What's the minimum amount of sq ft one would need...
Just for fun 
...I was looking for a new home in Denver, CO. This is our first choice. Then it's VA and Oregon. Let me rephrase... Mr. J is the only one who wants to go to O. I don't like rain, and don't want to be in it even if there was 0 humidity. I want VA OR CO, but it will really will be about "where the money sends us..." Right now, our home is 1550 sq ft. 2 stories. 3bdrm/2bth It's really small. Some of it is the way it was designed. They didn't use their space wisely. What do you think the minimum sq ft you could handle if you had 2 cats, 2 kids, 2 dogs (one small), and a spouse? I was thinking no less than what we have now? Backyard being a must!!! |
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| Joan and I (and Jake, for a while) lived in 300 sq ft, for 44 weeks.
Did I mention Joan is a saint? |
| Okay, I went INSANE when we lived in Oklahoma. I think it was 1350 sq ft, but I could be wrong by 100sq ft. We didn't even have a kid or the additional cat. I DO think the cat counts as extra room needed because when these furkids get going, it's a ZOO. Yuki could not pounce AT ALL in our old home. Actually, it was an apt.
Ron, I would have KILLED YOU if I had to live with ANYONE in that small of a space. Then again, if I were 18 and it was a large dorm room.. I can see it being possible esp. if that was our only option so we could "be together." I'm not in college anymore though, and Mr. J and I aren't dating anymore, so I can yell at him for no reason now and his bad habits aren't cute. |
| We rented a house that was 502sq.ft. for almost 2 years.. it was 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, laundry room and kitchen with 2 dogs.. Murph and Dud, 1 child (5 year old) and husband. It had a beautiful backyard that was fenced, we would practically live outside in the summertime. I miss that house terribly...it was small, but very cosy and homey. My current home that I bought is 1100 sq.ft.
I function better in small spaces as opposed to houses that are 1500 sq.ft. plus. The bigger the house, the more time it takes to clean.. inside and out.. yard maintenance, house maintenance, higher heating costs....etc. If I had to.. I would live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER....(chris farley humour).. as long as I had my satelite dish. |
| LOL- Here's a little place that is more than 1500 sq ft.
Every once in while its rumored they are going to sell it. It comes with a waterview and a few gardens. 
Rolls Royce not included http://www.blithewold.org/ |
| Our home is approx 2000 sq feet and feels small. There is my husband, myself, 3 kids all the time, and one additional kid some of the time. Of course we also have 3 dogs, 2 cats.
I would like our next home to be 2500 sq feet or more. I would think to live comfortably for you guys 1800 to 2000 sq feet would be nice. |
| In addition, we spent 100% of every day together, including driving in unfamiliar territory.
Have I mentioned that Joan has been beatified? Since we were in a mobile motor home, and had an animal, how far is that to... Blessed Joan of Arc? |
zahra, A LITTLE more than 1500 sq ft? 
If anyone wants to chip in so we can buy that...  |
| I agree with Willowsprite.... 1800-2200 sq ft would be comfortable, if the house is well laid-out for your needs. |
| Our house is just shy of 2300 sq ft, which was considered a big house when we built it in 1978. By today's standards, though, it's small - most new construction around here is no less than 3200 sq ft!!
We raised our two kids and always had a large dog, and our size house was just about right. The bedrooms could have been bigger and the floor plan could have been more open, but we got through it. That's the one thing I like about today's houses - their rooms are much more open. |
| My parent's house is 1700sqft and it was fine for the 4 of us and 2 dogs. Our house now is 2bdrm 2 dogs 2 people and 1200sqft and i can not imagine adding any kids to our house now, though technically we have an extra room. |
| I think, even if we wanted it... we couldn't afford a house bigger than 2,000 sq ft!!!! I DREAM OF IT THOUGH Sigh. After Mr. J has worked at his new job for a few years, then we'll upgrade to a 2,500 sq ft home!
We can work on that, and an all tile home. sigh... I guess it's all about where you live (how much you're going to get what what you're willing to pay). I would choose another condo if it meant 1700 sq ft and all tile flooring and backyard. Neighborhood is very important to us. |
Joahaeyo wrote: After Mr. J has worked at his new job for a few years, then we'll upgrade to a 2,500 sq ft home! Are there plans/offers? Or is he staying in? Or neither? |
Plan is: follow the money. 
Pretty solid plan, eh? He doesn't want to stay in, and I'm definitely not going to tell him to. He hates the military. He's working for a [baaaad man] (not a single officer who doesn't feel the same way), which doesn't make things easier. Ex: Someone's daughter had a brain tumor, so he wanted to get out of the military to be with his daughter who was in Florida. The Lt.Col was trying to make him stay in and go to Iraq despite EVERYONE telling him that was ridiculous. He thinks about himself, and as a commander, that's the worst possible thing you can do. A commander doesn't put the blame on anyone else, which is what he'll do, even if it was clearly his own fault. He'd sit there and see someone else go to jail for ordering soldiers to kill someone than to fess up to making that stupid order. He's looking into the FBI, a state job doing the same exact thing (including possibly going to Iraq), and a few other things. He still has one more year after he gets back from Iraq. |
| I think 2000 square feet would be HEAVEN!!!! I raised 5 kids (my 2 and 3 steps) in 1500 square feet. It was small but the space was well designed so it really didn't feel cramped. ALot depends on what your requirements are. I have always preferred BIG living areas and SMALL bedrooms. Some people want great big bedrooms.
I have always wanted a house that had a living room I could keep "ready for company" and a BIG huge family room to "live" in, not that I'll ever have it!!!! I also think it's a waste of space to have an eat in kitchen AND a dining room. I have a small kitchen and use the dining room to eat. So planning is really more important than the actual square foot. |
| Ours is 1100 sq ft and we're comfie. |
| I agree with Ginny - it all depends on the planning. When we built out house, the style was to have a formal dining room, a formal living room, and a TV room. We have a small dinette off the kitchen, which is where we always eat. The dining room gets used on holidays only, and to walk through to get out the back door to the deck. The formal living room rarely gets used either, but luckily it has doors to shut it off from the rest of the house so we don't have to heat/cool it as much.
Always having had smaller bedrooms, I'd LOVE to have larger ones. Furniture placement is extremely difficult in smaller places. I'm not one to change the furniture around frequently, or at ALL, but it would be nice to have the option. |
| I don't have a number for you, but I think the house/condo/townhouse floorplan makes all the difference. If it is planned well a small house can work better than something twice it's size.
You can start with a base "it must have at least this many square feet", but after that you probably really need to see the place. Currently I live in a townhouse that is a little smaller than the last townhouse I was in, but the layout makes so much more sense. It feels bigger, yet cozier and homier. |
| Ewww...are you sure you want to move to VA? At least then maybe we could have doggie playdates
I would agree with the others...it depends on how the house/condo/whatever is laid out. Right now our house is about 1800 sq feet and it is a nice size, but I can't imagine having kids (especially once they start to get bigger) in this house because kids take up a lot of room! Just make sure there's storage or ways to make it seem bigger than it actually is. |
| I agree with everyone - the layout matters more than the square footage. I'd rather have more small bedrooms than less large ones. You also have to consider how big the family could get - how many more after lil J? And personally, I like having at least a bath and a half. One bath is just too much of a bottleneck. |
What everyone is saying makes sense! 
I do think a min. sq ft is a must though. I don't care how well designed a house is, 1000 sq ft for us won't work. We're a very busy family! We definitely always look for AT LEAST 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. No exceptions. Always look for 2 car garage AT LEAST, but preferably a bigger garage for extra storage. We also ALWAYS look for a HUGE master bedroom closet. I don't care if there are 10 other closets in the house, it's my princess must-have. I prefer larger bedrooms than smaller ones. I like rooms you can do stuff in (like kids playing) or computer room + guest bedroom made into one. But I definitely agree on the LARGE living room space. We looked at over 20 homes here ...not including the 200+ I saw online and got emailed daily from our realtor (who was a long-time friend of the in-laws, so we didn't get screwed). And only 1 more after lil J. 2 if the money starts coming in We definitely plan on being in something bigger and/or somewhere else before they are too big too. We would love to be traveling every 3-5 years! That's why my husband will look into getting a state job doing what he is doing now. |
| I've never lived in Oregon or Colorado, but I did live outside of Washington, DC for 6 years, in Maryland. Depending on where in Virginia your talking about, it can be quite expensive. We really enjoyed our time there but knew we'd never stay because of the expense. We'd have had to work ourselves to death to provide a decent life for our kids.
That's something to consider--not just size/affordability of homes, but also general cost of living. The upside is that in DC, there is a lot to do that's free. What's not free is expensive. It's definitely got all the humidity you could possibly want, even if you were an orchid. You could look at homes that have potential to be expanded as your needs and budget dictate. Open living plan for group/shared areas feel bigger. Having adequate storage space is a big help. I lived in a pretty small apartment (probably 500 sq. feet, max) with 2 small kids. Tiny kitchen, one bathroom, two small bedrooms, living/dining area. That was in MD. Moved to MI to a rented house of 900 sq. feet; added a third kid. Teeny tiny bedroom downstairs, plus one that was only tiny next to it; upstairs was big bedroom where I stuck the boys since it would be their playroom as well. Tiny kitchen, tiny living room/dining area. One bath. No pets. Very small yard. Nice neighborhood, with school yard and parks nearby to play on stuff we couldn't afford/didn't have room for at home. It was.....cozy. Edited to add: Please do not make the mistake of making yourself 'house poor'. Buy only what you can comfortably afford while still having the money to do what you want for and with your son. |
| Thanks, it is expensive eh?! I'm from Maryland, and lived in DC for 4 yrs while I was in the military. I'm very familiar with the real estate. It IS expensive!! We probably wouldn't choose to live in NoVa. Not because of me though... but because Mr. J wants to live closer to his parents in charlottesville, va. There are WAY too many good things about VA (from things to do, close to many places, weather, friends, best schools) for us to not love it! It's where we both said we wanted to retire when we first met. |
| You say you want to be traveling every 3-5 years. Do you mean moving, as in everything? The only word of caution I can give you is this: my brother was a career Navy man, serving 26 years. He moved his family of 4 sons every 3 years. It was VERY hard on the boys. Just when you geel comfortable at a school and have good friends, you move. It affected their grades and their personalities. In hindsight, my brother sees how it hurt the boys but at the time, this was his job. |
| I grew up the child of an IBM Father when IBM ment "Ive been moved". He was a project manager for military contracts so I was basically the same thing as a "military brat". We moved EVERY year, I had lived in 16 places before I was 17.
For me, it was a very positive experience. I think much of my outgoing personality is because I needed to learn to make friends QUICKLY. It isn't the same for everyone, my brother is very much an introvert because of it. I belive it was a very positive experience but know it can be very difficult. |
Tasker's Mom wrote: I grew up the child of an IBM Father when IBM ment "Ive been moved". He was a project manager for military contracts so I was basically the same thing as a "military brat". We moved EVERY year, I had lived in 16 places before I was 17.
For me, it was a very positive experience. I think much of my outgoing personality is because I needed to learn to make friends QUICKLY. It isn't the same for everyone, my brother is very much an introvert because of it. I belive it was a very positive experience but know it can be very difficult. Jason was much the same. I think the only time he had trouble was when they moved to foreign countries, pre-internet days, and he lost touch with older friends since letters took a long time to send/recieve. |
Drezzie's Mom wrote: . . .Just when you FEEL comfortable at a school and have good friends, you move. It affected their grades and their personalities. In hindsight, my brother sees how it hurt the boys but at the time, this was his job.
Geesh! If I could spell, it would be helpful!  |
Quote: It was VERY hard on the boys. Just when you geel comfortable at a school and have good friends, you move. It affected their grades and their personalities. In hindsight, my brother sees how it hurt the boys but at the time, this was his job.
Yeah.. for us, I think it would also be a positive experience.
Mr J and I always moved every 3 years. His sisters and him thought it was a great thing. As well as all the dependents I knew growing up as a military child. |
| Ours is about 1700, and we're just fine with 3 adults, 1 dog, 3 cats and fish. Plus we have room for the baby. But then we're very laid back people! |
| I have 3500 sq feet plus a finished basement four kids my mother, three dogs one cat a parrot and a snake. I clean all the time. I can't wait for everyone to leave. Sell the place and move into something smaller.
My son in law will be completely done with the military in Feb. Hooray he's leaving too. He got accepted to finish his residency at Childrens in Chicago We had a small summer home in Oshgosh WI 1300 sq feet with an enclosed porch. Small Kitchen and a pretty big family room. I loved that house, yard especially the porch. |
| The weather in VA is nice!?! Let me know where I can find it!
Charlottesville is actually very expensive, as well. You wouldn't necessarily think so since there's nothing much around there except UVA, but for some reason it is very pricey. Richmond's much better price-wise than NoVa and Charlottesville, but there's much less to do around here. And although DC is only 90 miles, with the ever present traffic it is a long 90 miles. But again, we could have doggie playdates!
I would just say that I would be super bummed if I had to move around a lot. I am shy, so I couldn't imagine having to try and make new friends every few years. It has its advantages and some people love it, but others can find it very hard. I am very outgoing once I get to know people and my high school was pretty small, so it was a HUGE shock to me when I went to college and found it hard to be as outgoing as I thought I was. |
Having moved 13 times in 5 years, I'm surprised anyone wants to move on a regular basis. 
Good luck with the house hunting. Make a list of priorities for the house before you do serious looking - i.e. 1 or 2 car garage, mudroom, ensuite bathroom, 2-storey, etc. Then decide what things on your wishlist are deal-breakers or what things are highest priority. |
Considering Chris and I, including Penny(doggy) live in an spacious 150 square foot apartment, with the only walls being around the bathroom, no closets and no oven, i would considering 500 square feet HEAVEN  We have been looking at houses around 1700 square feet and they look so big, like how are we gonna fill up this house
Shannon |
| Wow. I don't know how you do it. I'm actually in awe. I think if we lived in 150 square feet I would actually go on a homicidal rampage.
Our master ensuite bathroom is over 100 square feet.....  |
| Reading magazine lately.....maybe Better Homes and Gardens......article on downsizing families. They like the smaller homes, less clutter, cleaner lives. One family put the 2 daughters in one bedroom, they in another and left the master bedroom as a children's play room. That way the toys and such weren't always in the living room. So just takes some creative thinking to live in a smaller home than what is considered "normal." Friend in Phoenix moved from 2500 sf to a single wide trailer 12 x ?? She and husband are thrilled!! No more clutter just to fill the house, etc. Plus they just lock up and leave when they want to travel. He's a private pilot, flying a race car driver around the world.
s. |
| I have 1458 sq ft..its a 2 bedroom 1 bath house....it is small compared to all of our friends but it works for us. I think it all has to do with a well functioning lay out....
The ONLY thing I would like is an extra toilet....those do come in handy every now and then.... |
| Before we moved last year we (6 of us uprights, 2 adults and 4 kids) and 3 dogs....lived in an 1850 sq ft house, plus finished basement. It was fine when the kids were small and could share a room. As they got bigger it became necessary to finish the basement. Then we moved one daughter to the dining room and put doors to separate from the living room. That worked well for a year or so. But hubby always wanted a larger property. We got that and a MUCH larger house...this house is over 4000 sq ft plus finished basement.
However I would recommend getting what you can afford and not worry so much about size...layout is much more important than the size. Our first home was 1500 sq ft and the layout was not so good....the second home was better even tho it was not much bigger. But this house is the best altho there are rooms we never use (living room) and the formal dining room is always used for the kids to do their homework....what sold us on this house...besides the acreage....was the large kitchen,eating area and family room it is all one big room. |
| Kim, how about we just move in with you? |
| I love my "small" antique home. It's perfect for us. The only things I want are a laundry room and another bathroom! But the big attic is going to be either a bedroom or play room for the kids, that leaves the other 2 bedrooms upstairs, and the Christina nook downstairs with another bedroom and den connected, plus our dining room, livingroom, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, and bathtub room! It's a perfect setup for us. I can barely keep that all clean, I can't imagine trying anything bigger Plus we've still got the little attic and the scary basement for storage!
They just don't make spaces like that anymore |
Wow, never thought people would have the opposite problem as us!!! The smaller the house, the more clutter appears. I don't mean our current place, but more like our home in Oklahoma. There's not enough space to keep all our furniture, so that stays in storage, and there's a mess in the house. The more open the space, the nice our house looks. Our house in TX was so pretty. Was so sad to leave it  I don't think our house now is too small for us now, but I definitely could use more room just to entertain!! Not sure how we'd fit two kids here though! I guess it's possible since our neighbor has two older kids!
iriskmj, maybe 1700 sq ft would be perfect for us too!! I just want a LTTLE more!! |
| Ahem... are you forgetting to tell us something Mrs J???
all this talk about two kids...  |
| I wish!!! He needs to come back from Iraq and be here for a few months first!!! I am going baby crazy!!! At thanksgiving, lil J saw me hold a newborn, and he ran up to give her a big hug, and couldn't stop touching her. SO SWEET!!!
I just know that by the time we move, we will have another baby (crosses fingers), so I have to plan for it! |
| We had a 1400 sq ft house with 3 pups and 2 kids. Small kitchen, large living space. 1/3 acre, with a divided yard to let the kids play without the dogs knocking them over.
Next we had 2400 sq ft with three kids and three dogs on 1/2 acre. Lots of yard work. Excellent layout, including a 2 car garage with an unfinished room over the detached 3 car garage. Huge driveway for the kids to play on. The people who have it now have ruined it.
New home in the second state, 4500 sq ft. My dream house, an "upside down" house to take advantage of the views. The livingroom, dining, kitchen, breakfast and master were upstairs. The 3 kid's rooms, office, laundry and second living were downstairs. A dumbwaiter carried groceries upstairs. I hated cleaning all of the windows. Our current house in our 3rd state is 2800 sq ft. The kid's rooms are 14 x 17, a wonderful size to sleep and play in. We also have a room off the kitchen with access outside for the pups to hang out in when we are gone. I love the size, just not the layout for us now that the kids are gone. Any size works, just the layout and organization are important. There are some wonderful books on simplifying and small spaces. Beautiful homes. |
In a smaller house you have to be super organized and constantly get rid of things. We did fine in the other house. I loved that house. We had JUST finished it the way I like it. I only had my new kitchen for 5 months  we actually finished the rest of the house just to sell it. I had a hard time moving to this place. It wasn't to my taste(actually the first time the agent brought me here I said NO WAY am I leaving my beautiful house for that tacky place) and after being thru renovations for the past 5 years I just can't do it again(emotionally and financially)...so we live with some ugly for a while. But we have lots of space for us and the puppers. |
Iriskmj wrote: and the Christina nook downstairs with another bedroom and den connected,
You are seriously the nicest sister ever to have a Christina nook!
It reminds me of the Friends episode where Monica and Chandler are moving to the suburbs and Joey's all sad until Chandler says there's a Joey room... |
| I think adequate storage space is as important as actual living space. I could like with a lot less living space if I had enough space to store things. |
| ^^^
I think I can too!!! I LOVE CLOSETS, STORAGE, and LARGE KITCHEN CABINETS!!! I'm so excited about moving now. Maybe in the meantime,I should extend our kitchen counters (to add cabinets on the opposite side because there's a lot of wasted space) and get a backyard door put in. I guess I would have to wait for spring to do the last one... |
| Those are all good things to put on your list of must-haves when you're looking for you new house!
Can't wait to hear all about it! |
Joahaeyo wrote: ^^^
Maybe in the meantime,I should extend our kitchen counters (to add cabinets on the opposite side because there's a lot of wasted space) You should! We just did that to our counters in September and I think we only added like 4 inches on one side and maybe 8+ on the other, but it made SUCH a difference. Instead of always feeling tight and super cluttered, our counters now feel much more spacious. |
| I agree it depends on the floorplan. I think high ceilings help too to make a space feel larger. I'm sure you can make any square footage work, but for a family of four, I would think 1500SF or more if you have a choice. |
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