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Old 10-03-2018, 07:56 AM
 
Location: Mr. Roger's Neighborhood
4,087 posts, read 2,540,907 times
Reputation: 12489

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Quote:
Originally Posted by randomparent View Post
BTDT! I think my minimum is 1-1/2 baths. I can share a shower and, in fact, did with four other people for twenty years or so, but that second toilet and sink are a must for a home with more than one resident.
Hear you on this! When I toured my current house for the first time, you could hardly imagine my delight when I opened the door on the stair landing to what I thought was a closet and discovered that it was "The World's Tiniest Powder Room." It's great when I have company or don't feel like going upstairs to use the hall bath.
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Old 10-03-2018, 08:01 AM
 
Location: The analog world
17,077 posts, read 13,318,841 times
Reputation: 22904
Quote:
Originally Posted by Formerly Known As Twenty View Post
Hear you on this! When I toured my current house for the first time, you could hardly imagine my delight when I opened the door on the stair landing to what I thought was a closet and discovered that it was "The World's Tiniest Powder Room." It's great when I have company or don't feel like going upstairs to use the hall bath.
Cute, and I'm loving that blue tile! 1930s?
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Old 10-03-2018, 10:04 AM
 
9,868 posts, read 7,650,602 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Depends on climate is what my friend that lives in tiny beach cottage says...

He has a tiny beach cottage for him and his girlfriend... they spend a lot of time outdoors as do many in Southern CA... two parking places and a small 10x10 shed for bikes and sports gear… he plans to never leave.

On the other hand... my friends in Western WA have big home... with a finished basement... they said having a spacious inside with lots of windows is the only way his wife can deal with the long winters... she grew up in Arizona...
This is a key point. When we had a house built in western WA, I rented a tiny, dark cabin for a couple of months before the move. If I had not been out and about every day, it would have been severely claustrophobic. There was a stretch of 3 days of real rain, not just drizzle. The first day I stayed inside and was OK with that, just barely. Days 2 and 3 I had to get out.

When we moved into our own house there, even though it was not big at 1800 sf, the relative upsizing was like being let out of a tiny cage. Plentiful natural light from lots of windows and not having tall forest immediately around the house also gave it a more open feel. There, being cooped up for one day was actually soothing, and beyond that first day it was at least tolerable.
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Old 10-03-2018, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Raleigh
13,661 posts, read 12,341,234 times
Reputation: 20109
Assuming you'll be able to readily pare down the furniture, clothing, linens, and other things that have "filled" your current space the big thing I would recommend making sure you have a plan for is "out of house" storage. If one of you is a big-ish golfer, if one of you likes to tinker at the workbench or similar, likes to fish, garden a lot, etc, have a plan for that, even if it means buying a big shed.

The biggest regret that I have about my current place is a lack of good "outdoor" storage. My tools are in the laundry room, but I've nowhere good to use them, though I do have a fair amount of honey-do projects. I see why my neighbors have large garages/outbuildings. We have large-ish lots, up to an acre, and flat, for 13-1800 sf homes mostly. I have a small shed, but its unlit, uncooled, short, and after I put the tomatoe cages and lawn mower and a few pieces of hunting gear in it, its packed and disorganized.
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Old 10-03-2018, 12:58 PM
 
885 posts, read 1,162,581 times
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Wow. So much to think about. Thanks for all the info.
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Old 10-03-2018, 03:02 PM
 
50,489 posts, read 36,145,160 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Taffee72 View Post
My home is 438 square feet. There is one big room which I have split in two serving both as a bedroom and a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and an entry way with closet. That is my only real closet. The bathroom has shelving space behind the door, so it's like a closet, plus I have 2 medicine cabinets and space under the sink. I have a number of kitchen cabinets so plenty of room there. There's also a basement and a garage for additional storage.

In a small house, you have to constantly put things away or throw things out as it can get cluttered very easily. I need to get some filing cabinets for the basement and transfer papers I have stuffed in drawers as papers can take up a lot of room.

You can see pictures of my house on my profile.
It is adorable!
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Old 10-03-2018, 03:20 PM
 
93 posts, read 65,919 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Taffee72 View Post
My home is 438 square feet. There is one big room which I have split in two serving both as a bedroom and a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and an entry way with closet. That is my only real closet. The bathroom has shelving space behind the door, so it's like a closet, plus I have 2 medicine cabinets and space under the sink. I have a number of kitchen cabinets so plenty of room there. There's also a basement and a garage for additional storage.

In a small house, you have to constantly put things away or throw things out as it can get cluttered very easily. I need to get some filing cabinets for the basement and transfer papers I have stuffed in drawers as papers can take up a lot of room.

You can see pictures of my house on my profile.

Yep..agree...love, love, love your house. We've lived in a condo about that size (prime location) when we were younger and it was great. We didn't have any garage space or our own basement like you do. We stored bikes in the shared basement of the building but the fire inspection put an end to that and it was locked off. That's when it became too hard to live there as we had no "overflow" storage at all and the couple of small closets could no longer absorb even very modest accumulation.
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Old 10-03-2018, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Saint John, IN
11,583 posts, read 6,702,884 times
Reputation: 14786
My mom lives in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo that's 900 sq ft. Its just here, but even if she was married it would be plenty of room for two people! She uses the second bedroom for guests and also has a desk in there. My DH and I plan on downsizing to about 1000 sq ft as well when we retire in about 12-15 years. We downsized 2 years ago from 5,ooo finished sq ft to 3,000. There's 4 of us now and I still feel it's too big!
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Old 10-03-2018, 08:11 PM
 
28,111 posts, read 63,536,638 times
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At one time the American Dream here in the West was a single family home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, double car garage and a small yard to match the 1100 square foot home...

Many grew up is such luxury... have a 2nd bathroom was truly a luxury back in the day.

I see plenty of new homes with closets bigger than my 10x10 bedroom... but I was lucky because I had my own bedroom and didn't have to share like lots of my friends.

For those interested... a bedroom here needs to be a minimum of 70 square feet with no dimension less than 7... so a 7x10 would be OK as would a 8x9...

No matter the size... the layout is what makes it work or not...
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Old 10-03-2018, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,209,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by countrykaren View Post
Hubbie and I are selling our 103 acre farm with a 2600 sf house.


We are in our mid 60's and just don't want (or can't do) all the work anymore. I'm also getting tired of cleaning a large house, and all the furnishings in a large house. There's got to be a life other than working to maintain a large home.


So when we sell I was thinking of buying something under 1000sf. Thinking anywhere in the 800- 900sf range, tho idea is "not carved in stone."


We are already slowly cleaning out barns and rooms getting rid of or selling lots of stuff. I currently- as I write this- have a truck and trailer packed and heading to an auction in 2 weeks. Will pack up our SUV also next weekend for our first load (of approx. 3-4) we'll make next week alone. Already did 3 loads of stuff to a different auction (most of our horse tack and supplies) 2 weeks ago.


Questions:


Does anyone live in a very small house?
How do you like it?
Did you go from a large home to a tiny home?
How small is your home?
What are the pros and cons?
Are you happy you did it, or do you want to go back to something larger?
What would you do differently or change?


All info would be welcome. Thanks.

My house is considered small, not tiny, but then in 1930 it wasn't. If you don't want to build, then consider the older houses still found in the midwest, seven hundred and 12 sq foot. After Mom passed and Dad and I were the only ones living there, it felt impossible keeping up our 1954 house, along with school and a job. Dad expected me to be. I've lived in small apartments and larger homes since, but specifically wanted a SMALL house. A house since it was all mine. Small since I didn't want rooms sitting there gathering dust.


What I did here in OK with my little house is use the sort of methods which center the things you'll be doing, not necessarily done for beauty but where you can sit at a multipurpose desk and everything you need in within shelf reach. Never ever do I want something where everything has its own room. Its far more convient this way.



I'm also using some of the tiny ideas of grouping stuff used together. If it *looks* like a managed mess sometimes, be that may. The idea is to have near the spot what you need to do the hobby, house work or project.


I find I don't miss any of the space I don't have now. The back patio area needs a bit of electrical fix, but I'll move the larger hobby stuff there and add its shelves. I'm using lots of shelves. But its all based on putting it where you can get to it, and back when done into its usual spot. Some of the stuff I thought was needed may go since it hasn't been in some time as well.


If you're not missing the stuff, and don't feel like being an unpaid maid, then maybe start slow. Find some one thing which you give priority and when its other uses do prove needed, or wasn't missed and aim at another room. But don't try to do too much all at once.


But if you want smaller you're in a good area to find real small houses built by people who lived in them which is rather cool.


I find that the less 'stuff' is about the easier to concentrate on the things you do want to stay.



I've also made a few things which are specifically dual use, and its fun along with useful.
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