Poll: comfortable square feet per person

[maize]

I'm interested in how many square feet per person you feel makes living comfortable, not cramped. I'm especially interested in how much space it reasonably takes to make a home easier to maintain in a functional way--to have storage space and living space.

I know many of us can manage and make do in a cramped space,  and many would ideally love and enjoy spacious homes. I'm trying to figure out what to most people seems reasonable for comfort and ease of maintenance, not constantly fighting stress and clutter, even if our ideal might be larger.

Assume here a family with at least 1 child; the needs of adult-only households may be significantly different. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by maize

[HomeAgain]

I voted 400-500 sq ft.  We have lived in anywhere from 800-900 sq ft as a family of 3, and it was cozy, but not uncomfortable.  It just meant paring down belongings, using space wisely.  I would not want to go lower than 800-900 for just dh and I.  I think it's the minimum for a home without killing each other.
BUT ALSO
When we did live in a smaller home we also had a thriving outdoor community and easy walking access to amenities, so home was a landing place.  We weren't cooped up all winter.  That might change my opinion on what I consider necessary.

[Indigo Blue]

We are two adults in 1200 sq ft. It’s fine. In theory, believe I could be just fine in an even more itty bitty living space as long as I had my own personal space to get dressed in. 
 

I think we could have 2000 or 3000 sq ft and Dh would still want to co-occupy the same 3 sq ft of space I am, at any given point, occupying. It’s weird. Lol. 
 

I have spent a lot of time convincing him that people (or at least “I”) need my/their own personal space in which to get dressed. He grew up in a very small house with 3 siblings and one bathroom. They didn’t respect “space”. It was pretty chaotic. 
 

I think the number of square feet can vary, depending on how organized and respectful of space the family is. Maybe? Like knowing when one too many people are in the kitchen area?

I voted 200 to 300 sq ft. per person. 

 

[Wheres Toto]

I put 200-300 but we currently have slightly less than that.  I upped it because I'm hoping to get a three season room where I can go and be quietly away from everyone.  I don't have that currently.    But other than that, what we have works okay.   The kids (2 teenagers) each have their own rooms (super necessary for my quirky introverts), dh and I have a very small room but it's private, we have some clutter but not an excessive amount. That was helped considerably when we redid our kitchen but we didn't add any more square footage, just storage.  I think something similar in other parts of the house was help considerably but we have sentimental pieces of furniture that we don't want to get rid of.   There's definitely not a lot of stress, we're all pretty chill people and tend to do our own things, and it works fine.  

[regentrude]

Back in Germany,  we lived on 800 sq ft as a family of four. It was fine. Having 2,500 Sq ft (including basement) here felt *hugely* spacious. 

Whether a house is cramped and chaotic depends mostly on the amount of stuff. Stuff has a tendency of filling the available space. Fewer belongings can make a small apartment feel uncluttered. If stuff is overfilling the house and spilling into the garage, a mansion will feel cluttered.

[marbel]

Until my daughter moved out last year, we had 4 people in 1400 sq ft, and it has been cramped. BUT there are a couple of things:

- our house has almost no closet/storage space.

- it's a split level with basically an open floor plan except for the bedrooms which makes it hard for socializing unless the whole family is involved. There is no place to escape except a bedroom.

- 3/4 of my family are terrible pack rats

So for us, I would say 500 would be really helpful. 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by marbel

[JustEm]

We are 4 adults and 6 kids in just under 3000 sq ft and sometimes I feel like that is too much. We have so much storage space and so much space for no one to feel on top of the others. It is a 5 bedroom house and we don't even use 1 of the bedrooms as a regularly used bedroom because the kids don't use their rooms for anything other than sleeping for the most part. The 5th bedroom is a guest bedroom, my office, and dd12's art area so her youngest sibling can't get into her good art supplies.

But I've been in houses the same size that don't utilize space as well and I know we'd be on top of each other in them

[gardenmom5]

Layout also makes a difference. 

[Arcadia]

Where I am from, the weather is the same all year round, kind of perpetual summer. We all went to public schools so we could throw our school books away after each semester if we want to. It was easy to have less square footage per person because each person just needs a place to sleep and a study desk to do work. My dad did had to bring back stacks of students’ workbooks to grade but he used the dining table for that. 
Here, California winters are relatively mild but my kids and I still need light jackets and heavy jackets. So outerwear itself takes space. Then it is homeschooling stuff because we aren’t sure what to keep and what to throw. For example, high school lab books are to keep just in case the college wants to look at them. My kids now do all their labs at community college so I no longer need space for them to do labs at home.  So prepandemic, we need more space for homeschooling stuff, including lab supplies, compared to my childhood home.

During the pandemic, the need for space further increase with two kids and an adult having classes and meetings on Zoom. Exams that were in person were proctored online. So we had to go to another room when a kid was taking his proctored exam. My study area is back to back with DS18’s study area so I have to remember to grab my things before his Zoom class. His teachers are nice enough to understand if they see someone grabbing their things on Zoom but we try to avoid doing that. 
For my family, it is not so much the square feet per person but that we need a bedroom per kid to have online meetings and classes in, while my husband and I can use our bedroom and living room. So each kid basically need a bedroom big enough for a twin bed and a large study desk.  Before the pandemic, my husband would use the bedroom for evening conference calls and living room for morning conference calls. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Arcadia
typo

[Carrie12345]

I voted 300-400. We’re at 2400 for 3 adults, a teen, and a tween, but we came from 1100 for 2 adults and 5 kids.  THAT was way too small, but this is more than enough.

Actually, maybe I should have gone a step up to include basement storage space, but I have a lot of crap that isn’t essential, so…

I’m thrilled with my space and wouldn’t want more without a hired cleaning service.

[maize]

3 hours ago, regentrude said:

Back in Germany,  we lived on 800 sq ft as a family of four. It was fine. Having 2,500 Sq ft (including basement) here felt *hugely* spacious. 

Whether a house is cramped and chaotic depends mostly on the amount of stuff. Stuff has a tendency of filling the available space. Fewer belongings can make a small apartment feel uncluttered. If stuff is overfilling the house and spilling into the garage, a mansion will feel cluttered.

There are minimal amounts of stuff though to live comfortably.

Enough culturally-appropriate clothing for daily needs in the current season plus reasonable storage space for off seasons. Reasonable furnishings (seating, table, beds, desks) for household activities,  some allowance for hobbies, homeschooling or school supplies as needed, household tools and appliances.

Assuming neither extreme minimalism nor hoarding, what amount of space makes for comfortable living?

Edited April 30, 2023 by maize

[catz]

I didn't vote yet, I'm thinking about it.  We moved from about a 3000+ sq ft house to about a 2000 sq ft house in  more desirable area. But I feel our smaller house is better designed for living.  It has built in storage, shelving, better closets, etc.  We almost have too much storage space with a 3 car garage and a full attic above it.  And full attic in our home.  

So I feel like some of this could also be chalked up to housing design and layout.  The other thing is weather.  There are parts of the country where you can be outside all year.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by catz

[gstharr]

We are at 2600 for two adults, and one teen on his way to college.  Two bedrooms and one bath are unused.  The living room and dining room are furnished but have not been used for their purpose in 15 years.  All our living and entertaining is in a large kitchen/family room. 

[Laura Corin]

We had 1700 square feet in the flat we owned in China for four people. It felt very comfortable,  even with home educating and Husband working from home. So I  said 400-500.  We had much less at times in Hong Kong and storage was an issue.

This is comparative house size by country, not per person

https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-house/?utm_content=cmp-true

 

[73349]

In general I think 300-400 sf/person is great, but also, not all space is equal. At a certain point, more bathrooms become more important. And I would cut my closet space in half for more kitchen food prep area and storage.

Edited April 6 by 73349

[Elizabeth86]

Haha I accidentally voted wrong. I selected less than 200 sq ft per person. This is how much space we do have, but it is cramped!

[mommyoffive]

37 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Layout also makes a difference. 

1000% yes.  I also think that homeschooling makes a difference too.  And if you have people working from home.  If we didn't homeschool and dh and I were both at work all the time I think we could use a lot less because we would barely be here.  

[regentrude]

42 minutes ago, maize said:

 

Assuming neither extreme minimalism nor hoarding, what amount if space manes for comfortable living?

300 per person sounds comfortable.

For comparison,  the legal formula in my home country for adequate living area is  500 for a single person plus another 170 for each additional person.

[SKL]

I don't know.  With the exception of my piano, 100% of my personal and work stuff (including important kid and dog stuff) is in my 11x13 bedroom, in which I spend the majority of my time, and I don't feel cramped.  So add to that a modest sized kitchen, small bathroom, and laundry facilities and I'd be fine.  The others in my house, however, seem to think we need a whole nother house to store all their crap.

For me, it's not the space but the privacy and freedom I value.  I like being able to sing or tell my kids off without the next block hearing me.

[regentrude]

19 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

  I also think that homeschooling makes a difference too.  And if you have people working from home.  

Layout is super important for that.

Dd and her bf both started working from home full-time during Covid. It was a pain in a 1br place! He worked at the dining table, she in the bedroom. They just moved into an apartment with the same exact footage as their old one. However, the new place has 2br plus a tiny den, which makes working from home much more comfortable - without any increase in area.

Edited April 30, 2023 by regentrude

[rebcoola]

Voted 400 or 500 have never actually lived in that amount of space.  Right now we have 700sq ft per person and it really is great for parties and too much for everyday living their is a ton of space not used regularly and too many places out of sight that become dumping ground. 

When we had 250 sq ft each it wasnt enough to ever really get away or have some quiet. It was really hard when DH had night shift.

 

[mommyoffive]

Just now, regentrude said:

Layout is m7ch more important for that.

Dd and her bf both started working from home full-time during Covid it was a pain in a 1br place! They just moved into an apartment with the same exact footage as their old one. However, the new place has 2br plus a tiny den, which makes working from home much more comfortable - without any increase in area.

For sure.  I HATE the layout of our house.  But I hate it because we homeschool and dh works from home.  If that wasn't the case I wouldn't have the same feelings.  But we built our house when we had one kid (and were not going to have more because pg was so awful) and homeschooling wasn't even something I was thinking about at all.  That and working from home for dh wasn't a thing either.

[maize]

6 minutes ago, regentrude said:

300 per person sounds comfortable.

For comparison,  the legal formula in my home country for adequate living area is  500 for a single person plus another 170 for each additional person.

This is interesting. How does the legal formula apply?

It comes out to about 160 more sq ft for my family than we actually have.

[maize]

Part of what is driving my question is that dh is convinced that more space just equals more to clean, while I think that, up to a point, more space makes keeping things tidy much easier. A cramped space is very difficult to manage and keep organized, even without excess stuff. I do agree with layout and storage design making a big difference. 

[alysee]

We have lived in too small spaces and we are building what will hopefully be a just right amount of space. We have lived with 7 people in 1500 sq ft. We are currently in a 2400sqft home with 8 people(1 baby!). It feels cramped but I believe it's the layout that makes it feel cramped. We are building a 2800sq ft bungalow to allow for the upcoming teenagers in our life and a better layout. My husband also works from home and has for the last 5 years.

In our basement we will have a hobbies room for the kids. Our house hopefully be the right amount of space.We dont have a ton of toys but my kids are crafty and like space to make all of their current hobbies. Lego, sewing, Barbies, YouTube and crocheting are the big things for my oldest 4. My 5yo has more toys than her older siblings had growing up but she mainly plays with Barbies, magnatiles and her dolls so our basement currently feels like a kid zone that has exploded trying to contain all of the various things. That is the hardest part about being a minimalist is making sure my kids are using the things they have and also not taking away something they use. I am only attached to my girls bookcase because it's the only thing I have left from my childhood. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by alysee

[HomeAgain]

10 minutes ago, regentrude said:

300 per person sounds comfortable.

For comparison,  the legal formula in my home country for adequate living area is  500 for a single person plus another 170 for each additional person.

This is where my train of thought went to.

There needs to be a minimum, and there are needs like 1 bedroom for every 2-3 people, but the formula for adding more people and more area really just depends on that added bedroom size up to a certain point, at which you'll need to factor in an extra bathroom and possibly larger living areas.  I mean, I saw the Duggars' first house and I wouldn't wish that on any family with 12 kids!

[regentrude]

1 minute ago, maize said:

This is interesting. How does the legal formula apply?

It is applied for subsidized housing to determine the housing subsidies. There's obviously some give because of local availability,  but this is a rule of thumb I found for a quick Google. If I understand it correctly, a living space of that size is considered appropriate and can be funded; it does not constitute a minimum or that a family is entitled to this size.

[kokotg]

I put 3-400. We have just under 3000 for 6 people (well, usually just 4 now, but maybe 5 again next year), and that feels plenty big; we'd be fine with smaller if the house used the space well. We also have done several 2 month stretches with all of us in around 220 sf, though, when we travel in the summer with our trailer and been fine; the house feels ridiculous when we come back from a long trip (and, paradoxically, I usually feel restless like a caged animal for a few weeks while I settle back in to stationery life). 

[kokotg]

15 minutes ago, maize said:

Part of what is driving my question is that dh is convinced that more space just equals more to clean, while I think that, up to a point, more space makes keeping things tidy much easier. A cramped space is very difficult to manage and keep organized, even without excess stuff. I do agree with layout and storage design making a big difference. 

We had around 1800 sq ft before getting another 1000 with our last move...but we had the same number of bathrooms (and kitchens!) in the old house as this one, so I don't think this one's much harder to clean. Perhaps if I spent more time dusting and wiping down baseboards and stuff instead of just being happy with non-gross bathrooms and things being relatively uncluttered.

[Arcadia]

14 minutes ago, maize said:

Part of what is driving my question is that dh is convinced that more space just equals more to clean, while I think that, up to a point, more space makes keeping things tidy much easier.

That depends on how many “hoarders” you have in the house and also how fast things get dusty. We have one bathroom and would prefer to have two but one bathroom is definitely less to clean. My opinion is that it is nice to have adequate space for things to be easily located which in our case means using many IKEA expedit/kallax cube shelves for organizing our stuff. I have enough kitchen cabinet space for emergency rations. After that more space just means more clutter and dust especially at my in-laws home. They have no incentive to declutter and what was the kids’ bedrooms became more store rooms for them. 

[Clarita]

I've lived less than 200 sqft per person and been content. Ultimately though it is a difficult question to answer because a lot of what you might need depends also on what is available to you in the community. When I happily lived in less than 200sqft per person that was in a city where I could conveniently walk and use public transportation to get things. There was access semi-private spaces and amenities that I shared with others in the complex (included spaces I could reserve for private events). Eating out was cheap in that area so cooking was optional.  The grocery store was downstairs so even if I was to cook I would only get the food for a single meal.

If we were to say just shrink my living space now but in the same location we would need more space. I would need more space to hold food because the grocery store is 5 minute drive away. I don't have communal indoor spaces I could freely use or reserve for when my friends come over. Stuff like that.

[prairiewindmomma]

Layout makes a huge, huge difference. Our last apartment had <200 ft/person, but there were huge closets that allowed for a lot of functional storage. In addition, the kitchen/dining/living space was very flexible and easy to use for socializing. The bedroom layout allowed for quiet spaces for people. Our furniture was in storage, and what was provided worked well in the space and was minimalistic. 

Our current home is bigger than that, but we lack functional closets and the layout has some disadvantages. We need to right-size our belongings to fit into this house better…probably about half of what we own. We are working towards that, but right now we have a lot of tools that we have been using to fix up the house. Our kids are finally old enough we’ve let go of a lot of the toys and homeschooling stuff. Holding on to hand me downs saved a lot of money, but I would make different choices if we were <200 Ft a person. We did backpack schooling then.
 

AFA seasonal clothing goes—moving into wool clothing more has helped that for my own wardrobe. I wear wool in 100F weather as well as 20F and snowing. I think eventually I will probably get back to a minimalist wardrobe of a couple of shirts, a pair of trousers, a couple of pairs of leggings and a couple of dresses and a skirt….for year round wear. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Maize—fwiw, when we have had house sizing discussions dh’s underlying assumption was that I was already overwhelmed and struggling to maintain at times and didn’t want to add to my burden. What he failed to understand back then is that functional storage allows things to be properly put away and the act of cleaning is much easier when things are put away. The correct answer for us was to both have less stuff AND to have a place where everything fits. With as many ADHD people as we have here, who all need some visual clues to do things, we do best when we have a mix of open and closed storage. 

[Faith-manor]

When we had six in 1200 square feet and one room had to be devoted to the music studio, it was very uncomfy, not cozy. But we needed the income from my teaching and performing. Now we have 4000 sq ft, but 2000 is unfinished because we decided not to spend anymore money on the house. The bottom has permanently fallen out of real estate here, and throwing money at the place is a lot like burning $100 bills for a bonfire. Now that it is just the two of us, it feels very very large.

The Alabama house has 4000 sq ft, but we regularly host large family get togethers so there is a reason for the space. We wanted a huge kitchen for cooking for large crews and dining, plus bedrooms for our adult kids and their spouses/s.o.'s. I imagine at some point in retirement maybe one or two of them will take over hosting, and we will downsize.

[fraidycat]

I think it really depends mostly on the layout of the house. But, I choose around 700/person. We've lived in less and we've lived in more. Our current is 1400ish sq. ft. w/finished basement, so 700ish per person, it has decent privacy and ample storage, while still necessitating sharing and family cohesion, and also allowing space for family members to entertain guests if they choose to. 
 

The last house we were in was 1200 + basement, same number of bedrooms & bathrooms, but felt cramped and lacked storage. So 600 per person didn't quite feel comfortable.

The house before that was 950 per person and we'd lose people in the house. 😂

[teachermom2834]

This is interesting. We have gone from six living here to three and don’t anticipate the three adults returning. We are looking to move this summer. The home we will be selling is 2700 sq ft. 
 

I cannot wrap my brain around what size home we need or what is even the ideal. Rationally I know we can go much smaller but it is still hard to get used to the idea and know it will be OK. Yet, we have unusued rooms and empty closets in our current home so it shouldn’t be so hard. I don’t know why I am so befuddled by this but I appreciate reading the responses here.

[Splash1]

Family of seven.  When everyone is here we use every square inch of our 4500 square foot house.  Only two kids still live here with us now an there are two empty bedrooms but when covid lockdowns hit we were back to four kids at home.  We're a family of introverts so personal space is a must for survival.  I see a future where dh and I live on the ground floor and never go upstairs though unless we're having company or using the treadmill.  I think if done well we could comfortably live in 2400  sq ft in future and still have room enough during the holidays and when kids come and stay.  With no spouses or grandchildren we regularly have thirteen people at each holiday and birthday and only see the number growing.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Splash1

[QueenCat]

45 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

I cannot wrap my brain around what size home we need or what is even the ideal. Rationally I know we can go much smaller but it is still hard to get used to the idea and know it will be OK. Yet, we have unusued rooms and empty closets in our current home so it shouldn’t be so hard. I don’t know why I am so befuddled by this but I appreciate reading the responses here.

We're at about 3700 sq. ft for three of us, not counting the finished basement. We have unused rooms too, except for when older ds comes to visit. Or other company. And one room that really never gets used. What we found when we looked smaller was that the kitchens got smaller too. We don't want a smaller kitchen any time soon. We socialize quite a bit and like having a lot of space for that. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by QueenCat

[Jaybee]

It depends on so many factors. We've had 3 in a 1br apt., 7 living in 1600sf, 4 living in 1800sf, and various other configurations. I don't want to go less than 1200-1400 (and two bathrooms) when it is just dh and me again; we could certainly do less, and have, but I would prefer this. Overseas in an apartment, we didn't need as much space because we bought groceries right outside our complex every day or so. We didn't need winter clothes, so non-seasonal storage was unnecessary. Homeschooling, ages of children, availability of outside spaces to "extend" living space, layout, how many "hoarders" you have, how much sport/music/etc. equipment you have, how much you like having people over (and how many), how much you like to cook, and so on, even including natural light, all affect how much is comfortable for me.

[lewelma]

I've done a lot of small living and I'll tell you it really depends on the age of the people and their relationship. We don't have open plan, so in our currently home (650sq ft), a lot is taken up by the hall. But this is also good, because there are doors to close to give privacy and a sense you are 'down the hall.' The main thing is that each bedroom needs to be set up to also have a sitting area with 2 chairs so people can talk. Then you don't feel like you have to sit on your bed in your bedroom, or always be with others in the main room when you are just hanging out. You need to focus on behaviours for privacy, like shutting doors and knocking before coming in. So....

We have done 70sq ft per person when we had only a baby, and it was fine. Just a tiny home on a farm.

We have done 100sq ft per person with only a baby and dh working from home. That was tight.

We have done 160 sq ft per person with 2 children and it was fine, but with 2 teenagers it was too tight.

We have done 160 sq ft per person with 1 adult child and long-standing girl friend, and that has been fine. 

Basically, with 2 bedrooms, you need either children sharing the second room or a couple. 2 teens didn't work. 

I grew up in 4500 sq ft, and much prefer to live small.

Edited May 1, 2023 by lewelma

[maize]

We've made bedrooms work in our current home by being a bit unconventional. We turned a basement sitting room into a bedroom for all four of my boys--the 17 year old has a full-size bed and the 12, 10, and 5 year olds have a triple bunk bed. It works for now. I'm a bit worried about what to do as the younger boys get older, the triple bunk isn't going to be comfortable for long, and my older son is autistic and not likely to be moving away from home in the near future.

The biggest problem honestly has been having only two bathrooms for nine of us. It is very common for someone to need a toilet and both bathrooms are already occupied, especially if people are showering or bathing.

[lmrich]

Dh works from home full time. I teach classes in my basement, and I have an office upstairs while my son uses the basement for teaching math. I have no idea how to answer this question. 

[lewelma]

52 minutes ago, maize said:

We've made bedrooms work in our current home by being a bit unconventional. We turned a basement sitting room into a bedroom for all four of my boys--the 17 year old has a full-size bed and the 12, 10, and 5 year olds have a triple bunk bed. It works for now. I'm a bit worried about what to do as the younger boys get older, the triple bunk isn't going to be comfortable for long, and my older son is autistic and not likely to be moving away from home in the near future.

The biggest problem honestly has been having only two bathrooms for nine of us. It is very common for someone to need a toilet and both bathrooms are already occupied, especially if people are showering or bathing.

When we had 6 adults for a month at christmas in my 650 sq foot apartment with 1 bathroom, we had a couple of things that allowed this to work without problem.  Half of people showered at night. Staggered wake up times.  If ever you are going to shower, ask if anyone needs to go to the toilet before you shower. In addition to the obvious, keep your time in the bathroom short. 

[elegantlion]

I voted 400 -500 per person. However, when I was stilled married to ex and ds was younger, we lived comfortably in 1100 sqft of space. We had a mostly unusable basement and a two car garage with ample storage. Ex mostly used that for his work (carpentry) tools. Part of it was the layout of the house with large closets. 

SO and I live in an apartment which is about 750 sf. It's crowded because we both have a lot of books and the layout sucks. I also work at home, although we both need office space. When we buy a house, we'll need at least 1000 sf, if not more. A lot is dependent upon layout. 

[Meriwether]

I put 300-400. We currently have more than that now that Dd19 is at college. When Ds18 goes in the fall, we'll have closer to 600/person and that will be a lot of space per person. I don't want to downsize, though. It is unlikely that all of the kids (any?) will live close and I want room for them to come and stay.

I agree with pps about factors that affect how space feels - layout, size of kids, space usage (home all day/homeschool/work from home/etc.), climate/neighborhood factors. A farmhouse on a working farm needs a mudroom in a way that a city apartment doesn't. Big kids need more physical space. We used to fit 6 on a couch. We need two couches now to sit comfortably. Does the layout efficiently provide both communal and private spaces? Provide enough storage?

[gardenmom5]

11 hours ago, maize said:

Part of what is driving my question is that dh is convinced that more space just equals more to clean, while I think that, up to a point, more space makes keeping things tidy much easier. A cramped space is very difficult to manage and keep organized, even without excess stuff. I do agree with layout and storage design making a big difference. 

There's *functional* space, and space for the sake of "space" . . . . ifkwim . . . .   they're not the same thing.

 

about how layout matters . . .  

We nearly bought a tri level as investment/stick a kid in it house. (owner backedout.  I'm glad, but irked with him for waffeling so long. He's the one that came to us and proposed selling.) I hated the house - the layout positively sucked. (location wasn't that great either.) I would have been happy to fix it, and sell it then buy something else.  dh wanted to keep it, fix it up, and either rent it or park a kid in it (paying minimal rent.)  the main level was kitchen/living/dining. Not a single closet - not even a coat closet.  No bathroom.  Three bedrooms upstairs/single door linen closet/1 3/4 baths , large landing at the top of the stairs- but so many doors you can't even put a bookcase so it's all wasted pass-through space. If there weren't doors - it's about the same size as my childhood BEDROOM.  (small, but I had a twin bed and dresser in it).  basement has a half-bath as part of the laundry room.  you can't separate them easily. It did have a recroom so there was a second 'public' space.  Storage positively sucked.  it was 1900 sq ft.  

compare to 1dd's house (1990 sqft) that was actually functional space and wasn't awash in wasted space. less than 100sq ft larger.  two stories with a split entry.  upstairs living/dining/kitchen/4 bedrooms/two decent sized closets/two full baths. basement laundry and 3/4 are in the same space (previous owner put the laundry in the garage - she moved it back.) rec room, 5th bedroom, storage room, understairs closet.  It's so much more functional it's not even funny.  Her yard is far more functional too.

 

For my house, I'm not fond of the layout.   I have 3100 sqft, - but 1000 of that is basement. (but even unfinished it was a GREAT play area when they kids were young! - rain . . .   and storage.)   so, maybe it was 2100 sq ft for six people.   seven at times. Now we're down to four. dh has been working from home for 25 years (he had an office set up in the basement for a long time.) - I would really have liked more space for that. He's now using one of the kid-bedrooms.   now 2ds is also working from home . . .

what is this empty nest I keep hearing about?   I have no office, I have no craft room - and I hate it, but the layout is such there isn't a place for that.

Layout matters.

Edited May 1, 2023 by gardenmom5

[Mom_to3]

15 hours ago, regentrude said:

Back in Germany,  we lived on 800 sq ft as a family of four. It was fine. Having 2,500 Sq ft (including basement) here felt *hugely* spacious. 

Whether a house is cramped and chaotic depends mostly on the amount of stuff. Stuff has a tendency of filling the available space. Fewer belongings can make a small apartment feel uncluttered. If stuff is overfilling the house and spilling into the garage, a mansion will feel cluttered.

I agree with this!! Stuff!!! Before covid, we were in a 1300 sqft apartment for a family of 5 (one bedroom was just for storage with a guest bed). 2 bathrooms (rather crucial imo). It was fine. We more than doubled that, and we feel pretty cramped by now as our stuff keeps expanding. Want to move to a bigger space (actually, I'd mostly want a real basement for storage). It might be better to just throw out or sell some of that stuff, but that would be a lot of work...Just reread...moving would also be a lot of work lol. Might just stay put and feel cramped!

Also, I think post covid, our space needs have increased, as there are now so many zoom meetings for the parents/online classes for the kids, so 1300 would likely no longer work (there are sometimes several of us on zoom).

Edited May 1, 2023 by Mom_to3

[Ausmumof3]

Layout matters as well as the size of the people. Our house felt too big when the kids were small, with long legged teens it’s about right. You also need more space if you have indoor animals as their stuff takes up space. Our house is biggish but poorly laid out. It’s very open plan and hard to place furniture without blocking walkways. We are all a bit hoarder ish to some degree as well. I think two bathrooms and everyone having at least some space that is just theirs makes life more pleasant. Our house is too big for me to clean though, if I do it all I end up with a lot of aches and pains. I have been more successful staying tidy when we had smaller places because I had to stay on top of things and there was less walking etc. 

[Carrie12345]

13 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

This is interesting. We have gone from six living here to three and don’t anticipate the three adults returning. We are looking to move this summer. The home we will be selling is 2700 sq ft. 
 

I cannot wrap my brain around what size home we need or what is even the ideal. Rationally I know we can go much smaller but it is still hard to get used to the idea and know it will be OK. Yet, we have unusued rooms and empty closets in our current home so it shouldn’t be so hard. I don’t know why I am so befuddled by this but I appreciate reading the responses here.

My upsizing was questioned by SO many people. Sometimes I still question it myself, but I’m usually fully satisfied with it.   
While everyone else talks about my kids growing up and moving out (2 are out), I’m strongly influenced by my parents’ experience.  Of their combined 5 kids, they’ve had adult children live with them (usually rotating) right up until the youngest (with 2 kids) was in her mid-30s.  All the reasons over the years varied, but more than once had to do with leaving unhealthy relationships.

Anyway, I don’t think it’s necessary to maintain a TON of space for *potential* Intergenerational living, but I do think it’s good to have some. Things aren’t exactly getting easier for young people.

[KungFuPanda]

We have 500 per person and it’s really more than we’ve needed. We never really needed a living room and a family room.  I’ve used that space as a home studio for over a decade so it sets empty unless I’m teaching or rehearsing. However, our basement isn’t included in the square footage because it is completely underground and unfinished. That rough storage is definitely cheating a bit and is the reason I don’t feel we ‘need’ all our space. I could lose the family room, have 300-400 ft per person and still have an extra floor for laundry and storage, so I’m just delusional at this point.