed to heat and cool them, but they made a small space very comfortable.
You've almost described our home, but without the cathedral ceilings or fireplace. Living, dining and kitchen in one open space, master with bath, two bedrooms sharing another small bath. Basement for storage. We do have an unfinished bonus room upstairs, but we didn't plan or ask for it. Our builder suggested it, saying he could put it in, plus the stairs up for an extra $500. 400 square feet for $500? Yes, please!
I don't want extra rooms. That's just more space for me to clean.
In looking for homes in the area I've noticed some design trends that I think make more sense than what I've seen in the traditional "McMansion" homes in the DC area. First, no basement. Who really needs a basement anyway (other than to store stuff)? We had a finished basement in our last house, and it was a playroom that my kids didn't want to go down to unless we were with them. We occasionally watched tv down there but we didn't need an extra room to do that. Basements leak too! Second, the rec room is on the second floor above the garage. That makes so much more sense to me - well - as a mom to little kids, this is a nice play area that's close to the rest of the house. Third, smaller master bedroom. Who needs those huge master bedrooms with a sitting area? All I really need is space for a king bed, a dresser, and enough closet space. After that, I really don't need a sprawling space. Fourth - accessible third floor that can be finished for additional space if needed. So, this is the storage space and rec area that may substitute as a basement if the homeowner wants it. Fifth - better quality of construction. I see more hardy plank siding, stone and brick here. I've barely seen any vinyl. My last house was brick front and vinyl on the other 3 sides so I get the McMansion argument. Plus, houses here are built with porches, decks, mouldings and all those nice finishing touches. You may not get much more than a white box in other cities. So, all in all I have a pretty good impression of housing here. There is definitely more character and quality.
My husband and I have more than enough space on a queen bed, and we include 2 medium-sized dogs and a cat when she's inclined. Being close makes us closer. We gave the bigger room to our daughter, knowing that she had more toys and "stuff" than we do, and that she'd want more personal/private space as she grew older. Our bedroom is the "master", effectively - it has the attached bathroom and double closets, but it's not the largest in the house. I think that works pretty nicely, and it's good planning.
We've owned a few homes. One had a formal dining room that we never, ever used. We had a big eat-in kitchen, and like some who have already replied, I resented that space. It was a room that we heated and cooled, and it made no difference in our lives, ever - it was too isolated to become important to us. Later, we moved into a house built in 1950 that had a dining room space built in between the living room and kitchen, but we were able to make that work as both a dining area and use it for other purposes, as well. It was so centrally placed that it would have been silly not to find a use for it.
My husband and I swear that when our daughter goes to college and/or moves out for good, we are going to get rid of a bunch of crap that we're holding onto for no reason, and move into a tiny little 800 sq.ft. home.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I think the problem is not how big the house is per se but when people buy into either real estate marketing, society expectations, or just plain "keeping up with the Joneses" and buy a house that is too big for them. As time has gone by, the houses have gotten bigger and bigger as families have gotten smaller.
Yes, everyone has more stuff, but it's gotten to the point that there HAS to be two income earners to pay for the bigger house that they bought. So, when a couple buys a large house on two incomes and wife now wants to stay home with new baby, she can't because of the big houes expense. And unless the husband and wife really are working from home then no one is even spending a good portion of the day in the house with wife and husband at work and child in daycare for 10 hours per day.
I think some people get "sold" on the idea of a big house and the beauty/impressiveness that comes with it, that they don't realize the consequences of owning a big house - expense, farther commute, higher utilities, more to clean, etc.
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