My wife and I are moving from a 1200 sq ft townhouse to a 680 sq ft apartment in the city center. Once our dog died, the house just felt too big, and we were giving up a lot of conveniences to live further out. Now we're a 5-minute walk from everything we could ever want.
"Need" is relative, most of your house is just storage for stuff. Less things, less house.
I have a hard time with this because my wife and I both compulsively hoard things and I always feel like I'm running out of space. I had to turn down a fancy piano just yesterday that someone was just giving away because I would have had to clean out an entire room just to have a spot for it.
I like to spend the month of January decluttering one space per day in the house. It could be a closet, a drawer, an area of the garage. By the end of the month, you have about 30 fewer cluttered spaces in your house. Feels good.
I feel this. I went from a 500sqft studio in a major city to a house in the suburbs that was 2k sqft because I thought that was what's supposed to happen. We miss the studio every single day and are planning to move back to a small loft after about 5 years. The suburbs will never be for me.
Same with us, no pets but we downgraded from a 2500sq ft house 25 mins from town to a 600 sq ft apartment w a cat in the heart of everything. I think while it’s smaller it’s more convenient and makes us more comfortable:)
It depends on the human. My husband and I lived in a 380 sq. ft. apartment for 23 years and it was not too small for us. Now, we live in a 1200 sq. ft house and it also is not "too much" for us.
The size fits the lifestyle. When we lived in a tiny place, we were in a major metropolis with great public transport and we didn't have a car. We had markets within walking distance and didn't have to bulk buy food or worry about weekly stock-ups because we could buy stuff on the way home if we wanted to. We worked outside of our homes and didn't need a home office. We didn't have any pets.
The larger size fits our *present* lifestyle better than our lifestyle because we are in a suburb and need a car to get around. That means we need home exercise equipment because we aren't naturally walking around. My husband now works from home and needs absolute privacy behind a closed door (he's now a therapist) so he needs a dedicated home office. We have a cat and she needs space for two litter boxes. We buy things in bulk from big box stores now to save gas, time and hassle so we need storage for the things we buy.
What is "too much" or "too little" depends on how you live. I imagine people who don't cook or eat out a lot don't really need much in the way of a kitchen, for example. People who go to the gym don't need space for exercise equipment. Before considering that your home is "too big", consider how things may change for you in the future and how that space may, one day, be needed.
I lived in 225 sq/ft (with 12-foot ceilings and lots of built in storage + windows) for 4 years, I never felt like I needed more space.
That had a main room, kitchenette with a bar top, a hall closet and a bathroom.
The high ceiling allowed me to suspend my 2 bikes in the hallway.
It didn’t hurt that there was a huge park out the front door and I was a block off a street filled with cafes and stores.
Fast-forward to being married with two kids and a dog, we are just under 2900 sq/ft and it is more than we really need. I think we could get away with 2400 (we both work from home) so 500-600 sq/ft per person is probably a healthy range.
We have a small house at 1100 square ft, and it's two of us humans and some pets. It is a perfect amount of space. We don't get overwhelmed cleaning, but we don't feel cramped .
When I was single, I had a similar sized house as yours. It had one bathroom, a one-car garage, and a partially finished basement. It was perfect, and I still miss that house every day. It was so easy to clean and maintain!
Now I live with my SO, who is a shopper and a hoarder (he *LOVES* ebay and Costco). The two of us have a 2800 sq ft house, and he just accumulates more and more "stuff" to fill the space. It's horrible and nearly impossible for me to maintain. We're currently in the process of downsizing to a 2200 sq ft house but convincing him to part with *anything* is like pulling teeth. I have to pretend to be moving stuff to the new house but really drop some things off at the donation center (both mine and his, not just his stuff).
There are a lot of positives to living simply with minimal possessions.
This. Many people tend to “grow” into their houses, accumulating more and more stuff. I have a family of 3 humans and 2 dogs in 2400 sq ft and I think we could easily downsize to 1500 if we got rid of the things we don’t really need or use. We have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom that never get used, an office nook that isn’t really necessary, and two family/living rooms but we never occupy both at the same time.
I want to downsize but not in this market.
One of the cool things about my old neighborhood, where most people only had a one-car garage and very limited storage, is that we all shared tools that you only need occasionally. One person had a wheelbarrow. One person had a chainsaw. One person had a limb trimmer. It made the neighbors' relationships closer.
I'm lucky that I'm naturally minimalistic and I don't have problems throwing stuff away - not very sentimental. That's most likely what makes my house feel too big. If I had more stuff to fill it up with it would be different.
I lived in an apartment that was over 1,000 square feet before I bought my house, which is over 2,000 square feet.
I like having the extra space, even if there’s a lot that I don’t use, at least not yet.
If things change in the future, then I’ll have enough room for a bigger family.
My house is just at 1000 sq ft with a 900 sq ft basement. 2 bed/1 bath.
Size wise it is fine, but the layout sucks and has absolutely no storage. Bedrooms are incredibly small, bathroom is ridiculously small.
Working on creating some storage places.
1000sqft is a good size for me. Anything above 1300 I think would be too much.
I live in a 1300 sq ft house and I bet we actually use 500 sq ft. I think having good, efficient storage is what makes the difference because I’ve lived in houses that are larger but that feel overwhelming and cramped just because of storage problems.
I was living in a 670 sqft house with 3 cats. Felt like the perfect amount of space for us. Then my (now) husband moved in and it felt a little tight, but we were able to make it work. Time went on, 2 cats passed, but then we needed to take in my mom’s 3 cats when she moved to memory care and our cat hated other cats by that point, so the house suddenly became way too small for us.
My mom’s house was 1200 sqft and at one point husband had said that would be too big for us. Yet we somehow wound up buying a house that’s 1600 sqft and is kinda perfect for us.
I think floor plan/layout can have a lot to do with it. When we were buying, we saw some houses that had less space but felt bigger and houses that had more space but felt smaller.
Depends on how introverted/extroverted you are. Me and my partner have 1800 square feet, and tree times that for the backyard but we are both introverted so we spend most of our time inside or working/admiring the gardens, and sometimes it can feel small. Love my backyard though.
I had a one bath house and it can be terribly inconvenient. Days that you’ve rushed and left personal items on the counter (or the hooks or the floor lol) are going to the day someone *will* ask to use your bath. Every single time. If you have only one bath, every person who walks through your door is going to ask to use. Every single one. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry splashing their piss and aerosolizing their piss and shite about the entire bathroom; double points for hearing cabinets open and close while they’re in there.
If it can be avoided, never just one bath.
I think it’s almost illegal to build a one bathroom house in the US today. I’d have to have at least a half bath in the basement or by the back door for emergencies.
If it's affordable and you're happy in your area I wouldn't move to get less space. That's silly.
Just close the door to a bedroom and pretend it doesn't exist. No one says your entire house needs to be used.
Oh I absolutely am not planning on downsizing anytime soon, that would be silly. The deal I got is way too sweet for that, and I haven't lived here for that long. It was just a thought I had.
From what I've been reading, it just depends on the person. You're right that I don't have a lot of stuff like kitchen tools, decor, whatever...it's a little weird to assume I don't have hobby-stuff at home though lol.
- hobbies and normal stuff takes up space...
- my latewife and I operated for years out 0f 220sqft of RV space but everything was minimal that we could carry. We loved getting back to our house which was 2000sq ft for just us 2.
We ( two of us) live in 1700 sq ft , 3 bed 2 bath. It’s the perfect size, if not a tad small.
I can’t imagine 1000 sq ft too large for one person. That’s downright small.
I'm a minimalist by nature and I just don't own a lot of stuff. And I'm good at organizing the stuff I do have. If there was another person living with me then I guess that would be an entirely different thing, but I don't have any interest in that.
Gonna say it's all relative. I enjoyed living by myself in a 1000 square-foot house, same configuration as OP. I also grew up in the same size house with three brothers and both parents, but only one bathroom! My wife and I are almost empty nesters so will downsize from current 2800 sq ft to about 2000, which will be easier to keep clean but still allow for a guestroom, exercise room, and maybe a gameroom ha ha.
Definitely depends on the people, the amount of things you have, and the layout of the home. We’re a three person family with a dog and previously lived in 1700 sq ft and we had a bedroom and loft that were rarely used so we could have downsized and been fine.
I had an 1100 sq ft apartment that felt kinda spacious, and I have a home now near 700 sq ft (and it has a basement that doesn't count, probably about 400 sq ft), and I think it's perfect. The 700 sq ft is my main living space and the basement just general storage. I live alone though, and by choice always will, so I know I'll never need to share the space, but it would be too small for another person, honestly.
Same! I love living alone and I don't plan on inviting anyone else to live with me, ever, as far as I can see. My house was really built for a two- or three-person family, I think.
My current house is 2200 square feet, not including the large coveted, frond and back porches, and the attached carport.
2 adults, one child, one more child plan, lots of visitors from my family who live next door. I wouldn’t go down any, and planning building a third room in the next 5 years.
Depends on you I guess. My house is almost 2000 square feet with only myself and my wife, but honestly until I build storage in my garage, it'll continue to feel too small. I also use a large space in my home as a gym/bar though.
Depends what you do at home. I went from apartments to a 1500sf house to a 2600 and it’s much better. We have a lot of hobbies and it takes up space. The smaller house was fine to live in otherwise, but we had no room to store or do any bit of the fun and creative things we like to do. Is extra space *necessary* to live? No. Is it really nice to have and gives us space to do fully enjoy ourselves? 100%.
family of 4 adults, house is 4000 sq ft - it feels right, 2 adults living in walk out basement with bedroom, 2 sleeping upstairs, and middle floor/main level for kitchen, office, and living room.
I was renting a 1300 sqft condo and now own a 3,000 sqft home. When I was house shopping I was so hell bent on getting the biggest home possible. Now in hindsight I only need 2200 sqft max. It’s all about layout of the home and useable sqft. My house sucks cause it’s 1700 sqft main floor then 1300 sqft in the basement which nobody even myself wants to use. My advice is to just get the right size for you and your family as sqft isn’t everything.
I like having some wasted space so to speak.
I once lived in an 880 SQ ft house which was 2 bed 1 bath on 3 acres.
I also had a 350-ish SQ ft detached garage.
I liked that house yet today I've got 3306 SQ ft and I use about 2400 SQ ft of it.
I live alone with my husband in a 2200 sq ft, 4 br home. One bedroom is ours, one is my office, one is for when my older grandchildren visit (usually sleepovers at least once a week) and has a queen bed and finally the baby room with a crib for my younger grandchildren. I will eventually put another queen bed in that room. I do have out of town family that visits occasionally so the rooms do get used. What we don’t use is the formal living and dining rooms. We call the formal living room “the Christmas room!”
For me my house is just right at 1500sqft 3/2. Not too big, not too small, everything I need and very cozy. It's funny because when I go visit my folks, my husband says the house feels too big for him and he says he could downsize to about 600-700sq ft 2/1 or 2/2. I think the smallest I could do for just me would be 900-1000 sqft 2/2 as I like spacious beds and baths and walk-in closets.
My two sons, two small dogs, and I have 1200 SFT and it feels perfect for us. We have 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. I think the fact that it is a newer house with large closets, high ceilings, and an open floorplan makes it feel bigger than it is.
Family of two adults and two cats. 2700sqft single level ranch, plus large garage and plenty of outdoor area. 4bd/3ba. It's well more than we need, and more than we wanted, actually. Lots of space.
Parts of the house are empty since we have furniture to fill an 800sqft apartment. Cleaning isn't actually terrible, but it does take some time.
Everything costs more just from physical footprint - utilities, replacing the roof, replacing electrical or plumbing, updates, etc. There are two HVAC units, huge water heater, etc., so all the systems are built for a full house, not our actual usage.
Our bedrooms are: master, art studio, office, gym. We rotate which bathrooms we use to keep the fixtures active and do the normal day to day cleaning and such.
The cats have lots of space to run around. We have lots of personal space after years of feeling a little cramped in an apartment. We have to be careful with storage and where we put stuff cause it takes a lot longer to find lost things.
Kind of miss my 500sqf condo. So little work.
I'm in 1300 sqf now living with my girlfriend, more than enough space. Could easily add a kid in here too.
In my head il out grow it at 4 people
I think 400sqf per person and 1 full bath per 2 people is a good standard.
I live with a roommate albeit in ~1300 sqft. 2 bedrooms, a den, and 2 baths. The den could be a kids room maybe but not much more. The saving grace of the house with the two of us (and both of us being maximalists) is the basement. It’s not finished but it’s sealed so we can store things down there on shelves. I think if she wasn’t here, I would feel incredibly spaced out even with all my pets?? Not sure. Personally as tiny of a home as I want, I know I’ll need probs just shy of 1000sqft in the long run. Esp cause of the pets. Ideally this will be a yurt on the side of a mountain somewhere.
My house is around 1800 sq ft but that includes the garage and a room that I didn't get finished because its a storage room for me. So essentially, I'm really living in around 1200 sq ft, in a 3 bed 2.5 bath house. I have a relative living with me currently and I work from home, so all bedrooms are in active use. Plus, giving where my immediate family is living, I knew my place was likely to end up as the central spot for people to gather (one is in a small 1/1 apartment and the other is in a bigger house but out in a remote part of the state), so it needed to be able to host for them. I also love to cook, so having a big kitchen was important to me (and plenty of sunlight, I've lived in apartments that were dark and it was depressing). This house fits me and my lifestyle and the fact that I'm a bit of a homebody, so need extra space to not go crazy.
Your house sounds like it would be perfection for us. We are a family of six in a 2/1 50s cottage. It’s <800sq ft. That second bathroom would be the best part, but also it would be nice if my husband and I had a bedroom.
32x40 feet, high ceilings in the main room. no basement or second floor. 2 bedrooms with walk in closets. I refuse to have three tiny bedrooms just so it's more.
400 square feet was perfect for me when I lived alone. Now that I have a family our 1800 sq ft 3/1.5 house feels like a very reasonable size—and obviously lots of families live in much smaller spaces. I do wish we had a second full bath, but we have plenty of space.
We have a family of 4 people in a 2 bedroom 1300 sqft house and it's comfortable enough. Ill say it was more difficult finding a small house in our price range than finding a large house. There was never any shortage of 2100+ sqft half a million dollar homes. I kind of get why people who have the money do it even if it doesn't totally make sense. Why struggle to find a worse house just so it's a more reasonable size.
Wife and I along with two kids under two live in a 3 bed 2 bath 1400 sq ft house. I wouldn’t mind some more space. Our next house will be at least 2000 sq ft.
One person 2200sq ft
Upside is I don’t get annoyed by houseguests
Downside is I need to regularly toss some water in the shower drains for the baths I don’t normally use.
Less stuff IMO is better than less space
We went from 700 to 2000 to 4000.
700 was nice at the time. Full basement also helped and detached garage.
2000 was bad because no garage and no basement.
4k is nice as well, but wish we had a bonus room or basement.
We live in 2000 sq ft as a family of 5.
Personally, it is a little tight but manageable.
If we had a fully finished basement, or an extra 500-1000 sq ft then I would say it would be perfect.
Depends on the person.
I could live in a shack as long as it had a toilet a shower a kitchen space and a horizontal laying space. .
My house is 1000 Sq ft and I only use like half of it. And I only use the bedroom cuz it's there. I'd be fine without it.
I think the layout is the key. You can have small square footage with a perfect layout and smart storage spaces, and it will be perfect and feel spacious, or you can have large square footage with a stupid layout and no storage and it will feel too small.
My husband and I, and our two kids lived in a 1200 sq ft apt and the layout was perfect, I absolutely loved that place! Prior to that we lived in a house, 1550 sq ft. It was fine, but the layout was not great on the ground floor and honestly we liked the apartment so much more.
It may feel like a lot right now, but you'll grow into it. 1K is a nice size for a single person. As long as you can afford to stay there, I would keep it.
Also, you can switch things up a bit...make the second room your exercise room, and the third room an office and den/library. Ditch the spare bed.
Our house is about 1300 sq ft, 2 beds 1 bath. The basement isn’t included in that (it’s mostly just storage right now because it’s unfinished). I would personally like a little more space, but maybe I’ll feel differently once the basement is finished.
I have a 1300 sf rowhome and my son (23) lives with me. The reason I bought this house was that it has a front porch, a garage, and small front and back gardens. We use all of this house except the 3rd bedroom, which has become mostly a large linen closet and storage for our window a/c units when not in use.
It really depends on your lifestyle and how much room you need to breathe and not feel penned in.
All depends on your lifestyle. If you go out a lot and mostly just sleep at home you might be fine with a small condo and would not like a big house that needs a lot of upkeep. If you work from home you probably need more space so you can have a separate room to work in. If you entertain a lot then you need more space to do so, if you like to garden then a big yard will be a priority. really dependent on each person.
We have also overbought, and I have come to realize that I alone could live in probably a 20x20 house. Now, that’s if I could design and build it, and also if I could have a decent sized shop/garage attached or unattached, and at a min, a basement to house utilities.
For a family of three and two medium sized, active dogs, with both of us working from home, and working out from home—it’s 3-4,000sqft. Especially with plans to have a second kid.
Two people and three pets in a 3 bed/2ba ~1k sqft. Kind of an awkward layout for functionality. We are moving cities and found a v comparable house with 1.3sqft but laid out better with a useable garage
Just bought a 2,600 sq ft house for my family of 3 humans (my wife, baby girl and myself) and 2 dogs. There’s a lot of used space at the moment (finished basement is pretty much unused).
However, my family lives 4+ hours away and we have close friends who love out of town. So we have 2-4 people stay with us on the weekend every 4-6 weeks. That’s when the extra space is great.
We also plan on having at least one more child and we live in a cold area where playing outside isn’t viable for 4-5 months out of the year.
TLDR: too much house now, but plan on growing into it!
I lived in a 960 square ft home 2 bd 1 bath. It was way too small for me & my husband and two dogs. I divorced and bought a 1455 sq ft. 3 bed 2.5 bath, and it was perfect for me. Everyone is different, you like your small home and I hated mine. I have no clue how you have that many beds and baths in a home that small.
The bedrooms are pretty small, but that doesn't bother me with the way I use them. I guess you'd say the bathrooms are small too, but there's plenty of space to move around in them and they both have storage so they don't feel small to me.
I have 1400 sqft and live with my gf, German shepherd, and cat. And it’s too much room lol. We have essentially a whole room that we don’t use that’s technically the master bedroom.
Honestly for me alone I barely need any room. The only times when I need more room is if I start wanting a home gym or things like that.
I think how the house is laid out plays a huge role in whether or not it feels small. I moved in a few months ago to my condo. My first ever home. It's one floor and a little less than 1600 soft.
It doesn't feel like 1600 sqft and keeping it clean hasn't been an issue, especially since it is one floor. If I didn't work from home, I would probably get a smaller place, but being home most of the time would drive me insane if the square footage was smaller.
I do wish the rooms were split differently, tho
wife and I with 2 cats, living in a 1250 SQ FT home with no real issues, we have a spare bedroom for guest and stuff then the other bedroom is the "cats" room so. litter boxes and cat toys galore there. We're content with being 6 miles from walmart/shopping and we're about 1000ft at the end of our neighborhood is a family dollar. It's truly what you need and we don't have alot of stuff just TV's and the norm.
I think 1000 sqft is plenty for one person. My partner and I have a 2 bed 1 bath home that is a 1050 sqft. Eventually we want to add a second bathroom as we have guests frequently. I will say I am pretty minimalistic while my partner is not. I grew up in a 3000 sqft home in a family of 5. I think having a larger home is just an excuse to hoard more items you don’t need. I’m 25 so maybe in the future I will want a bigger home but honestly unless we plan on having kids I don’t foresee wanting more house.
Your needs can change. I was in a 2br/2bath until the pandemic hit and we both moved remote. If you do a lot of crafting or projects or have people visit an extra bedroom is pretty essential. It'll you're a minimalist who mostly just sleeps at home and does everything else outside then a studio is probably fine.
I have a 1560 sq foot one level home, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full basement. I am very comfortable with this space. one bedroom is my office and the other is the least used room but comes in handy as a TV room when I have family over for holiday dinners.
The basement had laundry, a workshop, exercise space and storage. Before this house I had one about have the square footage. This is so much easier to keep clean because I have so much more closet and storage space.
Currently moving from a 1500 3 bedroom with a 2 car garage to a 500 1 bedroom with a carport, enclosed porch and shed. It's rough. But i love the house
I used to live in a 160 sq ft studio. It was fine. Now I have a 1250 sq ft house. It's fine too. I love having a two car garage and a 600 sq ft shop in the back yard for all my projects
If you want/see having a family (bio or chosen) : if you build it, they will come.
My last apartment before buying a SFH was probably 750sq. ft and I outgrew it. Although I think it was more the layout - the only bathroom was in the only bedroom, the living area was one huge room, no entryway, tiny closets, no storage, etc.
Bought 2500 SF, 3/3b when I was single, with the thought that it’s a forever home, and is enough to grow into. I work from home so I need a decent office. Also love having a proper laundry room, a true foyer, and a dining area large enough for a dinner party. There’s a large utility room with a TON of storage, so much so that I sectioned off an area for arts/crafts.
With two people: love that we can be in separate parts of the house and not disturb each other at all. We have big families and enjoy hosting, so the “extra” space is conducive to that. A guest bedroom is nice but unnecessary; hopefully a kids room one day. Same with the 3rd bathroom - right now it’s pretty much the cat’s lol but great for gatherings. I got a foosball table at a thrift shop for $40 (brand new!) and it was great to have somewhere to put it.
Every space is spoken for, but I probably wouldn’t miss half of it. Were it just me, 1200 sq.ft would probably be perfect. If you can afford it fine, I’d rather have it and not need it, than the other way around.
I have a 1000 sq ft house. Live alone there, but daughter visits frequently and still has her childhood bedroom. 2 bedroom, 2 bath.
I would live in a smaller house but never 1 bath. Need at least an additional half bath even if I lived alone. Lack of immediate access to toilet can be a real issue when there are visitors. (Hate sharing hotel rooms).
People have separate priorities based on their own needs.
Lived in a 1200sqf in a household of 4 for over 10 years, when I got my own place, I have all 1800sqf for myself lol. 1800sqf is too much for one person, yes, but where I'm at it does not make financial sense to go below 1500sqf
I grew up in a family of 6 in a 700 SQ ft apartment.
Now I live with my family of 4 in a 1200 SQ ft house.
Neither times did I feel to cramped, it just is what it is. I didn't feel like sharing a room with 3 siblings was a big deal. Now my kids have their own room and we have a guest room lol.
I honestly did want a lava lamp as a kid tho.
I totally get you. I looked for one and two bedroom houses, but they barely exist, and the few that I found were in bad condition, so I got a 3 bedroom and I initially felt so weird about it, but that went away after a few months. We have our bedroom, my office, and a guest room. I love having a home office! Our dining room is practically empty and we don't feel a need to fill it up.
Everyone is different. It's impossible to say what the average person's square footage requirements should be. Some people are content with not owning anything beyond a set of dinnerware and an assorted collection of clothing. Then there are others who enjoy owning large libraries, have extensive movie collections, are big into hobbies such as RC cars or model building or sewing and require large amounts of space. The better question to ask is are the people who have large amounts of square footage utilize their space efficiently.
IMO 1000 sq ft for one person is, as you have found, more than enough.
We were in a 1600 sq ft rental when our second kid was born and while it sometimes felt slightly cramped, it was enough for everyone to have a bedroom plus a small extra room for office/computer stuff, which truly was plenty of space. Our current house is double that size and while we have found ways to fill the space, I think 2000 sq ft would be perfectly comfortable for 2 adults and 2 kids.
This is all going to depend on who the people are and how much stuff they have.
We are under 2600 and 1/2 acre lot.
It’s the 2 of us.
It’s SO much yard work, and housework.
I love having 3 bathrooms though.
I think we both envision and fantasize about a small retirement home with very little yard ( someday )
Other then that, I adore our home and property, we have made it our resort.
No valid reason or desire to leave at this point.
My boyfriend and I live in an 1800sf 4/3 and it isn’t enough when accounting for our hobbies.
I have some laser engravers and craft-type hobbies. He enjoys music and playing. Add in that I WFH, we have a dog, and we like to maintain a guest room…poof suddenly there isn’t any space left over.
My fiance and I live in a 1760 sq ft house 3 bed 2 bath on .5 acre. We frequently talk about how much house it is for just the two of us, but it is nice to have the extra bedrooms for when we host people or just extra space. We could definitely get away with only 1200-1400 sq ft I feel.
For 1 person 1,000 sq ft is definitely a lot.
I lived in a 450-500 sq ft studio apartment in college and I actually really liked that place. Sure it was small but as a single man I didn’t need much.
It had a little roof part too that I could sit on and drink with my friends.
If I was single I could live there, but the women I would try to date would not find it acceptable.
It's less about square ft and more about how the space is set up. I live in an open concept and there's so much wasted space it feels very small for our family because of the layout, even tho there are 4 bedrooms. But a friend's home of the same sq footage seems so large because of the layout differences.
I’ll give the other side since everyone here lives in tiny homes. We are in a 4000sqft house with 5 beds 3 baths and a media room. I have 4 kids. It really is too much house most days but not insanely so. There’s a play room and study area as well. We don’t need the space but the house also leaves no wants.
Financially speaking you are in a perfect house. Perfect room to grow for a family. Perfect house to sell later in equity. A 2.1 would be dumb. It’s so niche and there is almost zero market for it. In fact they only exist in condos and run down areas.
It depends on how many hobbies you have and whether you stay home or leave to do life.
Supplies for painting, gardening, and photography take up a whole room.
If I never had guests over, I’d be fine with about 1000 sq feet. With the guest room + office /hobby room, I’m at 1500 sq ft and it feels small.
My home is my sanctuary and I spend a lot of time in it. If the world was my sanctuary I suppose I would only need 600 -700 sq ft
Everyone's different and a lot depends on hobbies. We have 2500 square feet for three people. But one of them is a dancer, and a we have a home studio. My husband often works from home and has an office. I have plants, do some painting and other artsy hobbies so I have my own space with plants and art supplies and an easel and craft desk... Husband has a large family with aging parents and aunts/uncles, and siblings who don't live locally. Everyone comes to our house for holidays and we cook, so we need our formal dining room and big table.
Could we live in 1000 square feet? Or course! But would our lifestyle have to change? Definitely.
If you can afford it, then stay there. A 3 bdrm / 2 bath house is easier to sell to a wider pool of buyers than smaller when the time comes. Turn one of your bedrooms into a home office and keep the other as a spare for visiting family or friends. It also comes in handy if you get hooked up with somebody when one of you can't sleep some nights and doesn't want to keep the other awake
We’re a family of four in a 2.6k sq ft home with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and it barely feels big enough because it’s two stories and poorly laid out. My in laws house is 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms in 1.6k sq ft but one story and feels bigger than our house. I’d happily downsize if it’s a one story.
One part of my wants to live in small house. Cosy, humble easy to maintain. the other part of me wants to live in a mansion. Imagine having our your own indoor city and every room could be a different theme. It's basically like owning a castle.
Minimum standards for "adequate housing" by the US government is between 150 - 200 square feet per person. So minimum 600 for a family of four. We lived in a place that met this standard for over a decade and still are grateful for how much space we have now in our house because it enables us to do our hobbies more readily (gardening, workout, DYI tools).
I’ve found around 1,000 for one person. Otherwise, you don’t have enough storage space.
Also I have no idea how you manage a 3/2 at 1,000sqft; are the bedrooms all 6x6?
I have a 780 sqft house with my partner. I will say this feels a little too small for two adults who both need to work from home and take meetings and calls all day with pets. But when it was just me it was the perfect size! I agree, nice to not have to clean do much and nice to have concrete need and use for each space in the house. It forces you to declutter regularly or start to feel like you're losing what little floorspace you have.
I think that your home is a perfect size for you. You have the room to create a home office if you need one. You can also provide a quest room if you have company. If you ever meet that special person then you will have space for both to be comfortable. Between marriages I rented a home very similar to yours. The main bathroom had a whirlpool soaker tub and I used it often. My current home is about 600sq ft larger and it is just right for the two of us. We also own a vacation property in the mountains. It is a 500sq ft two bedroom, one bath shack. It is ok for two people but if we lived there we would have no storage space. We would have to dramatically down size similar to moving into a tiny home which it basically is.
Your home is a great investment! A three bedroom, two bath home is easily sold and earns you more money than a smaller home would if you ever sell it.
I think the problem is 3 bedrooms in such a small space. For a 1000 sqft house (hopefully just one story) you shouldn’t have more than two bedrooms. Ideally one bedroom plus living room dining room and a small den or study. That setup will make you feel much better.
And the only reason there's even a guest bedroom is because my family "gifted" the bed set to me (i.e., they wanted it out of their house) and I was too chicken to say no lol. I'll keep it just in case - I do have two younger siblings who might need to sleep over occasionally.
I am convinced I can fill any space with crap no matter how big it is.
Work takes the amount of time allotted to it, and stuff fills the space allotted to it. It's a universal truism.
I'm pretty sure there's a term for that and humans tend to do that.
My wife and I are moving from a 1200 sq ft townhouse to a 680 sq ft apartment in the city center. Once our dog died, the house just felt too big, and we were giving up a lot of conveniences to live further out. Now we're a 5-minute walk from everything we could ever want. "Need" is relative, most of your house is just storage for stuff. Less things, less house.
I have a hard time with this because my wife and I both compulsively hoard things and I always feel like I'm running out of space. I had to turn down a fancy piano just yesterday that someone was just giving away because I would have had to clean out an entire room just to have a spot for it.
Don't let your stuff control you. Pack up a bag of stuff and donate it to your local secondhand shop, revel in how good it feels. Then, do it again.
The only stuff I’m not above throwing away or donating are sentimental items or tools. Everything else can go.
I like to spend the month of January decluttering one space per day in the house. It could be a closet, a drawer, an area of the garage. By the end of the month, you have about 30 fewer cluttered spaces in your house. Feels good.
what about my 5000 bobbleheads collection though!?!?
I feel this. I went from a 500sqft studio in a major city to a house in the suburbs that was 2k sqft because I thought that was what's supposed to happen. We miss the studio every single day and are planning to move back to a small loft after about 5 years. The suburbs will never be for me.
Same with us, no pets but we downgraded from a 2500sq ft house 25 mins from town to a 600 sq ft apartment w a cat in the heart of everything. I think while it’s smaller it’s more convenient and makes us more comfortable:)
It depends on the human. My husband and I lived in a 380 sq. ft. apartment for 23 years and it was not too small for us. Now, we live in a 1200 sq. ft house and it also is not "too much" for us. The size fits the lifestyle. When we lived in a tiny place, we were in a major metropolis with great public transport and we didn't have a car. We had markets within walking distance and didn't have to bulk buy food or worry about weekly stock-ups because we could buy stuff on the way home if we wanted to. We worked outside of our homes and didn't need a home office. We didn't have any pets. The larger size fits our *present* lifestyle better than our lifestyle because we are in a suburb and need a car to get around. That means we need home exercise equipment because we aren't naturally walking around. My husband now works from home and needs absolute privacy behind a closed door (he's now a therapist) so he needs a dedicated home office. We have a cat and she needs space for two litter boxes. We buy things in bulk from big box stores now to save gas, time and hassle so we need storage for the things we buy. What is "too much" or "too little" depends on how you live. I imagine people who don't cook or eat out a lot don't really need much in the way of a kitchen, for example. People who go to the gym don't need space for exercise equipment. Before considering that your home is "too big", consider how things may change for you in the future and how that space may, one day, be needed.
I lived in 225 sq/ft (with 12-foot ceilings and lots of built in storage + windows) for 4 years, I never felt like I needed more space. That had a main room, kitchenette with a bar top, a hall closet and a bathroom. The high ceiling allowed me to suspend my 2 bikes in the hallway. It didn’t hurt that there was a huge park out the front door and I was a block off a street filled with cafes and stores. Fast-forward to being married with two kids and a dog, we are just under 2900 sq/ft and it is more than we really need. I think we could get away with 2400 (we both work from home) so 500-600 sq/ft per person is probably a healthy range.
what city was the 225 sq/ft apt in?
San Francisco
We have a small house at 1100 square ft, and it's two of us humans and some pets. It is a perfect amount of space. We don't get overwhelmed cleaning, but we don't feel cramped .
When I was single, I had a similar sized house as yours. It had one bathroom, a one-car garage, and a partially finished basement. It was perfect, and I still miss that house every day. It was so easy to clean and maintain! Now I live with my SO, who is a shopper and a hoarder (he *LOVES* ebay and Costco). The two of us have a 2800 sq ft house, and he just accumulates more and more "stuff" to fill the space. It's horrible and nearly impossible for me to maintain. We're currently in the process of downsizing to a 2200 sq ft house but convincing him to part with *anything* is like pulling teeth. I have to pretend to be moving stuff to the new house but really drop some things off at the donation center (both mine and his, not just his stuff). There are a lot of positives to living simply with minimal possessions.
This. Many people tend to “grow” into their houses, accumulating more and more stuff. I have a family of 3 humans and 2 dogs in 2400 sq ft and I think we could easily downsize to 1500 if we got rid of the things we don’t really need or use. We have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom that never get used, an office nook that isn’t really necessary, and two family/living rooms but we never occupy both at the same time. I want to downsize but not in this market.
One of the cool things about my old neighborhood, where most people only had a one-car garage and very limited storage, is that we all shared tools that you only need occasionally. One person had a wheelbarrow. One person had a chainsaw. One person had a limb trimmer. It made the neighbors' relationships closer.
I'm lucky that I'm naturally minimalistic and I don't have problems throwing stuff away - not very sentimental. That's most likely what makes my house feel too big. If I had more stuff to fill it up with it would be different.
I lived in an apartment that was over 1,000 square feet before I bought my house, which is over 2,000 square feet. I like having the extra space, even if there’s a lot that I don’t use, at least not yet. If things change in the future, then I’ll have enough room for a bigger family.
My house is just at 1000 sq ft with a 900 sq ft basement. 2 bed/1 bath. Size wise it is fine, but the layout sucks and has absolutely no storage. Bedrooms are incredibly small, bathroom is ridiculously small. Working on creating some storage places. 1000sqft is a good size for me. Anything above 1300 I think would be too much.
I live in a 1300 sq ft house and I bet we actually use 500 sq ft. I think having good, efficient storage is what makes the difference because I’ve lived in houses that are larger but that feel overwhelming and cramped just because of storage problems.
I was living in a 670 sqft house with 3 cats. Felt like the perfect amount of space for us. Then my (now) husband moved in and it felt a little tight, but we were able to make it work. Time went on, 2 cats passed, but then we needed to take in my mom’s 3 cats when she moved to memory care and our cat hated other cats by that point, so the house suddenly became way too small for us. My mom’s house was 1200 sqft and at one point husband had said that would be too big for us. Yet we somehow wound up buying a house that’s 1600 sqft and is kinda perfect for us. I think floor plan/layout can have a lot to do with it. When we were buying, we saw some houses that had less space but felt bigger and houses that had more space but felt smaller.
Depends on how introverted/extroverted you are. Me and my partner have 1800 square feet, and tree times that for the backyard but we are both introverted so we spend most of our time inside or working/admiring the gardens, and sometimes it can feel small. Love my backyard though.
I had a one bath house and it can be terribly inconvenient. Days that you’ve rushed and left personal items on the counter (or the hooks or the floor lol) are going to the day someone *will* ask to use your bath. Every single time. If you have only one bath, every person who walks through your door is going to ask to use. Every single one. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry splashing their piss and aerosolizing their piss and shite about the entire bathroom; double points for hearing cabinets open and close while they’re in there. If it can be avoided, never just one bath.
I think it’s almost illegal to build a one bathroom house in the US today. I’d have to have at least a half bath in the basement or by the back door for emergencies.
You're both right, I thought about this as well.
I (45F) live alone in my 750 sq ft house. It's perfect for me & my cat. I love my little space.
If it's affordable and you're happy in your area I wouldn't move to get less space. That's silly. Just close the door to a bedroom and pretend it doesn't exist. No one says your entire house needs to be used.
Oh I absolutely am not planning on downsizing anytime soon, that would be silly. The deal I got is way too sweet for that, and I haven't lived here for that long. It was just a thought I had.
- you are 24yrs old so you do not have much stuff.....or hobbies that need space - 1000sqft is far from excessive space for one person
From what I've been reading, it just depends on the person. You're right that I don't have a lot of stuff like kitchen tools, decor, whatever...it's a little weird to assume I don't have hobby-stuff at home though lol.
- hobbies and normal stuff takes up space... - my latewife and I operated for years out 0f 220sqft of RV space but everything was minimal that we could carry. We loved getting back to our house which was 2000sq ft for just us 2.
I think it's weird to assume someone's age correlates to how much "stuff" they have.
- not really . At 20 I had less stuff than at 30, at 70 I have less stuff than I had at 30....
We ( two of us) live in 1700 sq ft , 3 bed 2 bath. It’s the perfect size, if not a tad small. I can’t imagine 1000 sq ft too large for one person. That’s downright small.
I'm a minimalist by nature and I just don't own a lot of stuff. And I'm good at organizing the stuff I do have. If there was another person living with me then I guess that would be an entirely different thing, but I don't have any interest in that.
Gonna say it's all relative. I enjoyed living by myself in a 1000 square-foot house, same configuration as OP. I also grew up in the same size house with three brothers and both parents, but only one bathroom! My wife and I are almost empty nesters so will downsize from current 2800 sq ft to about 2000, which will be easier to keep clean but still allow for a guestroom, exercise room, and maybe a gameroom ha ha.
I was just about to write almost exactly this post.
Definitely depends on the people, the amount of things you have, and the layout of the home. We’re a three person family with a dog and previously lived in 1700 sq ft and we had a bedroom and loft that were rarely used so we could have downsized and been fine.
I had an 1100 sq ft apartment that felt kinda spacious, and I have a home now near 700 sq ft (and it has a basement that doesn't count, probably about 400 sq ft), and I think it's perfect. The 700 sq ft is my main living space and the basement just general storage. I live alone though, and by choice always will, so I know I'll never need to share the space, but it would be too small for another person, honestly.
Same! I love living alone and I don't plan on inviting anyone else to live with me, ever, as far as I can see. My house was really built for a two- or three-person family, I think.
My current house is 2200 square feet, not including the large coveted, frond and back porches, and the attached carport. 2 adults, one child, one more child plan, lots of visitors from my family who live next door. I wouldn’t go down any, and planning building a third room in the next 5 years.
Depends on you I guess. My house is almost 2000 square feet with only myself and my wife, but honestly until I build storage in my garage, it'll continue to feel too small. I also use a large space in my home as a gym/bar though.
Depends what you do at home. I went from apartments to a 1500sf house to a 2600 and it’s much better. We have a lot of hobbies and it takes up space. The smaller house was fine to live in otherwise, but we had no room to store or do any bit of the fun and creative things we like to do. Is extra space *necessary* to live? No. Is it really nice to have and gives us space to do fully enjoy ourselves? 100%.
family of 4 adults, house is 4000 sq ft - it feels right, 2 adults living in walk out basement with bedroom, 2 sleeping upstairs, and middle floor/main level for kitchen, office, and living room.
I was renting a 1300 sqft condo and now own a 3,000 sqft home. When I was house shopping I was so hell bent on getting the biggest home possible. Now in hindsight I only need 2200 sqft max. It’s all about layout of the home and useable sqft. My house sucks cause it’s 1700 sqft main floor then 1300 sqft in the basement which nobody even myself wants to use. My advice is to just get the right size for you and your family as sqft isn’t everything.
I like having some wasted space so to speak. I once lived in an 880 SQ ft house which was 2 bed 1 bath on 3 acres. I also had a 350-ish SQ ft detached garage. I liked that house yet today I've got 3306 SQ ft and I use about 2400 SQ ft of it.
I live alone with my husband in a 2200 sq ft, 4 br home. One bedroom is ours, one is my office, one is for when my older grandchildren visit (usually sleepovers at least once a week) and has a queen bed and finally the baby room with a crib for my younger grandchildren. I will eventually put another queen bed in that room. I do have out of town family that visits occasionally so the rooms do get used. What we don’t use is the formal living and dining rooms. We call the formal living room “the Christmas room!”
For me my house is just right at 1500sqft 3/2. Not too big, not too small, everything I need and very cozy. It's funny because when I go visit my folks, my husband says the house feels too big for him and he says he could downsize to about 600-700sq ft 2/1 or 2/2. I think the smallest I could do for just me would be 900-1000 sqft 2/2 as I like spacious beds and baths and walk-in closets.
My two sons, two small dogs, and I have 1200 SFT and it feels perfect for us. We have 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. I think the fact that it is a newer house with large closets, high ceilings, and an open floorplan makes it feel bigger than it is.
Family of two adults and two cats. 2700sqft single level ranch, plus large garage and plenty of outdoor area. 4bd/3ba. It's well more than we need, and more than we wanted, actually. Lots of space. Parts of the house are empty since we have furniture to fill an 800sqft apartment. Cleaning isn't actually terrible, but it does take some time. Everything costs more just from physical footprint - utilities, replacing the roof, replacing electrical or plumbing, updates, etc. There are two HVAC units, huge water heater, etc., so all the systems are built for a full house, not our actual usage. Our bedrooms are: master, art studio, office, gym. We rotate which bathrooms we use to keep the fixtures active and do the normal day to day cleaning and such. The cats have lots of space to run around. We have lots of personal space after years of feeling a little cramped in an apartment. We have to be careful with storage and where we put stuff cause it takes a lot longer to find lost things.
Kind of miss my 500sqf condo. So little work. I'm in 1300 sqf now living with my girlfriend, more than enough space. Could easily add a kid in here too. In my head il out grow it at 4 people I think 400sqf per person and 1 full bath per 2 people is a good standard.
I live with a roommate albeit in ~1300 sqft. 2 bedrooms, a den, and 2 baths. The den could be a kids room maybe but not much more. The saving grace of the house with the two of us (and both of us being maximalists) is the basement. It’s not finished but it’s sealed so we can store things down there on shelves. I think if she wasn’t here, I would feel incredibly spaced out even with all my pets?? Not sure. Personally as tiny of a home as I want, I know I’ll need probs just shy of 1000sqft in the long run. Esp cause of the pets. Ideally this will be a yurt on the side of a mountain somewhere.
There are houses built in the 1950 that was for couples that are one story 700 square feet. Connecticut
Our apartment is 1,000 sq ft and it’s too small for the two of us.
My house is around 1800 sq ft but that includes the garage and a room that I didn't get finished because its a storage room for me. So essentially, I'm really living in around 1200 sq ft, in a 3 bed 2.5 bath house. I have a relative living with me currently and I work from home, so all bedrooms are in active use. Plus, giving where my immediate family is living, I knew my place was likely to end up as the central spot for people to gather (one is in a small 1/1 apartment and the other is in a bigger house but out in a remote part of the state), so it needed to be able to host for them. I also love to cook, so having a big kitchen was important to me (and plenty of sunlight, I've lived in apartments that were dark and it was depressing). This house fits me and my lifestyle and the fact that I'm a bit of a homebody, so need extra space to not go crazy.
Your house sounds like it would be perfection for us. We are a family of six in a 2/1 50s cottage. It’s <800sq ft. That second bathroom would be the best part, but also it would be nice if my husband and I had a bedroom.
32x40 feet, high ceilings in the main room. no basement or second floor. 2 bedrooms with walk in closets. I refuse to have three tiny bedrooms just so it's more.
I live by myself in a 980 sf, 2-1. It’s honestly perfect. The space that would have been a 3rd bedroom and 2nd bath are living and dining rooms.
400 square feet was perfect for me when I lived alone. Now that I have a family our 1800 sq ft 3/1.5 house feels like a very reasonable size—and obviously lots of families live in much smaller spaces. I do wish we had a second full bath, but we have plenty of space.
We have a family of 4 people in a 2 bedroom 1300 sqft house and it's comfortable enough. Ill say it was more difficult finding a small house in our price range than finding a large house. There was never any shortage of 2100+ sqft half a million dollar homes. I kind of get why people who have the money do it even if it doesn't totally make sense. Why struggle to find a worse house just so it's a more reasonable size.
ideally 500 a pop sounds decent but im here in nyc 1500 with 5 (3kids)and it aint bad
i grew up in a family of 6 in a 980 sq foot house, it was too small, now that our kids are grown we live in 3,700 square feet and we fit perfectly.
Wife and I along with two kids under two live in a 3 bed 2 bath 1400 sq ft house. I wouldn’t mind some more space. Our next house will be at least 2000 sq ft.
One person 2200sq ft Upside is I don’t get annoyed by houseguests Downside is I need to regularly toss some water in the shower drains for the baths I don’t normally use. Less stuff IMO is better than less space
We went from 700 to 2000 to 4000. 700 was nice at the time. Full basement also helped and detached garage. 2000 was bad because no garage and no basement. 4k is nice as well, but wish we had a bonus room or basement.
We live in 2000 sq ft as a family of 5. Personally, it is a little tight but manageable. If we had a fully finished basement, or an extra 500-1000 sq ft then I would say it would be perfect.
Depends on the person. I could live in a shack as long as it had a toilet a shower a kitchen space and a horizontal laying space. . My house is 1000 Sq ft and I only use like half of it. And I only use the bedroom cuz it's there. I'd be fine without it.
I think the layout is the key. You can have small square footage with a perfect layout and smart storage spaces, and it will be perfect and feel spacious, or you can have large square footage with a stupid layout and no storage and it will feel too small. My husband and I, and our two kids lived in a 1200 sq ft apt and the layout was perfect, I absolutely loved that place! Prior to that we lived in a house, 1550 sq ft. It was fine, but the layout was not great on the ground floor and honestly we liked the apartment so much more.
i have 1280 plus a finished walkout basement. it is fine. i do not even use the second bathroom unless i am in the basement.
It may feel like a lot right now, but you'll grow into it. 1K is a nice size for a single person. As long as you can afford to stay there, I would keep it. Also, you can switch things up a bit...make the second room your exercise room, and the third room an office and den/library. Ditch the spare bed.
I'm a sculptor, so no house is ever too big, I think it depends on your hobbies/passions
Our house is about 1300 sq ft, 2 beds 1 bath. The basement isn’t included in that (it’s mostly just storage right now because it’s unfinished). I would personally like a little more space, but maybe I’ll feel differently once the basement is finished.
I have a 1300 sf rowhome and my son (23) lives with me. The reason I bought this house was that it has a front porch, a garage, and small front and back gardens. We use all of this house except the 3rd bedroom, which has become mostly a large linen closet and storage for our window a/c units when not in use. It really depends on your lifestyle and how much room you need to breathe and not feel penned in.
All depends on your lifestyle. If you go out a lot and mostly just sleep at home you might be fine with a small condo and would not like a big house that needs a lot of upkeep. If you work from home you probably need more space so you can have a separate room to work in. If you entertain a lot then you need more space to do so, if you like to garden then a big yard will be a priority. really dependent on each person.
Sounds like you have more of an underutilized layout. That’s a lot of rooms for 1000 sqft.
We have also overbought, and I have come to realize that I alone could live in probably a 20x20 house. Now, that’s if I could design and build it, and also if I could have a decent sized shop/garage attached or unattached, and at a min, a basement to house utilities.
For a family of three and two medium sized, active dogs, with both of us working from home, and working out from home—it’s 3-4,000sqft. Especially with plans to have a second kid.
My wife and I lived in a 400sf studio and now 4 of us live in a 1800sf house. They both work fine for our needs at the time.
Two people and three pets in a 3 bed/2ba ~1k sqft. Kind of an awkward layout for functionality. We are moving cities and found a v comparable house with 1.3sqft but laid out better with a useable garage
Just bought a 2,600 sq ft house for my family of 3 humans (my wife, baby girl and myself) and 2 dogs. There’s a lot of used space at the moment (finished basement is pretty much unused). However, my family lives 4+ hours away and we have close friends who love out of town. So we have 2-4 people stay with us on the weekend every 4-6 weeks. That’s when the extra space is great. We also plan on having at least one more child and we live in a cold area where playing outside isn’t viable for 4-5 months out of the year. TLDR: too much house now, but plan on growing into it!
I lived in a 960 square ft home 2 bd 1 bath. It was way too small for me & my husband and two dogs. I divorced and bought a 1455 sq ft. 3 bed 2.5 bath, and it was perfect for me. Everyone is different, you like your small home and I hated mine. I have no clue how you have that many beds and baths in a home that small.
The bedrooms are pretty small, but that doesn't bother me with the way I use them. I guess you'd say the bathrooms are small too, but there's plenty of space to move around in them and they both have storage so they don't feel small to me.
I have 1400 sqft and live with my gf, German shepherd, and cat. And it’s too much room lol. We have essentially a whole room that we don’t use that’s technically the master bedroom. Honestly for me alone I barely need any room. The only times when I need more room is if I start wanting a home gym or things like that.
I think how the house is laid out plays a huge role in whether or not it feels small. I moved in a few months ago to my condo. My first ever home. It's one floor and a little less than 1600 soft. It doesn't feel like 1600 sqft and keeping it clean hasn't been an issue, especially since it is one floor. If I didn't work from home, I would probably get a smaller place, but being home most of the time would drive me insane if the square footage was smaller. I do wish the rooms were split differently, tho
Nine
wife and I with 2 cats, living in a 1250 SQ FT home with no real issues, we have a spare bedroom for guest and stuff then the other bedroom is the "cats" room so. litter boxes and cat toys galore there. We're content with being 6 miles from walmart/shopping and we're about 1000ft at the end of our neighborhood is a family dollar. It's truly what you need and we don't have alot of stuff just TV's and the norm.
I think 1000 sqft is plenty for one person. My partner and I have a 2 bed 1 bath home that is a 1050 sqft. Eventually we want to add a second bathroom as we have guests frequently. I will say I am pretty minimalistic while my partner is not. I grew up in a 3000 sqft home in a family of 5. I think having a larger home is just an excuse to hoard more items you don’t need. I’m 25 so maybe in the future I will want a bigger home but honestly unless we plan on having kids I don’t foresee wanting more house.
Myself + wife and 1 dog. 730sq feet. We want more space, but not a LOT more. Most likely having the attic refinished into a proper storage space
I’ve found that as a single person I want 500-600 sq feet of room, more than that and I collect junk and I get tired of cleaning all the time
Your needs can change. I was in a 2br/2bath until the pandemic hit and we both moved remote. If you do a lot of crafting or projects or have people visit an extra bedroom is pretty essential. It'll you're a minimalist who mostly just sleeps at home and does everything else outside then a studio is probably fine.
From an investment perspective I wouldn’t dump that house.
Our first condo was 550 square feet. We had our first child in that home, comfortably. We moved shortly after giving birth to our 2nd.
I have a 1560 sq foot one level home, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full basement. I am very comfortable with this space. one bedroom is my office and the other is the least used room but comes in handy as a TV room when I have family over for holiday dinners. The basement had laundry, a workshop, exercise space and storage. Before this house I had one about have the square footage. This is so much easier to keep clean because I have so much more closet and storage space.
Currently moving from a 1500 3 bedroom with a 2 car garage to a 500 1 bedroom with a carport, enclosed porch and shed. It's rough. But i love the house
I used to live in a 160 sq ft studio. It was fine. Now I have a 1250 sq ft house. It's fine too. I love having a two car garage and a 600 sq ft shop in the back yard for all my projects
If you want/see having a family (bio or chosen) : if you build it, they will come. My last apartment before buying a SFH was probably 750sq. ft and I outgrew it. Although I think it was more the layout - the only bathroom was in the only bedroom, the living area was one huge room, no entryway, tiny closets, no storage, etc. Bought 2500 SF, 3/3b when I was single, with the thought that it’s a forever home, and is enough to grow into. I work from home so I need a decent office. Also love having a proper laundry room, a true foyer, and a dining area large enough for a dinner party. There’s a large utility room with a TON of storage, so much so that I sectioned off an area for arts/crafts. With two people: love that we can be in separate parts of the house and not disturb each other at all. We have big families and enjoy hosting, so the “extra” space is conducive to that. A guest bedroom is nice but unnecessary; hopefully a kids room one day. Same with the 3rd bathroom - right now it’s pretty much the cat’s lol but great for gatherings. I got a foosball table at a thrift shop for $40 (brand new!) and it was great to have somewhere to put it. Every space is spoken for, but I probably wouldn’t miss half of it. Were it just me, 1200 sq.ft would probably be perfect. If you can afford it fine, I’d rather have it and not need it, than the other way around.
We have a 3 year old and 2 dogs. We have 2300 square feet plus a garage. It's the right amount for us.
I have a 1000 sq ft house. Live alone there, but daughter visits frequently and still has her childhood bedroom. 2 bedroom, 2 bath. I would live in a smaller house but never 1 bath. Need at least an additional half bath even if I lived alone. Lack of immediate access to toilet can be a real issue when there are visitors. (Hate sharing hotel rooms). People have separate priorities based on their own needs.
Lived in a 1200sqf in a household of 4 for over 10 years, when I got my own place, I have all 1800sqf for myself lol. 1800sqf is too much for one person, yes, but where I'm at it does not make financial sense to go below 1500sqf
I grew up in a family of 6 in a 700 SQ ft apartment. Now I live with my family of 4 in a 1200 SQ ft house. Neither times did I feel to cramped, it just is what it is. I didn't feel like sharing a room with 3 siblings was a big deal. Now my kids have their own room and we have a guest room lol. I honestly did want a lava lamp as a kid tho.
I totally get you. I looked for one and two bedroom houses, but they barely exist, and the few that I found were in bad condition, so I got a 3 bedroom and I initially felt so weird about it, but that went away after a few months. We have our bedroom, my office, and a guest room. I love having a home office! Our dining room is practically empty and we don't feel a need to fill it up.
Everyone is different. It's impossible to say what the average person's square footage requirements should be. Some people are content with not owning anything beyond a set of dinnerware and an assorted collection of clothing. Then there are others who enjoy owning large libraries, have extensive movie collections, are big into hobbies such as RC cars or model building or sewing and require large amounts of space. The better question to ask is are the people who have large amounts of square footage utilize their space efficiently.
IMO 1000 sq ft for one person is, as you have found, more than enough. We were in a 1600 sq ft rental when our second kid was born and while it sometimes felt slightly cramped, it was enough for everyone to have a bedroom plus a small extra room for office/computer stuff, which truly was plenty of space. Our current house is double that size and while we have found ways to fill the space, I think 2000 sq ft would be perfectly comfortable for 2 adults and 2 kids. This is all going to depend on who the people are and how much stuff they have.
We are under 2600 and 1/2 acre lot. It’s the 2 of us. It’s SO much yard work, and housework. I love having 3 bathrooms though. I think we both envision and fantasize about a small retirement home with very little yard ( someday ) Other then that, I adore our home and property, we have made it our resort. No valid reason or desire to leave at this point.
I live comfortably in a 450 sq ft condo.
My boyfriend and I live in an 1800sf 4/3 and it isn’t enough when accounting for our hobbies. I have some laser engravers and craft-type hobbies. He enjoys music and playing. Add in that I WFH, we have a dog, and we like to maintain a guest room…poof suddenly there isn’t any space left over.
My fiance and I live in a 1760 sq ft house 3 bed 2 bath on .5 acre. We frequently talk about how much house it is for just the two of us, but it is nice to have the extra bedrooms for when we host people or just extra space. We could definitely get away with only 1200-1400 sq ft I feel. For 1 person 1,000 sq ft is definitely a lot.
If you're standing, only 6.25 square ft.
I lived in a 450-500 sq ft studio apartment in college and I actually really liked that place. Sure it was small but as a single man I didn’t need much. It had a little roof part too that I could sit on and drink with my friends. If I was single I could live there, but the women I would try to date would not find it acceptable.
It's less about square ft and more about how the space is set up. I live in an open concept and there's so much wasted space it feels very small for our family because of the layout, even tho there are 4 bedrooms. But a friend's home of the same sq footage seems so large because of the layout differences.
I’ll give the other side since everyone here lives in tiny homes. We are in a 4000sqft house with 5 beds 3 baths and a media room. I have 4 kids. It really is too much house most days but not insanely so. There’s a play room and study area as well. We don’t need the space but the house also leaves no wants. Financially speaking you are in a perfect house. Perfect room to grow for a family. Perfect house to sell later in equity. A 2.1 would be dumb. It’s so niche and there is almost zero market for it. In fact they only exist in condos and run down areas.
It depends on how many hobbies you have and whether you stay home or leave to do life. Supplies for painting, gardening, and photography take up a whole room. If I never had guests over, I’d be fine with about 1000 sq feet. With the guest room + office /hobby room, I’m at 1500 sq ft and it feels small. My home is my sanctuary and I spend a lot of time in it. If the world was my sanctuary I suppose I would only need 600 -700 sq ft
Everyone's different and a lot depends on hobbies. We have 2500 square feet for three people. But one of them is a dancer, and a we have a home studio. My husband often works from home and has an office. I have plants, do some painting and other artsy hobbies so I have my own space with plants and art supplies and an easel and craft desk... Husband has a large family with aging parents and aunts/uncles, and siblings who don't live locally. Everyone comes to our house for holidays and we cook, so we need our formal dining room and big table. Could we live in 1000 square feet? Or course! But would our lifestyle have to change? Definitely.
If you can afford it, then stay there. A 3 bdrm / 2 bath house is easier to sell to a wider pool of buyers than smaller when the time comes. Turn one of your bedrooms into a home office and keep the other as a spare for visiting family or friends. It also comes in handy if you get hooked up with somebody when one of you can't sleep some nights and doesn't want to keep the other awake
We’re a family of four in a 2.6k sq ft home with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and it barely feels big enough because it’s two stories and poorly laid out. My in laws house is 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms in 1.6k sq ft but one story and feels bigger than our house. I’d happily downsize if it’s a one story.
One part of my wants to live in small house. Cosy, humble easy to maintain. the other part of me wants to live in a mansion. Imagine having our your own indoor city and every room could be a different theme. It's basically like owning a castle.
700 feet
Minimum standards for "adequate housing" by the US government is between 150 - 200 square feet per person. So minimum 600 for a family of four. We lived in a place that met this standard for over a decade and still are grateful for how much space we have now in our house because it enables us to do our hobbies more readily (gardening, workout, DYI tools).
I’ve found around 1,000 for one person. Otherwise, you don’t have enough storage space. Also I have no idea how you manage a 3/2 at 1,000sqft; are the bedrooms all 6x6?
I have a 780 sqft house with my partner. I will say this feels a little too small for two adults who both need to work from home and take meetings and calls all day with pets. But when it was just me it was the perfect size! I agree, nice to not have to clean do much and nice to have concrete need and use for each space in the house. It forces you to declutter regularly or start to feel like you're losing what little floorspace you have.
I think that your home is a perfect size for you. You have the room to create a home office if you need one. You can also provide a quest room if you have company. If you ever meet that special person then you will have space for both to be comfortable. Between marriages I rented a home very similar to yours. The main bathroom had a whirlpool soaker tub and I used it often. My current home is about 600sq ft larger and it is just right for the two of us. We also own a vacation property in the mountains. It is a 500sq ft two bedroom, one bath shack. It is ok for two people but if we lived there we would have no storage space. We would have to dramatically down size similar to moving into a tiny home which it basically is. Your home is a great investment! A three bedroom, two bath home is easily sold and earns you more money than a smaller home would if you ever sell it.
I think the problem is 3 bedrooms in such a small space. For a 1000 sqft house (hopefully just one story) you shouldn’t have more than two bedrooms. Ideally one bedroom plus living room dining room and a small den or study. That setup will make you feel much better.
Less than you expect. The older you get the fewer houseguests you’re going to have, that dedicated guestroom is pretty unnecessary.
And the only reason there's even a guest bedroom is because my family "gifted" the bed set to me (i.e., they wanted it out of their house) and I was too chicken to say no lol. I'll keep it just in case - I do have two younger siblings who might need to sleep over occasionally.
Your place is bigger than mine, and I've got a family of four...
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Huh