how much space does a family of 4 "need"?

[applegirl3s]

I am brand new here and have been looking around the forums for "family" posts, but they are few and far between.

I am looking at a plan that is 24' by 26'. This includes a family/dining/kitchen area, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a laundry area. Then there is a 3rd loft bedroom.

My family is myself, my man, and 2 kids, aged 7 and 9.

What do you guys think?

Sorry if I posted in the wrong area, and thanks for any replies!

[MountainDon]

Hi there and  applegirl3s. This is a great place to post your query.

Is 624 sq. ft. big enough? 
What do you live in now? How many sq. ft.? How's that working?

We lived comfortably in 800 sq. ft. for a time; wife, me & 1 son. But that had the laundry, furnace & water heater in the basement. How many sq. ft. does your plan allow for those items... I could see it being done in 50 sq ft or less if the laundry was no more than a closeted space. So, thinking out loud here... that would have left us with 750 sq. ft.

750 - 624 = 124 sq. ft. or a 10' x 12' room... about the size of my son's old bedroom. We had a smallish kitchen with dining table in it; open floor space from there to the living room area.  So my personal feeling is that 624 sq ft with 2 bedrooms would feel too cramped to me. That's only my opinion.

Are you planning this as an owner-builder project? If you're doing much of the work yourself then making it a little larger now is a better deal than maybe wishing it was bigger down the road. Also cheaper to go a little bigger now than later. Just something to ponder. Increasing length is easier with most plans than going wider, just in case you want to toy with that.

Then, of course anything is possible. For us I'd just have to adjust my mindset a bit and could make 624 sq ft work if I had too.

[Redoverfarm]

Well I have to agree with Don on the size and sq ft.  Are you looking at a full time residence or a cabin?  One bath for 4 people . Even a 1/2 bath would taken the pressure off the main one.  The children will get older and require much more space.  Not trying to get personal but I assume they are either both girls or both boys then you could put both in the same bedroom but by expanding just a little they could have their own room just a little smaller than the original.  I once read that the minimun space for a family of four was 1,000 sqft.  But that is nothing in stone. 

[MountainDon]

One bath for 4 people .

That used to be done all the time. I grew up with 2 sisters, Mom & Dad. One bathroom. Period. Everyone had to be quick!   

[StinkerBell]

As a mom of 4 (5 if you count the hubby) I have discovered you can not auction your children on Ebay. SO, that option is out.

[MountainDon]

I I messed up on my numbers (above).  I think the 624 sq ft would be even a bit smaller than I thought. 

[glenn kangiser]

What's the problem, Stink?  hmm

Reserve not met, or just not allowed?

[ScottA]

624 sounds a little small for 4 but 800 very is doable. I grew up in an 800 sq ft house with one bath. We never felt overly cramped.

Scott

[Madroaster]

We're planning on a couple kids to go along with our house.  We're building the 20x30 1-1/2, and we'll put it on a full basement.  By doing that we actually wind up with a great deal of floor space.  Where we're building, loft space and basements don't count towards square footage, so we can build that without building permits, which lets us save money and stay under the radar a little.

Right now, two of us live in a little over 300 square feet.  We have a half-height loft covering 1/3 of our floorplan, and that's where we sleep.  Then we have a 7x7 room we keep junk and coffee roasting and exercise equipment in.  A tiny kitchen; standinable floor space 3x4, and a bathroom.  Loads of fairly intelligent storage and a very open layout.  We're more than comfortable here; moving up to what we're building will seem like a mansion.  We've been living in these small spaces for the last 3 years.

As for bathrooms, I didn't even realize people had more than one bathroom until I was in my early teens.  We had 6 in my family with one bathroom, and it was fine.  Two bathrooms is nice, but for a family of only 4 I'd be quite happy with one.

--Derek

[desdawg]

I don't know that there is a set formula. You will fill up whatever space you have and our trend today says more is better. That is until you start heating and cooling it. I think it is about adaptability and affordability. Another trend today is to extend the living space onto a deck or patio. Some people have both a living room and a family room/great room, call it what you may. One room is for displaying unused furniture and the other is for use. Some of my builder buddies tell me they are going to switch to building smaller homes, say 1600 sq. ft.  I have been living in 1100 sq. ft. for years and 1600 sounds really spacious to me. I live in the country and I have outbuildings for different purposes so that takes some pressure off the need for more sq. ft. under one roof.
This is an intersesting topic because there can be so many variables. At any rate I will cast my vote in the 1000-1200 sq. ft. range for four people and I am going to stay away from e-bay. 

[Erin]

What's the problem, Stink?  hmm
Reserve not met, or just not allowed?

Just not allowed. 
No pets, children or dead bodies, either in parts or whole.  I swear, eBay is just a bunch of facist pigs sometimes.

[Erin]

As to the original question, we're essentially the same sized family applegirl.  My kids are 6 and 8.  We currently live in a 3,600 sq' ranch-style (finished basement).  It is *way* more than we need. 
But you need to assess what is is you *do* need, and what you'd really *like*.
We don't, for example, "need" a separate family room.  It's nice, but it just means our living room is essentially unused.  I don't even particularly want one.  (Used to think I did, actually, until we moved into a house that had one)

We *need* at least 1.5 baths, preferably two.  One on each floor.  I've lived in houses with one bath also, and I never want to again.  lol 
I *need* a mudroom.  We live on a ranch, so muddy/stinky clothes & boots need somewhere to be peeled off.  And I want it to be located next to the laundry room with a door I can close.  (It can be a teeny, tiny room, but I want it in its own space).  With a boy and a girl, we need at least three bedrooms.  Again, the actual rooms can be small, but we need that much space to cut out those rooms.

So, so far as your plans, you could make it work.  Especially if you build over a full basement so you have some immediate room to expand.  I would definately put in another half bath, though!

[Dimitri]

I've come to the conculsion for a home to be usefull it must be atleast 750 sq ft for a family of 4.   

Just cant seem to figure out how to fit the kids room in a closet sized space. 

Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

I'm not going to make any crude remarks here.

Nice to see you Dimitri.  You are up past your bed time.

[Dimitri]

Nah, finished up something and then figured I'd stop by.

I still can't fit a 2 bedroom home for 4 people in under about 750 sq ft I must be doing something wrong. 

Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

Stuff the kids in lofts, I guess.

[Dimitri]

Trying to fit a 3 bedroom home in a 20x30ft area now as I type this, so we will see how it goes! 

Dimitri

[Dimitri]

I guess you can do it then, this one took a few hours to mix and match and squeeze everything into it but it worked in the end, its only 600 sq ft (of interior space from the outer walls) maybe not the biggest "master bedroom" in the world but its the master bedroom (includes part of the closet as its space, whereas the kids rooms do not include it). 



Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like you made it, Dimitri, and there could still be loft space if it had a high pitch roof.

[Dimitri]

Never really designed a loft space, or really know what one is so. 

Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

A loft would be an additional room built above the ceiling joists/loft floor joists but under the roof.  It could go on top of your bedrooms - bathroom - kitchen - living room or all of the above.  It may not be tall enough to stand up in or maybe just in the center area - usually has short walls at the sides and is under the slope of the 12/12 roof.  A cheap way to get more living area - can be accessed with a stairs or loft ladder.

[Dimitri]

Ah I see. 

Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

Check out Hal Nash's cabin with loft.



http://www.countryplans.com/nash.html

[Dimitri]

Thats actually the type of thing that came to my head after your explanation. 

I must admit all my floor plans have unfinished FULL basements, to hide the water heater etc in, in the plan I just posted the Guy room has the hatch to go down, which means it can be simply moved downstairs and make a "perminate" way to the basement if the need arises for more space. 

Dimitri

[glenn kangiser]

Doing it that way you can get a lot of room out of a small footprint.