Our (me plus wife and kid) previous apartment was 900sqft, and our house is now 800sqft, and while a bit tight, this works pretty well for our family.
I like the aesthetics of big homes, but practically, I just don’t need all that space. We spend pretty much 80% of the time in the same 250sqft (living).
I would love me a garage/workspace though.
Nothing needs to be huge, but I think a door is a pretty big deal.
We had a purpose for each room of the house.
- the formal dining room was closed off and turned into an office.
- guest bedroom downstairs with a full attached bath. Our parents are getting older and it’s just nice to have a separate bedroom downstairs for even “temporary” disabilities.
- of course the master bedroom for my wife
- bedroom for our teenage son
- bedroom turned into a home gym with weights, a weight bench, treadmill, elliptical, and soon stationary bike
- bedroom for my wife to have as a personal study and a game room when my son’s friends come over.
We stayed well under budget, and chose to move about 10 miles out and bought a house for half the price with still good schools.
Finally, we had each room wired for gigabit Ethernet.
Personally, have the extra space is nice up to a point. I'd say 1200 sq ft is good for a family of 3. Can you make it work with less? Of course, but the extra space has a lot of utility.
Sigh.
And then your daughter becomes a teenager. (I'm in 1100 sq ft. But that was intentional, so we just have to deal with it now. She'll be in college next year, so there's light at the end of the tunnel.)
I want some land so I can plant fruit and nut trees, and build a couple raised garden beds.
> Our (me plus wife and kid) previous apartment was 900sqft, and our house is now 800sqft, and while a bit tight, this works pretty well for our family.
I couldn't do that. I lived alone in 980sf, and that felt tight. Granted, I turned my second bedroom into an electronics/computer lab and own a lot of books, but on top of that the kitchen was tiny and storage for clothes, linens, and household items seriously lacking.
I’m not sure it would work with 2 of them, but it will probably be fine with one.