What would be your ideal home size (sq. ft. pp)

[DawnM]

If you had a choice.

 

And you didn't want to go too big.

 

And you didn't want to go too small.

 

Just Goldilocks here.......the JUST RIGHT size.

 

Money isn't the issue here, so don't think about what you can or can't afford.

 

Just curious after the Tiny House thread.

 

We are moving and I go back and forth between wanting to get a large house that I know ultimately I don't need, and getting a "just so" house.

 

I am thinking 500-599 sq. ft. pp would be my sweet spot.  For us, that would mean a 2,500 sq. ft. house to 3,000.  

 

Sure, we could live in less if we needed to, and we have.

[Carrie12345]

I did vote, but I'm much more interested in layout than square footage.  I don't mind tiny bedrooms.  I want a large kitchen.  I could happily take more unfinished square footage if more finished wasn't available. A 100sf playroom and 100sf school room would be worth much more to me than a 300sf dining room.

 

But I did vote 300-399pp. We've been dealing with about 165 and I feel caged.

[Jen in NY]

Hmm.... I am a tiny house dreamer, so maybe my answer is not typical..... but we have 5 people in what is officially a 1500sq footer, and I don't feel like we need more than that (we do have a finished basement room that we use for music and storage. Which probably doesn't sound like much, but if everything down there had to be up here somewhere... eeek).

 

That being said.... I abhor the layout of this house. I think there's plenty of room... in fact, there is one large room we rarely use at all. It's just not laid out well. If we decide to stay after the kids are gone, I will redo the entire first floor a la Sarah Susanka.

 

 

[DawnM]

Layout is certainly important to me too.....but I haven't seen a layout with 100sq. ft. per person that I would be comfortable with yet!   :lol:

 

As for voting....I am curious who voted 900 sq. ft. per person is what they would need to be comfortable.  For us, that would mean a min. of 4,500 sq. ft.  That is great, but not necessary for comfort for us.

 

 

I did vote, but I'm much more interested in layout than square footage.  I don't mind tiny bedrooms.  I want a large kitchen.  I could happily take more unfinished square footage if more finished wasn't available. A 100sf playroom and 100sf school room would be worth much more to me than a 300sf dining room.

 

But I did vote 300-399pp. We've been dealing with about 165 and I feel caged.

 

[kiwik]

My house is about 700 (we use metres here not feet) for ds5, ds7 and me. I would like another bedroom, maybe 80 square feet, another 20 on the lounge and maybe the same in the kitchen to make 820 so 280 each I put 300 to 399 though because a guest room/office would be nice.

[Mama Geek]

We could live in 1000 SF if dh had a garage and workshop that was about 5000 SF :laugh:

 

I really like about 2500 SF and that would be fine if we ever had another little one.

[Cindy in FL.]

I voted 600-699. That's what we have now and I really like that ex can spread out when we need to!

[school17777]

I think having enough storage space is the key, not really how big the house is.  I would like room at the front door and large, useful closets, and a big pantry.

[Mango]

How much stuff are you willing to go without? 

 

It's harder than you think to go small. We downsized 1000 sq ft 3 years ago. Although we got rid of a ton of stuff before the move, we're still getting rid of clutter. :(

 

For me it's all about what I can get back to tidy in 30 min or less. I don't want to spend time cleaning more that than. I don't want things to get messier than that. Time yourself, see how much ya'll get done. Then decide if you can live with that much space. 

 

For us that was 7 people in 2500 sq. ft.  approx. 400 sq ft. per person. 

[MomtoCandJ]

Our family of 4 plus a dog currently live in about 980 square feet (well a 14x70 mobile home) A little bit more room would be great but we are making it work. Storage is our main issue.

[AdventureMoms]

We have 5 in 1100 sqft right now and it's fine, and pretty comfortable. Perfect world I'd like one more bedroom, a main floor bathroom, and a pantry, which would put us at around 1500 sqft.  I think that would be ideal for us.  I grew up with more, and for me more is not better.  

[Amira]

I like about 200 sq feet per person, a good layout, and not much stuff. Our current house has at least 500 sq ft per person (not by choice) and it is much too large, although it has a good layout and very little stuff. It looks oddly empty and it's awful to have so much unnecessary space to clean. We've been living in other people's apartments through the summer, though, and both have been about half the size of our current house. But one was awful because it was crammed with furniture (I don't know how the owners stand it) and it felt much smaller than it should have. The one we're in now is much more reasonable even though I'd still get rid of some of the furniture.

 

I would be perfectly happy living in a 400 sq ft house with just dh.

[Pawz4me]

I think there are too many things to consider to be able to answer.  Right now we have about 688 square feet/person.  And it's good.  Lots of room to spread out for the four of us and four pets.  But if it were just me and DH, we wouldn't need that much room per person.  My *guess* is that about 500 square feet/person would be okay for most families.  So much depends on layout, though.  And how much you value the spreading out room versus having to do extra cleaning.

[maize]

I think 300sq/ft per person seems about right for us (right now we're closer to 230 and a bit more space would be nice) though I think that number would be higher in a smaller family--having a decently sized kitchen and common areas makes life more comfortable even if there are only two or three people in the house.

[maize]

If I could add one thing to our house it would be a big, empty room for the kids to run and play in.

[The Girls' Mom]

Our house is 2000 sq ft for 5 people and a dog.  Dh works from home, so we are all here, all the time.  It is really just right.  BUT, we built this house and squeezed out every inch of storage space we could.  There is almost zero wasted space, including attic storage.  The layout is also very efficient for us and how we live.  Most people, after walking through, have a hard time believing it is only 2000 sq. ft., but it really is!  

[AmandaVT]

Our house has a footprint of 1000 sq feet, but we don't have near that in living space. I'd say about 750 and it's not well laid out. My dad's house has 1600 sq feet and there were 4 of us and it felt pretty perfect growing up and still does. Enough space, but not too much. I hate the new mcmansions that are so popular now and would prefer an older house of 1200-1400 for us. With some storage. Currently we have 1 bigger closet and 2 tiny ones for everything, no basement and no attic. It's not enough!

[Serenade]

More important to me than square footage is storage space.

[DawnM]

Do you have your layout and floor plan on paper?  I would love to see it.

 

 

Our house is 2000 sq ft for 5 people and a dog.  Dh works from home, so we are all here, all the time.  It is really just right.  BUT, we built this house and squeezed out every inch of storage space we could.  There is almost zero wasted space, including attic storage.  The layout is also very efficient for us and how we live.  Most people, after walking through, have a hard time believing it is only 2000 sq. ft., but it really is!  

 

[Greta]

We have 650 per person right now (not a big house, but not a big family either) and it's fine, so that's what I voted for. If I were designing a house with this much space, I would lay it out differently.

 

I counted our garage in my square footage, because we don't use it as a garage. It stores all of my husband's mountaineering equipment (and he owns enough to open his own store!) and some of his exercise equipment (some is in the living room!). My daughter and I could easily get by on 400 square feet per person. Hubby needs 1200!!!!

[BigMamaBird]

We have five people, soon to be six, in a 2000 sq. ft. home and I feel like we have plenty of room because of the great layout!  We also have an unfinished basement that I have schemes for which will essentially add 1000 sq. ft. once it's finished.  We have a lot of separate spaces which I feel makes all the difference.  We have a dining room that is separate from our kitchen so we don't feel all mashed together while making meals.  We have a living room and a family room so Dh and I can be together "alone" in one part of the house while the kids make their ruckus in another room.  I think that makes all the difference in the word1

[Crimson Wife]

We have a family of 5 and my ideal would be in the 1800-2200 range, but with a well-designed layout and lots of useful storage. We used to live in a 1500 sq. ft. condo and it would've been perfect with one additional bedroom or den. The house we have now is 2500 and I think it is a bit big for us. We bought it because we liked the location but it's a lot to clean, heat, and cool.

 

The house I grew up in was 1350 sq. ft. for a family of 5 and it really was too small. Then when I was in high school, my folks moved to a 3000 sq. ft. house and that was too big. The house my parents live in now is 2100 sq. ft. and it would be a good size for us if it had better storage (they don't have an attic or basement).

[MrsMommy]

I voted 400-499, which is just a bit bigger than we have now. While our house is fine, it would be so nice to have just a bit more space to spread out!

[TammyS]

I'm not sure that sq ft pp is the best way to measure.  General living areas do not need to get bigger for each person.  Once the kitchen is big enough, it doesn't need to get bigger for each person.  Same with living and dining room.

 

One family I know with a large number of kids (14) actually bought an old convent because it had the arrangement they wanted.  The bedrooms were many and very small.  The living areas were very large.  It worked for them.

 

Our home is 1326 for the 4 of us.  It works.  The living room is big (over 300). The kit/dining rooms are medium and separate (this is a thing with me, I don't care for eat-in kitchens). The bedrooms are smallish, but we believe in bedrooms being for sleeping, rather than hanging out, so we don't need them big.  Even though we have 3 bedrooms, our kids share, because we use the 3rd for an exercise/office/project room.  The only thing in the kids bedroom is beds and dressers.  If we had more kids I wouldn't need a bigger living room or kit/dining (unless we had several more kids, then I would need a bigger dining room).  So, for each 2 extra kids, 1 more bedroom...say another 100-150 sq ft.

 

ETA: I agree with everyone who said that storage and layout are paramount....We moved into our current house last summer and basically doubled our space.  I love having so much more space, especially in the living room (which is both twice the size of what we had before and half the stuff, because it was doubling as our office/project room also) but sometimes this place drives me nuts with lack of reasonable storage.  I have a 300+sq ft living room AND NO COAT CLOSET, Wuh?  My have a nice sized kitchen, and no pantry, but a stupid wall oven with nearly useless storage above and below it.  My kitchen cabinets have a soffit above them, so they don't go to the ceiling inside....meaning I can't put tall jars inside!! Ugh!).  The layout in some spots is just stupid, stupid, stupid.  It will all get changed eventually.

 

I also think how much space depends on how many different living centers you plan on setting up.  If every bedroom is going to have an entertainment center and be a mini living room, you will need more square feet.  Having land, or not, also makes a huge difference.  My kids spend most of their time outdoors if they can help it.  If we lived in a city, or even a town where outside play was impractical (because houses were too close together or something) we would probably need more indoor space.  Here we have acres and that really makes a difference.

[elegantlion]

For me, I voted 400-499. I agree about layout, my 1100 sf house has more functional space than our previous 1800 sf house. The master bedroom in that house was 12 x18, which was too big. You could have held an aerobics class in there with the room full of furniture. My current bedroom is about 11 x10 and it's cozy, but I also have a desk, dresser, and queen sized bed. Our kitchen in this house is larger than the 1800 sf kitchen. So layout is important. 

 

My biggest issue with thinking about downsizing more after ds moves is that I need good storage. I don't keep a huge number of things I don't use, but I do have some sentimental items and things I will inherit from my parents that I'd like to display. 

Also with pets, my cat needs more space than the dog. The dog just needs yard space, but my cat needs a special place for his box - he's old and messy. I like my cat but when he's gone no more cats. 

 

One of my time wasting activities is looking at floor plans. I generally find one in the 800sf category that would work well for me if it's just me. That includes an office space, usually in the guest room. I also want a little outdoor space, either a covered porch or enclosed porch. I love my deck for sitting, but it gets hot. I'd like an enclosed area. 

 

So I guess for living space, about 450 sf, for space for pets, stuff, and a guest room about 800-900 totally. I think two could easily make do in 900 sf too. 

 

 

[Tap]

About 600 per person. 

 

I want a 12x12 ish bedroom for the kids.

I want a living room, dining room, family room, for regular use and a bonus room for the teens to hang out in. 

[AK_Mom4]

About 600 would be fine for the house. We need at least 2 acres each to feel comfortable on the land.

[SeaConquest]

We have 4 people on a 41 foot sailboat -- probably about 300ish square feet. Suffice to say, I feel like a sardine. I would go 900/person at this point. :)

[Kathryn]

I voted for ideal, money is no issue scenario. I think 500 per person. Right now, we are about 270 per person. When we do go up, it will likely be 360-400 per person.

[Annie G]

I can't answer. Right now we have a 2800 square foot house that was plenty large enough when we were raising four kids (too large, actually). Now the house is down to four people, but one is gone to school most of the year. It's way too big for four, way way too big for three. And when this last bird flies the nest, this house has to go.   

 

So when we had six living here, it was 466 square feet per person. Most of the house was used but it was wasteful because everyone had their own bedroom except dh and I shared. g

Now there are technically four people, so the per person square footage is a crazy 700!   Dd will leave for school next week and we'll see her again at the end of July- if she comes back from Japan. So we'll be down to three people and it's 933 square feet per person. 

Once ds leaves- probably next year- it'll be 1400 square feet per person.  

 

But when dh retires and we move, 466 feet per person (what we had when all four kids were here) is not enough.  I'd like about 1200-1500 square feet I think. But 600-750 square feet per person adds up to a HUGE house when there are lots of kids. 

[aggie96]

We currently have 860sqft per person.  We work (own our company) and (of course) school from home.  We just moved from 600sqft per person.  We wanted 760sqft per person when we were looking for the new house.  Layout/flow was much more critical than the size.  The ONLY houses that had the right layout/flow were 860sqft per person.  Obviously this is a want, not a need.  I grew up (4 people) in a mobile home of about 850sqft total and did just fine (but no one worked or schooled from home).

[SKL]

It really depends on who lives with me.  And also how old my kids are.  Very young kids take up a lot of space with their big toys and high chairs and such.  (Of course these are optional items, but we have crazy aunties and doting grandparents....)

 

I am a "less is more" person myself, but some of the people I live with are borderline hoarders, plus all the adults work at home at least some of the time, so overall we need an average to above average amount of space.

[sbgrace]

Our homes have been in the 400 to 499 range, and that has worked for us. Layout and storage really matter.  At their ages now, a dedicated place for kids to play is really important for my sanity. They are downstairs now, and the energy and noise is down there with them. I need that.

[Ravin]

If it was laid out just right, probably 300 sq ft/person. Our present house is about 1600 sq ft, 6 people (4 adults). If it was 4 kids, 2 adults, that number would be a bit lower.

[strawberries]

We currently have 4 people and two dogs in an 1150 sq ft house. I don't feel like we need more room, though I suppose I might change my tune when my kids are teens.

[Audrey]

Ideally, I want to take the 700 sq ft apartment in the middle of the Ikea and put it somewhere and live in it.  It would be perfect for the 3 of us.  Perfect.

[OneStepAtATime]

I didn't vote because layout is way more important to me than individual square footage, TBH.  I have been in huge homes with a terrible layout and tiny homes with an awesome layout.   Of the two I would pick the latter any day.   Overall, though, I think I would really love a 2000 sq ft. really well laid out home.  I could go with bigger (to better accommodate my book collections and educational materials :) plus any guests we might have) but it wouldn't be essential at all.  2000 sounds like a lot, in fact.  I could go smaller but I would have to get rid of some family antiques and maneuverability...plus half the family are introverts and might feel trapped.  And DH's equipment for work would definitely be an obstacle.

[ocelotmom]

Right now we have about 200 feet per person. It's not intolerable, but a little bit more would be nice.

 

I also agree that layout matters. Adding on space in the form of larger bedrooms wouldn't do a whole lot of good, and more effective use of existing space would solve some of the problems.

 

My ideal house would have (in addition to what we currently have) a playroom, a den/library/guest room, and probably one more bedroom.

[plumshadow]

We are house hunting now.  The smallest house we've lived in as a party of 5 was 1900. The largest 3,700. For us to be comfortable it would have to be about 600 sqf per person. Everything we looked at below 2600 just isn't an option. The main reason is we all like having large bedrooms and a 2nd living space that we can relax in, unlike the formal living area, and enough storage space for the tons of military stuff Uncle Sam expects us to hold on to at home. 

 

[Excelsior! Academy]

For living a bit more than we have.  For cleaning a bit less.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

My ideal house is smaller than my current house.

 

We have a huge old farm victorian farm house. 3000 sq/ft

 

It's way too much. Though my loom fits.

 

I'd like around 1500 sq/ft.

[Arcadia]

Not counting garage and backyard space, 1600sqft for a townhouse and less for a single story house. The staircases takes up space for a townhouse. We need a room for kids to mess around basically. We are still house hunting.

[SunnyDays]

Just to clarify, are we counting basement?  (I know you don't all have them.  But here, if you say you have a 1200 sf house, people are usually counting the main floor(s) and not the basement.)

 

We currently have a house that's just over 1200 sf, plus a full basement, which I suppose is around 2400 sf counting all the space.  It's not an efficient layout so it's not exactly our dream house, but designed differently the space would be plenty.  So we currently have about 400 sf/person, or 800 if you do count the basement, but it's not all easily usable space... if that makes sense.

 

[Guest]

I love the question...and I can't answer it!  We went from 4000 to 2500 and the 2500 would totally be enough for the three of us...if the layout were better.  WAY too much room used up in the master, the living room is such an odd shape it's pretty useless except to put my piano in it, the family room/kitchen could be bigger by about 100 sf and I would not mind, the upstairs has all the bedrooms, but they are poorly arranged, my dh has an office that is big enough but I don't, and so I can't really sew in my room...blah blah blah.  

 

I MISS having two master suites because I like it when guests come...our guest situation is less than ideal right now.   And there isn't enough separation between the rooms...the entire downstairs is basically open which means that when the TV is on, it is on for everyone.  We have NEVER had the TV in our main living space in 33 years of marriage, until now, and I hate it.  

 

All that said, I like my house, and I think 2500 sf for the three of us is enough space...it's just not in the right places.  Yet.  Also, it is three of us who are home all the time, so that makes a difference.  When my son moves on, we will reclaim that space, and this will be just fine.  

[Tutor]

Our house is 2000 sq ft for 5 people and a dog.  Dh works from home, so we are all here, all the time.  It is really just right.  BUT, we built this house and squeezed out every inch of storage space we could.  There is almost zero wasted space, including attic storage.  The layout is also very efficient for us and how we live.  Most people, after walking through, have a hard time believing it is only 2000 sq. ft., but it really is!  

 

We currently have 6 people in 1300sf but are in the process of closing on a 2000sf house. Our 1300 sf apartment feels just a tad too cramped, but I think that is more the fact of its poor layout and use of space and the fact that it is on the second floor. I think the 2000sf house is going to feel gigantic in comparison and is really well laid-out for how we live. We looked at much larger and much smaller houses and square-footage didn't seem to be as big of a factor as layout when we were deciding. One thing the more square-footage is going to allow us to do is entertain more often. We are used to having people over at least once a week and we haven't been able to do that since moving to this apartment because it feels so cramped.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Oh goodness, I don't know!  

 

I would LIKE one more living area and one more bedroom (though sometimes I think two, just in case, so we can take the perfect sibling group should they come along). Oh, and a separate laundry room big enough to fold and hang in (last one was 16x10 and that was nice :) ) and a slightly larger eating area.  That all could probably be added to what we have to leave us at about 3000 sq ft.  There are currently 8 of us and we'll probably end up with 8-10 people, possibly 11).  So that puts us at 300-350 sq ft per person? 

 

But honestly, I feel guilty saying that. Do people really NEED 3000 sq ft even for a large family?  We most certainly could make this work long term.  We may well do so :)

 

BTW, I also was looking at "tiny house" options for us.  I got us down to 1200-1300 sq ft losing just one bedroom.  

[Mergath]

I think 300 sq. ft. per person would be just right for us.  Right now we have about 230, and I'd like the living room to be just a bit bigger and to have a little more storage space.  So I think 300 would be perfect.  I like a smallish, cozy home. :)

[JubilantNest]

We have 5 people in 1450 s.f. (no attic, basement, etc.).  It really isn't too small, but I do wish I could turn all the wasted s.f. in the hallway into a library.  :)

[shawthorne44]

I went from having a house to myself, 1700 sq.ft. pp.  To sharing the same house with DH and DD.  So, 500-600sq.ft. per person.  When I bought the house, I had no furniture and it seemed cavernous.  Then I got used to it.  So, now about 1000 sq. ft. pp seems about right.  Although, I don't think it goes up that much for each new kid past the second.  

[elegantlion]

I didn't count our basement, as it will never be anything but a basement. ex had grand plans of finishing it, but you know, it's a dungeon. The cat box lives there, and some of his stuff is still there. 

 

We also have a two car detached garage which is still full of his stuff. I do think if you live in a home you need space for yard and home upkeep. If you rent, you need less, if you rent an apartment, even less - at least in the maintenance department. 

 

I would like a dedicated storage room, about 8x10 would be good, where you could put up shelves and boxes. The basement would be an ideal place, but we fight dampness and I recently pulled everything I had stored down there out. 

 

Our previous house was on a slab and I never missed not having a basement. If I ever build, I'm not putting one in.