How Much House Do You Need?
Published on - November 17th, 2009 (Modified on - December 18th, 2009) (by April Dykman) This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman.
For more than a decade, Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has lived in an 89 square-foot home.
His decision to live in a tiny house came from concerns about the effects a larger house would have on the environment, and his desire to not maintain a lot of unused or unusable space.
Obviously Jay’s home is at the extreme low end of how small one can go with living space, but it meets his needs and allows him to live the simple lifestyle he was seeking. While it may seem impossibly small to the majority of people, 89 square feet is Jay’s right-sized home.
Contrast this with the average American home, which in 2004, was 2349 square feet, up from 1695 square feet in 1974. In 30 years, the size of kitchens doubled, ground-floor ceilings grew by more than a foot, and bedrooms increased by 54 square feet. In 2004, the average family size was 2.6 people. Thirty years ago, it was 3.1 people. Our homes have been getting larger while our families are getting smaller.
But earlier this year USA TODAY reported a change in that trend:
New homes, after doubling in size since 1960, are shrinking. Last year, for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show.
The average size of a new home is approximately 15 percent smaller than it was just a year ago. Architects and designers believe this trend toward smaller homes was caused by the economic meltdown — but they expect it to be a lasting change.
Too big, too small
I’ve mentioned that my husband and I will be building a home soon, and we’ve gone back and forth with our architect on several sketches, trying to find our right-sized home. Most of the designs have been appealing, but some have been bigger than we need, and others smaller.
Buying or building too much home has a lot of drawbacks, including:
- Environmental effects
- Higher mortgage payment means more energy goes into paying for housing
- Higher taxes and insurance
- Requires more time and money to maintain and clean
- Higher utility bills
- More rooms to furnish
Buying or building too small is economical, but can cost in other ways. If your house is too small, you might face some of the following challenges:
- No room to expand if you have kids.
- Lack of storage space, even for basic household items.
- Not enough room to entertain friends and family. (If you enjoy entertaining, that is!)
- Lack of space for an office (if you work from home) or hobbies.
- Feeling like you’re living on top of your family members, with no personal space.
Finding a size that is just right
Too big is a waste, and too small is a headache. How does one find a Goldilocks house — sized just right? There are many considerations, such as the following:
- Lifestyle. Do you work from home and need office space? Do you travel a lot? How often do you entertain?
- Family. Do you have children? If not, do you plan to have kids (and plan to stay in the same home)? Are there elderly relatives who live with you or might need to in the future?
- Hobbies. Some hobbies require a bit of room, even if it’s just a sewing cabinet or a dedicated space for a piano.
- Future goals. Do you plan to live in the house for a long time? Do you want to travel? What are your savings goals?
Calculating the size of your Goldilocks home
Once you have an idea of what you need your house to do, you can calculate your magic number. In the article “Square Feat: Foot Steps”, architect Dan Maginn recommends starting with your current home and following these five steps:
- Measure and record each of the rooms in your current home, thinking in terms of the functions of each room. Include cooking, dining, bedrooms, closets, bathrooms, living, storage, circulation, and mechanical/utility space.
- Note whether each space feels too big or too small.
- Write down how your needs for each function might change in the future. For example, if you plan to stay in the house and have kids, bedroom space is a consideration.
- Given how the spaces currently feel and your future needs, adjust the sizes until the spaces feel right.
- Add up the adjusted numbers.
Right now our number is around 1800 square feet, with a loft that can be built out later if and when our needs change. That number sounds big to me, but looking at the plans, spaces, and considering our future needs (we don’t plan to move from this house), it might just be our right-sized house.
What is the square footage of your right-sized living space? Do you currently live in more space than you need, or could you use some more room?
J.D.’s note: I love the Tumbleweed Homes. I want one.
This article is about Choices, House and Home
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Weird design. He lost about 6 square feet of space with that inward-swinging door. Which is about 6% of his house!
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Our apartment is about 700 square feet, including storage space. There’s two of us, a cat and a baby on the way. We’re probably going to stay here when the child is very young, for as long as two more years, though we plan to at least look at slightly bigger apartments in our price range this spring.
We don’t have any clutter and don’t have lots of useless stuff, so it’s pretty manageable. My hubby does have a big fish tank though and lots of tools (which he does use). Add to that 3 bikes and it’s a bit cramped. But the bikes actually get used, so they’re not just “there.”
We’ll probably put the baby in our room for the first eight months or so and then set up a portable crib in the living room. I figure that will work until 2 or so. Then, we’ll need that second bedroom.
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@Tyler K – just goes to show WHERE you live is almost as important as the home’s size. By your own admission, you’re spending around $25k on that house.
In comparison, here in MO pay under $20k for 3br/2.5ba/2100 sq ft on about 1/2 acre. Of course, I don’t have a beach 50 yds away
@JD – why don’t you sell your place and move somewhere smaller? You could buy some land and have a tiny house to live in and one to write in.
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We bought our current house six years ago because we loved the neighbourhood and the property (on a ravine with mature trees, basically backing onto a park). The house itself was almost 100 years old with tons of charm and 10′ ceilings, but it was also “quirky” (eg it had no front door, the back yard was covered with asphalt). Since we have no plans to move, we bit the bullet and did a major renovation, adding a 3-story addition on the back (our property slopes, so the basement is a walk-out at the back). While we did end up with more space (3000 sf counting the basement and attic), the main benefit was the creation of a more normal layout on the main floor, with a front door and a great kitchen/living room/dining room space, as well as a master suite (bedroom, WIC, ensuite) on the second floor. It’s also much more energy efficient; our heating costs are about the same despite a 40% increase in square footage, as we put in new windows and improved the insulation in the “old” part of the house.
We certainly don’t need that much space (there are only two of us) but we like to entertain, and have hosted many parties and church events. We’ve also had friends stay with us while they renovated their house (twice!), hosted family for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, and had four missionary couples stay with us for a retreat. In short, we have been blessed with the resources to transform the house into a wonderful space that we can share and enjoy.
JS
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I grew up in a ~1000sqft bungalow until I was 10 when my parents bought a 2400sqft house further in the suburbs. It was more than enough for my parents, sister, brother and me to live in through high school and university. Now that my sister and I have moved out, it’s just my brother and them living there.
It’s funny because I’m (+ my parrot) living in a 680 sqft 1bed+den condo that my parents call too small while they’re living in a 2400sqft house with 3 people that I’m telling them is too big. They have two bedrooms that have been sitting empty for the last year.
I’m looking towards an open concept hard loft as my next space though, something around 700-800 sqft and high ceilings (currently I have 10′ ceilings and they make the space look a lot bigger.) I think would be perfect. I just need a bit more storage space than what I have right now and a guest bathroom would be nice.
As for finding the right sized furniture for smaller houses, you really need to look into condo sized furniture. I remember when I moved from my parents house to my condo, they wanted me to take some of my old furniture, but it ended up taking up all the space in my condo! Here in Toronto, there are a lot of stores in the core that cater to apartment/condo dwellers. I find Ikea has some decent sized furniture, although sometimes it’s of questionable quality. It took me over a month of searching to find a couch that would fit in my space + 2 months for it to be made, but in the end it was worth waiting for something that fits properly.
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I appreciate the idea that the right-size for everyone may be different. The 4 of us live in a house that has about 3,000 square feet that is finished, and another 1,000 square feet in the basement that is unfinished. It feels just the right size for us.
Every single room in this house is used daily, except possibly the sunroom when it’s too cold. Of course, the payment for our 15-year mortgage (our only debt) is less than 15% of our gross income, so we aren’t financially stressed by it. We are homebodies, so our home is very important to us. We also live in an area that is quite cold in the winter, so we stay indoors much of the time in winter. Could we live in a smaller place? I’m quite sure we could, but we don’t need to. I realize part of the argument for smaller homes is the environmental impact. We keep our thermostat at a moderate level, we recycle, reuse water, drive fuel-efficient vehicles, I telecommute, my husband rides his bike to work most days and so on. I don’t think our footprint is that bad. Maybe I have my head in the sand.
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For the last few years I’ve been living in roommate situations where I’ve had ~100 square feet to myself. When I lived in a cheaper area, I rented apartments around 650-750 square feet; that seems just about perfect to me except that it would be nice to have a guest bedroom/study. And a huge kitchen. My dream is to have a huge modern kitchen, never mind about the other rooms!
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My husband and I live in a 1400 sqft townhome with a one car garage. We love it. We’ve had to add in some storage and continue to work on maximizing our space, but we love not having a yard to work on. We started out in 500 sqft. This is an improvement.
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The last time we moved, we tried to downsize. And we did, but we are still in a big house. For four people and a dog, we have five bedrooms and four bathrooms. However, with seven relatives staying at my house for a week this Christmas, I’m grateful for every square inch.
Some reasons we wanted a large house:
Lots of friends and family visit from out-of-town.
My husband sometimes works from home.
We have hobbies with a lot of gear.
We like to stay home, and we all like our quiet time and personal space.
We live in a climate that is cold or rainy for much of the year.
Yes, it’s a lot of house to clean, but that’s good exercise!
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I live alone in a one-bedroom apartment that is probably 650-700 square feet. It’s a bit more room than I need, bordering on just perfect: the living room is HUGE, almost half the living space. I like to keep it roomy-feeling so I don’t have a ton of seating, but had 8 people for brunch with no problem last month. I’ve also had as many as 6 people spend the night there, but it was quite cozy.
My kitchen is small but functional; my bedroom is bigger than it needs to be, since all my clothes live in the really big closet in my entry. (my camping/travel gear is in my bedroom closet, pleasingly out of the way)
I think about buying sometimes, but I think I’d want just a little different floor plan – if this were my forever-home I’d want two small bedrooms instead of one big one.
I have long loved those Tumbleweed homes, and one of my mental back-up plans in life is to get one and put it on property my friends have on Bainbridge Island. (No, they don’t know this!)
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I live alone in an 1800 square foot townhouse (3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms). It’s hard to figure out the “right size” of house when you don’t know your future. I have no idea if I will get married and have kids. I would like to, but probably won’t. I probably bought more house than I need out of wishful thinking. I figured that if I do get married, the house would be plenty big enough for a couple and at least 1 kid, but for now, I have one bedroom and one bathroom that are almost completely unused (I use my other spare bedroom as an office).
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We live in a 1000-1200 house. We rent. Its a bit cozy at times, with my husband and 3 kids. 1300-1500 is about right for us.. so long as the bedrooms are bigger than 10×10.
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I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments today. Thanks for another great post, April!
I became fascinated with this topic a couple years ago after learning about a woman who lives in an 84 square foot home (very similar to Jay’s). The lifestyle seems so peaceful!
http://www.webtvhub.com/worlds-smallest-house-woman-lives-in-84-square-feet-cottage-video/
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We are a family of 6 that live in a 1900 sq. foot home.
We moved into this house from a 2000 sq foot townhome.
We moved into a smaller home because the use of the space
is better in our current house, and we have a lot that is a great place for our kids to play.
I’m a big believer in less is more when it comes to housing. I don’t want to heat a cathedral ceilinged room, or clean a 4th bathroom.
The only want I have for a house is an old rambling farmhouse, but I’d have to have multiple generations living in it, and tons of cash for repairs and maintenance.
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My husband and I moved into a two-story 2600 square foot house last year. More than we currently need, but we want to start a family, so we took that into consideration. Also, we do quite a bit of entertaining and frequently host get-togethers/parties for my husband’s large family, so a house with large open main floor with a big kitchen was important to us.
A nice house is important to me, so I have no regrets spending money where I think it matters. We’re actually pretty frugual in other ways (We shop at discount grocery stores, rent our DVDS for free from the library, cook instead of going out to eat, ect.) so I don’t feel guilty in the least. We have an awesome rate and are paying down our mortgage as well. And our house appraised at $15,000 more than our purchase price (It was a foreclosure).
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I too think it’s interesting what people think is small. I grew up in a 1500 sq foot house…with my six brothers and sisters (and parents).
My husband and I have lived in a 400 sq ft apartment for the last 5 years.
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My daughter’s family of three live in about 750 sq feet. The storage and layout is perfect. I would love to move in to someplace like it. Two bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, galley kitchen (I could upgrade and get taht baby humming) opening to the family/dining room. That is all I need. Our house is Huge for the two of us- we only actually live in about 1000 of the 3200 sq feet.
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I live in a sprawling mansion with a grand total of 1365 square feet, and that is just right for myself, my wife, and my son.
Its all in what you do with the space you have
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We lived in 2 2-bedroom apts with ~800 sq ft for the first few years of our marriage, then bought a 2bd/1ba 100 year old house about that same size on a 40′x120′ lot where we lived for 4 years. At that point we had 2 boys under age 4. We moved into a 1,800 sq ft 3bed/2ba suburban ranch — 800 of those feet are in the finished basement. About half our basement is extraneous at this point. Our boys share a bedroom and I use the 3rd bedroom as a home office. We plan to have more children and I will move my office downstairs when a baby is 18 months or so and moves out of our bedroom. If we’d stayed in the city (where finished basements are less common), I would have looked for a 3bd/2ba plus small office, probably around 1,300 sq ft. Having some running around room for the boys is great, but stuff just accumulates there. It was really annoying when our living/dining room at our old house had to hold our TV, sewing, and computer spaces.
I’ve looked at house plans if we’re someday able to build our own place and liked one with 1,700 sq ft plus a 1,000 sq ft basement. That’s way too big for a small family, but could work even if we had 4 or 5 kids. I don’t like homes with big foyers or living rooms that sit empty while everyone’s in the family room or guest bedrooms that get used rarely. A pull out couch works for me. I like dining rooms that connect to the living room without a wall so the family can eat there every night (I don’t need an eat-in kitchen), but there’s room to have 20 people for Thanksgiving dinner without people being in separate rooms. I would love a kitchen with more storage and counter space, but I don’t want an extra sink or oven, etc.
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I’m an example of “more house than we need.” My husband, daughter, and I live in a 2350 sq. foot house. It has four bedrooms – and guess what, my young daughter still sleeps in our bedroom. So, we literally have 3 ununused bedrooms each night. We also have unused space in a formal living/dining room that goes unused most of the time. When we bought the home we did so thinking of expanding our family, but right now our finances are at a point (because of the house!) where we actually can’t do that. When we bought, we both expected raises consistent with what we had earned in the past, but both of our companies froze salary increases.
We got a great deal on our house, actually paying what we would have for 1-2 fewer bedrooms in our area which helped us justify the purchase. And, I will say that it is because of the house that we’ve gotten so good at budgeting and monitoring our expenses.
But now that we’ve learned how to budget and be frugal, we can see that the house was probably not the best decision. It has taught us a lot of tough lessons, but it has us in a situatio where there is no wiggle room.
On a positive note, our neighborhood is awesome and our 3 year old daughter has play mates available to her at any point . . . so there is a silver lining to this story!
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The best house in the world is….the one with no payment! I like my automobiles in the same fashion! Chase your dreams..
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How cute. I live in a 1500 sq ft house with three kids and I never plan on moving. As a single mom, I wanted to optimize the space and what I could easily afford. We don’t need big houses to clean and more importantly higher electric and gas prices too. Great inspiration!
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@Kathryn – You’re the only one who will know how much space is right, but I’ve been daydreaming about what I would want when my kids are grown. My sister moved away and comes back over the summer to visit for several weeks. She and her three kids stay with our parents. They have a very nice, quite large house, but the layout doesn’t give everyone clear, separate spaces so the visits tend to get on everyone’s nerves.
I’m thinking that our old house of 960 sf with a finished basement of almost that would serve well. Plenty of room on the main floor for day-to-day living, with enough space in a nicely finished basement to accommodate guests – they get what feels like their own “private” suite.
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How does GRS do it? This is the best set of reader responses I’ve EVER seen on any blog!!!
My son & I would love to build one of the small, Tumbleweed-style houses in the gigantic backyard of his 1,200-square-foot manse (built in 1951, when houses were small and families were large), so that instead of having to rent the bedroom directly next to his and share the kitchen, he could move a renter into his or her own domicile. With a little house on a big lot, it ought to be possible to construct another little house to function as guest (read “rental”) quarters, an office, or an artist’s studio. Not clear, though, whether these nifty minihouses meet city code.
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My wife, daughter, 2 dogs, and cat live in a 2,742 sq foot house. We both work from home so we are kind of hermits in that we spend so much time at home.
I have also always found it more productive when I have a separate space for work with my dedicated home office rather than trying to work from a bedroom because then I tend to be more stressed out by being around work stuff all the time.
We will probably upgrade at some point because I always joke with my wife that since I am the oldest of 7 kids and my Dad is from a family with 11 kids that we need to have 12 kids in order to beat my Grandpa … she thinks I am joking but she is not really sure…
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I live in a 915 sq ft house, it’s just me and my husband but we have a TON of room. We’ve considered downsizing actually. We keep our possessions and mindless consumption to a minimum. The bedrooms are on the small side but there’s three of them! One for sleeping, one for my sewing/office, and one for my husbands musical instruments/recording gear. If any kids come into the picture, we’ll simply combine the sewing and music rooms into one. My only wish is an extra half bath.
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I live alone (with 2 cats) in a two bedroom, 1 bath house of about 1100 sq ft built in the early 50′s. It was actually listed as 3 bedroom when I bought it, but it’s pretty obvious that the ‘third’ bedroom was a dining room with a closet added at some point years ago. The picture window gives it away, as does the pocket door directly into the kitchen. No problem, I use it as a den. It would be nice to have a guest bath, but I can’t say I really need it. And frankly, I don’t use the front bedroom. Maybe because that’s where the treadmill is. Anyway, I love this house and God willing, I will live here for the rest of my life. I certainly hope to.
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The wife and I live in a 900 square foot condominium in downtown Bangkok. Location is great- walking distance to many restaurants and the skytrain & subway- Bangkok is notorious for massive traffic jams so access to public transportation is key. We each have a car and can park in ground floor / underground indoor parking. There is a nice pool and simple gym room that we can use.
The size is 2 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms. 2 bathrooms are a must have as I can’t deal with waiting to use the bathroom if we both need to go at the same time… also no problems if we both need to get ready to leave at the same time in the morning. Life is good with 2 bathrooms. Another must have is a basic kitchen (many places in Bangkok have no kitchen since there is street food available 24/7) and washer & dryer – we have a small stackable unit.
We had to get rid of a lot of furniture to make the space feel good, and it’s great to stay in a smaller space. Annual condo fees are lower (based on sq ft, ours is about $1200 per year), and utilities are cheaper with a smaller space (electricity is about $60 per month because Thailand is hot and I like to sleep in a cool room). There are no annual property taxes in Thailand- only paid when you buy & sell.
We have a small balcony that overlooks the pool and the other building- really no view. All our windows have a view of the other building- this is the biggest drawback.
I bought the place for $170K USD back in 2005, liquidating my entire savings except 401k and bought it outright. Since then I’ve been able to save up about $1 million since I’ve been in high paying jobs and our fixed expenses are nearly zero. It’s a good feeling.
For our next house I’d like to get a place in Palos Verdes Estates (Southern CA) overlooking Downtown LA and the Pacific ocean- would like a small infinity pool overlooking the sea and a nice breezy house. Doesn’t have to be so big. I am waiting for the housing market to properly correct (may take a few more years thanks to our crazy gov’t) then will buy a nice place in cash. My budget is up to $2M which I should have in the next few years if we can keep saving like this- if interest rates are much higher it’s all the better for me because I’ll plan to pay in cash.
-Mike
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We are a family of eight living in a 3 BR/2 BA ranch home of 1975 sq ft, and no basement. We fit just fine, except that my husband and I sleep in a windowless “room” measuring 6.5 ft x 8.5 ft. It would be nice to have a bit more bedroom space for ourselves.
Our bedroom opens directly into the main living area so we have no privacy except when everyone else is asleep. Our hanging clothes are in here too (we don’t have many), and our 4-drawer dresser is in the living room. We also have shelves covering two walls of our bedroom, so we can store more folded clothes there, plus my sewing supplies and our toiletries. The bathroom is a hike across the house, and it has no storage, so we store our toothbrushes etc in our bedroom.
The three real bedrooms are divided up thus: middle daughter has her own, son has his own, and married daughter, her husband, and their two little guys share the real master bedroom/bath.
Except the kitchen, the public rooms of the house aren’t used as designed, but it works better for us this way. The real living room is our dining room (we can fit a bigger table in there); the real dining room is our computer lab with six computers on various tables and desks, plus most toys are stored here too. The real family room or den holds all the furniture originally in the living room too, so we have two sofas, three club chairs, TV, file cabinet, and assorted tables in there. Plus a fireplace and assorted baby equipment. The kitchen table is used for hobbies like sewing and crafts, not for eating.
We have lived in this house for 17 years, raised our children here, and yes, the girls shared a standard-size bedroom until the oldest got married. They LEARNED to get along, which is a skill that everyone should have.
We consider the current arrangement temporary: the economy will recover, and in a few years we will be empty-nesters. Then we will probably rattle around in all the extra space. But we hope to see our children’s families often so we will want to have the extra bedrooms.
Bottom line: we live in a flexible house that is just the right size for us now, was the right size in the past, and we expect will be the right size in the future.
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The wife & I (we are in our early / mid 30′s) got a 900 sq foot place in downtown Bangkok- very close to the subway & skytrain station. It’s big enough for us but we needed to get rid of big furniture to properly utilize the space.
The big preferences for us were:
-Having 2 bathrooms- the convenience factor is huge
-Having a working kitchen, many places do not in BKK
-Have a washer & dryer
-Having a comfortable bed
We’ve got all those things- the only thing lacking is a view since we look out at the pool and the other building. So we got some nice curtains to deal with this.
The great thing about a small place is not only are expenses low but because it’s relatively small the mother-in-law cannot move in. For sure she’d be moved in if we were in larger space!
Bought it in 2005 for $170K USD, paid in full liquidating my savings (except 401k) at the time. Since then we’ve been able to save up $1M in cash by having a high paying job and very low expenses.
Next home would be to buy a hopefully small place in Palos Verdes Estates with views overlooking downtown LA and the Pacific Ocean. A small infinity pool facing the ocean would be nice as well. Having a nice breezy house by the sea in So Cal would be very nice indeed. I plan to wait a few more years as it will take that time for housing to correct thanks to the crazy policies of our gov’t (the best gov’t lobbying money can buy)- hopefully interest rates will be higher as that will drive down housing prices. I don’t care- will pay in cash and the budget should be up to $2M by that time depending on the value offered for money.
-Mike
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I wonder how much what feels “small” or “large” depends on the size of house one grew up in? I feel like this is an issue that hinges a lot on perspective. I personally grew up in a home about 2200 sqft for a family of four and it felt just right if not a little big. Now my husband and I live in a 1300 sqft condo and it feels just a touch small.
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Sorry about the double post- I took the time to write post #1, didn’t see it in the comments (sigh) and then re-wrote it. That’s why the wording is different.
In hindsight the best reason to have a smaller place is so the in-laws can’t move in. I love ‘em to death but am very thankful not to live with them day in and day out- a few visits a week are just fine.
-Mike
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@Budgie (#115):
“And our house appraised at $15,000 more than our purchase price (It was a foreclosure).”
Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine.
That “appraisal” is meaningless, because it was made at the time you bought the house. At that moment in time, the house was worth exactly what you paid for it – not $15,000 more. If it were really worth $15,000 more, then someone else would’ve stepped in and bought it for $15,000 more than you paid for it. The reality was that of all the other people who were looking to buy a home at the same time as you and looked at the house you bought, none of them were willing to pay that extra $15,000. And if nobody is willing to pay a price for something, then that means the item is not worth that price.
Now, if your appraiser was willing to buy the house for $15,000 more than you paid, then that might be a different story. But the reality was that the market looked at your home, and nobody was willing to pay more than you did. Thus, the “value” of your home at that moment was AT MOST what you paid for it – not a penny more, and certainly not $15,000 more. Everyone else had plenty of chances to outbid you, and nobody did. So your purchase price was the correct, accurate value of the home.
Sorry, not a nitpick on you personally, it just bugs me when people say their home is worth way more than what they paid, because it “appraised” for a certain number. It’s meaningless until you actually try to sell it. If nobody is willing to pay a certain price, then that’s not the actual value.
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I think I’m learning that less is more. Just my husband and live in a 1300 sq ft townhome, with only two bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, and no basement, den or garage. I always thought of it as a small “starter home” and had visions of a large 4-bedroom single for our real, grown-up home.
The thing is, this is a very manageable home, both in terms of maintenance and financially. We don’t need expensive furniture and decor to fill it; our bills are reasonable and comfortable (we live in the northeast and haven’t even turned on our heat yet!). We enjoy time outside and our cozy home, without with need for always wanting more or “bigger.” I’d like to stay here as we begin our family. We just don’t want to overextend ourselves regarding care time or money. We enjoy a small home.
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We made a bit of a mistake when we moved from our appx 1800 sq ft. home to the 1660 sf we now live in.
For one thing, we didn’t think about rooms vs. area. Our old home had more rooms, thus more wall space. There was no place for some furniture because of that.
More importantly, we totally forgot about all the stuff we had stored in the basement. That was another 600 sf or so, and it had a lot of wall space for shelves, etc. – the attached garage here has wall space, but it dooesn’t match our old basement – so again, more “stuff” had to go.
Well, we did intend to “downsize” and are happy we moved, but a two car garage and another 15 or 20 feet on the house would have been better.
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My husband and I (and our dog) live in an 1189 s.f. bungalow that was built in 1922. It has 2 bedrooms that are 11.5′ square, a small den/home office that is 7.5′ x 8.5′, and a 6′ x 8′ bathroom. We removed the wall between the dining and living room, and that really opened up the space giving us a room that is approximately 30′ x 14′. Our kitchen is eat-in style, and pretty room for us at 14′ x 16′. The other renovations that we would like to do is convert the den into a second small en-suite bathroom with a closet, and add a room that would be a combo laundry/mud/exercise room. We think 80 to 100 s.f. should be quite sufficient. We don’t want a larger house, because we are fully using the space we have, and don’t want to clean up more area than we have to.
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I grew up in a house that was 1100 s.f. Three adults (my grandmother lived with us) and two kids–my sister and I shared a room until my grandmother passed away. The house we’d lived in previously was a 1 bedroom, shared by my sister, my grandmother and I, and my parents slept on a couch in the living room so 1100 s.f. with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms was certainly a step up.
My husband and I have purchased five houses since we’ve been married. The first one was 1300 s.f. for four of us, but we added on a master bath and enlarged the master, then had to move before we got to enjoy it. The second house was 1800 s.f. for three to five of us at any time. When it was three of us, it seemed too big. The next house, for five of us, was 2300 s.f., which was great when the kids were teenagers and were in the finished basement. The next two houses were for two of us and were 1550 s.f. and now 1468 s.f., which is just a good size, but I do wish it was laid out a bit differently.
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Jay doesn’t live there anymore, IIRC. He built a 500 sq ft house next door when his wife got pregnant.
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Layout and use of space is much more important to me than square footage.
Soon after our baby was born we moved from a 1 BR apartment to a 2 BR house. We did not gain much in square footage — about the area of the extra bedroom. However, the space in the house is laid out much more efficiently than in the apartment, which had an oddly-shaped living room and a bedroom that was way too large. We have far more useful storage space. That extra bedroom can also accommodate long term visits from baby’s grandparents, who are not up to sleeping on our couch.
I can imagine having another baby or two and wanting another bedroom, but that’s the maximum extra space we’d ever need.
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If I were getting a house built I would read through the series of books on the Not So Big House and find an architect or builder that understood those concepts. I read the books (checked out from the library) because I’m fascinated by architecture and I don’t like most of the new homes being built in my area. I currently live in approx. 2000 sq. ft. (perhaps less since I’m not sure on the actual living space in our basement). Our dining room is a very tight squeeze and the kitchen has wasted space that could be used more wisely but we have enough actual square footage. We have 6 children ranging in age from 10 months to 17 yrs. and we homeschool. We have 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. One of the things I love about the Not So Big House concept is that the space is well planned for the way the occupants really live. It would be very simple for a family of 4 to live in less then 1000 sq ft. and feel that they have plenty of space if the architect used Not So Big design concepts.
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Jen,
Since you have more house then you need you should think about renting some of that space to someone else. Perhaps a single mother with one child, a college student or something. Of course you’d have to do plenty of screening, etc. but it could become a win-win situation for you and a struggling mother or young adult.
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Our family of 11 (soon to be 12) lives in just under 1200 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
It’s cozy, but it works for us right now if we avoid the impulse to hoard. Our bedrooms are very modest and our living area is open and airy, and we often entertain groups of 30-40.
We have found some unusual solutions to make things work – quadruple bunks and a system for bathroom triage are at the top of the list.
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I don’t know the square footage, but I’m pretty sure it was A LOT Of Square Feet. I had an old Edwardian – over 100 years old, now – and it had acres and acres of space, which I LOVED. It was an island against the neighborhood; it was near public transportation; and my husband and I were performers and re-enactors, occupations and pastimes which take up A LOT of space. I LOVED having a library, which corralled – well, a fair proportion of the books; of course there was overflow. Liked having an office, would have liked it more if it had been organized SO IT COULD BE USED; liked the enormous dining room, enormous kitchen, pantry which held the washer/dryer; loved having a room which stored MY costumes (a necessity), a room which stored HIS costumes (ditto), and a sewing room – MANDATORY for the acting/re-enacting/sewing which contributed to the family income. Yes, it was a lot of square footage for two people and a Whole Bunch Of Cats – but it suited me. Heh. Makes me think of Sam Pepys and his wife – their place held them and the up-to-seven-servants who took care of them.
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My aprox 1000 square foot Craftsman bunglow felt squeezed with two adults and a teenager (2 BR, 1 bath)and 2 dogs. It’s perfect for me plus 1 dog. My son married last year, but he is still storing some things at my place (he and DIL are in the military – both of them enlisted).
I would like to finish the basement of this place for hobby space so I could set up my loom again. If I didn’t have so many books and space consuming hobbies it would be easier. Also, my late husband was a total pack rat – I’m STILL going through boxes – slowly.
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Tony Lawrence @ 135:
For one thing, we didn’t think about rooms vs. area.
So much WORD to this! I’m in a house now, but it’s less well-laid-out than the apartment I had to leave! One of the “bedrooms” is microscopic, unless you’re of a really ascetic turn; and there’s less storage. I miss my enormous, sunny kitchen with 5′ windows. I miss my bathroom, where I had the litterbox AND a nice little 3-shelf bookcase – AND a 5′ window. *sigh*
That said, it might be worth perusing Dover Books’ catalog under “Architecture” – I believe they offer floorplans for 19th Century cottages that might well meet the tastes of people looking for Smaller, yet with some History and/or Charm.
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Thanks April – I’m hopefully moving to Canada next year and I was trying to figure out what size home we might want when we get there.
So your advice has come at just the right time. Now I just need to find out where I put the tape measure.
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Growing up, I lived in a 1008 sqft rancher with my parents, brother and sister. I shared a small room with my brother, and somehow we all managed with one shower. It didn’t even have a basement. But we had a very active childhood and we played outside all day.
I’m 22 now, and just bought a 1200 sqft house and share it with my girlfriend. I love the size, and I could easily see myself raising two kids in a house of it’s size.
One thing I learned though, is to not have children share rooms by the time they reach about 12 years old. My brother and I shared a room all the way until I was 18, and we ended up getting into some pretty severe fights due to the lack of personal space, until I moved into the shed.
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Jay was featured on Yahoo’s homepage today http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-jay-shafer-20910192
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