A custom rambler. About 4500 sq ft main plus about 3000 sq ft finished basement. No it’s not too big for the two of us - we are not Americans.

2800-3000 sq ft all on one level. You can fit 4 br, a study and a game room if you nail the layout. Hard to imagine needing more than that.

When my parents retired, they downsized into a 3k sq ft house. Because it’s still relatively big, my family and sibling’s family are always over, which is exactly what my parents wanted.

Anonymous wrote:1900-2500 is more than enough for me.

same

Single and consider my 2,200 sqft plus half finished basement perfect for one person because I have my gym, a big storage and work space, an office, and a fully functional kitchen. But that's me. There's no perfect house.

So if you do the math, for me, about 5,000 sqft for four.

3,000-3,500 for a family of 5. We have a the most incredible 10,000 square foot home now and while impeccably designed it contains many rooms we almost never go in. During the pandemic we moved to our vacation home. It is a bit under 2,500 square feet and it very workable but I would prefer a larger family room, another hang out room and 1 more bedroom.

Layout matters a lot. On 1 floor, closer to 3,000 would probably work. If a row house, I’d probably say 4,000 on 4 floors.

2500-3000 above grade plus a decent finished basement

My semi-realistic dream house is about 6000-7000 including the basement. I’d want a huge gym and theater room and giant kitchen.

My won-the-lottery house is like 30,000 square feet and includes indoor pool, indoor tennis court, orangerie and obviously a scooter charging room so i can get around my big ass house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7000 square feet minimum. Need room for indoor pool and golf simulator.

And servants' quarters!

Also, arts & crafts room, library/reading room, exercise room, playroom, indoor basketball court, and sauna.

Anonymous wrote:7000 square feet minimum. Need room for indoor pool and golf simulator.

And servants' quarters!

7000 square feet minimum. Need room for indoor pool and golf simulator.

Layout matters more than square footage. When the layout aligns with how you use the home, you can live quite comfortably in smaller footprint.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you were gifted a primary residence anywhere you choose to raise your family, in this case two parents and two kids. A fair amount of extended family including both sets of parents might like to visit. How big would the house be? Is there a point at which a house is too big for comfort, and if so, where would you draw the line?

I think for a family of 4, 2,000 sq ft built space is plenty. I say that as a person who who lived in homes from 600 to 6000 sq feet. If its a walkable urban area and house has a porch and yard, you can manage well in 1500 sq ft.

I agree that the location matters. I'm the pp with the 3,600 sq ft first house that was in a very urban part of DC. We were 1 block from a gym with childcare, so we didn't need to have a home gym. We needed a home gym at our next home that was in a more suburban setting because we won't go to the gym if we have to drive there.

we are 2500 sq ft with 2 adults 2 kids.
I think it would be fine if layout were different. we only have 3 bedrooms, would like another for guests. I wish I had a dedicated play space for the kids because right now we just have a living room and it's full of tiny plastic toys and barbies. Not easy to walk around comfortably.

Another 1k sq ft, i think would be ideal. But layout is incredibly important.

We have about 2400 square feet for 4 people, plus some long-ish stays from grandparents. If cost was no issue, there’s various layout changes I’d want, like making our kitchen more square than narrow and rectangular or insulating our porch – but I’m not interested in an addition. What does one even do with 3000+ sqft, absent a really big family and/or many pets?