How Much House Do We Really Need?
suburbia April 26th, 2009
I enjoy watching House Hunters on the HGTV network, where a single person, couple, or family decides which house to buy after touring three of them.
Yesterday I watched in amazement as a woman said she was concerned that a 4,000 sq. foot house wasn’t enough room for herself, her husband and three small children.
Four thousand feet isn’t enough? Gimme a break!
I grew up with two parents and four siblings in a 1,250 sq. foot house and survived. And here’s the incredible part. All seven of us shared ONE bathroom and we didn’t die.
My husband and I share a 1,700 sq. foot home and that’s plenty of house for two people. In fact, we don’t even use the two front rooms at all. One is I guess what you’d call a sitting room. We don’t sit in there. We store crap in there.
The other room is our dining room. Ha! Dining room. That’s rich. We barely cook. So we have more crap and decorative items in there that we could do without if we had to.
Together we watched another episode of House Hunters where a couple sought an apartment in Paris. They had a budget of $300,000US and wound up buying a flat with no more than 400 sq. feet!
We agreed we could totally live in that small space. The payoff, of course, is that we’d be living in Paris.
How much house do you have? Do you wish you had more? Could you live with less? What would you want in exchange for less room?
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Stumble it!
April 26th, 2009 at 7:24 am
I would trade the second floor of our house for an enclosed, screened in deck with a oversized hot tub and Wireless signal.
Chris Casey’s last blog post..Mowing at the Cemetery!
April 26th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Okay, I was on my high horse when you said “two parents and four siblings in a 1,250 sq. foot house.”
Two parents, five siblings but 1,500sq. feet. Still feeling high and mighty until I read ONE BATHROOM.
We had two and I thought it was massive torture.
You win.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Meh. My needs are small Once I have a rocket launch pad, landing strip, warehouses, sprawling laboratory, swimming pool and waste heat dump, phased array radio system, underground tunnel network and main and backup nuclear reactors I’m happy.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I’ve often wondered what a rich couple do with a 50 bedroom house….do they change rooms every week or something ?
I like that show, those rooms in Europe are tiny. I saw one show where the kitchen was the size of the standard U.S bathroom.
If I ever win the lottery I’d like a house with nice gardens….cedars, rose garden etc……and a CEMENT POND for swimming
Alan’s last blog post..5 things you may not know about looking after your dog in the summer.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Yep, two parents, four siblings… two large dogs, four cats… and only one bathroom. That was fun… if by “fun” I happening to mean “OMG, I’m sure I’ve going to grow up with some kind of kidney disease!” Still… we all lived.
Currently, I live in a 3200 sf house and desperate want something MUCH smaller. Fortunately, Mr. Aerten is an architect and we’re about to put are lovely Victorian on the market. So by this time next year, I should be living in my dream house… room for sleeping, room for art-creating and computering, room for watching movies. Yeah, that’s about all I need. Our kitchen could be the size of a bathroom and it wouldn’t bother either of us. We don’t cook much either.
Kelly’s last blog post..Small Abstract No. 70
April 26th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I live in a tiny apartment with two of my kids. My “bedroom” is fold-out mat on the living room floor, and my clothes are stored in the coat closet (which is better than the place before, where they hung on the breakfast bar).
Yep, I’d say I could use a little more space.
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April 26th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I don’t know what our square footage is, but we don’t need much room. What we DO need is an upstairs and downstairs. In our case, I get the main part of the house and Dave lives in the basement. But the status symbol seeker in me would like something bigger — as long as it came with a maid. And a butler.
JD at I Do Things’s last blog post..I Was a 10-Year-Old Stylista so you don’t have to be
April 26th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I bought a house twice as big as my old (small) house, and guess what… I only use half of the space! Duh.
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April 26th, 2009 at 9:32 am
We have more space than we really need, too! There are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in our house. That means each person and each cat has their own room! Not really. I wish one room was all mine. There is a master bedroom, a guest room, an office and an exercise room. But one of the bathrooms is designated “the cat’s bathroom” since the litterbox is in there.
ps: We LOVE Househunters!
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April 26th, 2009 at 9:37 am
I would love extra bathrooms…one for each family member and more closet space to hide things!
CrAzY Working Mom’s last blog post..Camera Critters
April 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I think everyone really needs less space than society dictates–and that would be part of the problem with the mortgage crisis, don’t you think?? I do.
We live in 1800 sq. ft: 3 tiny bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, living room, kitchen/dining room, laundry room, and family room. Yes, I would love bigger rooms for more furniture (I am obsessed with furniture) and tons more closet space. I would even like a basement for a treadmill or something, but we truly don’t need more than what we have. In this lousy economy, I love my tiny house and yard—it’s cheap and easy to take care of.
Lin’s last blog post..I Heart Zombie Chickens
April 26th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Our house is 976 sq. feet but I don’t know if that includes the finished basement. So we have 3-levels and that is 2 levels too many. Plus we have one bathroom on the second floor. Since my husband has his office in the basement that’s 2 staircases to get to the potty! I would love a 3 bedroom/2 bath apartment with a small patio. I would also like closets – this house has exactly 2 – I’ve gotten really creative buying furniture for a small, long, narrow house. The first floor is just one big room. This is so not the house of my dreams. If I lived alone, a large studio would be just fine by me.
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April 26th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I’m guilty of wanting more space. It’s just the two of us but between hobbies and clothes and shoes (which are kinda like hobbies) there just isn’t enough room – I think we have around 1500 sq. ft. I guess I could get a couple of those “pods” and permanently attach them to the house – the neighbors would LOVE that!
Having said that, I have always said I really could live in a shoebox if I had to, because it is all about organization (you know, m file for “my” – hehe.) The only way I could really go down in space though is if it came with more OUTDOOR space.
diver daisy’s last blog post..Live a Little
April 26th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Sometimes I happen to be in he same room when my wife watches that show (nope I’ll never admit to watching it), and I think those people with their $500,000 budgets are insane. I can’t identify with them at all. We live in a house built in 1948, about 1100 sq I think, with almost 3 acres of land, a creek, a pond, tons of trees, and it’s just fine.
A Valdese Blogger’s last blog post..Our eBay Business: Postcards, Part 1
April 26th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Our house is about 1200 sq feet and we live in all of it. We have plenty of room, when we moved in 7 yrs ago,we didn’t have enough storage space so we got rid crap that we didn’t need, that solved that dilemma. My ideal house has windows all across the side of house that faces the ocean with a very large lanai running the same length and side, a kitchen and an outdoor shower and a potty. What else could I need?
Carla’s last blog post..Allergies
April 26th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I don’t know what the square footage of this apartment is but I know I could use more room. It’s a tiny one bedroom apartment for me and two children. Worse than one bedroom? One closet! I don’t even have a hall closet so that one closet holds clothes for three people, our shoes, extra bedding, towels and storage junk because I don’t have a storage space here either. This place has taught me the value of only keeping what I really need.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Chris Casey — I hear ya. I’d trade our two unused rooms for an enclosed back patio, where we’d put it to good use. In fact, we’re thinking of doing just that. Of course, we did just buy a new car, so that might be wishful thinking.
cardiogirl — HA! Take that! Isn’t it amazing how many people can live in a small space and not suffer too badly? It teaches you to plan better and respect each other’s space (mostly). We are a spoiled people. Oh, and when our one and only bathroom was renovated, we had to go to friends’ houses to shower and “stuff.”
Blofeld — Is that all?
Alan — I’ll tell you what they do. They spend too much money furnishing and cleaning those extra rooms and probably never use them. I love HH International. You definitely get the sense that U.S. residents have too much room. It’s an embarrassment of riches. Buy a Powerball ticket!
Kelly — Oh, man. You had all those pets, too? I think you have me beat. I bet your Victorian is gorgeous, and one can really get used to a lot of space. But, as you say, we really don’t need as much as we think.
Musingwoman — Ack! Tiny! But I bet you are an amazing organizer and are ruthless when it comes to clutter. If you don’t have the space for it, you can’t keep it (unless you have one of those storage places, which I find amazing. If you have to pay for off-site storage, you have too much crap.)
JD at I Do Things — We loved our old rancher home. {wipes a tear} One-floor living is the best for us, but it’s tough to find new single-floor homes. We looked before moving to our colonial. I want a maid and butler too. Actually, I want a live-in cook who can make nutritious, delicious meals for me. Is that too much to ask?
Tiggy — Yep. It happens. We have more than we need here, too. We were still happy with 700 less square feet in our first place.
Daisy the Curly Cat — I’ve seen pictures of your house on your blog, and you have a lovely home. It is nice that you can have your own room, especially when Harley bugs you! You can lock the door and write in your diary what a poopy head he can be. (Just kidding, Harley).
Crazy Working Mom — Yeah, I hear ya on the bathroom thing. That’s all I’d really want, too. I could live with less “show rooms” but I do love me my own bathroom.
Lin — Yes, I completely agree with you that many people got themselves in so much trouble because they bought more house than they needed and banks let them. It’s hard for many to buck the trend and take a little less than they want. The old adage “Live within your means.” still stands and always will. You’re like me. I don’t want more house to take care of.
Grace — There is nothing like one-level living. It’s our dream to find a nice ranch home some day, with just enough property and just enough privacy. We could halve our square footage and still be thrilled. Yeah, closets. You never have enough of them. I hope one day you have the house of your dreams!
diver daisy — I was guilty, too, when I was newly married. Coming from such a small home, I wanted more elbow room, and I wanted something brand new. But I do miss our first house, custom built in 1964. You will think I’m lying, but we had something like 40 cabinets and drawers in the kitchen. Yes, 40. I miss that place. Buy a couple of pods and call it a day.
A Valdese Blogger — Yeah, and I always wonder what they do for a living. And do their jobs give them so much stress that they can’t even enjoy the mansions they buy? A million dollar house is completely out of my realm. Your house sounds lovely. Good on you!
Carla — You’re right, I’m convinced people think they need so much house because they need a place to store all their “stuff.” If you don’t have stuff, you can live just fine on very little room. Your ideal house sounds divine!
April — Absolutely. If you don’t have the room, it’s very easy to decide what stays, what goes, and what you really need to buy new. I’ve lived in some small apartments myself, but it was only me. I feel for you with two kids. They have their stuff too. Where does that go?
April 26th, 2009 at 10:36 am
More space isn’t necessarily the answer. There are two of us living in 2800 sq ft and it’s way too much room… ‘cuz eventually it gets filled with crap. I’m constanly fighting the crap battle. I’ve removed darn near every flat surface in the house because hubby empties his pockets on them and never comes back for it. I even got rid of the dressers in the master bedroom for that very reason…. made him install a closet organizer with shelving and racks. You’d think he’d learn.
Marsha’s last blog post..Alright You Guys..
April 26th, 2009 at 10:43 am
My parents raised 7 kids in a 2 bath, 4 1/2 bedroom house that’s about 2100 sq. ft. (Yes, 4 1/2 bedrooms — they turned their large closet into a room for my brother.) We all had our own space and a huge yard to play in, and sharing rooms prepared us for college and marriage. These days, kids can’t share a bathroom, much less a bedroom, without feeling deprived.
I’ve seen house listings where there are 2 or 3 more baths than bedrooms. Who are the extra ones for, the cat?
Ladybugg’s last blog post..Happy Anniversary to My Parents (and Other Calamities)
April 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I love to watch house hunters, very addicting show! I live in 1200 sf house with a hubby a cat and a racecar.
3 bedroom, 2 bath (we each get our own!yahoo!) he gets the garage for his racecar, I get a craft room, then we have an office/guest room and the master bedroom which is big enough for an exercise corner. Small galley kitchen due to being in Vegas where people don’t cook, too much food out there to be had and we tend to eat out a lot! I love my house and it is perfect, oh and a big backyard with pool makes me never want to leave.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:51 am
4,000 Sq feet, money to burn some people, as long as there is a bed to sleep, a room to watch TV, a kitchen to cook in,a room to eat in then that’s enough for me, oh yea and a bathroom to .. well you know
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April 26th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Kathy, I forgot to mention that their toy box is also in that same closet. Needless to say it’s packed. Since they were very little, though, we’ve had a one toy box rule. If it starts to overflow it’s time to decide what can go to charity. We actually go through it every year before Christmas to get rid of things before they get new things.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
People are NUTS if they need that much house to clean. But I guess when you’ve got more money than sense you get what you deserve.
dizzblnd’s last blog post..Reader Participation Sunday
April 26th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I guess I have an average sizesd house. I’m not really sure. I think it would be cool to live in a smallish house by myself and maybe a pet. But I would definately have to live in a beach town. Right near the beach.
Because that would be too cool.
Regan’s last blog post..Girl Scout Cookies
April 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am
We have about 1200 feet in a 2 story townhouse for a family of four + 1 cat. It’s enough room except that I wish it had more storage space.
pussreboots’s last blog post..Review: Quickstone
April 26th, 2009 at 11:57 am
My wife and I have an apartment that’s about 1,100 square feet. No kids, but we share it with 4 cats. Plenty of room for all.
My favorite part is that we have no storage, so she can’t pile up useless crap.
John J Savo, the Authoring Auctioneer’s last blog post..Sometimes I’m a Poet
April 26th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
My dream home would be one that expands and contracts. It would be just right for most of the time, but then I could hit a switch and add temporary bedrooms and bathrooms when my adult children and/or others come for visits. Then, when they leave, I’d hit the switch to get rid of the extra parts of the house.
What seems to be wrong with most housing is what people “call” the rooms. I don’t really need but one place for eating. Call it a dining room, a breakfast room or whatever. I would like more closets with shelving and drawers built-in. And more counter or work space in the kitchen. Oh, yes, while I’m dreaming, I’d like one of those secret or hidden rooms — just like in the movies.
Sherry at EX Marks the Spot’s last blog post..A Little Bit of ‘Splainin’
April 26th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
i love house hunters! i love the old ones where the houses were not quite so neat and tidy. we have a ranch style, 1350 sq ft for the two of us and the dogs. it’s plenty of room. our yard is too big, i need a gardener. i keep looking at condos in hawaii. i am sure i could sacrifice some of the square footage for warm ocean breezes.
)
puglette
Puglette’s last blog post..Oh, Ollie
April 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I watch these programs too, and it never ceases to amaze me that the more money people have, the bigger their wishlist. You would think you could easily find the house of your dreams with lots of money, but they struggle just as hard as the people with a small budget!
We live in house of 450 m3 with me, my husband and our five children, and it’s just fine.
Running mommy’s last blog post..I run, therefore I rock!
April 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I need a house big enough to build an indoor basketball court(for rainy days). Anything else is totally unlivable.
C.B.Jones’s last blog post..I’m thinking about ordering this
April 26th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
The husband and I lived in two different 800-square-foot (crummy) duplexes, while we saved for a house. When we were finally ready to buy, we built our house, which is just under 1,700 square feet. My basic requirements: two full bathrooms, and an attached garage. As an added bonus, we each have our own office area, but mine is currently junked up with the overflow from his office. (He’s a packrat.) But my bathroom is always sparkly-clean, because he doesn’t use it, which makes for a much happier marriage.
absepa’s last blog post..Flickr Fun Friday
April 26th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Thank God you didn’t die. I almost did until I got a foyer.
Beau Horner’s last blog post..Camping is For People without Ceilings
April 26th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I have no idea of the square footage of our house, but it’s in the UK so will be smaller than yours I imagine. It’s a 3 bedroomed house with a converted garage giving us an extra room. We also have an extension built on, which is a kitchen and we are spilling out of it! If we moved to a larger house we would be spilling out of it in a year also.
I can’t think of anything that would make me want to downsize.
babs – beetle’s last blog post..Oh my word! It’s carol!
April 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Bigger is not necessarily better. The more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to do and the more stuff you have to lose. AND the more stuff you have to clean!
I used to live in one hotel room. It can be done, and clean up is a snap. I’ve since graduated to a two-bedroom abode, and it’s plenty big enough, although tiny by a lot of standards. I’m happy. That’s all that matters.
netta’s last blog post..It Must Be Monday
April 26th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I live in 286 sq foot bachelor apartment, for 2 part time, and I have a kitchenette with a full stove and fridge and a bistro table. Most of the time it’s just me. I probably need more space, and eventually will get that way, but for the most part it’s fine. I have a room divider for the bed that I never use, a chair and desk (since my computer acts as my TV/work) and the rest is a sewing area. I have a closet/storage/pantry that’s off the rest, and I can put a single bed in there fine (this closet/pantry/storage also has one of the 2 windows).
Do I need more? Sure, it IS a little cramped. Can I live with less? Not legally.
SewDucky’s last blog post..Skants Revisited
April 26th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
“All seven of us shared ONE bathroom and we didn’t die.” That made me LOL. So true! That’s how we grew up too. Never imagined having more than 1 bathroom – crazy talk.
I must admit – I’d love to have a 2nd bedroom in my apartment only because with 1 bedroom all my junk ends up in the “dining” room …which is unfortunately visible to everyone who drops over. With a 2nd bedroom all my crap could be quietly behind a closed door. LOL
Oh sure – I could just get rid of the crap – but let’s face it, that’s not gonna happen.
DrowseyMonkey’s last blog post..Eye Spy
April 26th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I never saw that House Hunter show but it sounds like something I’d like. I’ll have to check it out. We have plenty of rooms but they are all on the small side. Just the two of us and our two cats live comfortably in a bungalow. It has 4 bedrooms (we use one as a den, one as the computer room and one as a man cave plus our bedroom), 3 bathrooms and a finished basement. It’s awesome, the perfect house for us. The only thing I miss is back porch.
Karen, author of “my Funny Dad, Harry”’s last blog post..5 Things I Learned This Week of 2009–Part 16
April 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Marsha — Crap is the problem, no doubt. Ack! I have a husband who empties pockets, too, on a counter in the kitchen. I once tried to put a pretty flat basket there to at least keep it more manageable, but he had a meltdown. So we are back to an explosion of pocket crap.
Ladybugg — Love that your brother got a closet! Agreed that kids don’t know what having to share space means. For a time, my two sisters and I shared an extremely small bedroom. I cannot believe three beds fit in there and a dresser. Yeah, bathrooms. We almost never use our powder room on the first floor, which is why it’s annoying when we do because there’s never any TP in there when you need it. “Honey?”
Jackie — I tape nearly every show. It’s fun to see what the new owners do to the place after they’ve bought it. I am convinced that my husband and I each having our own bathroom has saved our marriage. They should put that in vows or something: “I will not encroach on my spouse’s bathroom. Never the toiletries shall meet.” Your house sounds perfect.
Karen at Blazing Minds — We are of like mind. I’m a simple girl with simple needs. Our final house to retire in will be smaller than this one. No problem.
April — What an excellent system, especially because kids tend to forget the oldest toys anyway, except for their all-time favorites. Way to go!
dizzblnd — I spent the morning mopping the kitchen floor and the afternoon vacuuming. I would love less house to clean. I would also love if my cats didn’t make 90% of the mess.
Regan — You have a good-sized house for an only child. Relish it! I know you love the beach. You don’t need much house if you have the beach.
pussreboots — Sounds about right. No one ever seems to have enough storage. I feel bad for the packrats out there.
John J Savo, the Authoring Auctioneer — My husband couldn’t have been happier to see how little I was bringing into our marriage. No junk to speak of. I take after my mother. If she didn’t need it, she didn’t buy it. If we didn’t have it, nothing to move. Easy peasy.
Sherry at EX Marks the Spot — Awesome. Did you ever see those crazy expensive RV homes that expand to almost double their driving size? Nuts, but very, very cool. So you want a secret room, eh? You mean like a panic room?
Puglette — I could do with less yard myself. Not a fan of mowing, but it does give us some distance from the neighbors. I watched another HH today, a couple searching for a condo in the Caribbean. It killed me that the wife complained about one house being a major fixer-upper. BUT! You could see the ocean and rolling hills from every room in their house, including from the shower! That’s the one they went with ultimately. I would take that in a second.
Running mommy — Yep, you spend up to what you have, which is the root of so many problems. What’s wrong with going smaller and having a bigger savings account?
C.B. Jones — To dream….
absepa — Good for you! So living small at first had its benefits, huh? Yes, two bathrooms are a life-saver, no doubt about it.
Beau Horner — A foyer can make a big difference. Although with us, we hardly ever walk into the house from the front door (usually the garage). Shame, because we have it decorated so nicely.
Babs Beetle — When we stayed in Paris in a 10′x10′ hotel room, we marveled at how well we stored everything for the days we spent there. Tiny? Yes! Enough? You bet! Cool that you could use the garage as extra space. It’s kind of sickening to see all that room in our house used for the dumb cars. Well, and gardening stuff, and trash cans and a myriad other things. Maybe we do have some junk after all.
netta — Absolutely. You grow with your “stuff.” If we had less stuff, we wouldn’t need the room, now would we? I agree one can live quite comfortably in tiny spaces. It’s a matter of how well you tidy up and how few things you decide you MUST have.
SewDucky — Wow, I’m impressed. That’s very small. You really know what you’re doing as far as space optimization goes. Maybe you need your own show on HGTV!
DrowseyMonkey — Most of the houses in our immediate neighborhood had only one bathroom. We didn’t think anything of timing our “visits” just right. Although there were some “pee dance” moments in the hallway. Hurry up in there! Yes, an extra bedroom is perfect for hiding your stuff. I’m not happy how much crap we have in our unused rooms. After writing this post, I did clean it up a bit. So I’m very pleased with myself today.
Karen — I do love that we have a back porch, and it’s covered too. We’re talking about enclosing it so we can have more room to make up for not using our dining and sitting rooms. Maybe when the new car is paid off.
April 26th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
We have 2300 square feet. I’d say it’s about right for the three of us. I can’t imagine having 4000 square feet. Sometimes I hate cleaning what we have. Just saying.
Have a terrific day.
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April 26th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I have far more room than I need but I love it. Its an old home with big rooms (to hold more junk my dear) and I have the basement for storms and an upstairs junk room. The star of the house is the screened in front porch that goes across the front of the house and the attached carport that was built with the house.
grannyann’s last blog post..Next Day After Tornado
April 26th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Do you really need anything bigger than 4×7? You can work your whole life for a gadzillion square feet but most people end up in a 4×7 area anyway. 4 x 7? That’s the size of the average casket.
MA Fat Woman’s last blog post..What Would Jesus Tweet? (WWJT)
April 26th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I like what I have in my apt. to be interesting and make me feel good, but I’ve never been the type of person to have to have THINGS. Simple and useful is best for me. I have a nice size two room apt. for NYC standards and it suits me well. It’s kind of fun to see how creative you can get and still have your place look like a grown up lives there, space-wise.
Lauren’s last blog post..The Chopping Block
April 26th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
We are just finishing up building a 3,000+ square foot house. And yes, it’s way more than we need. But it is nice to have a room for the ping pong table.
diesel’s last blog post..Still not back…
April 26th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
“All seven of us shared ONE bathroom and we didn’t die.” OMFG. I would have died!
I used to have my own condo. It was 1700 square feet of bliss. (it was hell to clean, but I loved it nonetheless) Now that I live @ my parents house, I live in a teeny tiny purple bedroom, but I love every inch of my space.
4,000 square feet is MASSIVE, and that lady is out of her mind!
meleah rebeccah’s last blog post..Meleah’s Week In Review Via Facebook Status Update Style
April 26th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
1200 sq ft for a family of three. But when we built in 1987, I insisted on a bungalow; sure two stories looked cool, but I wanted a house I could grow old in; without stairs everywhere. Sure we have a full basement to store the crap (and my Star Wars collection), but with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the main floor, we have more than enough room. What I really wanted, and got, was a big yard. Ours is 250 feet long, with over 30 trees so I have my own forest. But the best thing is, we paid it all off last year…
Maureen’s last blog post..I Killed Christmas
April 26th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
My house is tiny, (1000 sq ft or less) and enough for us. Ideally, I’d like to have a slightly larger house because I want my own bedroom, but holy cow, 4000 sq feet is huge. I grew up in a 3 bedroom ranch with 1 bathroom and 1 sister, and it was plenty big. I don’t know the sq footage, but I’d guess no more than 1500. It had a full basement, but that was mainly for storage and the washer/dryer.
Joe’s last blog post..Technology roars into Casa Crotchety
April 26th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I live alone in a virtual crackerbox of a house at only 925 square feet, I also raised my son as a single parent in this home.
In addition to fixing what’s wrong with the house, I would like to have another bathroom, even if it’s just a sink, toilet, and shower stall. The one bathroom I have now is so small that I have to sit on the toilet sideways to keep from having to put my feet inside the tub.
Libertine’s last blog post..Skewed Morality
April 26th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Our house is about 1550 sq ft. but it is not the house that I need it is the back yard!
)
It is big and beautiful and it is what sold me on the house. Besides I look at it this way the more house you have the more house you have to clean. Thanks but no thanks
The Mind of a Mom’s last blog post..Celebrate Sunday ~ Worshiping
April 26th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
2800 square feet, but we use it all. We had a formal dining/living room, but we walled it of and it’s my husband’s shop.
Could we get by on less? Yes, but it wouldn’t be as comfortable.
We have 2.5 baths in this house and they ALL get used.
Stephanie Barr’s last blog post..Ask Me …. Uh…. Almost Anything – the Canadian Edition
April 27th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I live in 1350 sq ft house and its enough for the family of four 4000 sq ft would be really great but can’t afford
April 27th, 2009 at 3:53 am
It’s not more house I want, it’s more yard. I have a quarter acre, which is barely enough for the landscaping I have done. Just this weekend, I extended a bed to include three more shrubs.
I don’t want grass (well, yeah, some…enough to throw a Frisbee a decent distance), but beds and a veggie garden.
Oh, our house? Five of us (three kids) and we have more than enough space….I wonder if my wife would mind if I just lopped off the dining room for that veggie garden?
April 27th, 2009 at 4:55 am
Comedy Plus — One way to avoid cleaning is …. avoid cleaning. I used to go nuts every Saturday until I remembered how much I used to like Saturdays. We got reacquainted and I don’t miss cleaning as much.
grannyann — Ah, yes. The porch. Newer houses in my neighborhood don’t often have them, and when they do, no no one sits on them. I love my back covered patio. It adds a good chunk of living space in warmer temps.
MA Fat Woman — Ha! And how ’bout Tokyo hotels? You get a casket and a TV. And you pay for the privilege.
Lauren — Absolutely. And I think there’s a small movement toward simplicity in our homes, thanks to the economy. Do you think people will finally learn it’s OK to not have everything?
diesel — Ah, now we know why you built it. When are you done with your place anyway?
meleah rebeccah — The worst was through our teenage years. Lots of screaming to get out in the morning before school. Good times. You’ve proven one can downsize and still be happy. Good on you!
Maureen — I’m glad you have a shrine, of sorts, for your Star Trek stuff. And I hope it’s well-protected down there. We had a small flood once and lost some of Dave’s baseball cards. Your house sounds lovely, and I’m jealous it’s paid off. Seven more years for us!
Joe — I’m guessing our first ranch house was 1,000 sq. ft. too. Perfectly comfortable. And if we’d stayed, it would have been paid off long ago. That’s the bummer part. I’m guilty of having wanted more.
Libertine — Not bad and I bet your son didn’t feel deprived. Wow! Some bathroom arrangement. Of course, how long do we really spend there anyway?
The Mind of a Mom — I sort of look at our yard that way. I’m not a gardener, so my big yard is really serving my need for privacy. In the house I grew up in, you could be talking in the kitchen and the neighbors could hear everything if their windows were open, too. Hated that. I hear ya on the cleaning thing. Thanks, but no.
Stephanie Barr — I remember thinking how I wanted to knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room. We might have contractors compare the price of doing that vs. enclosing the back porch. Either way, I want to make better use of each space. It kills me to use the dining room for “stuff.”
Miami Web Design — Yeah, in some markets, you’re looking at a million dollars for 4K sq. feet. I just can’t see the worth in that unless you’re rolling in it and have no worries about the economy.
BabaBooey — Hey, if you don’t eat in the dining room, I say go for it! You reminded me of former neighbors who used to share their garden bounty with us. We were disappointed when they moved and the new owner tore out their garden and planted grass seed. We wept for it. Veggie gardens are a wonderful thing, especially when you get the fruits of someone else’s labor.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:48 am
That house in the picture isn’t by any chance the Peak District mansion featured in the original ‘Brideshead Revisited’, is it? If so, I’ve been there. And its HUGE.
Anyhoo, I have no idea how big our present house is, but I can tell you we lived 8 years in an apartment so small that in order to be out of each other’s sight we had to go to the bathroom. AND close the door. Our wee cottage is just right, if only we’d stop buying books. We’re running out of shelf space.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:17 am
10′x10′ is tiny. That’s about the size of a small bedroom in the UK. Our lounge (living room) is 12′x 23′ and I would like a larger one. 23′x 23′ would be nice. I like space and light
babs – beetle’s last blog post..Oh my word! It’s carol!
April 27th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Two parents, one grandmother, five siblings, four bedrooms, ONE bathroom in a half-double house. Amazingly, I never felt cramped and don’t remember waiting too long for the bathroom. After I got married, I moved to an 1100 sq ft rancher. Eighteen years and two kids later, we’re now in a 4300 sq ft house that my husband built. Can’t say I miss my old place at all.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I FINALLY figured out over my lifetime that the amount of crap you have is in direct proportion to the amount of space you have. I can fill rooms with useless crap that we’ll never use like nobody’s business! I’ve begun a mission to de-crap my house.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:58 am
We have 3,200 liveable space with an add’l 2,000 in the basement that Hubby wants to finish… IT’S JUST 2 PEOPLE AND 2 DOGS FOR HEAVEN SAKES!! He likes very large houses but to be honest I would prefer about 2,000 ft. sq. cottage. Maybe in my next life?
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
Di’s last blog post..Shades Of Purple
April 27th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I have lived in many different places, from one room efficiencies to turn of the century farmhouses. Currently we live in a rancher with a full finished basement. Have no idea of the square footage, but we have 3 br 2 bath, living, dining, family room, kitchen, and sunroom on the main floor, 1 br, 1 bath, a bar and pool room in the basement, and 1/2 acre lot. The lot is landscaped, has a tiny pond, and a deck.
What would I change? Well, this house was built in the 60’s, then added on. The additions are roomy, but the original rooms were small. I want a bigger kitchen, a foyer, real front porch (ours is a small fake cement one) and the washer and dryer on the main floor. Oh, and a better driveway set up. I prefer the circle driveway.
shadowsrider’s last blog post..So much for the Squirrel….
April 27th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I have my 10*15 foot dorm room and i’m pretty content. I don’t have a roommate so i get all that space to myself
keep in mind though that i don’t have a kitchen or a bathroom. If i had all of that with what i have i would still be content. I don’t like big houses i get scared being in them by myself.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I would love to have a house like that, because they usually come with grounds with gardens, garages or stables… things like that.
I don’t need a house that big, and in reality, would require a maid to clean it, since we would not. We’d be outside all the time
April 27th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I moved recently from a 3000 square foot house to a 1200 sq foot house. I had just as many bedrooms plus an extra living room in the old house. The rooms were just much bigger. I use my dining room in this house for dining but only because there is no room in the kitchen for a table. It’s actually kind of nice to be forced to sit in the dining room. I have no wasted space in our smaller house but then I have no closet space either. Having a smaller house has forced me to let go of my pack rat ways. If I won the lottery I’d fix up my house, get new siding that doesn’t make it look like a giant vomited on my house but I wouldn’t even consider moving. I love the neighborhood too much.
Jen’s last blog post..XM Radio
April 27th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I forgot to ad that we have two bathrooms in this house and no one is ever waiting to use then. I do not let my son or his friends use the upstairs bathroom however and my daughter and I do not use his. It’s a fair trade. The other thing I love about having the smaller house is that it is paid for.
Jen’s last blog post..XM Radio
April 27th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Our house is 1600 square feet and it is more than enough room for myself, my husband and our 10 year old daughter. Oh, and our 105 pound labrador. I am also amazed at the amount of space some people think they “need.” I think it’s more to do with keeping up with the Joneses than anything else.
Lori’s last blog post..Hittin’ the Road
April 27th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I just think people have lost it. They feel they need to be just that much better, and the more they have, the bigger things are, the better they are.
Mary @ Holy Mackerel’s last blog post..I Hate Multiple Choice,Part 1
April 27th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I have a three bedroom house and a family friend was asking me, “Where’s the other bathroom?”
Um, there IS no other bathroom. This is a Victorian house. I’m lucky ONE bathroom was installed and that I don’t have to pee out a window or something.
There is me there, and a friend who’s currently renting from me, and a room for a guest. It’s not Grand Central Station.
But who’d've thunk– bathroom = status!
Jenn Thorson’s last blog post..Entertainment Nanosecond’s Gen Y Adventure Films of 2025
April 27th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
2000 sq. feet for me and a 16 year old boy, who is usually hovering somewhere inside my 4 sq. foot bubble. I don’t know why I live in anything larger than my office.
Don’s last blog post..Can Parallel Lives Intersect?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I pretty much live in one room these days. Wasn’t easy to move a one bedroom apartment into just one room.
Laura’s last blog post..Watering your Fish
April 27th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Shieldmaiden96 — That picture is a random mansion I found. I say if you can get lost in your own house, it’s too big. Eight years in a tiny apartment and you’re still married. That is something. Books. Yeah, got those too. I need at least one more bookcase to hold the piles on the floor in our sitting room.
Babs Beetle — Luckily, we knew it was temporary. Maybe that helped us cope? In our old house, we had a 20×15 living room and loved it. Oh, and sunshine that would blind you. I miss that old place.
Susan — Damn. You got me beat. Although we did only have two small bedrooms for five of us for a stretch. Holy crap! Your husband built a 4,300 sq ft house? You know how to pick ‘em. Congrats!
Peg at Lehigh — When you’re done de-crapping yours, come over and de-crap mine. I’ll supervise. Thanks.
Di — You’re one lucky lady. But seriously, how do you clean it? Do you use all the rooms? Inquiring minds want to know.
shadowsrider — You have the same problem we do. Whoever built it figured everyone needs many rooms, but what we prefer is less rooms, only larger. As for the driveway, I’m just glad I have an attached garage. I never knew how much I wanted it until I had it. Nothing like not having to clean your car off of snow before work on cold winter morns.
Sarah — Oh, man. You’re lucky. When my sisters and I took my niece to college and saw the size of the room she was to share with a roommate, we drove away thanking our lucky stars. Big scary houses are bad. Cozy is good!
Caroline — When my husband and I visited Versailles, we much preferred the grounds outside than all the gaudy, big stuff inside. Of course, I guess I wouldn’t complain if I was insanely wealthy.
Jen — Location is everything really. Did I mention I live right underneath an airport flight path? I have to weigh that pain against having a new house like I wanted. I juggle that idea every time a loud one goes over the house at midnight. I swear, separate bathrooms are keeping the peace all over the world right now.
Lori — Geesh. A 105-pound dog? It’s like another person! Yeah, a big part of the problem is trying to keep up with the Joneses. That’s also what got a lot of people in trouble that now has our economy in the pooper.
Mary at Holy Mackerel — It’s a disease, really. We always want bigger and better everything, but at what cost?
Jenn Thorson — Funny you should mention that. Was watching a show about Paris and one of the hosts showed a 500 year old building that had overhangs purposely built so that you could throw your “deposits” out your window and straight down to a sewage system. Lovely. But they survived. Why can’t we?
Don — LOL. All you want is your 4 foot bubble! Poor guy. I feel for ya.
Laura — Ouch. That’s tough. But if you’re happy, the space won’t matter, that’s what I always say.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
We’re leaving our 3000 sf country house for a 1500 sf ranch in town. I’m so excited! No more stairs! No more places for clutter to accumulate. No more country-management implements (weed-whacker, chainsaw, pruning equipment, etc.) No more bears on the property; no more driving for 4 miles just to get milk; no more being stranded in the snow. Ah, bliss. I grew up in a 1500 sf suburban ranch, and it was great. Our place has been “too much house” for us for ages. I hate that it takes me all weekend to clean it! Four bathrooms for three people. Madness! My new motto is simplify, simplify, simplify. Yes!
April 28th, 2009 at 7:38 am
We have around 2000 sf and Mom says we need more closets or less junk!
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids’s last blog post..Toes Tuesday with Ellie
April 28th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I have absolutely no idea how big our house is, because we don’t tend to sell houses by the square foot over here, only office space is sold that way.
We have a five bedroom house and there’s two of us. Wanna make something of it? LOL!
We use one room as an office, one as a junk room, one (of course) as our bedroom, and we have two guest rooms. One gets used often, the other occasionally – but it doubles as a craft room.
We could probably manage with a bit less, but it’s lovely to have so much room!
April 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I’ve stopping by the drawer since the “good old” ec days. Oh they were fun. I have an award for you. You can pick it up over on my bloggy! Thanks for all the laughs!
~Jamie @ kids..me & rawiii’s last blog post..Zombie Chickens??
April 28th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
We live in a house that is 2,000 square feet (family of three – me, wife and daughter (not counting the cat)). I can tell you what it’s all about – keeping up with the Jones’. That’s it – having a big house is nothing but a status symbol. It’s too bad that people have to have a big house just to look important.
My Levis 501
April 28th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I own a 750 square foot two bedroom post war bungalow with a full but unfinished basement.
It’s more than enough room for me and my dog.
I bought it from the original owner. That’s right, I bought the house in 2005 from the original owner, who had it built in 1950.
She and her husband raised 3 kids in it.
Nice.
Mike’s last blog post..Unchecked Brain
April 28th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
My house is about 1600 sq ft. I share it with Gandalf and Grayson (my 2 cats!) and my parents. I’m giving serious consideration to buying a house down the street from me.
I only has about 300 square feet more, that’s not the issue. It’s more about the layout and openness. It also has a much better kitchen – we three all actually cook! – a larger laundry room, a screened porch and a pool! I am lusting after the pool and screened porch.
It came on the market a few months after I bough my current home or I would be living there now! My neighbor tells me they plan to sell July-ish and I have first refusal. Mulling and lusting, lusting and mulling…
Barb Gretter – WillThink4Wine’s last blog post..alex the neighbor dog
April 28th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Sounds like we grew up in similar circumstances, Kathy, but my family moved around a lot and there were a variety of sizes. Probably the most years were spent in a single-wide 3-bedroom mobile home, which we lived in when I graduated from high school. When you have to flatten yourself against a wall to pass someone in the hallway, you know space is limited.
As a society, we seem to go in cycles. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were a lot of very large Victorian homes built. Then we went through a time after World War II where most homes were 1200-1400 square foot ranch style homes. Now we’re back to most homes being over 2000 square feet.
A few years ago, I was visiting my oldest son and his family (wife and two daughters) at their new home. As they were giving me a tour of the 3000sq ft house, with a three car garage and a full basement, my daughter-in-law said that it was a good “starter home” but she couldn’t wait until they could afford something bigger. I shook my head and bit my tongue as I thought about the 800 sq ft house they had just moved out of.
Lee’s last blog post..Sunday Scenery
April 28th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Deb — I hate stairs, especially where laundry is concerned. Your new arrangement DOES sound like bliss! No bears are good. I’m rooting for you for a simple life. Less house means more living, doesn’t it?
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids — I don’t think anyone would say they need less closets. They should put them in the floor, and you open them like a hatch.
Jay — Five bedrooms, holy smokes! It is indeed nice to have the extra rooms for multiple purposes. Though I’m finding by reading the comments that people are doing really well with less. It’s true we fill out to the space we have.
Jamie at kids, me & rawiii — Thanks for dropping back, even without EC! And thank you for the award. Really appreciate it.
Mark — I’m embarrassed to say that was a bit of my motivation for moving to a larger home. But more so because I grew up in such a tiny space. I felt like I needed it. But now that I’ve had it, I realize I can do with less. Funny, huh? We don’t always want what we say we want when we actually get it.
Mike — I can see that being just the right amount of room. Wow, they crammed quite a family into 750 feet, didn’t they?
Bart Gretter – WillThink4Wine — I sometimes think I want a pool (we have the yard size for a nice inground), but the work? No thanks! Lust away and I hope you get it!
Lee — Yikes! A sideways squeeze? Now that’s small! I have to say I don’t care too much for newer homes. Very vanilla, little character unless you put it in yourself. Shame. Laughing at the starter home comment. Different strokes, right?
April 28th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
3000 square feet for 3 humans, 4 cats and 1 pooch. I bet it’s been 6-8 months since I actually walked upstairs. Very sad.
Lori@Not Always Charming’s last blog post..Birthday Wisdom
April 28th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I recently told someone locally that we could cut several rooms off the house and never notice. She said, “you didn’t get those extra rooms because you had any use for them. Those extra square feet are how you bought into this better school district.”
There are 4 of us. Our last house had 1800 square feet and we didn’t ever go into 400 of those square feet.
This house has 3600 square feet (!!) and we rattle around in here like four marbles in a big box. It’s crazy. It’s crazy that neighbors tell me about little families like ours (or smaller) who “upgraded” to even bigger digs in even fancier neighborhoods. It boggles my mind. Hubby’s looking at an overseas gig, and I’m thinking, “small, small city apartment… FUN!”
Wendy’s last blog post..If You Didn’t Hate Me Before…
April 28th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I thought about just reading and not commenting today, but I have to comment so I can say it here and not to Hubby to freak him out: I want a bigger house so we can have at least one more child and we can put that child somewhere other than in our room or in our bath tub to sleep. There ya’ go. Just one more kid, though, not 17 or 18 more like the Duggars. Sheesh! Right now our house is two bedrooms (used to be three and don’t ask me how those other people had three kids in this house. No way!), a kitchen, two bathrooms, a weird little room behind our upstairs bathroom where we put the cat pans, and two living rooms. The house is..well, weird. And old. This house was built in the very early 1900s. Anyhooo…I wanna knew house!
Lisa (Jonny’s Mommy)’s last blog post..Swine Flu: A hypochondriac’s nightmare
April 28th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I have 1300 square feet, and I really don’t use but half of it. I’m a single person. Why do I need 2.5 baths and 3 bedrooms? I’d do fine with two bedrooms (I like having a home office) and one bath. Actually, I would settle for a one room shack so long as it wasn’t in this neighborhood and had a yard that could go longer than a day without being in need of a good pooper scoop.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:57 am
A house that has a big kitchen to move around, a bay window that welcomes the sun every morning, a huge masters bedroom with bath and of course my wife needs a HUGE closet. Now that would be my ideal house. This one is so huge.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:49 am
To be fair, as Babs says, houses in the UK tend to be smaller than comparable homes in the US, because as a country, we’re cramped. Our largest room is about 13 foot by 20 foot, and the smallest is about the same size as a good sized walk-in bedroom closet in the US. Literally only about 6 foot by 8 foot. Barely big enough for a single bed and a cupboard.
We bought the house when we had two sons, but they’ve gone now (thank heavens, LOL!), but like many here, I was brought up in very cramped accommodation: a family of five in two bedrooms, with one bathroom, no dining room, no built in cupboards of any kind, no garage, no garden even. Just six small rooms in the whole house, and that was only because the bathroom and actual toilet were separate!
Oh, wait … we did have a lock-up bike shed though! It seemed like about half a mile from the house, but I never got to use it. *Pouts*
April 29th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Lori at Not Always Charming — If our bedroom was on the first floor, I’d never go upstairs either. The only other room worth anything up there is where a desktop PC sits. But now, with wireless and a laptop, I don’t even need that!
Wendy — Our experiences are similar. I wouldn’t object either to being within city boundaries and have to drive less. A friend of mine lives in the country and it takes 15 minutes to get to a main road. And then another 10 to get to stores. I wouldn’t last a week there.
Lisa (Jonny’s Mommy) — Your secret’s safe with me. And 82 other people. The cat pans always go in “weird little rooms” don’t they? Here’s hoping you get a new non-weird house!
Staci — I feel like the only reason for a second bath is if we have plumbing problems in the first one. Although it’s nice to have two for two people. One room shacks aren’t bad, provided the room is 700 sq. ft.
Francis Cobra — I wish our kitchen was a tad larger, which is why I want to convert the dining room into part of the kitchen. Two of us can mill around in it OK, but we do have the occasional “Why must you be in here when I’m in here?” moments.
Jay — Your 6×8 foot room sounds like walk-in closets around these parts. Your family home sounds like ours. We had the rooms, but oh so tiny! We used to have a cute little one-car garage at our first house, but it was only used for yardening storage because you could put your car in it, but good luck opening the doors and getting out!
April 29th, 2009 at 8:44 am
My house now is about 1500 sqft, it has 2 bathrooms, but one is so narrow, you can hardly turn around! I’d trade it in a minute for a laundry room. I grew up in the islands in a 900 sqft house, family of 5…w/outhouse, but our front yard was the Atlantic Ocean! So it was worth it.
DJ’s last blog post..Garden Progress
April 29th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I have no idea the size of my house but I know it’s small. Regardless, as long as I have a place to park my butt when I eat and lay my head when I sleep, I’m a happy guy.
Preston’s last blog post..The Tortilla Press in Collingswood, NJ – Oustanding Brunch and Dinner
April 29th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I can totally relate to this – we watch house hunters, especially International edition for this very reason – see how much people willing to pay. Amazing and makes one appreciate what we have
Alex’s last blog post..3 Mistakes That Kill You Blogging To Make Money Efforts
April 30th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I think it is not just about our living needs but the money, lifestyle, and our living habit. We(me, my wife and our son) live in 2000 square feet home which is more than our needs. I only occupy 120 of that which is my working room and I spend most of my time there. When we need higher status, nothing can satisfy us until spending big money.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
DJ — I think you just beat everyone here after announcing you grew up with an outhouse. I think that deserves a Junk Drawer magnet. Email me at kathyblog07[at]gmail[dot]com if you want one. Cripes almighty!
Preston — Wow, you’re easy to please! But when you get down to brass tacks, that’s really all any of us should need. Want is another matter.
Alex – Did you happen to catch the Tokyo one? As insane, if not more, than European prices!
Steve at Toronto Condos — I, too, spent 90% of my time in about that amount of space. Except in the summer when I can sit out on the patio with my laptop and do bloggy things. That’s why I’d love to enclose it so it’s a three-season room. Maybe some day.
May 1st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Goodness…I have no idea what the average square footage was of the assortment of houses I lived in growing up…they ranged from a tiny 3 bedroom ranch, to a sprawling 200 year old 4 bedroom 2.5 bath old farmhouse. At any given time we had up to 6 people living in a one bath house (which we rapidly found out had a septic tank sized for 2 people–YIKES!).
Now…I live in a 2200 square ft house with my hubby and 5 kids…with potential to add a 250 ft room over the garage and finish the 1000 ft walk out basement. It’s a lot of space…but we do use all of it. Of course we run three businesses out of the house…
Jenn’s last blog post..You Need to Eat a Peck of Dirt Before You Die
May 14th, 2009 at 5:10 am
Jenn — You sound like you’re using your current space very efficiently. As for the one bath for six people, I can relate. It’s the sort of thing you learn to live with, but you also cherish the idea of having one all for yourself. We are indeed spoiled.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:14 pm
I just moved out of the city with my husband and four year old son into a 1940’s house. Before, we lived in a carbon copy of this one minus the second bedroom. Our son spent his baby years in what was supposed to be the dining room.
This little brick house on a hill will be perfect forever.
We are glad to be away from the dangers of the city; If we
need more space we can now go outside. The big old front porch is a dream.
I’m new and commenting on old posts. You don’t have to respond to all of them.
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:30 am
wOOT? 4000 sq. foot house not enough? We are a family of 6 and are quite happy with our 1200 sq. foot house.
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
misspiggytoes — It sounds like you have yourself the perfect place. Do you know how many people would kill for a big old front porch? That includes me. Mine is so small, I think it was put there just for show.
Builder — Sure, we did it and I don’t remember there being too many problems. It teaches patience and learning to live with less. Not a bag thing at all.
June 24th, 2009 at 5:16 am
I live in an apartment with 3 rooms and I manage, I guess that they are willing to blow big money on a huge house to brag at family dinners. At the end of the day they will still bunker up in 2 or 3 rooms? It’s amazing.
Daniel @ Save Your Marriage’s last blog post..Can I Save My Marriage
June 25th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Daniel — You hit the nail on the head. So many of the extra rooms never get used. What we need is a kitchen, living room and bedroom and not much else.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I’d like to buy a big house in the downtown, maybe about 2000 sq. I need a big dinning hall for my family, and I need at least one extra room for my parents.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:12 am
everyone just needs only one house where you can find happiness that belongs to you.
Alice Radio’s last blog post..How to Make Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza)
July 16th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
I think there is freedom in finding happiness with things that don’t cost anything, because they can’t really be taken away from you…So, although we probably really live in only 1000 sq ft of our current house, that doesn’t give us much option for spending time at home …
November 1st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I guess theres a big difference between how much house I need, how much house I want and how much house I have. Currently I could really do with a bit more space as I have too much clutter, but maybe if I did get a bigger house I would still have the same problem as I would simply end up buying more home stuff. I think I would definetly sacrifice size for location though, as in the right location the view out of your window can make up for lack of nick knacks and ornaments.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I hear you. I think that our generation has been overly indulged. A lot of people put more importance on things and comfort than they do on people. A large family can easily be very happy and healthy in quite a small house. In fact, as I’m getting older I feel more and more strongly that the more we have the more hassle we have in our live. In my mind the equation is NOT Bigger House = More Happiness. The equation is a lot more like Bigger House = More work to clean and maintain + More money to finance = Less time for my beloved wife and kids and other loved ones. This thinkink doesn’t only apply to house size, but to a lot of the other junk we tend to accumulate. The fundamental principle being that people are more important than things. We can get by with much less than we think.
Carports´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
November 7th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Having too much space means more expenses. I go for a house with enough room to move in and enough rooms to contain my family.
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December 8th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
4,000 feet is not enough space for a family of five? We have a family of five. We live in a mobile home with an add-on room addition and a carport for a garage. Seriously? Wow. That’s just kind of boggling…
January 13th, 2010 at 3:29 am
I totally agree with the idea that we do not need big space. I should say that I like to tour big condos, it looks nice. But since I have two small kids, I do not want to own a big place and chase after them everyday. We have a 1,300 square feet with my husband and I feel tired of tidy it up:-)