Ideal ratio of space to people?

**zakity** · 06-20-2011, 03:56 PM

We have 5 people (and we homeschooled) in a 1024 sq ft house. We do have a two car attached garage (not heated or insulated). The house was fine with the boys were little. Now that they are teens and "adult-sized", the house has shrank up considerably. It is still workable though.

**monkeywrangler71** · 06-20-2011, 07:43 PM

I don't think space per person is nearly as important as having enough space in the right places. Have enough room at the back door for people to come in and put their boots away without tripping over each other; make the hallways wide enough for people to pass each other; make the dining area big enough that people can walk around the table without squeezing past people; and make the kitchen big enough that two people can do two different things in it at the same time.

Biggest waste of space I ever had in a house was a bathroom the size of a small bedroom, you can't do anything with the middle of the bathroom. I also find large bedrooms a bit of a waste, especially for children. In my experience their stuff just expands to fit the available space, bigger room = more junk.

A walk-in closet is the best thing ever invented, I could use the space in a walk-in so much more efficiently. It's so much easier to see, find, and access everything. If your plan doesn't include them I would recommend you consider adding them. You can get away with a significantly smaller bedroom if it has a decent walk-in closet; everything can go in the closet and nothing needs to be in the bedroom except the bed. Really cuts the visual clutter, which is important with a large family in a small space.

I don't think it's a bad thing to use the same space for multiple purposes - like schooling at the table. I actually think that's a good thing to plan for, because it ends up happening anyway no matter how big your house is. I would just plan for a large dining area with lots of storage nearby to accommodate all the various supplies.

**monkeywrangler71** · 06-20-2011, 07:51 PM

Just one more thing about making the dining area large (really harping on that aren't I?). When your kids grow up and leave, it's the one space that still needs to be family sized - in fact you'll need it to be even bigger than when they were living at home. They're going to be coming over with spouses and children and you're going to have to squeeze even more people in there. Both my parents and my inlaws regret the small size of their dining rooms (although my parents had no choice since they converted an existing room).

**Darlene** · 06-20-2011, 08:11 PM

I really like your possible plan & it's close to what I'd like. I especially like that there is no diningroom which in our family has always been seldom used. Like your idea about pantry space too. Oh not a big fan of huge bedrooms, they are for sleeping for the most part...

**annymoll** · 06-20-2011, 08:49 PM

We have a Victorian and it is huge.It has almost 5,000 SF, not including the basement and attic.When the kids were growing up it was spacious and had extra room. Friends and family used our home when they came in the area and everyone had space. Now it is just the two of us, and is too large. But I love it, and it is paid in full.I don't want to leave it yet.If the economy collapses our family can live under one roof. I like the plan you showed. I can understand needing more space( or wanting it) because you homeschool. I can't wait to hear about the new house! It is exciting!

**Spirit Deer** · 06-20-2011, 08:50 PM

Agree about walk-in closets and also walk-in pantries. My first thought when we looked at the model home with the floor plan we bought was that the walk-in pantry was a waste of space. Wow, was I WRONG! It's now one of my favorite things about our house, and does it ever hold the stuff! Walk-in closets also give you more wall space because there's one small door to them, instead of a bank of doors taking up wall space you could use to set dressers and stuff against.

One thing about the floor plan you posted. You'll be paying a lot more for labor to build a house with all those indentations and bump-outs and such. The most economical way to build would be with four straight sides, either a rectangle or square. Everything else takes a lot more time to build.

Have you considered a dome home? You can buy DIY kits for those, and they're usually very open and are very efficient to heat and cool.

Another thing I thought of today while I was thinking about your house is, be sure you situate the house on the property so you can build decks off of it later, if you decide to. Extending your outdoor living space can really make a smaller house seem bigger, because you're adding more living space outside.