How much house do you need to feel comfortable? (square footage, fee, condo)
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How much/what kind of space do you need to feel comfortable in your home? What is your ideal house/condo/co-op/flat/apt size & layout? What type/size is your current space & how do you use it? My recent house hunting experiences and the tiny house thread got me to thinking about this because everyone's wants/needs are so different. So what is an ideal amount of space for you and why? If you had more or less space how would you use it differently than you use your current space?
We made an offer on the house we're renting, it was accepted and we're now in escrow. It was a bit smaller than I would have preferred, but all of our furniture fit and the layout was very similar to the last house we sold. After living here for 9 months, I realized how well the house has worked for us even though it didn't have all the things that I've idealized as my "perfect space." After looking at other houses in our price point and calculating moving costs, we realized the house we're renting is pretty sweet. Its a good layout at a decent price. But it got me to thinking about how we all idealize what our perfect space would look like and why.
Our current house is 1867 sf, 3 bedroom + loft, 2.5 baths, and 2 car garage. It's 2 stories with a laundry room, family room, and formal living & dining rooms. We use all the rooms except the formal living room. It has a fireplace, which is a lovely "idea," but impractical in our part of the country and we've never used it. I would prefer to have the additional wall space for built-in shelves or a coat closet (the house doesn't have one). We use the loft as an office/craft area and its the most used space in the house. I would have preferred a 4th bedroom or dedicated office so I can close the door while working, but the loft works well for our needs I like having an upstairs laundry room near my master bedroom because I'm more likely to put the laundry away than when I had a laundry room downstairs and our laundry lived on the couch for several days a week. I like that we have an en suite master bed/bath, the kids each have their own bedroom and share a bathroom upstairs, and that we have a 1/2 bath downstairs. But I would have preferred larger kids' bedrooms. I like that it has a community pool because it's 1/2 a block away from our house, we use it regularly, and the very modest HOA fee pays for its upkeep so I don't have to.
My "ideal" house is 2400 sf, 4 bedroom, dedicated office or bonus room or 5th bedroom, 3.5 bath. I like the "idea" of more square footage because I like the feeling that I can expand and breathe, but it's more work to keep up & clean. One of the bedrooms/full baths would be downstairs so an aging parent could one day move in with us, and the half bath also downstairs for guests. It would have an en suite master bed/bath with a sitting area where we could read or watch tv, and french doors leading from the bedroom or sitting area out to a small private deck. It would have 2 nice sized bedrooms and another full bath upstairs for the kids. I would like a nicely landscaped/hardscaped 8500 sf lot with a private in ground pool, spa, & built-in bbq. The reality is we're all so busy we probably wouldn't use the back yard all that much. It would have a lovely fireplace focal point in the living or family room, but we would probably never use it. The 5th bedroom would probably also sit unused unless we had a guest (maybe once a year) or hubby's mom moved in with us (which may or may not happen depending on how circumstances play out). We planned to have my mom live with us when we one day bought a bigger house, but she died unexpectedly after a sudden and rapid decline in health and that arrangement never came to pass. You never know what life is going to throw at you.
We had the opportunity to buy our ideal house, but it was $100K more than our current house. Both houses need cosmetic updating, which I expect and don't mind planning for, but the ideal house needed more work than our current one, and it was also 15 years older. The larger 7200 sf lot of the ideal house would mean more upkeep than our current 3200 sf lot. Our current lot is tiny, but it's far less upkeep and makes more sense with our busy lifestyle Our ideal house sounds great on paper, but I've found doesn't make as much sense in reality as our current house. Our last house was a slightly larger house & lot with a spa and it was a lot more work. I guess our house hunting experience has given me a reality check. It's made me reflect on what I consider ideal and what actually works for us.
One thing I learned when I sold my last house--which at 1970 sf was larger than our current 1867 sf--is that decluttering can really change the way I feel about whatever space I live in. I liked our last house, but I didn't fully fall in love with it until after I staged and decluttered it right before we put it on the market. I want to feel that way about our current house while we're stilll living there. I found that decluttering and getting rid of our unused stuff went a long way in contributing to that feeling in our old house. I'd like more space in my current 2 car garage, but I have way too much stuff. I'm working on getting rid of it and I'm gonna be ruthless about it. If I haven't used it in a year and its not a seasonal item, it's gone!
So what's your ideal space vs. your realistic/actual space?
Her idea is to keep bedrooms for all her 3 daughters even when they leave home for college, just so they have a home to come back to. Also on top of that keep dedicated guest bedroom for our frequent out of town guests. Finally have two separate living areas so that when the teens have friends over they have a place to hang out without taking over the whole house as happens when you have just a single open floor plan great room and 5 teens come over to hang out.
That puts us in the 5 br range with separate formal living room and family room which is more house than I think we need. Of course back in the day I left home at age 18 and never went back except for the occasional Christmas holiday. But I understand kids tend to boomerang back more these days than in the past.
I've been comfortable in studio apartments, one-bedroom apartments, 900 square foot houses, and 1,300 square foot houses. What I want or need changes as my needs and wants change.
Currently, I own a 1,300 square foot, three-bedroom, seven-room house with a basement, garage and shed. I'm not going to want this big of a house much longer. I could use one fewer bedroom, and a lot less yard.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We moved here with 3 kids from 1,400 sf, 3BR 1 bath and were very cramped. This house is 3,000 sf 5 br 2 ba, and now that they are gone, we still need the room for multiple family members staying over at holidays, or for the grandkids to sleep over. When we retire in 4-5 years, we'll downsize to about 2,000 sf, 4 br 2 ba and all on one level. We like to have elbow room, and could never do a tiny house or even 1,400 sf again.
The house I bought last summer is 1533 square feet with an unusually large detached garage of about 800 sf. I only use the garage to park one vehicle in, despite all the storage space, but it's there if I need it.
I *love* my new home, more than I can even express in words! At last, at last, I am in my dream home.
I wouldn't want a larger home since there is just one of me. My previous home was about 50 square feet larger, and I like the size of this one better. A little smaller home than this would be OK, but not necessary and actually this size is great for me just as it is. Living here has been so nice, and barring the unforeseen, I don't plan to ever move again.
I know what you mean about decluttering! It especially helps if you are low on closet space since there is so much less to store after decluttering.
My current space is perfect for me. Two bedrooms, 1.5 bath, living & dining combo. Office space (loft over the Master). Not a huge kitchen, but it has a bay window with room for a cafe table and 2 chairs, small deck off of the living room. Approximate sq. ft is about 1300-1400. I have a full basement with a walk-out (sliding glass doors) that is unfinished. I could have that finished if I needed the space, but I don't really need it. I might want to finish it and turn that into a gym space or something someday, but I have other home projects that I want to spend money on first. btw, I am in a townhouse, so it is also a big relief for me not to have any yard or outside maintenance to deal with.
I had a three bedroom house before this and, frankly, it was too much for me. The third bedroom ended up being filled with junk, boxes I never unpacked and castoffs. My extra full bathroom got used so rarely that I had to remember to flush the toilet occasionally so that it would keep working. I never much liked the finished basement so that also ended up filled with junk, packed boxes and castoffs. It was all crushing and depressing. Needless-to-say, I got rid of a lot of stuff when I moved.
The house I bought last summer is 1533 square feet with an unusually large detached garage of about 800 sf. I only use the garage to park one vehicle in, despite all the storage space, but it's there if I need it.
I *love* my new home, more than I can even express in words! At last, at last, I am in my dream home.
I wouldn't want a larger home since there is just one of me. My previous home was about 50 square feet larger, and I like the size of this one better. A little smaller home than this would be OK, but not necessary and actually this size is great for me just as it is. Living here has been so nice, and barring the unforeseen, I don't plan to ever move again.
I know what you mean about decluttering! It especially helps if you are low on closet space since there is so much less to store after decluttering.
Agree with this. Also, two homes can be the same square footage and the space can feel so completely different. The flow and layout is a huge factor. In my case, my loft area over my Master is probably about the same size that my third bedroom was in my old house, but it is somehow much more useful and appealing to me. I use is as an office and reading/movie nook. I never had any desire to use the third bedroom in my old house in this way. It was just too closed off or something. I can't really explain it, but this works much better for me.
I have an early 1970's brick rancher - approximately 1100 feet. We have three good sized bedrooms, a large kitchen/dining room area, a living room with a fireplace, and 1 and 1/2 bath. The lot is about 1/2 acre, with nice mature shade trees and in a good, safe, older neighborhood development built in the early 1970's. It's' perfect for any family from 2 - 5 people I would say. This modest home was enough in the 70's, and it's enough in 2016 too. We all successfully share the one and only tub/shower in the full bathroom, and the 1/2 bath is a good send (always good to have an extra potty).
We sold our house 2 years ago and bought a 1700 sq. ft. condo. 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, loft, 2 story living room, screened in patio. Plenty of space for just me and the wife. When we retire in about 20 or so years, we will probably move into something smaller. Square footage is overrated and can be a huge waste, in terms of cost and cleaning. I could easily retire in 1200 sq. ft.
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