How many square feet per person do you a) have b) want?

[Aubrey]

I'll start. We've got 5 right now in just under 1100 sf. That's 220/person; in Aug it will be 6 at 183.3/person. Honestly, we're pretty cramped, & we've purged a bunch & put stuff in storage.

 

Is it even fair to calculate space/person? Because I'm not nec. talking personal space. We can't all fit around the dining table; no more than 2 dc or 1 adult can fit in the kitchen at one time; the LA looks like a game of Tetris. On the upside, we *are* winning the game, lol.

 

But I look at s footage, & I'm not sure what's reasonable/what we need vs what we want. I see homes listed as having 1500-2000 sf, & I just drool.

 

And what about as they get older? Do dc take up more space or less? I know the baby gear goes away, but my friends w/ older kids imply that they need *more* space--their bodies are bigger, their energy increases, etc. Not to mention needing a 2nd fridge to feed them from.

 

Now, I know a body can get by on less than whatever. My grmother raised 5dc in a 6 or 700 sf home--2 bedrooms, 1 bath. So I'm not asking what *can* we do, lol. We're actually fine here, for now. We'd probably be even more fine if I didn't have so many projects & hobbies.

 

I just want to know what y'all are living w/ (if you don't mind) & what you'd *like.* For the most part, I figure we'd all like about 500sf more, but I'm betting that a few have found a happy medium. Yes? No?

[newbie]

We had 2000 sf. for 4 of us. That was way too small for us. With two teen girls, we needed our individual space.

 

We finally found it . We now have 1000 sf. for each person. Mind you I have both of them with me in the same room right now. Amazing. I love all the room. I can breath.

 

Jet

[Prairie~Phlox]

We have just under 2000 with a family of 5. It's perfect for us and layout is everything. I wouldn't want anything bigger. We lived in around 800 with three kids, it was tight, but those were some bonding times. Also, I think our children appreciate the space more now.

[Tarheel Heather]

We have 2754 for 5.

[percytruffle]

It depends on the space itself. Before we moved three and a half years ago we lived in a 1600sf farm house with zero closets and were very cramped.

 

Our present house has almost 2200sf and is a ranch with typical closets in the bedrooms (nothing walk-in) and a full unfinished basement. This house is just right for us storage wise, but is really bigger than the four of us need for day to day use. Although, we do love having a huge greatroom and dining room at holiday times. Now I can finally host out of town relatives.

 

Most days we could easily get by with 1800-2000 if the storage was adequate and the garage and yard space were adequate. We had an acre before and have about 3/4 of one now. If we were all confined to a small space with all of our stuff (and four pets) out all the time and no place to escape to like a basement or yard, we would not be so nice to each other after a few days....;)

[Kathleen in VA]

We have 1000sf for 7.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We've done just about everything. We had a family of 7 (plus one daycare child) in a 1200 sq ft house and it was fine...at least I thought so at the time.

 

Right now, our house is 2432 sq ft with 4 of us so 608/person. We're definitely comfy. Hubby and I have already talked about downsizing when kids move out. We really didn't need this big of a house but thought we were adopting a large sibling group. Life has changed a lot since then.

[RebeccaC]

We have 550 sq feet for 2 adults and 2 teen boys. All the male members of our house are 6 feet tall or over. We have two German shepherds, 4 cats, and a Cockatiel. Counting only the humans we each have 137.5 square feet. There is not enough storage or counter space and there is only one bathroom for this area this is what we can afford. Some day we will finish the basement and change the breeze way into living space but that is a ways off.

[Tracey in TX]

Currently 500 sq ft/person (4000 sq ft total). When exchange student returns home it'll be 575 sq ft/person. I'd LOVE to have a 6000 sq ft home, but not likely w/o serious change of lifestyle or career move. I dream, covet a 4 car garage and lots of storage space--and a room that gymnastics and drum set wouldn't be heard :)

[Amy loves Bud]

Right at 3000 for 5 of us and DH works from home. Perfect. Our previous house was 4400 and I hated it. We use every sf of this house, nothing goes to waste, so I would hate to scale down, but I certainly don't need any more room than we have.

[Pretty in Pink]

we have approx. 1400 sq. ft. and there are five, soon to be six, of us plus the three dogs. this home feels like *plenty* of space to me! then again, we are not ones for clutter, knick-knacks, etc. and things stay fairly organized around here. in addition we have a fully fenced yard for the boys to run in and a 2 car garage, plus attic space for storage.

[nutmeg]

410 per person; we wish we had a basement and a larger yard.

[Doran]

We came from just under 1,000 in spring of '07 and we moved into +/- 1,000 sq. ft. There are four of us humans - tween and teen girls, dh and me - plus two cats, one bird. We have one bathroom. We are not uncomfortable here, though presently the girls are sharing a room and would prefer not to be. I would say the only major drawbacks to a space this size is that we have no room for guests and no room for a big dining table where we can comfortably entertain. But, those are relatively minor drawbacks in the big picture.

 

That said, we have plans to build a 2,100 sq.ft bungalow (if we can ever get our finances to a place of affording it). I'm not sure at all what I'll do with that much room if we ever get it. Jet, we'd never find one another in 4,000 sq.ft. What on earth do you do with all that space - play lacrosse!?! :001_smile:

[Riverfront Headmistress]

2400 sq ft. My immediate family is 4 but we also host exchange students. I would like a 4500 sq ft home but it must come with its on cleaning system. :)

[Jami]

I agree that so much of it is about how the space is used. Our first home was a 1500 sq. ft 1920s Craftsman, it was really well laid out and very comfortable for our family. Then dh needed a home office and we thought we needed more space. So we found a circa 1900 converted three-story duplex, it was 3200 sq. ft. But it used space oddly because it had been two apartments one on top of the other. But the sheer number of rooms and space was pretty wonderful. A separate office for dh, a large playroom/family room on the third floor. But it was a lot to keep up with quite honestly. Our current house is an 1800 sq ft. ranch and it's really an adequate amount of space. Though I'd rather give up the formal dining room, add a bit more to the kitchen for a larger eating area there and gain a 4th bedroom/office/school room. But the amount of floor space is fine, it's more about number of rooms. I'd say that somewhere between 2000-2300 sq. ft. is about where I'd like to end up. And full basements are awesome, but pretty impossibly to find here in TX. :)

[Julpost]

For the 7 of us, a little over 1700 sf. We don't use it wisely at all though so sometimes, I do feel a little cramped. I grew up in a small house and I think it was a good bonding experience for my sister and me. I met a woman at church yesterday who lives in a 2 BR condo w/ 4 kids. I think if we can be content w/ whatever we have...that's the key! I used to ask, almost beg God for a larger house. But when I resigned myself to being thankful and content, I feel started to feel, well...thankful and content. Now, with oil prices and how much it's going to cost to heat our home this winter, I'm also thankful for the smaller space.

 

I also believe because of our close quarters, our family is much closer. The more time we spend together, the better everyone gets along. Whenever we have friends over or my dc go to friends houses, when they get home, everyone is edgy for a day or two. They're grumpy, can't get along w/sibs....it's just ugly. But that's a whole other story.....

[Julie in CA]

We had 7 of us in 1000 sq.ft. that amounts to about 142' per person. Waaay too small.

 

Now we have 7 of us in 2900 sq.ft. that amounts to about 414' per person.

This house has *plenty* of room for us, and we could pretty easily fit another 1-2 people without much fuss.

 

I'd guess that about 360' per person would be just right.

[Mamagistra]

Hm...well we definitely feel cramped with six folks (and many critters, including a 150-lb. dane) in approx. 1,700sf. Part of this is that dee-aitch and I are tall, I think; our previous (suburban cookie-cutter) house had very tall ceilings that made the place at least feel a bit roomier.

 

Our current home was built as a weekend house/fishing cabin for the previous owner, and it's some kind of challenge having four children in this space. The rooms are quite small and not laid out well. The only shower is downstairs while all the bedrooms are upstairs. The stairs are quite ladder-like. The laundry room is down a hall that is maybe 32" wide. :eek: I could go on...

 

One saving grace is that our garage is nearly 4,000 sf! It holds much besides autos, and I'm quite thankful for it. :D Also, we live in a forest! The beautiful trees make the lack of space less significant.

 

Having said that, I would definitely be happier with 2,500sf or so. We hope to remodel and add some space in the coming years, so I'm looking forward to that. :)

[Jami]

Hm...well we definitely feel cramped with six folks (and many critters, including a 150-lb. dane) in approx. 1,700sf. Part of this is that dee-aitch and I are tall, I think; our previous (suburban cookie-cutter) house had very tall ceilings that made the place at least feel a bit roomier.

 

 

 

I agree about ceiling height, D. And we are not particularly tall folks. But after living in two homes with 10 ft. ceilings the 8 ft. ceilings in our current ranch house make me feel SQUASHED! We were recently at my sister's house with 10 ft. ceilings and it felt awesome, just so much room to breathe. I'm not sure her living areas are any larger than mine, but the higher ceilings make the rooms feel more open.

[Susan in TN]

We have 1950sq/ft for 7 people (going on 8). That works out to about 278 per person right now and 243 in January. I don't mind the amount of space, but I do wish it was shaped differently. We sure could use more closet space for the kids; especially having to store clothes for hand-me-downs. 10 years worth of summer and winter clothes takes up a lot of space. The bedrooms are small but workable for now - little people means small clothes and small beds. I think eventually (with six kids) we may want another full bathroom. One full bath for that many kids is a lot to share, it seems to me. I suppose they can use our master bath which has a small shower. And there's never enough space for books!

[KristenLihos]

1,100 for a family of six. (183ft/person) I really miss our larger home we had. (1,500 ft, but a MUCH better lay out) I think larger homes are easier to keep clean; at least they don't look as dirty with the same amount of unfolded laundry in them. :tongue_smilie:

We don't have a yard here, and with little kids, that is what I miss the most. A big back yard, surrounded by a privacy fence (if you're in the city) with a play house/swing makes a huge difference to a small house.

[Kathleen in VA]

1,100 for a family of six. (183ft/person) I really miss our larger home we had. (1,500 ft, but a MUCH better lay out) I think larger homes are easier to keep clean; at least they don't look as dirty with the same amount of unfolded laundry in them. :tongue_smilie:

We don't have a yard here, and with little kids, that is what I miss the most. A big back yard, surrounded by a privacy fence (if you're in the city) with a play house/swing makes a huge difference to a small house.

 

Yes, having outside space is very helpful when you live in a tiny house. We have a wildlife preserve up against our back yard with 40 acres of trees. Our yard is a 1/2 acre. Although we do not have a deck or patio or front porch, we still have a little bit of breathing room outside.

[Sharon in SC]

Well, if you count the dogs (one of which is big)..... :-P Seriously, though, we have 4 humans living in 3200 sq ft and it is absolutely perfect for us and our lifestyle. Our old home was 2400 sq ft. We've gained a larger FROG and an extra small bedroom which is our library. Organization and functionality are much improved in the greater space.

[Julie in Austin]

I think it is a lot more about number of bedrooms and closets than it is about square footage. More bedrooms means more privacy for kids and more walls for bookcases! More closets means less visual clutter because it is behind a door.

 

We are 5 in 2900 but are hoping for another 1-2 kids and dh works from home sometimes. It is plenty of room. But when we were househunting, I'd ask myself, "Can I imagine dh working from home and me hsing four teens in this house without feeling squished?" We looked at a lot of houses and it seemed that 2400 was the "magic number" where that didn't feel squished.

 

We also don't have basements here (and you can't put anything in the attic because it would melt!) so we tend to have more sq ft than those of you in the north.

[Doran]

Yes, having outside space is very helpful when you live in a tiny house. We have a wildlife preserve up against our back yard with 40 acres of trees. Our yard is a 1/2 acre. Although we do not have a deck or patio or front porch, we still have a little bit of breathing room outside.

 

Our tiny farm cottage (960 sq.ft) had 9' ceilings, and it also had huge windows -- they were probably 5.5' tall -- on every side of the house. They threw so much light! Those two features in combination with the fact that so much of our life was outdoors there I think helped us maintain sanity. It was a breathtaking, 10 acre waterfront property (we did not own it) that fed our souls. Yes, indeed, outdoor space is wonderful if you have it!

[Aubrey]

Ok, then I should add that here in our 1100 sf apt we have no garage, no attic, no outdoor space. I mean, there's a courtyard to play in, which is really, truly great, but no outdoor storage for toys, etc., & no outdoor space for being alone, if that's what you're after.

 

I guess we're kind-of trying to look at the big picture: sure living here is fine. In some ways, we really love it. Otoh, how long are we going to be here? Will it still be "fine" when ds is nearly 12? What if dh *does* decide to stay for his phd? (Which I think is likely.)

 

I'm thinking that it *might* be better to bite the bullet now. Well, not literally *now.* New baby & all. But w/in the next yr or so. Basically, I'm trying to guage the size of holes we should put in the walls, lol. ;)

[BamaTanya]

It was a series of tiny rooms. It had no "flow." A decent-sized family room had been added to the back which left the kitchen with NO windows. Ugh. Talk about feeling cramped! That's when you can't see anything except the sink in the kitchen where you're washing dishes!

 

Now we have 1800 sf for 7 (257 sf ea). I'd like to have 4 brs (instead of our 3) and a double garage (instead of our single). But I think it's *almost* the right amount of space. The master bedroom is BIG and the common areas all flow into one another. From my kitchen I can see the back yard AND through the dining room window to the front. I can see if someone's walking up the sidewalk before they reach my front door!

 

The backyard is privacy-fenced, and when it's not TOO hot, it's like the dc have a big safe playroom.

 

I kind of wish we had another bedroom, but I don't wish for a bigger mortgage. We're too old to start over on that!

[littleleadvillelady]

We are currently a family of seven and praying to adopt a sibling group of 4 from Ethiopia! We live in a three bedroom, 1600 sq ft house. I find that the more square feet you have the easier it is to fill with clutter. Having a smaller home forces one to be better at getting rid of things. Having said that, I think there are a few place that are a must for space:

The dining room: it is a priority for me to have room for a big table, high chairs, and guests!! lots of them.

closet space: if they are big enough you can eliminate dressers which suck the space right out of a room.

 

I think that sharing a bedroom is good for kids. It teaches them to be more selfless especially as they head into their teenage years. After all, we have to share when we are married so might as well prepare for real life, so lots of bedrooms is not one of my priorities.

 

My dream....... bedroom space enough to get rid of bunk beds, I detest them.

[Greta]

We have 1750 for 3 people (583 ft/person), which sounds like a lot. And really I guess it is. But I have to admit to wanting more! For one thing, there is considerable "wasted space" due to the design of our home. I have a nice big kitchen and dining room which I am *very* grateful for (it was a major selling point for the house). But the living room, while nice because of its tall ceilings and tons of windows, is an odd size. It's too big to arrange the furniture in one nice cozy conversation area, but it's not big enough or shaped right for having a separate tv area and conversation area. So I have never found a way to arrange the furniture so that I like it, and there's just tons of wasted space. The master bedroom is also kind of weird, with extra unnecessary useless space in the bedroom and a teeny tiny itty bitty bathroom. Also the entry/foyer is disproportionately large for this size of home, and it's not a useful area at all.

 

I would like to have one more room on our house. That way, my hubby would have an office and exercise room. He uses the garage for this now, but it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. And since he spends a lot of time in it, I'd really like for him to have a better office that was really part of the house. My wish could have been accomplished within the square footage that we have right now if it had been designed differently. But no house is perfect, and we can't afford a bigger one, so we'll make do!

[Mom2boys]

We have 1500 sq ft for 4 of us, plus a two car garage and a large basement, partially finished. So that's 375 sq. ft per person. I have been wishing for a larger house with a different layout for awhile. I'd like to trade my ranch house for a two story, and I really want a dedicated school room on the main level of the house. I'd also like some acreage where we didn't have neighbors right on top of us.

 

But, reading some of your posts is making me appreciate how much we do have. I should count my blessings, right? :)

[Sahamamama]

We have a 700 (approx.) square foot house -- two small bedrooms (one with a closet), one small bathroom, a galley kitchen, and a living room/dining room (about 20 x 12). That's the living area of our house. We do have an attic (unfinished), a basement (unfinished, damp), and a garage (unfinished, detached), but those are not really living areas. Let's see... 700 square feet divided by 5 people = 140 square feet per person.

 

This is New Jersey, we are living on one income, and we are thankful to have a house. We hated apartment life. Our children are young, we are highly organized (sort of like living on a boat), and we are resourceful, too. We have thankful hearts, which also helps. We intentionally practice thankfulness and perspective-work (re-thinking the gripe). We want to live on one income so I can be home with the girls. It's worth it.

 

For now, this works for us (most days). I admit, though, it can be stressful to have to work the daily routine with limited space. I think the key for us has been to keep the "stuff" in our living area down to a bare minimum. If you can, put your children's books, toys, and clothes in boxes/bins in a storage area, then rotate these out every so often. Set up "areas" or "stations" that make the most efficient use of space. You'd be surprised how resourceful you can be, when you accept the challenge.

 

Take heart, you can do this! :grouphug:

[Sahamamama]

I remember a post in which Drew said his family had a very small place, and he mentioned a few things they did to make it work. I hope you read this and join in, Drew. :D

[Aubrey]

If you can, put your children's books, toys, and clothes in boxes/bins in a storage area, then rotate these out every so often.

 

Well, sure. But I think part of having less space is that there aren't as many storage areas!

 

Wow, though. 700sf. Egads. Come to Tx! Everything's bigger here!! :D

 

I hope I didn't sound complainy. I know we can totally do this. There are still a bunch of places where I *know* we could be saving space; we just haven't *had* to yet. And, like the others have said, it's not just the space, it's also the layout. I don't care as much about space in the bedrooms as I do in the public areas. Gosh, those feel small some days, w/ baby toys & legos & everything. It seems like higher levels of organization/ ability to organize come w/ necessity, so we're growing.

 

And, of course, I'm growing, too, lol. I'll bet the apt will feel HUGE when I'm not. ;)

 

Have y'all noticed, though, that the answers have consistently been that people are most comfortable when they have 3-500 sf/person? So the fact that I'm drawn to houses w/ 1800-2000 sf is not just arbitrary. That size might really be about right for our family. That's really what I was trying to guage. All things being equal (lol), what size house would I want? Nothing less than 1000 sf, tyvm. But...nothing more than...hmmm.... And I'm also realizing that the 1250 we had last yr would be beginning to feel pretty cramped w/ our 2 newbies.

 

Ok, off to bed. Thanks for chatting, ladies. :001_huh: Lower case t's!!! ;)

[Targhee]

We have 1000sf for 7.

 

What is your secret to making it all work?

[Amy in Orlando]

We have about 1400 sq ft for six of us (ages of kids below). It's cramped but it works well for us. The main reason it works so well is we can be outside mostly year round. The kids are rarely in the house unless they have to be. For years and years I thought that 3000 sq ft would be great, but I'm thinking now that 2000 sq ft for six of us (if it was well laid out) would give us all some breathing room and give me a little space to breathe. I think you'll find as your kids get older, you need less space for the big toys and just constant motion. For now, my best suggestion is to listen to the suggestions in this thread to get rid of as much clutter as possible, rotate toys and just practice deep breathing!!!!

 

That said, when we're inside, we all end up in the kitchen anyway. ;)

[nakitty]

2500 and we have 3 adults and 4 kids living here....I think we have more than enough room and could easily get along in a much smaller space....***IF*** the house had a LARGE kitchen and dining room. I wish they would make master bedrooms smaller and living room dining room and kitchen nice and BIG and open to each other....instead of making a 5 bedroom, 2500 sf house have a kitchen the size of a walk in closet....grrrrrrrrrrr

[Targhee]

We have 1200 SF for 5, and 400 of it is in the attic right under the eves and making it 150 SF of bedroom and 250 SQ of storage space. Our last place was 800 SF for 4.

 

I would like a little more space, and much better layout. I would love to have a dedicated room for HSing and projects :drool5: but as it is we have 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, dining room, and a "one butt" kitchen. All three of the kids share a room (bunked beds and a crib), their toys and the school supplies are in the second bedroom (school's done in the living/dining area), and DH and I have the third. Our kids are getting bigger and we're beginning to feel a space pinch - the poor dog was even banished to the yard.

 

What I think the solution for our family is (but I don't know if we'll achieve this or not) is 1) a reduction in stuff, 2) a bump-out in the attic, and 3) my abstract-random DH and kids to become concrete-sequentials like me :toetap05: (yeah this will never happen). The hardest thing for me in our living space is clutter/mess/stuff out/things not put away in the right place. You can seriously tell the current level of chaos in my house by my mood. I get sooooo irritable when the clutter becomes overwelming. I have neat boxes for the kids to put their toys away in, and places on the shelves for all the books, I have special way to stack the plates and cups in the cupboards so they will fit, and storage tubs with neat labels for off-season clothes.... you get the picture. The problem is, not only does no one else put things away (or if they do they almost make it to the right place) and I go around picking up and getting more neurotic by the minute, but they like to get everything out all at once and strew it around the house in the blink of an eye!! (even DH!).

 

I digress. I think our family would do well with 1500-1800 SF, with a well thought-out floor plan and plenty of closets and cupboards, lots of windows, and less stuff to clutter it up with.

[newbie]

We came from just under 1,000 in spring of '07 and we moved into +/- 1,000 sq. ft. There are four of us humans - tween and teen girls, dh and me - plus two cats, one bird. We have one bathroom. We are not uncomfortable here, though presently the girls are sharing a room and would prefer not to be. I would say the only major drawbacks to a space this size is that we have no room for guests and no room for a big dining table where we can comfortably entertain. But, those are relatively minor drawbacks in the big picture.

 

That said, we have plans to build a 2,100 sq.ft bungalow (if we can ever get our finances to a place of affording it). I'm not sure at all what I'll do with that much room if we ever get it. Jet, we'd never find one another in 4,000 sq.ft. What on earth do you do with all that space - play lacrosse!?! :001_smile:

 

Doran,

 

No , but it sure is coming in handy for Virtual PE class. We are doing sprints, stair climbing and have tons of room for aerobics. Nice little gym.

I was looking at the Sansone video and thinking why are all those people smooshed.

 

We'll try Lacrosse next or maybe nice volleyball court. Who knows. Just kiddin' This really is a nice setup , here's praying we get to stay, with the way times are.

 

Jet

[sassenach]

We have about 2000 sq ft for 6 of us. I'm pretty happy with it. In a perfectly spoiled world, we'd have 1 more bedroom. We have 3 large bedrooms right now, and I'd be happy with 4 smaller ones. We just moved from a home with 1800 sq ft and 4 bedrooms. That house actually worked better for us. We used to live in 1300 sq ft with 5 of us. That was tight, but our kids were little.

 

Now, all that said, I just met a homeschool mom who has her 7th on the way and they live in 1200 sq ft. She is as content as anyone I've ever met.

 

In our moving process, we stayed with a couple who has, I'm guessing, a 5000 sq ft house. It was just WAY too big. I was losing the kids left and right. It was a great experience for the perspective. I'm happy to live in a much smaller home.

[Melissa B]

We have six people in 1160 square feet. I love it.

 

I would make two changes if I could. 1 - Our house was built as a weekend home so it has no closets!! None in the bedrooms, none in the hall, one closet in the entire house (and of course the kids knocked the door off of it.)

2 - We only have one bathroom. Another half-bath would be nice.

[FlockOfSillies]

Come December, we'll have 7 in 1150 sf. That's 164 sf/person.

 

We've begun claiming every inch of vertical storage space we can. We're in the process of gutting our '50s-era closets and putting in custom closet systems with really tall custom doors. The only permanent piece of furniture in my bedroom is the bed. Everything else is floor-to-ceiling built-ins. The custom stuff is expensive, but it's cheaper than moving!

 

I have a LOT of decluttering to do, and I'm much more of a tosser now than I was when we got married. Maintaining it is the hard part.

 

My immediate goals are to finish the closet remodeling, and get TBOM into his own room, just in time to welcome one of his siblings. Princess Honey Baked has pretty much outgrown the portable bassinet.

 

Long-term, assuming we stay in this house, I'd like to expand the living room/dining area, so that it doesn't feel like every wall is covered with furniture. I think that's a big part of the cluttered feeling. We'd also like to add a bedroom in the side yard, so that we can turn our bowling alley kitchen into something more traffic-friendly.

 

We also need to move the laundry stuff out to the garage, but that involves moving some ductwork and adding a door, connecting the house with the garage. Right now my half-bath is a glorified broom closet that holds laundry baskets and unfinished laundry.

 

Bottom line is, you can get by and feel comfortable in a small space, if the space is used efficiently. Most of the changes I want simply involve making the space we have more useful.

[TravelingChris]

We currently have 5 in 2200 SQ. Ft. We were having 4 in that space and I thought it was a bit tight. Now with 5 here, I find it quite uncomfortable. I like space. Especially with homeschooling, I can't imagine living permanently in such small places as some of you have. I came from living three years in a much bigger house where I would have to search for my kids. I could not easily hear them if I didn't want to. That was a true blessing. I like quiet a lot of the time. Two out of three play music, hum or whistle. It drives me nuts. We had four bedrooms where we used one as an office for school, home records, and also as a guest room. Now since my son is disabled, he has come back from college, taken over second child's room and second child is in my office. I also don't have much room here for entertaining which I should be doing more of.

[TraceyS/FL]

We have about 2700~ for 5 of us. We came from the same number of rooms in 1800sf, and even though i have no attic space here - i couldn't go back. Our rooms in the old house were just tight...

 

OUr 4th bedroom is the former garage, so we use it as a school/craft/scrap/guest room. Which means the youngest 2 share a room - they'd probably prefer to NOT share, but for now they are stuck.

 

We have no unused space in our house - and the only change i'd make would be higher ceilings and add a foot to the width of the dining room so it wasn't a squeeze around the table. Otherwise after 4 years i still know we bought "the house" for us!

[Renee in NC]

Soon to be 9 in 1338 square feet, plus 2 labs and 2 cats.

 

We are moving into 1800 (with 5 bedrooms) in the next few weeks.

 

I can't WAIT!

[Bess]

7 people here in 3000 sq.ft. It feels very spacious to us, so I can't imagine going bigger. We moved from 1400 sq.ft., and that felt VERY CRAMPED even in a very uncluttered enviornment.

[Marie in Oh]

we have plenty of room. We have 3 girls in one room, which there is room for another in there, and 2 girls in another. Ds has his own room, but he is getting a roomate soon. He is happy to share with a baby brother. All 4 bedrooms have walk in closets plus we have an attic storage and a 2 car garage. I do agree that storage makes a humungous difference. Plus we have 6 acres to run on. We are not cramped at all. And I don't think I could clean much more than we have successfully.

[Jennifer in MI]

We moved from 1400 for 6 of us. That house was really cute - a 1920s craftsman. LOVED the character, but the layout was terrible. It felt smaller than it was because of the layout - lots of small rooms.

 

We moved last October to a 2400 sq. ft. house for 6 of us. We also have a finished basement of about 400 sq. ft. where the boys keep their toys. So, it feels like a 2800 sq. ft. house. It feels SOOOO big!! I really like the space and layout. The kitchen is open to a huge eating area and family room. Then, we have a more private formal dining and living room. And, I love our formal entryway.

 

Quite honestly, I could live with a smaller house. But, I love having the space!

[elegantlion]

We have 2000sf plus a shed for 3 people, 2 pets. The house it not laid out the best and I feel like we have some wasted space. The best thing about this house is floor to ceiling built in bookcases in the living room.

 

I look at house plan online all the time and I know we could make do with about 1700sf, as long as dh had a separate garage for his stuff.

 

Our previous house was 1100sf plus a dingy basement and I miss the cozy feeling of that house.

[Rebecca in GA]

We are very fortunate to have found The House for our family of 5. We have about 2,500 square feet in a split-level design including a finished basement, so it's compact but roomy. We moved about two years ago from a 1,500 sf house in which we also were content, so this house still seems like a mansion to us. Wouldn't want anything bigger.

[Kari C in SC]

We moved from 1865 sq ft to 2600 sq ft in January. We also have pretty big shed here. There are 5 of us plus a dog. We have more than enough space. Actually about 300 sq ft of the basement is storage and laundry room. We could easily not have that as living space and just have more sheds or a garage. The other house was too small though. So, I guess we "need" or are more comfortable with 2300 sq ft. I love the extra space and storage, but I would not want anything bigger to clean. My ds will probably be leaving for the military soon. He has a pretty big room in the basement. Then we will have a ton of basement area that is not used a lot.