I realize this is totally regional. DH and I are having a difficult time with our home purchase. We started just wanting one more bedroom.....a little more space. Now we've been offering and counter offering with a what feels like a tiny mansion. We originally thought 2500 sq ft would be plenty for the 6 of us. We like to spend one mostly together as a family. Our real estate agent and friends keep telling us bigger bigger bigger because our kids won't want to be with us and they need teenage hang out space. But we buy a bigger house, our agent makes more money so there is that.
So how big is your house and how many kids do you have? In your opinion what is your ideal size? What do you wish was different about your current situation?
The thing is, teenagers are not teenagers long. I think layout is more important than size. For example: 3 smaller bedrooms with an extra family/TV room is a lot more valuable than 3 large bedrooms and no extra space family room.
My sister expanded her home from a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath Colonial to a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath and added a 2 car garage and a gorgeous farmers porch. All 3 of her kids are now gone and the house is too large for just her, her H and a dog.
She is just waiting for her youngest to be finished college and then plans to sell and move to a smaller home.
Average home in my area is about 1500sf for about 250k. Typically 3-4 bedrooms. Many have finished basement spaces.
I rent a 1350sf 3 floor condo. It's 2 bedroom and 2 full bath, we made a small video game space in the basement with my treadmill, extra Fridge, laundry and it's plenty of room/space. BUT I will probably look for 3 smaller bedroom rental after our lease is up next year because B deserves his own space once he hits 12-13 or so.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Apr 24, 2017 9:44:59 GMT -5
Also family of 4 with a little over 2,000 square feet. We downsized with this past move from around 3,000 square feet. Honestly, this house is slightly small for us at this point (we have one bedroom that we use pretty much entirely as storage, although I can clean it out and use as guest room if we have guests). We have a finished basement that is now a play room and will be the 'teenage hangout' when my kids are older. At this square footage, we have a nice big kitchen, but no formal dining room (which I'd like for large family gatherings), a large living room but no family room, a small office/den (has built in bookcases and desk or else I'd use that for dining room) that is useful, but it's also become a bit of a storage area and would love that room to be like double the size. Our bedrooms are all upstairs and not huge but not tiny, so those are fine. I think it really depends...if you have a large family and like hosting for holidays and whatnot, even when the kids are out of the house you might still want a larger space, but like pp said, it depends on layout. I wouldn't pay any more for extra bedroom space but would kill for more space on our main floor somehow.
We are a family of 3. Our previous house was 3000 sq. ft (including finished basement) and it worked fine. Our current house (that we custom built) is 2000 sq. ft (no finished basement) and I really, really love it, mostly because everything is right where I want it and it has great flow IMO.
Sizewise, I think 2000 sq. ft is the smallest I'd want to go with the 3 of us. We lived in a tiny 800 sq. ft apartment when DS was born and it was pretty tight.
5 people (DH, me, DD 8, DD 5, DS 3) Our house is a 1000 sq/ft ranch with 3 bed and 1 full bath. We have a finished basement and bathroom with a shower downstairs as well. There is also a room that could be used as a bedroom, but no closet. We definitely don't use the downstairs bath as often as we could. The kids still like taking baths, so the shower downstairs is usually only used by guests.
We could make the house work long term but I'd like to upgrade in the next year or two. Bedrooms are small. Eat in kitchen...5 person table takes up a bit of space. Not a lot of room for privacy. DD's share a room.
I feel like once the majority of toys are packed away and no longer played with it will seem like we will have more space but by the time that happens everyone will be bigger.
Anyway, things for an upgrade: larger bedroom for kids, master bath, larger kitchen, finished basement (not sure if necessary if getting a larger home), attached garage, office area.
People like to think they need more than they do. I laugh when people say they have less people than we do, way more space and don't have enough room. It's all perspective. Less house means less to clean, less to heat/cool, maintain, etc. Kids can share rooms. They're better for it.
We live in a 3/1.5 that is 1450. There are 5 of us. Would I like & enjoy a bit more space? Yes. Do we NEED it? No. I would go up to maybe 2000 but have very little interest in more than that. Again, layout!!! Even if we had 4 bedrooms, we likely would keep one as a guest room.
But I'm super picky about houses, I prefer older than 1950 and 2-3 stories. No ranchers. No split levels. No mid-century stuff. No mcmansion-y things. No modern subdivisions, just old neighborhoods. But this is a product of where I live. An Philly suburb that has been around for 100 years or more.
I think we're about 1800 sq ft including our semi-finished basement that houses a playroom, workshop and laundry area. The playroom can be fully finished and turned into a nice family room one day. We have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Our kitchen is small. With three kids, I only wish we had one more bedroom and a slightly larger kitchen. I'm not sure if we'll ever move. We may stay and make changes/additions. We may stay and do nothing because we don't NEED more. Or we may move if the right house comes along in our same neighborhood.
I agree that people think they need more than they do. There are 4 of us living in 1400-1500 sq feet. We have 4 bedrooms, an eat in kitchen, living room, family room, 2 storage rooms, 2 bathrooms, and it is PLENTY for the 4 of us.
Our house is about 3,700 square feet (that includes a detached small guest house that has one bedroom, a small kitchenette and bath with shower only). The main house has three bedrooms all with ensuite full baths. The master is spacious with a great walk in closet and large bathroom. The house is mostly open plan ranch, with a loft space upstairs. We have a play room/ family room that can be closed off with two sets of double doors. We have two kids and may go for a third. This is not our forever home but it works so well for us now. If we do have a third I would consider moving so each child gets their own bedroom. I wouldn't want one kid in the guest house even if they are a teenager. The loft space we have is a great place for the kids to have their own space. I do think a personal space for each person somewhere in the house is important.
Edit: Last year we spent about 9 months in a 1,100 sq ft house with three bedrooms and one full bath. It was too small for our family of four. Partly due to layout. One bathroom is not enough. I have only boys too so I need/want a bathroom just for me.
Post by mamaalysson on Apr 24, 2017 14:34:14 GMT -5
Family of 4, our house is about 1300 sf, 2 beds, 1 bath and a sort of bed upstairs (no closet) that's a guest/TV/sewing room. The kids have a playroom in the basement, which helps, but we need more space. And the layout drives me batty. You can see our one and only bathroom from the living room. Awkward when people are visiting and you are taking a shower. Our kitchen is tiny, with very little counter space, the kids' room has two doors which makes it too small for two twin size beds. DS is 4 and still in his converted crib. Our closets are very small - DH uses half the kids' closet for his work shirts. I agree that layout is more important than size, but ideally, I would want at least 4 bedrooms, family space, at least 2 bathrooms, and a big kitchen. I love our current backyard. It's pretty much the only thing I am in love with here.
Post by chatterbox on Apr 24, 2017 14:41:23 GMT -5
Family of 4 and we have 2700 sq Feet including the finished basement. We're moving into a 3400 square foot home this fall. Mostly because we wanted 4 bedrooms on the same floor in case we decide to have another kid and because I want my dream kitchen and a bathtub in the master bedroom.
People like to think they need more than they do. I laugh when people say they have less people than we do, way more space and don't have enough room. It's all perspective. Less house means less to clean, less to heat/cool, maintain, etc. Kids can share rooms. They're better for it
I think this is what DH and I are coming to realize. We have no need for a tiny mansion and we like spending time together as a family so a smaller house lends itself to that. Plus I think we value vacations and me being able to stay home more than stuff.
Post by penguingrrl on Apr 24, 2017 15:25:26 GMT -5
We just upgraded to the home we plan to stay in long term. We were in an 1100 SF cape for 5 people and even with an efficient layout we were absolutely bursting out. The biggest issue was honestly not having a reasonable sized family/play room. The other major issue we had was that our master was on the first floor and had no privacy whatsoever.
Our new house is 3 bed/2 bath and about 2,200 SF. It feels huge to me, especially because it's very well laid out. All three bedrooms are upstairs, which I love. Downstairs has a really nice sized living room and separate dining room, plus a little sun room off the living room that's basically completely isolated from everything else for Hs office. What used to be a 2-car garage was converted at some point to a family room with a huge closet, full bath and laundry. We suspect it was actually built as an age-in-place arrangement for the original owners since they built the house in 1926 and lived in it until 1991. It also has a finished basement that's a playroom and doesn't count towards square footage, but is a nice bonus.
I honestly can't imagine what we would do with anything bigger than this (other than a theoretical 4th bedroom allowing the girls to not share a room, but that was at the bottom of our list), but I've been in houses with more square footage that aren't laid out as well. We also like that when the kids leave we won't be in so big a house we need/want to downsize.
Post by rooster222 on Apr 24, 2017 15:41:28 GMT -5
4 people, house is somewhere between 2400-3000 sq ft (we have conflicting paperwork but probably on the larger end of the range).
4 bed/2.5 bath with a bonus room and office. No basement.
The house is about right for us. My dh works from home so the bonus room is his office and the office is our playroom. I'd like to have a spot for exercise equipment but otherwise we have more than enough space.
If given the option I'd probably reduce the main and upper level sizes and have a finished basement. I don't need one on top of the space we have though.
Family of 3 and our house is 2800 sf. There is a bedroom and bath downstairs and another 4 bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs. Our master is upstairs and one of the upstairs bedrooms is huge so we are making that into a movie/game room. The downstairs bedroom is our joint office (I WFH weekly) and the the extra smaller bedroom upstairs is a playroom which will stay just that unless the clomid works
Post by fancynewbeesly on Apr 24, 2017 19:13:24 GMT -5
We are having this discussion now. 6 years ago, we bought my childhood home. The house is probably about 4000 square feet. We are looking to sell and majorly downsize. It is only the three of us, but because of the layout only has 3 bedrooms. Each bedroom is huge. The property is on an acre.
We are renting out the townhouse when we moved in, so we have two choices--we could go back to the townhouse----it is about 2300 square feet. Three bedrooms, basement. The kitchen needs major updating. But no lawn maintenance, community pool, etc. We would save a ton and have a small mortgage.
The other option is looking for a house VERY specific to the school Reese is zoned in. The problem is there is no middle ground in that area---either the houses are 500,000+ dollars--and 3,300 square feet. Or they are about 1,000 square feet and/or need a ton of work, or the neighborhood isn't that great. Ideally we would do about 1800-2100 square feet. Layout matters. I would want a basement if the house only has 3 bedrooms. If they don't have a basement, then 4 bedrooms. Most of the ones that are decent are bi-levels, which we aren't a fan of.
Post by dizzycooks on Apr 24, 2017 20:42:45 GMT -5
Our house is 1700sf and it's ok. It's plenty of room, but the layout sucks. It's a three level split, 2 bedrooms upstairs, 1 down, 1 3/4 baths. Our living room is huge imo but right next to the bedroom so we don't use it other than as a playroom. We will probably move, but we are looking at adding on to the main floor by adding a great room and converting the living room to a bedroom. If we move, I'm hoping for 3-4 bedrooms on one level, 2 bathrooms and no more than 2700sf. ETA: there are 5 of us and I have no issue with kids sharing for life. Teenage years are short.
We are having this discussion now. 6 years ago, we bought my childhood home. The house is probably about 4000 square feet. We are looking to sell and majorly downsize. It is only the three of us, but because of the layout only has 3 bedrooms. Each bedroom is huge. The property is on an acre.
We are renting out the townhouse when we moved in, so we have two choices--we could go back to the townhouse----it is about 2300 square feet. Three bedrooms, basement. The kitchen needs major updating. But no lawn maintenance, community pool, etc. We would save a ton and have a small mortgage.
The other option is looking for a house VERY specific to the school Reese is zoned in. The problem is there is no middle ground in that area---either the houses are 500,000+ dollars--and 3,300 square feet. Or they are about 1,000 square feet and/or need a ton of work, or the neighborhood isn't that great. Ideally we would do about 1800-2100 square feet. Layout matters. I would want a basement if the house only has 3 bedrooms. If they don't have a basement, then 4 bedrooms. Most of the ones that are decent are bi-levels, which we aren't a fan of.
I am really picky apparently.
You don't sound overly picky to me! We were only willing to look in LS because I wasn't moving the girls again. And I was unwilling to look at splits, or basically anything built after the 50s. And nothing with more than about 1/4 acre of land. And it had to be walkable. We weren't positive we were looking quite yet, but our house came onto the market so we jumped. When things almost went south we looked at a few other houses, none of which compared for various reasons. We ended up having to do an FHA loan instead of having a large down payment, which had been our plan, but the right house materialized and we weren't letting it slip away. If I were you I would be casually browsing the market waiting for the ideal thing if you can be ready to jump!
We have about 3600 sq ft (including the finished basement) on two acres. There are 6 of us (for now). we are thinking we may add two more permanently or keep open for fostering more in the future.
layout is definitely more important than sq ft. we have 3 bedrooms up and one in the basement and our builder kept saying "are you SURE you don't want the bedrooms bigger?" they are a fine size...but we wanted the s ft in the living/dining/kitchen areas more. The basement has a bedroom and full bath and a huge playroom and the main level has 2 full baths and 3 bedrooms.
TBH it is a lot to clean...this is much bigger than anything we've lived in before...but with this many people and more likely to come, it's just part of the deal. It's a good size for us and i think it's flexible enough for kids to keep jumping rooms as necessary :0P
Post by Kcthepouchh8r on Apr 25, 2017 13:24:05 GMT -5
We have 4 people, 2 dogs, and 1600sq ft. I don't mind the size, hate the layout. We are torn between selling and finding a new house or using equity to remodel our existing place as we love the neighborhood and yard.
Mine is about 4,000... plus some finished basement, in a ranch-style. It's a big house, but it's not crazy huge for this area. We have 1.5 acres but part of it is wooded (not all lawn). We have four kids, so it's really nice to have a lot of space when it's crappy weather outside. And, I love our big yard for when it's NOT crappy outside. It's also great for parties, and we have a lot of family parties.
About layout, though...we have lots of space but not a lot of SPACES. We have an open plan with a large great room/kitchen/dining area, but I would happily take some of that square footage and put it into another small room that we could close off. I feel like that would make this house closer to perfect for us. I'd use it as a home office/music room (for future piano practice/homework zone. We have four bedrooms on the main floor, so 2 of my kids share. We have a large extra room with windows in the basement that we use as a guest room. I don't really want the kids moving down there unless they just can't stand sharing when they are teenagers.
Our old house was maybe about 2800? and had a great layout, but we wanted another bedroom, and a master bath.
If I were to ever start from scratch and build, I have lots of ideas on how I would allocate the space!
This is really interesting to me. Our house will be about 2800 when DH finishes the room over the garage. We had the house built 4 years ago, so the property taxes are high which made it impossible for us to financially have a bigger house. I wouldn't mind a bigger house, but we do have a basement for storage and some kid-playing and it is more than enough for 4 people.
Our house is about 1800. 2 bedrooms on the main floor with a full bath and a finished basement with a another living room, a third bedroom, 3/4 bath, laundry and sauna. We are on 12 acres of wooded land. Two boys, 16 and 13. We couldn't have done something so small, with this layout, when they were toddlers, but now that they are older it works fine. They are on the go so much and they use the basement living room for friends. Much agreed, layout makes the difference. We downsized from 3600 sq ft, but in that house there was no place for them to be with friends. We chose our house knowing it would be fine while the kids are home and not too large once they leave.
We have 2500 sq ft, 5 bed 3 bath, family of 3 going to 4 in August with kid #2. We bought the house knowing it was a bit big for us before kids, but I have a home music studio for my business and 3/4 of the lower floor is for the business. Upper floor is 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, dining room, laundry room, and living room. We've almost outgrown it now with kid #2 on the way, so we plan on building another building on our property for my business. It will be a 900 sq ft garage on the bottom with a music studio the same size of on the upper floor for my business. Doing that will free up one bedroom downstairs for my husband to have a man cave again (his current one is being turned into new baby's room), and give us a second living room that will be tv room/homework station. I'm really excited about this addition and can't wait to have more space, especially a completely separate space for my business.
Post by wildfloweragain on Apr 30, 2017 6:01:15 GMT -5
1600 Sq feet here with 5 people. It's too small. 2100 would be perfect, but again, layout.
This would be so much more doable if we had a finished basement or garage for storage. We do have a barn that is not tight to animals, so while some stuff can go out there, like bikes, wagon, etc. Not toys, books, papers, etc.
Also our biggest issue at the moment has to do with layout. The smallest DD has to go through the biggest Dd's room to get to her own room. Is causing issues lately. Passwords that change, privacy, who is in control of the doors, all lovely preteen things.
We have lofty plans of putting on an addition, but I bet that gets done just about when they start going to college and we don't need the space.
We did put on one addition, over an existing space that was just one story, so now we have a bedroom of our own. We did have 1400 sq ft and a kid in our room.
When we bought our house, it was only 800 sq ft. We made due when it was just the 3 of us. When DS was born, it was maximum capacity. We did a reno and added on an additional 900 sq feet. I like the layout now, 4 bdrms, 2.5 bathrooms. When we bought this place, it wasn't just the house that attracted us, it was the location and the land, and it's set up nicely for the horses.
When we bought our house, it was only 800 sq ft. We made due when it was just the 3 of us. When DS was born, it was maximum capacity. We did a reno and added on an additional 900 sq feet. I like the layout now, 4 bdrms, 2.5 bathrooms. When we bought this place, it wasn't just the house that attracted us, it was the location and the land, and it's set up nicely for the horses.