How much house is "enough"

[Thirteen]

We have almost 3,000 sq ft. 4 bed, 3 bath, 1 office, a kitchen/dining room combo, and a mudroom.


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[Ladybug]

In terms of ideal, I think 3500-5500 would be a dream. We live in a 2700 5 bedroom, 3 bath house. Having a playroom to corral all the toys in is sanity saving. Even if it's not all clean you can throw the toys in there and shut the door. Phew! Having a guest room is really nice too. Our family must travel to visit so it's been essential.

[ides]

I would like a four bed, 2 bath house. We need an office/sewing room, master bed & bedroom per kid. If we end up with no xtra kids we could manage in a three bed. Not sure we will take the plunge with another but its under discussion. Two living rooms would be great as well as a dining area not within the kitchen. I actually don't like eating in the kitchen. A two car garage and an attic or extra space in the garage for storage would be awesome. I like traditional layouts & love craftsman bungalows. I forsee about 2000 sq ft would be ideal. Neither Dh or I want a huge house.

[GrayMatterWife]

Three-bedroom, 2 bath (but no master bath--it's weird), 2100 sq. foot. That total includes a small bonus room and a small study.

But we leave in less than 1500 sq. feet. One entire room is storage.

The basement (not included in the 2100 sq ft) is finished, but not usable space because we use it as storage (I set up very little of our furniture and unpacked only a few of our boxes. since this is a rental and we'll be moving when we buy in the next year or two).

How much how? Whatever I can afford without worrying. The stress of worrying about finances is--for me--a much bigger burden that cramped quarters. Everyone is different. That's just me.

[medpedspouse]

We have a 4bed 3.5 bath - 2900sq ft AND I think it is huuuuuuge. I have always wanted a separate living/den, breakfast/formal dining but the way our house is set up most of our living is done in the smaller areas because the formal living/dining is ginormous....so, lots of wasted space. I would have loved a basement to use for storage/wine cellar because right now we use our empty bedrooms for that. I hate walking in there and seeing boxes everywhere. Also, DH would love to have a man cave and so would I....a place for him to store all his cycling stuff AND the bikes. So, I do not think it is so much about the sq ft as it is about how you use your home. I think when we move, we will definitely downsize. I hate cleaning rooms that I don't really live in BUT gather dust anyways.

[houseelf]

Lots of great info here! We have a chip in our brains that forbids us to hire out to much stuff. I have a cleaning lady once a month and someone to mow the lawn. At 3600 finished and 2000 unfinished we are at capacity. Mulching flower beds for an acre lot takes an entire afternoon. Cleaning four baths/four beds is now a two afternoon process. I also like that this is the largest size house that would allow us to feel like we're still mostly physically all together. I also love Allison's advice that the mortgage payment should be reasonable and preferably a fifteen year. I, for one, certainly don't want a wine cellar more than a wine cellar or adequate savings.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

This is great! I love hearing about your wants/needs/uses. We currently have a 3 br, 2.5 bath with an unfinished basement that could be turned into another bed, bath, and playroom. We like our space, but it's really only ideal (for us) with 1 kiddo. If we were here longer than 3 more years, we would finish the basement and rearrange some other stuff.

[SoonerTexan]

Lots of great info here! We have a chip in our brains that forbids us to hire out to much stuff.

Are you related to my parents?

Honestly, I think I'd be much happier with any space I do or will live in if I wasn't a religious subscriber to Southern Living Magazine.

Anyone else have a dream house pinterest board? Spill...errr...post it!

http://pinterest.com/soonertexan/my-dream-home/

[niener]

I think we're just about in our ideal house now for our current stage in life. We just moved from a 2bd/2.5ba 1000sf townhome (too much bathroom for the space, if you ask me) into a 3bd/1ba 1500sf house and it feels huge!! Eat-in kitchen, glassed-in sunroom, big master bedroom, big backyard, and the other two bedrooms we turned into a guest room and an exercise room (which will be combined into one once a kid comes along). If it had just one more bathroom off the master it'd be perfect.

As for what I think my future ideal would be, I'm all about the random extra rooms more so than I am the typical formal rooms. I'd take a man cave, a game room with a bar, a theatre, a giant walk-in closet (woman cave, perhaps?), lots of outdoor living space with a big stone fireplace, maybe a pool -- but I could do without a formal LR or DR. Realistically speaking though, I'm hoping for a game room, a walk-in closet, a big backyard, and enough bedrooms to have a designated guest room.

[v-girl]

I would like to eventually be able to host parties for the ballet company and for DH's work so I want as much room as possible.

[JaneDoe]

We have a 3100 sq feet home. It has four bedrooms, a bonus room and an office. It sits on a small lot and borders a 150 acre Christmas tree farm. It has a spectacular view, which is why we purchased it. Our house is big and requires a lot maintenance to keep it clean, but we have a housekeeper who comes every other week. We also have a yard service. Both services help us tremendously.

Our home fits our family of five. I can't imagine having something smaller and some days I do wish for something a little bigger. However, I am becoming less and less happy with our neighborhood. People don't maintain their homes as well I would like. Our neighbors are fantastic and so are the schools, but the curb appeal of our neighborhood is not as I would like. For some reason, this just bugs me. Dh and I have considered moving to a nicer neighborhood, but it is a difficult decision. Our home is super affordable, we have a 15 year mortgage so it will be paid off quickly and we love, love, love our view and schools. I should probably just get over my issue with the neighborhood.

My ideal home right now would be at a home with at least 3100 sq feet, spectacular view, same schools and a beautifully maintained neighborhood.

[SoonerTexan]

borders a 150 acre Christmas tree farm

That's freakin' awesome.

Wow.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Right now, we're in 1,700 sq ft - 3 bed/2.5 bath. We love it and it's definitely the right size. My SIL is living with us this fall so the lack of a guest space (and her messiness) annoy me but it's the perfect size for our actual family. We're here for 5 years - kids will be sharing rooms if we have more before the end of residency (hopefully!) but that's ok with us. I would like a basement and the layout of our house doesn't allow for a coat closet which is annoying but otherwise, we love it. It even has a great playroom which I will make a homeschool room if we go that route (likely but not 100%).

In terms of ideal house, my opinion on this has swung drastically. I grew up in 4000 sq feet and 4 people. 6-7 beds, 4.5 baths. It had a pool and is on a river but is on a small lot. I would have told you 5 years ago that's what I wanted. Now, I don't want to clean it and I don't like that the space did not encourage us to be together as a family. Dh grew up in 1,500 sq ft, 4 bed/1.5 baths with 8 people (2 parents, 6 kids). My ideal home would be 2500 sq ft, 4-5 bedrooms/3-4 baths, mostly open plan with closed-off office for DH and homeschool room for me, a finished basement would be a plus. More (much more!) importantly, I want land and to back up to water. Preferably at least an acre on a river/small creek/lake (salt water is most desirable) with room for a pool, treehouses, a small place to play soccer/tag/other sports and a garden.

[Momo]

word to the wise! If you're family size exceeds 4 you better have a large laundry room! I posted a drool worthy & completely adequate one for a family of 6 on my pintrest board way back when I used to do pinterest http://www.calviswyant.com/index.php...ngbird_estate/. click on the 1st row far right pic w/the red washer & dryers!
I am so freakin' over dumb ass architects who design 5 bedroom houses yet have tiny laundry closet!!! Ugggh! Big kitchens, big laundry rooms and plenty of bathrooms are ideal. Also if you can swing it a smaller kitchen in a finished basement is awesome...I think Sally said she has one.

[v-girl]

I really want to have two dryers. I hate that I have to wait until the dryer cycle is half-way complete before I can start another load of washing.