How much sq footage for family of 5?

[Anonymous]

I can use a different toilet for every day of the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The debate here sounds a lot like the one going on in my current home. DH grew up in big suburban new build house out West and I grew up in small house on East Coast. We are further along in the search than I probably indicated and the debate is heating up. I think 2000 + unfinished basement for toys, small yard and attic would be fine. He thinks 3000 would give us room to grow into.

No clear answers tonight.

I think how you grew up definitely shapes expectations. I grew up in a large single-family home (6000-plus sq ft) with a huge yard and it was such a fun family home. We always hosted a lot of out-of-town family for holidays, and I always had sleepovers with large groups of friends in elementary school. We loved and used the space. My parents still live in the house and while my mom is starting to complain about the size since they only have one kid left living at home, they love having the space for when we all come back home to visit with the grandkids. It was, and is, my image of a home.

[Anonymous]

I think 2000 would be perfect. We are three people and a dog in 1000, and honestly another 500 would be perfect (although not important enough to give up our 96% walk ability score).

[Anonymous]

We have 4500 above grade for family of five, plus finished basement. Don't need it all since rooms are big, but love this dream house. Love the study, dining room, mud room, media room, exercise room, kitchen, family room, bathrooms, closets, and bedrooms. Plus great schools, great neighbors. Absolutely love it.

Oh, but no sidewalks, so we are supposed to be miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 5 people in 1500 s.f. (though one has left for college and is only home part of the year). We never left our starter house because the neighborhood has ideal amenities for us and we will use the $$$ home equity to help fund our retirement. Now that the kids are moving out, or close to it, it's getting bigger

Thanks for this. My DH has started saying that we will surely need to move eventually once our kids get bigger, but I love our 1500 square foot house (plus finished basement) and want to stay, possibly forever. Right now, kids are 4 and 6 and everyone has a bedroom...

[Anonymous]

We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

[Anonymous]

ideally, you need about 800 sf per person. you need the storage and the separateness.

so for a family with two kids, you should have 3 bedrooms plus a guest room, an office (or some kind of separate space) for both mom and dad, plus plenty of storage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

It is *assumed* that OP has limited funds, otherwise she would not be asking this question. 99.8% of us have to choose between location and size because of budget constraints.

Frankly, if one or both parents have to commute, then time with children is more valuable than square footage. So, shorter commute=closer in=smaller home for same amount of $$$.

Also, layout of a home is really important. I've seen a lot of very poorly laid out homes that waste space in hallways, two-storey foyers (that are empty most of the time), formal dining spaces that are used three times a year, etc. Well-used space could make a 2000 sq foot home as comfortable as a 2500 sq ft home. Also, think about the possibility of buying a home with an unfinished basement, and later converting that into a playroom or den. Just make sure that the basement has high enough ceilings--hard to change the height, but pretty easy to add drywall and tile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

I disagree inherently. I live very comfortably in downtown DC in 1000 square feet, but I would need much more space if I lived outside of the city or even of the core of the city. We rely on community spaces a lot. If we were outside of the city, we would have to drive to get places and thus we would end up at home much more than we are and therefore we would need more space. If I were outside of the city, I would need another car, our own space for bikes, a backyard, a place for a grill, and something to replace all of the "at home" time that we spend in the museums within a couple blocks. Also we would need space to hold all the crap that we would need to entertain ourselves so that we wouldn't die of boredom.

[Anonymous]

Why not just go to a few open houses of varying sizes so you can see and visualize what the different amount of square footage translates to?

I agree layout is a very important consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

I disagree inherently. I live very comfortably in downtown DC in 1000 square feet, but I would need much more space if I lived outside of the city or even of the core of the city. We rely on community spaces a lot. If we were outside of the city, we would have to drive to get places and thus we would end up at home much more than we are and therefore we would need more space. If I were outside of the city, I would need another car, our own space for bikes, a backyard, a place for a grill, and something to replace all of the "at home" time that we spend in the museums within a couple blocks. Also we would need space to hold all the crap that we would need to entertain ourselves so that we wouldn't die of boredom.

lol. yes, I'm sure you spend hours each week at these local museums. get over yourself. I'd die of boredom if I was with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

I disagree inherently. I live very comfortably in downtown DC in 1000 square feet, but I would need much more space if I lived outside of the city or even of the core of the city. We rely on community spaces a lot. If we were outside of the city, we would have to drive to get places and thus we would end up at home much more than we are and therefore we would need more space. If I were outside of the city, I would need another car, our own space for bikes, a backyard, a place for a grill, and something to replace all of the "at home" time that we spend in the museums within a couple blocks. Also we would need space to hold all the crap that we would need to entertain ourselves so that we wouldn't die of boredom.

lol. yes, I'm sure you spend hours each week at these local museums. get over yourself. I'd die of boredom if I was with you.

I agree that PP sounded obnoxious, and I don't think I'd "die of boredom" living in the suburbs. But I live within walking distance of the Mall and we really do go to the museums a lot--sometimes weekly. Ditto the big parks, the zoo, etc. So I think there is something to the theory that you don't need such a big house if there is a lot to do nearby. At least, that's what I'm telling myself and the other 3 members of my family living together in a small row house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

It is *assumed* that OP has limited funds, otherwise she would not be asking this question. 99.8% of us have to choose between location and size because of budget constraints.

Frankly, if one or both parents have to commute, then time with children is more valuable than square footage. So, shorter commute=closer in=smaller home for same amount of $$$.

Also, layout of a home is really important. I've seen a lot of very poorly laid out homes that waste space in hallways, two-storey foyers (that are empty most of the time), formal dining spaces that are used three times a year, etc. Well-used space could make a 2000 sq foot home as comfortable as a 2500 sq ft home. Also, think about the possibility of buying a home with an unfinished basement, and later converting that into a playroom or den. Just make sure that the basement has high enough ceilings--hard to change the height, but pretty easy to add drywall and tile.

I agree that layout is an important factor. I posted earlier - we're a family of 5 in about 2500 sqft. It's plenty of space for us and actually works better than our previous house, which was 3300 sqft. The layout is much better, and there is no wasted space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 2 people in 1,500 SF (plus finished basement) and we definitely don't need all that space. It's a little tight when my folks come to visit, but felt just fine when we had a renter for awhile. So maybe 500 SF/person, and if you have a usable finished basement, that could count in your totals?

personally, I like to be closer in and close to work. If you do too, think really long and hard before buying something way out there just to get SF.

This thread is about ideal space for a family of 5. Space requirements do not change whether you are in leesburg or in arlington.

Let's remove pricing from the equation.

I disagree inherently. I live very comfortably in downtown DC in 1000 square feet, but I would need much more space if I lived outside of the city or even of the core of the city. We rely on community spaces a lot. If we were outside of the city, we would have to drive to get places and thus we would end up at home much more than we are and therefore we would need more space. If I were outside of the city, I would need another car, our own space for bikes, a backyard, a place for a grill, and something to replace all of the "at home" time that we spend in the museums within a couple blocks. Also we would need space to hold all the crap that we would need to entertain ourselves so that we wouldn't die of boredom.

I dunno, if you have time on weekdays to do those things then more power to you. Our weekdays are pretty full with just living - homework, eating, sports practice, downtime, etc. So trips to the zoo or museums or similar events are normally when we find ourselves having an hour or two or more free on a Saturday, Sunday or Holiday. In which case we simply drive 30 minutes from Vienna. Would we drive to the mall or museums more if we lived in the City? Probably, but then we would probably not take as many trips to Great Falls, Harpers Ferry, Baltimore, local parks, whatever. So I tend to think that issue is overblown.

lol. yes, I'm sure you spend hours each week at these local museums. get over yourself. I'd die of boredom if I was with you.

I agree that PP sounded obnoxious, and I don't think I'd "die of boredom" living in the suburbs. But I live within walking distance of the Mall and we really do go to the museums a lot--sometimes weekly. Ditto the big parks, the zoo, etc. So I think there is something to the theory that you don't need such a big house if there is a lot to do nearby. At least, that's what I'm telling myself and the other 3 members of my family living together in a small row house.