Ideal sized house?

[kijip]

I few other threads have got me thinking about space and how much space a family needs/wants.

How many square feet do you have in your home?

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?

What did you grow up with?

Just curious.

[kijip]

Answering my own questions-

We have about 1400 sf including garage. That is not all living space (think hall/landing/garage etc). Our main floor is a little over 450 sf and our 2 real bedrooms, bath and laundry are the same. The garage+office+hall+1/2 bath is the rest. Technically, it is 3 bedrooms but the third "bedroom" is on the gorund floor, 2 stories below main sleeping areas and is 70 sf and has a door or window on each wall leaving NO place for a bed or much of anything really. I don't make this stuff up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22612133@N07/sets/72157604109371817/ :ROTFLMAO:

I consider it decent for the size family we have. Our bedroom is fairly large and Toby's is good for a kid. It is nicely built and the space is used well. I mostly like the size because I like being close to my family members. Also, I find it easier to keep it very clean like I like it because there is less of it. With parenting and us both working and both studying, that is a big help- less to clean, less to decorate, less to worry about. Much easier to do a place for everything and keep it there. Forces us to be very careful about what stuff we bring into the house to avoid clutter. I also like that it is economical both in terms of price and utilities used. However, I were getting exactly what I wanted, it would ideally have 1 more real bedroom on the same floor as our bedroom- so about 150-200 more sf would be great. Or really just magically shifting the tiny office on the ground floor up to the third floor and making it bigger. But that is a dream reality, not something I actively long for, especially now that we are going to be a 1 child family for at least a few more years min.

I grew up mostly with less. The only house my parents owned was about 1000 sf and it was for 5- 2 adults, 3 children. We had rentals that were a lot larger than that and a lot smaller than that at different points.

[o_mom]

Our house is about 3100 sqft total. The finished areas are 2300 sq ft with a partial unfinished basement. We are actually looking to move to something slightly larger. It is not so much the main living areas, but I really want a full basement or other large play room so that I don't have to store all the toys in the living room. If our lot were better suited to us, I would probably be fine staying here, but it is really not set up for the kids and if we are moving to get a better lot, I figure we should get a house we like in the process, KWIM?

The house I grew up in is very hard to describe. It was a very old house that was added on to by every owner and sat on a multi-acre lot in the country.

[heatherlynn]

This is really interesting that you brought this up. I've been thinking about this myself lately. We currently have a split level home w/ "officially" ~1300 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 car garage. But that is only the top floor. We finished 1/3 of the basement for a family room. The other 2/3 will eventually be an office for DH and a mud/laundry/bathroom combo. This is for 2 adults and 3 kids. I think the size is fine for us, especially now that we've finished the family room downstairs. I wouldn't mind a bit of a larger master bath, but quite honestly, how much time do you spend in there anyway? :) It does have a bath tub, but we never use it. Just showers which is fine since I'm not really a bath person. Anyway, I don't think I'd like anything too much bigger because I don't like waste and I think we'd just fill it up with crap. I think my older DD would like her own room, but 1/2 the time she's in my room anyway, so why bother? I like the idea of her sharing a room with her sister. Didn't we when we were kids? When did we start thinking that kids "need" their own room? Just gives them more room for "stuff" imo.

BTW, I grew up in a 2/1 with 5 family members until my parents added a master "suite" (if you could call it that) when I was maybe 7-8. But that was a ranch, no basement (SF Bay Area). That would be too small for me today, though!

[BeachBum]

Our heated and cooled space is about 3400. Then we have a 3 car garage and extensive porches that we use quite a bit.
Sure, we could get by with less. But I really like what we have and it is affordable to us. If I were to build again I would want a similar sized home. What I miss in this house is that we don't have a bar or breakfast room. I wish we had a casual eating space. What I like is there is good family space, but also away space. I really like being able to get away from the action. I also really like having our Master BR on the second floor. It makes it feel very private and separate from our public spaces. I have to say I also really like our large master bath. It is a place that DH and I use everyday at the same time. It's nice not to be squished. I have a large soaking tub and separate shower. I love my tub and use it 1 or 2x per week.

I grew up with about 2000 square feet, and my husband had a home that was much larger than our home.

[Pennylane]

We have 3700 finished square feet, 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. I did not plan on having 3 children though and would love to have one more bedroom and an additional bath for guests. We plan on staying where we are though because a house any bigger would probably cost about $150,000 more than what we paid for our house.

I grew up in a house that was about 2100 sq ft and it always seemed big enough for me and my 2 siblings. One thing I notice when I go back there is how big all our bedrooms were compared to the size of our bedrooms now. We did not have a play room or a bonus room though. Guess that was why we played outside so much!

Ann

[wellyes]

I think the answer to this question is generally always going to be "Whatever you have right now, plus just a little more".

I grew up in a 900 sq ft house and thought - this is fine, but a den would make all the difference (back then, dens were COOL).

In college I rented a 2000 sq ft house and thought - just right, but what we need is a finished basement for parties.

I'm now in a 1300 sq ft house and think - this is good, not too big or too small, but what we need is an addition for a family room.

[wendmatt]

That is an interesting q. We are looking to move next year and I've started looking at houses online. We only have 1 child so would be happy with 3 br and 2 br around 1500-1800sq. Lots of the houses are 4 br 2500+sq and I think that's just too much house for us. I think it'd be a waste to heat and cool that much space but finding a smaller place in the nicer neighbourhoods is harder.
I grew up in a very small 3br 1ba with 3 sisters and it was all we knew so fine growing up (but that was in England where the houses are small, I'm spoiled now I live in the US!) . I'm hoping to find somewhere in a good area that isn't too big. We just don't need a huge house.

[g-mama]

Our house is 3700 sq ft and IMO, TOO BIG. I grew up in a tiny rancher and this is too much house for me.

ITA with Katie about how the more space you have, the harder it is to keep it clean and tidy. Our "stuff" gets spread out all over the place. Toys migrate to every corner of the house and I am never done picking up. I told my dh this house was too big and told him he was going to have to get me a cleaning lady if we bought it. He had no problem with that, but, not to sound "poor me," but it's not enough! She comes every other week and the preparation that goes into getting ready for her stresses me out the entire day beforehand. There is just too much room for junk to pile up and stuff to spread out.

[punkrockmama]

I hate the house we live in. Well, hate's a strong word, but the house kinda freaks me out. I call it "The Big House". It's 4,000 sq feet and just too big. There's two grown ups and two small children. I know there are corners of the place I've never even touched. My husband bought it for us and it's much closer to what he grew up with and is used to than anything else I've seen.

The house I grew up was big (to me) and old. Not fancy, just big and old. It was about 2000 sq feet I believe and it was just my parents and me. It was too big for us but felt very homey.

I would like a house around 1500 maybe? I don't like to be cramped and think it's great to have space enough for a playroom and an office. Throw in a nice big backyard and that sounds perfect to me. I don't think you need a house with owls built in so you can call everyone to dinner.

[MelissaTC]

How many square feet do you have in your home?
Our house is currently being measured but it is between 1930-2050 sq ft

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?
It is our first home and it was fine when it was the two of us. But we want more space for entertaining (we host an annual holiday gathering of 50+ people and it was pretty tight this year).

We just put our house on the market and the house we are looking to buy is 3200 sq ft. We currently have 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, living room, dining room, family room, 2 car garage. We are looking at 5 bedrooms plus an office and a bonus room as well as an unfinished 3rd floor. My hubby wants a man cave!

What did you grow up with?
Both my DH and I grew up in apartments in the suburbs of NYC. We didn't live in more than 1000 sq ft or so probably. I have 2 sisters and we had to do without much because there was simply no room. Both DH and I were intent on having our children grow up in a home where there can be space as well as a yard.

[pb&j]

How many square feet do you have in your home?
About 2600 finished, plus front and rear porches, a detached garage, and unfinished storaged in the basement and over the garage.

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?
It's pretty ideal. We recently added ~400 sq ft by finishing part of our basement and it's been great. DH has a home office, so about 250 sq feet is pretty much solely dedicated to the business. I do wish we could reconfigure our kitchen/dining room area some (as in, we never use our formal dining room and I wish we could just have a huge eat in kitchen), but other than that, it's about the right size. Having unfinished storage really takes a load off the finished spaces. I especially love having the porches - we live out there in the warmer months.

What did you grow up with?
About 2000 sq ft till I was 13 and then we moved to a 3600 sq ft house. It was (and is) way too big for me. Everyone's too spread out, and there are way too many surfaces to dust, vacuum, etc.

[ahrimie]

i think it's really about layout than the actual square footage. right now, our home is 3500 sq ft and we have an unfinished basement that would add an extra 1800 sq ft. we just have a bun in the oven, due may, so i think it's way too big for two adults. i definitely like how it's roomy... all the rooms are a good size and we have a family room as well as formal dining and living area, library, kitchen and breakfast area (4 bed, 2.5 bath). i live in michigan now and we really wanted a 3 car garage... unfortunately, they only come with the bigger homes. so that's why we bought it.

ideally, i'd like another full bath and a smaller home. it's too hard to clean up what we have now and we only use half of it. i grew up in a home that was 2600 sq ft (2 adults, 2 kids) and i think that's plenty of space. the layout in my parents' house is really good so everything was spacious; still, 4 bed/3 bath, library, formal dining and living area, family room, kitchen and breakfast area, 3 car garage. to me, that's the ideal home.

[ChefGirl]

How many square feet do you have in your home?
We live in a almost 4,000 square feet home w/ 4 bedroom/4.5 bathrooms house with an office, dining room, media/TV room and a great room downstairs, with 2 garage and an extra room in the back.

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?
We use every square inch of our house except for the back room that my parents stay there when they come for a visit. We use our dining room as a downstairs player room right now. We just did a small remodeling upstairs to closed up our 2 story entrance to creat a open play room with a study area for the kids upstairs.

We like our house but we are willing to downsize if our kids end up going to private schools.

What did you grow up with?
I grew up in a 500 to 700 square feet home, fair small.

[trales]

We have 1400sq ft of livable space + an unfinished basement. It is the perfect size, but . . . I would add a garage, a mudroom and make the family/living room about 4 feet bigger. I love the kitchen and decks, the bedrooms are great. I would like a bigger bath tub.

Someday I will find the perfect house.

[lizajane]

our house is the perfect size. i just wish it were configured differently. it is about 2000 square feet, maybe just over. we have a den, bathroom and bedroom in the ground level (basement that opens to ground level on the back, with a door and windows on that side.) we have a bedroom and bathroom on the main level, as well as a living room, dining room (joined), eat in kitchen. and upstairs we have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and a linen closet in the hall. i wish we had three bedrooms on one floor and 2 bathrooms to go with them, as we share a small bathroom with the kids and the bath toys alone are enough to drive me crazy.

we do not need anymore space. our living room fits a sofa, chair, tv, side tables. our dining room seats 6 comfortably. we can also seat 6 at the kitchen table. the bedrooms are not large, but can fit the furniture we need.

i grew up in a very large home. but we had an additional family member and we rented out space in the basement. (6 bedroom including the rental space, 4.5 bath.)

[nfowife]

Our house is about 3400 sf plus the garages. It is a great house and a really nice layout/floor plan. We use almost every room most days, except the guest bedroom which we only use when someone visits or when I'm doing big organizing projects. The only change I would make is to get rid of our formal living room. I didn't really want one to begin with but it was part of the floorplan when we built the house and we already had furniture for it (from our previous house) so we went with it. But it is a totally unused room that just sits there looking nice. So unnecessary! In a future home I can only see needing something larger if we decide to go for a 3rd kiddo. Then I'd want another bedroom (so, a 5 BR instead of my current 4).

[SnuggleBuggles]

The layout is what matters more to me than the size. I did fine on a well laid out 1200sq ft townhouse but that was pre kids. :) We have 1800 now with a partially finished basement left to finish that will a nice amount to the house.

I would love a 4th bedroom. Glad to have 2 full baths.

I think that I'd say I wouldn't mind a larger house but I think this size is ok. So maybe 2000-2500 would be ideal for me? I have no desire to clean and organize a larger home than that. :)

ETA- I grew up in about a 1300 sq/t house w/ a partially finished basement that we used as a laundry room and play room. The attic was finished so I guess that adds on to the sq. footage and we used it as storage and a bedroom. My parents are pack rats so it always felt small and cramped.

I just asked my dh what his ideal home size woud be and w/o batting an eye he said 3000 sq ft. Looks like we have a difference of opinion. And, you can tell who gets stuck cleaning. ;) If he had to do all the cleaning (well, I don't have to do it, he doesn't really careif it is messy ) then I bet he'd want a smaller house too. :)

Beth

[Happy 2B mommy]

Our house is 1450 sq feet, including hallways/closets etc, 3 bdrooms and 2 baths, not including the 2 car garage. We also have a full basement with a finished office/den that is about 12x16 and a 1/2 bath. DH telecommutes 1 or 2 days a week, so that's pretty much his space.

The size is perfect for us (even if we add dc #2) and I love how space is allocated/floorplan. We have a large living room and kitchen/dining area, so we can entertain (16-20 people over for bdays or holidays are cozy but not cramped). The bedrooms are smallish, as are the closets, but it forces me to be selective. Like Katie said, less stuff and easy to clean makes me happy. I also like that we use less to heat/light our house.

The only thing I would change is the size of our main bath. It's really small and makes bathing DD hard. Even adding the little potty and stepstool for DD makes it cluttered.

We are thinking of finishing the basement off for a large playspace for DD and if we do I might move the laundry down there so our tiny laundry/mudroom/hallway could be used just as a mudroom.

I thought this was interesting:
MEDIAN SIZE OF A NEW HOUSE BUILT IN THE US
1950 - 1,100 sq ft
1970 - 1,385 sq ft
1996 - 1,950 sq ft

Household size: 1970 3.14 persons per household
1995 2.65 persons per household

Kerri
DD 11/06

[brittone2]

I grew up with 4 brothers in a small house. It was a bilevel, so there was a "rec room" (so 70s ;) ) in the downstairs with pool table, TV, etc. and it was halfway below grade (so like half sized windows). It wasn't a particularly fun place for me to hang out until I was high school aged, so I didn't spend much time down there as a kid. My brothers (10+ years older than I am) enjoyed it though I think. My brothers shared bedrooms (2 in each bedroom) and then I had my own room. For most of my life though, they were out of the house, so in some ways I was an only.

We had a beautiful property though, w/ a creek, I had a horse, etc. so while our house wasn't large, the great outdoor setting was a wonderful place to grow up. My parents had 3.5 acres. I think in many ways they envied their friends w/ larger homes, but having a smaller home made it possible for my mom to stay home w/ us and my dad retired early (in his early 50s). Now many of the friends that had large homes are unable to retire and my parents have been enjoying their retirement for a decade already. It was interesting to watch all of that transpire. Growing up I wished our house was as large as some of my friends, but now I think my parents' choice to live in a smaller sq. footage home was really wise financially and it afforded them great freedom to pay for my private college tuition (I have relatively small student loans compared to many of my friends) and for my parents to retire on a very blue-collar salary/job in my dad's case.

We live in 1800 sq ft right now. DH is in school (he gets a stipend) so our situation is kind of unique. We've considered sizing up when he gets out of school and finds a job, but in many ways, we love our neighborhood and the setting of our home. We can't afford a house right in our small town (very historical, etc.) but probably could when DH is done school. We could go to one car if we moved into town, but we live close enough that it is only about a 3 mile bike ride into town, so that's a possibility.

Our tiny little town has a lot of things I love, and I think I'd sacrifice sq footage to stay where we are. We may build an addition (no garage currently. We may add an extra bedroom over a garage, or a family room w/ a new master suite above) eventually. Our kitchen can use a remodel. More than that, I think if we added some built ins, and rearranged a bit, the sq footage would be enough. I think you never feel like you have enough space, but I really like books like the Not So Big House series where you think about nooks where you can tuck a desk and filing cabinet for an office under the stairs, or frame the fireplace w/ built ins to house books, games, toys, etc. I think we'd like to focus on smart square footage vs. a large footprint. Remodeling would be a total PITA, but I really like our neighborhood and our home's setting makes it feel pretty private. We have 1.3 acres but back up to a forest that is undeveloped, with a stream running through it, deer that come into our backyard, tons of birds and wildlife (we've been watching a hawk that is visiting a lot lately), etc. and I really value that for my kids.

I know the expectation will be that when DH finishes his doctorate that we'll move to a bigger more upscale house, but we aren't sure that's what we want for our family. In many ways, staying small and well-designed has its appeals. DH and I both value being able to have one parent at home with the kids (our plan is to homeschool anyway), and never be strapped to make a mortgage payment. When he's done school we'll be looking for something we can afford on a 15 year mortgage vs. 30 if possible.

I've also decided that I'm not opposed to kids sharing a bedroom. I think there's some value to that. By the time they are approaching their teens, I may reconsider, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

So much depends on where we end up when DH finishes his doctorate. But we love the area in which we live, and we love our small town. We're going to try to avoid getting sucked into the big fat mortgage, etc. The cost of living is also relatively inexpensive in NC compared to the Northeast, where we relocated from (taxes area also quite a bit lower).

[MontrealMum]

We have about 1000 sq. ft. on the upper floor of a duplex. This includes 5 rooms (+bath), 2 balconies, and 2 unfinished rooms in the basement (for storage and laundry). This is my 5th home since coming to Montreal, and our 3rd together - and it's the best of all of them, even though it's the smallest. Most of my American friends are shocked by the size of our home, or lack thereof, but this is what big city living is like, and it has taught us some great lessons about what you need vs. what you want, and about organization. Also, we are very frequent customers at Ikea! And I watch a lot of Small Space, Big Style.

What I (we) like? We live on the water!!! Not only does this mean beautiful views, but there are many parks/pools that I will be able to use with DS, and there is 44 km of cycling one direction, and 35 km the other right outside my front door - all on relatively safe bike path, no need to go into the street. I am in short driving distance of most ammenities (stores, library, pool, daycares, gym), and in case of emergency (bad weather) I am also in walking distance of adequate grocery/pharmacy facilities. While we are near highways, we are also within 5 min. walking of 4 bus routes - one of which takes me less than a block from my department. We love our neighbors and our neighborhood. In the 4 years we've been here we've had fireworks for either Canada Day or Saint Jean-Baptiste right across the street, as well as hot air balloons! We are much happier here than we've been in other neighborhoods that were too "citylike" within this big city.

What I dislike? It is small, and it was a conscious decision to downsize when we moved here, but we were so overcome by the notion that we could live on the water that it was worth it - and purging is good for you once in awhile! We will have to move by the time DS is 2, because this is really too small for 2 adults and a child, but it's good for now - although we could really use one more room. Although we are in an area with English schools, they aren't great so DS would need to go to private school if we don't move. Now that DS is here, it's pretty cramped, but we're making do for now, and are really in a holding pattern until I finish grad school. Then we will move to wherever I get a job.

I grew up in a much larger home (5 bdrm, 3 bath) on a double lot in a solidly middle class neighborhood in a mid-size town. Our next door neighbors had a pool, and all the kids played ball in the street and ran through each other's backyards after dinner. My parents had purchased it in the hopes of having a larger family, but that didn't happen, and we stayed there anyways. My dad is a huge gardener and we had lots of parks nearby so it was really all about the nature, which is what DH and I have in our present situation too. As a child my friends all had similar sized homes but larger families. There was some diversity in my neighborhood in terms of education/economic situation/race/ethnicity and I would prefer to have DS exposed to that as well. I would like what I had as a child for DS, both in terms of culture and house set-up but we can't have that without leaving Montreal, which we will likely do in a few years.

DH grew up in a huge house in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Canada. One of the neighbors had an ice rink, and another a bowling alley. Yikes! Although his parents aren't overly well-to-do, they are quite snobby at times and were horrified when we told them what neighborhood we were moving to. Aren't in-laws fun? We are lucky that DH's sister is even more of a *rebel* against her priveleged childhood and they've since concentrated their *disapproval* on her instead. :) Neither DH, nor I, have any interest in moving to his childhood neighborhood, and if we stay here in Montreal we'll search for a bigger place down here in the "slums"!.

[KBecks]

We have an 1850 sq ft ranch house with 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. It also has a kitchen w/room for a smaller table, living room/dining room L shape room, and a family room and a 1st floor laundry closet.

The basement is unfinished with another bathroom with a shower but it's really old and cruddy, but the plumbing is there. Eventually we want to finish off part of the basement for a rec room and to get that basement bathroom usable. The plan is to have that done by the time Alek is maybe 10 or 11, kind of tweenish when another shower will be a very good thing to have. I very much want an egress window in the basement for safety but it would add cost and I'd have to trust a company cutting into my foundation. Dave has a workshop down there but the rest of the space could be a nice area for the boys to hang out during their teen years, play cards, maybe a pool or ping pong table, or I'm not sure what the space will be but it would give us all a little more room and privacy and I think we'll appreciate that down the road. I'm not sure how many more square feet that would add to our home.

When Dave and I moved in almost 10 years ago, it felt like a big house. Now that we're having our 3rd child, it is cozy. The dining room gets used the least, and not for eating, but I expect we will use it more as the kids get older.

All the rooms are on the smaller side. Our bedroom is small. If I could make all the rooms a smidge bigger, I think that would be ideal. I think the ideal size for a modern house would maybe be 2200 - 2500 sq. ft. Definitely under 3,000.

Our 2 car garage is also feeling the space crunch. I don't like clutter to begin with and we'll need to be more mindful of not cramming too much in here and removing what we dont' need or use anymore.

I realize our house is big compared to older standards. I think the house I grew up in was a 1600 sq ft split level. Dave's mom grew up in a 3 BR, 1 BA farm house with 5 kids and 2 parents, so 7 people. So the extra space is nice but not at all necessary.

ETA: Dave built a great, large, brick patio a couple years ago which gives us extra "outdoor living" space that is very nice. But our weather doesn't allow us to use it all that much!!!

EATA: We like our house and location and plan to be here long term, until we're ready to downsize.

[Globetrotter]

I've changed my expectations since moving to the CA Bay Area! Our house is 2350 sq.ft., which is considered big here. I'm amazed at how many posters live in 3000 sq. ft. houses, but I'm sure that would be our situation if we lived elsewhere :)

I think our place is big enough, but I would ideally like a different layout with larger bedrooms and bathrooms (ours are very small - barely enough space to turn around LOL) and less space in the living/dining, which is huge! Although I must say it's made a great playroom :)

Growing up, we lived in apartments, a small townhouse, then finally a 3200 (or so?) sq. ft. house (when I was around 11).

Kris

[shilo]

My hubby wants a man cave!

bwahahahaha, could this describe my life right now any better? this is a timely question for us as well as we're living in one we've outgrown while we're building the 'forever' home.

we are currently in a 1400 sq. ft. 'zero barrier' (think town house, but it doesn't share any walls - i think they are called patio homes in some parts of the country), on a tiny postage stamp lot. it's 3bed/2 1/2bath, attached garage about a block from the downtown area of our city. it was pretty much ideal for us as a young couple, but by the time DS came around 5 years later, we've been outgrowing it ever since. it's newer construction and while it looks nice, it's sorely lacking in function and layout. lots and lots of unused sq. footage thats in odd places. almost like jigsaw pieces where they threw in the extra space there b/c they could, not b/c it served a purpose.

so then we started looking for the forever home 2 years ago. DH, being the loveable midwest soul that he is, said "I can't ever be happy in a house without a basement." ok, we don't have basements in Northern CA. i mean, they practically don't exist and when they do, they're in turn of the century old orchard houses as 'root cellars'. i looked for a solid year in the city's/schools i could live with and found 2. TWO. so the only way to get him one seemed to be to build it ourselves.

so last spring, we finally found what we thought was the right house on the right lot. it was tiny (1300 sq. ft) in a great city with great schools on a stunning lot. at 10,000 sq. ft, the lot is monstrous for our area of the country (sf bay area). the plan was to add on a MB suite, a kitchen and expand the current living/family room into a great room. then to dig a basement under just the addition part as we were adding on. the problem was, b/c we were working around an existing house, the main house ended up just shy of 3000 sq. ft. with his 1300 sq. foot "man cave" underneath. way, way, WAY to big for me. not to mention it blew our budget by 150%.

so we've finally (painfully) made the decision to level and rebuild from scratch. it's actually cheaper than the remodel we were planning. the final house will be about 1850 sq. ft (3bd/2bth, kitchen, eat-in nook, great room and utility) on the main floor with NO formal spaces - my ideal. DH's "man cave" basement will house his office, rec room, home theater/media room, and a guest suite - his ideal (ok, ok, i'll probably put a sewing/craft nook into the guest bedroom for me).

as you can probably guess, we grew up in very different houses - mine was about 1750 for the four of us and was pretty much perfect in my mind. DH's family moved a lot, but they were almost always greater than 2000sq. ft. with a full basement that housed all of the hobby's his dad, brother and he were into.

sorry to ramble, lori

[mishmishmom]

Interesting to read all the variations of houses and opinions of how much size is desirable...

We live in an almost 1,000 sf condo (really about 940 if you don't count the balcony). It fit DH and I well. When DS came along a year ago we felt very cramped and I was convinced we'd have to move by the time he turned one. We made some major trips to goodwill and are in the middle of numerous trips to ikea, and now it feels comfortable. We have 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, living/dining area and kitchen. We also have a long hallway connecting the living area to the bedrooms that DS loves to run the length of.

I love the small space. It makes me more organized (sort of) and more frugal when I'm shopping. Not only do I look at the price tag, but I also think "where am I going to put this?". We also live right on the water and walk along it every day. I guess somehow that makes our place seem bigger.

I still think it'll get to be too small when DS is older (especially if we add to our family), but my husband grew up in a 1,500 sf apartment w/3 other siblings and both parents so he thinks it'll work out fine. Time will tell...

[maestramommy]

I think my ideal house would have somewhere between 2000-3000 sq feet, although truthfully that seems like a lot. But if it included a basement, that's what I would want. If we have 3 kids then 4 bedrooms would be awesome. That way we could have one room as an office, and one room as a spare for visiting family. The basement I would love partially finished at least, so I could have a sewing table and Dh could have a workbench/electronics station. I'm sure we could do with fewer bedrooms, but we're really holding out for the basement thing.

I'm not totally sure but growing up we probably had around 2000 sq feet, 4 bdrms at our height. We've also had only 1500 sq feet and 2 bdrms before, so there were 4 of us in two bunkbeds. I never really knew how we swung it, but when you're still under 12 you never really think about being crammed. Our current living space is about 1000 sq feet, and it was feeling very crammed for a while, with Dh and me sleeping in the living room. But things are looking up as we are moving Arwyn in with Dora, so we could stick with the status quo for a while. Unless we have another kid lol!

[m448]

our house is 1300 sq feet and change not counting the garage. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath with an open living/dining area. A little sunroom that is my sewing room, hubby has one of the bedrooms as his office/mancave (love that!) and the other bedroom is the kids' playroom since we cosleep with both kiddos.

We're expecting a third and I've told DH that I'd consider upgrading slightly to 1500-1700 only to increase space in a family room/living room area and possibly another bedroom. I grew up in a 2200 sq foot house with my parents, two other siblings and grandparents that lived with us for half of the year. I don't miss having that much sq footage to clean and it's true what someone else posted - clutter seems to find its boundaries no matter the size of the dwelling.

I've worked hard in keeping clutter low in our home and I hope to keep it that way.

[lilycat88]

We just moved to a house with just over 4,800 sf from a house with about 2,500 sf. Our old house had 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, a living/dining area and a family room. We never used the living/dining area. Our new home has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a large family room, a den and a formal dining room and a basement that is about 50% finished and 50% storage. I thought this house might be too large for just the 3 of us but there isn't a room we don't use on a daily basis. Well, the basement isn't used fully just because we haven't had time to really figure out how we're going to use it. Right now, we're still using it for a staging area for unpacking.

Our old house technically had more than enough "space" for us but the layout didn't work for our family. We never used almost 50% of the first floor even though it was a very open layout and the living/dining room was simply a left turn down the stairs instead of a right turn. We LOVE our new home and neighborhood and the house seems perfect for us. It is large but not so large that we get lost in it and not so large we don't use the space. We have a lot of people going through our house on a regular basis as well so it is nice to have additional room. We also entertain a lot (expecially around the holidays) with parties of 50-75 and the house is great for that.

[s7714]

I agree with a lot of the PPs that layout/features can be more important than actual square footage sometimes.

Our house is about 2800 with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. When DH and I bought it, we literally had several rooms that we'd go months without opening the door or setting foot into. Add two kids and now every space is used. Since we're in So Cal, we don't have the luxury of a basement (not allowed due to earthquake factor), but that is something I really wish we could have. I'd love to be able to have a place to store out of season things other than our garage! Other than that I'm pretty happy with the size of our house.

I grew up in a house that was about 1200 max. Plenty of space for a family of three, but I hated the fact it only had two bedrooms. Every time someone came to visit I got kicked out of my room. :(

[momtoonegirl]

Our house is approx. 2000 sq. feet, 3 bedrooms/2.5 bathrooms. Two floors (upstairs/downstairs), no basement, with 2 car garage, and small yard, completely detached from neighbors.

DH and I think that our house is just the right size and layout for us. We have a master suite with 2 walk-in closets, double sinks, and separate tub/shower. The other 2 bedrooms are also a good size, and the separate full bath upstairs also has a double sink. Right now, one of the bedrooms is DD's room, and the other serves as a guest room/playroom/office. We hope to have another DC, so they will share the bedroom and bathroom. If the kids each have their own room, one will have to give a bedroom up temporarily for overnight guests. Downstairs is a open floor plan with a great room/dining room/kitchen, and another 1/2 bath. I don't think I could reasonably keep a larger place clean.

DH and I both grew up in the midwest with larger homes (2500-3000 sq ft) with big, finished basements and large yards (like 1/2 acre lots). Homes like that where we are now are multi-million dollar places, so we don't even think about having anything similar. We're quite satisfied with what we have, and making the best of it :)

[kijip]

I was at a b-day party today at a house about the same size as ours, maybe a touch smaller but all on one floor. It was a craftsman bungalow. It seemed larger, because it was not all vertical space like we have in our town home. I liked it (not enough to sell and move- all the houses like that we could easily afford need serious work or are a lot further from my office- but it was nice). :)

[ThreeofUs]

Hmmm... Very interesting question for us right now, as we're looking at moving - both the schools and the taxes where we live now are awful.

Our current house is about 3700 sf on two floors; add the 3rd floor and the basement and I guess we're somewhere north of 4K. I love the way this house is configured - it's a center hall craftsman, with great flow in/around all the rooms, and excellent air management (we never need to air condition). All bedrooms are suites with full baths. I have storage like crazy. The ceilings are high, the wood is beautiful, the rooms gracious, and the whole "feel" of the house is very happy. Really, I just love it.

What I hate is that it was built in the early 1900s, cannot be insulated without rebuilding from the brick in, and needs some pretty hefty updating because of $(*&#)( previous owner's mistreatment. While a great place to live, the house requires more effort in cleaning and just general maintenance than I want to give.

Also, DH grew up doing NO home maintenance, so he resents even the most simple home jobs - like (for example) having to maintain toilets or regrout, so caring for the 5 bathrooms really bites his behind! But we had this problem in our 1850 sf condo in SoCal, too. ;)

I think I'd like to downsize. Lately, in fact, I've been having fantasies about living in our travel trailer. All 300 sf of it. Ohhh, yeah.

[dotgirl]

We live in the Seattle area, where you can get a huge (3500+ sq foot) house for a reasonable price ... if you want to live over an hour from the city.

Or you can get a smaller house near the city, also for what passes for a reasonable price (in our case, about $470k).

Our house is about 2100 sq feet, but some of that (about 600sq feet) is a partially unfinished basement.

We have about 1300 sq feet on the main and second story - and honestly, I guess I do wish it was just a teensy bit bigger. If the living room were another 100 sq feet, and the kitchen too, it would be perfect.

But it's a gorgeous 1931 brick craftsman with lots of built ins (built in knickknack shelf, china cabinet, linen closet/drawers), a bay window, a gorgeous view of the Cascade Mountains, and lots of room to garden. So I don't feel too bad that I don't have any place to put a full-size Christmas tree.

Except, you know, at Christmas time. ;)

[Joolsplus2]

Ours is over 5000 Sq Ft... 6 bedrooms (including the finished attic), 4.5 baths, two staircases, 2 living rooms, office, master suite, sunroom, dining room... it's too big for the 5 of us...it's so big the kids sleep in one room together, rather than be scared of the dark hallways and distance between every room.

On the plus side, DH loves to have people stay with us, and the guest room and attic make fine guest rooms...having two stairways means there's a lot of privacy (we had two guys living with us that worked with DH, so that was nice when they lived here for about 6 months each...)

I'd rather be in about 3000 sq feet, 5 bdrms, 3.5 baths... doesn't seem much smaller, but it would be just less conspicuous space (Europeans came to visit us and assumed our neighborhood was full of apartment buildings...were shocked they are all single family homes...).

On the plus side, our house here cost the same as less than half the size in California, and we live in an excellent school district...so we can't afford private school with our crazy mortgage, but we don't have to, so it balances out...

:)

[ilfaith]

I agree with a lot of the PPs that layout/features can be more important than actual square footage sometimes.

Our house is about 2800 with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. When DH and I bought it, we literally had several rooms that we'd go months without opening the door or setting foot into. Add two kids and now every space is used. Since we're in So Cal, we don't have the luxury of a basement (not allowed due to earthquake factor), but that is something I really wish we could have. I'd love to be able to have a place to store out of season things other than our garage! Other than that I'm pretty happy with the size of our house.
:(

Our house is 2800 sq ft / 4 beds / 3 baths as well, and living in Florida (where you can't dig a hole to plant a tree without hitting water) I have basement envy too. DH and I grew up in the northeast, and our basements added valuable living and storage space to our childhood homes.

The size of our house is certainly adequate for our family of four, but it would be nice to have one more bedroom. Right now the boys share a room, but eventually we'll split them up and lose our guest room (which I really like having since all of our family is so far away). DH works from home, so he needs a dedicated office space.

When we bought our home five years ago, we were moving from a 700 square foot apartment (in NYC) and were astounded that for less than we sold our co-op, we could purchase a house four times as large, with a pool, in a gated golf community. It's actually one of the smaller models in the neighborhood, and while I occasionally think it would be nice to have one of the McMansions down the street, I think 4500+ square feet would be too much for me.

The one thing I do wish we had was a playroom for the boys. With such an open floorplan, I'd love to be able to contain their toys in one place and shut the door. A basement or bonus room would be wonderful. I'd certainly be willing to sacrifice some of the ample space we have in our "formal" areas (the living and dining rooms we almost never use) but since they're open to the entry of the house, they sit, filled with their nice furniture, hoping for the occasional company to sit in them.

[julieakc]

How many square feet do you have in your home?

1740 - 4 bedrooms, 1 3/4 baths - one main room (no seperate dining area or formal living room) - There's just the 3 of us and barring any accidents it will remain that way. I have basement envy too - I'd love the extra play/storage space.

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?

I have mixed feelings on this - on one hand I know that it is perfectly adequate and we're lucky to own a home. I like the general layout of the home and technically we have enough space for our needs. We have a nice sized yard and although we live in a Los Angeles suburb we have a look of the great outdoors since our house backs up to a large park and we're in the foothills (2 deer were in our yard last week), we have good space between our house and the neighbors.

On the other hand if I could have a bit more space I would. Things I'd want: I have always wanted a walk-in closet; I'd love a bigger more luxurious bathroom with a nice tub (although since we bought a hot tub I don't feel as great a need for this); I'd like a formal dining room; an actual laundry room (we have a laundry closet in the kitchen) - a nice large one that could also be a craft room, and a play room would be nice and DH would love a media room (and I think it would be cool too).

Realistically I think around 2500, maybe a little bigger but not more than 3000 would probably be ideal.

What did you grow up with?

I grew up in a small 2 bedroom/1 bath house that was probably a bit under 1000 sq ft (just me and my parents). I think DH's childhood home was a just a bit larger than that (it was he and his 2 brothers and his parents).

[TahliasMom]

for me is more like what i can afford vs what i want. i live in a pretty expensive area (CA San Francisco area) and a typical house here is around 900 sf with tiny back yard. i grew up in flats (less than 900 sf ft) with 2 adults, 2 kids so a house is a novel idea.
my ex and i use to live in about 600-800 sf before we had dd. then we moved to 1000 sf as dd got more mobile (8 mos) and we wanted a bigger living room.
after i left with my ex, i lived in 500 sf feet with my dd! yeah that was insane as we sometimes had a friend crash on the couch. now we just moved into an 1100 sf foot townhome and it's perfect for dd and I. 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. we have a small balcony too. if i had a partner, it might be a little crowded as dd's stuff takes over the house. :) ideally i would love a home around 1000 sf as long as it had a yard! store the extra stuff in a garage and yard. hehe.
not sure if i would want something bigger unless i could afford a house cleaner. i can barely keep up with what i have.

[Puddy73]

Interesting thread! Our house is a typical 1970's ranch style, about 2000 square feet. I think that this is *almost* enough space for our family, but I wish that it were configured differently. The previous owners closed in the two-car garage and we use that as a playroom - it is huge! I really miss having a garage. The eat-in kitchen is a decent size, but we don't have a dining room. DH has a small office, and my office is literally a closet off the playroom. We have two small bathrooms, a den and three bedrooms. When #3 arrives, we'll have to figure out a room sharing arrangement for DC, but I don't think that they will mind that much until they get older. We do have a large backyard with a pool, so we spend a lot of time outside when the gnats aren't too bad.

Except for townhouses, most new construction in our area is in the 3000-4000 square foot range, not including garages. It would be nice to have a "man cave" for DH and a craft/workout room for me, but honestly it would probably be a clutter magnet. DH and I both have tendency to attract clutter and our current lack of space keeps us in check.

I grew up in a big old farmhouse, about 4000 square feet, and it always seemed too big. We spent most of our time on one level, so much of the space was wasted.

[sarahsthreads]

How many square feet do you have in your home?
Officially 1800, but we have a 900 sq. ft. basement that is more or less finished - there's a family room that doubles as our guest room plus a full bath down there, and it's a walkout with a few full-size windows so it really can be used as living space.

Is that ideal for you? Do you want more or less and why?
We have enough space. There are 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths besides what's in the basement. The layout of most of the first floor is awful and a lot of the rooms are awkward to put furniture in because of where the windows and doors are located. I wouldn't want a house with much more space (although a mud room and a first or second floor laundry would be really, really nice) but I would love a different layout. However, we're walking distance from one of the best schools in the area and the housing prices in this area have gone up so much we wouldn't be able to afford to buy a different house here, so we'll be making do until the kids are out of school.

What did you grow up with?
When I was DD's age we moved into my parents' first house, which was probably in the 1000 sq. ft. range. I don't remember feeling like that house was very small, but I was very small at the time! The house I did most of my growing up in was (to my child's mind) a rambling old farmhouse, but my mom says it was about 1600 sq. ft. It just had a crazy layout, obviously added on to over many generations, with rooms around every corner. In high school my family moved to a house similar to what I have now.

DH is always saying we need more space, but my feeling is that we just need less stuff. :)

Sarah

[giavila]

We currently live in Southern CA in a 1360 sf townhome with no yard, but 2 small patios. I think it's perfect for the 4 of us for now. We have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. A year ago we were living in a 950 sf condo and I was so anxious to get out of there when our 2nd DD arrived. We are planning on another kid so we are hoping our next home (and last) will be at least 1600 sf with a yard. But, that's years from now!

[DDowning]

Our house is 3900 sft, 3 levels, 5 beds/4.5 baths, 3 car garage. When we bought it, I was expecting twins so thought it would be a good house for 3 children as there were 4 bedrooms on the second floor leaving one bedroom on the first floor for guests. Well we know how that turned out and now the house is a bit too large since we've decided not to have any more children. I'm trying to make it work though, we turned the 4th bedroom into a guest bedroom and made the first floor bedroom a gym. I haven't even touched the third floor loft yet (its a glorified attic right now) but the expectation is that at some point it will turn into my craft/hobby space. We'll see.

My parents still live in the same 1300 sft, 3bed/2bath/2car ranch that I grew up in. There were three kids and I shared a room with my sister. It was tight, it was cramped but it was home.

[HIU8]

Our house is 2364 sq ft not including the garage or basement. It's a 1 car garage and the basement is unfinished. Both DH and I work from home (DH also works outside the house though), so the house is just to small. Right now the basement is storage only (we don't have any attic space). The fourth bedroom is my office and the dining room is where DH works (and cleans everything up when we have company over). The one nice thing about the house is the yard. It is the perfect size (1/3 acre).

When we bought it was a matter of what we could afford in our area. For the same price we paid for our house we could have had a townhouse a little closer in with 3 bedrooms, no garage. Both my mother and DH mother live out of town, so when they come the office turns into the guest room. We are actually considering looking to move. We want at least 4 bedrooms and a separate office space, a finished basement (or one that can be easily finished), a 2 car garage. It doesn't have to be tons bigger than what we currently have (in fact I don't want something huge because I have to clean it).

[wellyes]

This thread is really interesting! I honestly had no idea so many people lived in such HUGE houses. I've read that the average house is now 2500 sq feet but I know very, very few people with houses that big. Or, I thought I didn't! Obviously it's regional, to a degree, plus how far / close you are to a major city.

I have to say I'm not terribly jealous, though. I'm happy with my < 1500 sq ft. No guest bedrooms = family stays in a hotel when they visit :) !

[niccig]

This thread has been interesting to read. Some people's home sound too small for me, and others too large - I'm not cleaning extra bathrooms if I don't have too. We have 1900sq ft, but it's 2 bedrooms and 1 big family room and 1 big living room. We're looking at reconfiguring some of the space to give us a 3rd bedroom for office, guest room and will help with resale later on. We may add on to give us a bathroom, so the current minuscule 2nd bath can become part of the laundry room and I'll finally get enough space for a utility sink - that's my dream.