How many square feet do you need to be comfortable?
Most people have no idea. Because we didn’t learn the answer in high school, university or over coffee with a friend.
We used a system commonly known as trial and error. Or went with what we wanted vs what we needed, or let a developer decide for us.
My wife and I can’t justify anything over 1,050 sq. ft. (not incl. basement).
Even that’s tough. Do we need a TV room and two spare bedrooms? Plus a basement filled with stuff?
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How many sq. ft. do you need?
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5 comments:
This is one of my pet peeves. I cannot imagine living in such ridiculous "luxury" and being able to look at yourself in the mirror.
Perhaps it is because I have always lived in apartments and homes of smaller sizes that I find myself (and my girlfriend)not needing much space at all.
Currently our apartment is 625 sq ft and beyond a formal office/den and a laundry room with some storage there isn't much more that we could really make effective use of.
Looking at floor plans of houses and condos (both apartment and townhouse style) I often find myself think of what people do with all that extra room and normally I come down to the storage of "useless crap".
If I had to put a number of it a place roughly twice the size of what we have, so 1000 - 1200 sq ft. (with no basement needed) or so would be more than enough.
(of course it has to be noted that I do not have children)
Thanks for your visit, bobbie.
Luxury certainly means a lot of different things. The gift of time is one of my favourite luxuries and a small lifestyle suits me fine, especially time-wise.
keep well.
GAH
Hi KVL,
Thanks for dropping by. 1000 - 1200 sq. ft. is right up my alley too.
My wife and I share 1,050 (not incl. basement, mainly used for laundry and storage) and now that the boys are gone, we could use less.
Puttering in my workshop or in front of the computer are two big hobbies or interests, in amazingly small spaces. I think my Scottish heritage informs me to live small. Seems right by me.
Cheers,
GAH
I suppose the size that is appropriate depends on the purpose the building will serve. For two people, well, huge is just silly. For a large family, or one that may become large, more space (well laid out) is smart ... we call it 'future proofing'.
We started with an 1100 sq foot storey and a half house (one bedroom, open loft, open space on main floor). Great house ... for one adult and one kid. Add one more adult and two more kids half time, and there aren't enough walls or doors or places to put beds by a long shot.
So we had to expand, and we chose to build more than we need *right now* because we may need it in the future (we are the 'home of last resort' for several family members, and could easily have another two couples living here, plus ourselves and three kids of varying ages). The addition is *another* 1000 square foot house, with a basement, attached by a walkway. We can have two fully functional houses (all the infrastructure for kitchen is in both buildings, although only one is finished), and have two full families live with reasonable privacy, or house all our potential crew in reasonable comfort.
In the interim, we have room for loud children to not drive adults crazy, and for all the equipment for weaving and spinning to be spaciously accommodated (cottage industry/hobby).
If you looked at the house from outside and didn't know our situation or reasonings, you might think we were just engaging in conspicuous consumption.
Well ... the rolls of barbed wire and the cobbled together gates and outbuildings would probably make you realize there was something else going on, now that I think of it ... :)
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