Very interesting thread and very appropriate for me right now. I am single with 2 large dogs and three cats, currently have listed my 20 acre farm with a 2500+ sq. foot house, so I can downsize. I will be looking a single story ranches in the 1000 to 1800 sq. foot range, when I find a buyer for the farm. As has been mentioned, it's really about how functional the space is.

I currently don't use my second floor, nor do I use the formal living room. I use my formal dining room as my "craft" area, since I have an eat-in kitchen.

I'm looking forward to a smaller space, and NO high ceilings ... I am so tired of trying to heat and cool rooms with 13' cathedral ceilings.

About a/c and high ceilings...forgive my ignorance as almost no one has a/c where I live, aren't high ceilings an advantage in warm climates as hot air rises?

CRL,

You make a good point... are the guests hypothetical or actual? I guess since we were used to being a de facto hotel, we feel pinched with "only" one guest room. But looking forward, who knows what we will need? Who will marry when and what kids and where they will live and if we will all get along? Maybe it makes sense to buy for the family you have, and maybe one guest room, and then rent houses when you want a bigger get together.

Our home is just under 1800 sf, not counting a full basement. We live in about 400 sf for 4 month out of the year, when we take our 5th wheeler RV to "snowbird" in Florida. We are more than ready to come back home for the summer to our "mansion" in the northern climes.

No small spaces for us, we traveled for 10 yrs. in a 34' MH near the end of our travels both of us were getting claustrophobic even with frequent stays at home in our 2800 sq. ft. home with/14' ceilings in our great rm. and very big rooms which I love. Just hate to even clean a tiny rm. Ug! and living in FL. with AC on most of the yr. our bills are great! but then we built a very energy efficient home, w/ energy efficient appliances as well.

I don't think I could live in anything much smaller than we have now, which is around 2900 sq ft or so. At least as long as we are the two of us. We would definitely have to edit out a bunch of stuff to go into anything smaller which we could do. And have some extra planned storage space too. Our condo at the lake is about 1300, and it is fine for what it is, and I could see staying there temporarily, but there isn't a lot of storage downstairs. So if one were going to actually live there, some changes would have to be made.

When our grandkids were small, we had plenty of room for everyone to stay over. Funny thing though, they never wanted to use the beds. They preferred to pile up on the floor in sleeping bags and quilts all together like puppies. It worked for everyone. Now they are older, busier teenagers, and hardly ever stay, sadly. Miss those times.

Love that kitchen, jterri. It reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen in my great-grandparents remodeled farmhouse. Not quite that spacious, but same general shape with a big oval table and chairs that was used for everything.

I live in a 1800sq.ft house now. I lived comfortably in a 1000 sqft before that. I enjoy my home and have some updates to make to it to make some spaces more functional. I think everyone should get a size that makes them happy but bigger is not always better. The design and layout are far more important that the total square footage. I personally like my bedrooms to be larger so they fit a closet for winter and summer clothing, a place for a chaise or recliner and a small desk. The bathroom does not need to be that large for my use 80 to 90sq.ft is more than adequate.

I've lived in a wide variety of small places .... a two bedroom apt in Vienna (I miss that so much), one-room barn apartment in Germany (I don't miss that so much), two-bedroom mobile home on a large ranch in Texas, several other apartments in various cities, another barn apartment in Canada (outside of Edmonton), a 1,500 sq ft house in the 'burbs, and now -- a house in a quiet, rural area.

Our house is 2,500 sq ft, for two of us (except when my daughter is home from college). We could definitely be comfortable downsizing, and I'm sure we will at some point. I think 1,600-1,800 would be ideal, depending on the layout. As it is, there are a few rooms we rarely use, and that's a waste. I love the floor plan, though, and our utilities are surprisingly low.

What I'd really like to downsize is the yard. It's a 1/2 acre+ lot, very heavily landscaped by moi, and just getting to be too much to handle. Landscaping is something I'm passionate about, but my back and joints have been rebelling lately.

Our first house was 800 sq ft, and it wasn't too bad until we had a child. That being said, it was in FL, so we weren't cooped up for long periods. We are just finishing up our empty nest in SC, and it is 1295 sq ft. We certainly could have gone smaller. We also have outbuildings and the basement is the same size as the main floor, and fully insulated, so we have a lot of 'expansion' space should we feel the need.

I read somewhere that 500 sq ft per person is a workable number, and I would agree with that for the most part.

Our house works really well for us. It's a 1950s ranch that started out its life as 1400 sq ft but has been added onto. Previous owners added an interior staircase to access the full walkout basement and enclosed the carport to create a large family room. We added a master suite a few years ago bringing us up to 2500 (3BR/2BA) on the main level.

The basement is 1900 sq ft, but basements don't count toward square footage here. It has a guest room and bath and an office on the finished side and a "semi-finished" playroom and laundry room. There's also 1000 sq ft of unfinished (but heated and cooled) storage/workshop space.

We use most of the house. The dining room and guest room don't get used all the time, but they're both nice to have when we need them. DH works from home so the office is a must. With 2 elementary school aged boys, the playroom is a must for me! The only room that doesn't get used is the formal living room. The front door opens right into the living room (not a fan!) and we basically treat it as a really large, well furnished foyer.

An energy-efficient home that is well insulated makes ALL the difference in the utility bills! Our electric bill on 3,000 square feet of new house was $103 this past month. At our old home, at ~1,000 square feet less, it would have been more than twice that (based upon historical review). Even though that place was smaller and had cozier rooms and lower ceilings, it also had zero insulation in the walls and single pane windows. I'm really eager to see what our heating bills will be like this winter.

I want solar panels.

It's not so much lack of wall insulation (we have none in the original part of the house) as those single pane windows. We installed storm windows early on and that made a huge difference. The picture window in the living room is still single pane and you can feel the cold air seeping in when it's really nippy out. Still, we've always had a highly energy efficient HVAC system. Makes a big difference. Neighbors in similar houses pay almost double what we do.

Right now we have a 2800 sf house and 5 people. It feels huge to me. The layout is good and there is a lot of built in storage. Our last house was 1800 sf 3 bed 1.5 ba and I loved that house. The sf could have worked if there was another bathroom and a few more closets. When the kids move out DH and I could easily live in 1200 - 1600 sf.

I love small cozy spaces! I've never had anything under 1200 sq ft, but my youngest DS lives in a small ranch style home, and my oldest DD used to live in a small home also. The feeling in a small space is a lot different than a space with tall ceilings and bigger public spaces. A freplace adds an *extra* touch to the warm and coziness!

I have lived in many small and larger homes. I remember one was maybe 500 or 600 sq. feet but the ceilings were around 14 ft and we had tons of windows. Everything was remodeled and open. I loved that place!

Many years later while building our current house we moved to the smallest one bedroom (my husband, 1 dog and 3 cats). It was pitch dark in the space with low ceilings and the most awkward layout. Everything always felt wet due to a higher humidity I guess. It was also around the same sq footage as the first place I described but had the opposite feel. We were thrilled to get out of there and into our more spacious home!

What is the smallest: I guess what I have now. We (2 adults) are comfortable in our 2400 sf with 13' to 18' ceilings but I would love a big fancy house which won't happen unless I win the lottery. But then I'm a cleaning freak and wonder how I would be able to constantly clean a larger house.

NOT FAIR...there are no basements in my state.

*In my area there is a doctor building an 85,000 sf home!!!!! It is visible from the overpass that literally goes beside the property so you can look down on it. My GD8 thought is was a new mall and wanted to know if there would be a Justice store.

85,000 sq ft?! Wow! There's a home being built near me, 30,000 sq ft .... we drove by it, and it looks like a hotel. The master suite is the size of my entire house. There's a salon, a huge suite for the dog, etc. I can't fathom it. One cool feature: a glass floor that looks down into the wine cellar.

85,000 sf?!?!?!? I can't even.

I know it's been said that it's all relative. My 3,000 sf may be entirely too much space in the eyes of some people, but come on. 85,000 sf?!? That's just stupid. It's kinda like what is said about porn, I think. "I know it when I see it."

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I lived quite happily in 1300 square feet although I didn't like the kitchen layout of my small row house. Right now I'm struggling because I need a finished basement to store my books, craft materials and science gear and office set up. But someday, When I retire, 400 square feet might suit me fine, if it was THIS house, http://www.dwell.com/house-tours/article/tiny-new-england-cottage-no-frills-weekend-hideaway

Cute Laurie! I don't sit much...I walk thorough the house all day so I guess I would need something larger.

Here is the article on Dr Patel's house. The actual square footage has increased since this 2012 article.

Biiiiiggg House

Google turned up this breakdown on the 85,000 house, which appears actually to be a compound of houses for multiple families (adult children with children of their own):

LINK

"Here is the breakdown:

MAIN HOUSE:

32,526 air conditioned square feet

– 15,376 square foot central portion with formal living areas, home theater and a Hindu temple (includes 3700 square foot banquet dining room)

– 8,695 square foot left wing (will be lived in by Kiran and his wife)

– 8,455 square foot right wing (will be lived in by Kiran’s son and his wife)

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

17,626 square feet in covered exteriors

13,158 square foot garage

Besides the huge main house, Dr. Kiran Patel will be building smaller homes on the property for family members.

There will be two smaller residences (both around 7,500 square feet) for his two daughters that will be connected to the main house by walkways. There will also be 3 guest houses (all around 1,254 square feet) as well as a 3,600 square foot maintenance building.

Other features are to include a 450-foot-long swimming pool, waterfalls, fountains and ponds. A glass lotus blossom structure for yoga practice and a replica of the Taj Mahal carved into a rock mountain also were included in the plans. Plans for a helipad were scrapped."

Yeah Cathy, but that beach house is on ten acres, I'd walk the grounds, and probably the beach, as often as I could!

What's a recommended TV show about small (not tiny) house living? I'm not that interested in "how low can you go" extremes, but I'd like to watch a series about how to live well in smaller spaces.

I don't know of a series like that. Maybe someone else does. It would be interesting.

"NOT FAIR...there are no basements in my state."

Lol, Mustangs, that really isn't fair! Porkandham brings up a good point about basements; in our state they aren't officially included in the square footage of a home, but they add a measure of functionality that is invaluable, They can be used as separate suites for an au pair or MIL or teen, or as "man" space, a teen or family hangout, offices, craft areas, movies, gaming, etc. Because they seem even more separated from the main floor than floors above it seems more permissible to decorate the basement differently than the rest of the house---more casual or even fanciful (almost like a movie set).

Of our 5400 sq ft, 1400 is the walkout basement----and it is that space that gives us extra beds, DH a spacious office, great flow to the backyard, etc., so it adds proportionally more to our lifestyle than its actual sq footage. A lot of people have expressed dislike for hallways, but one gracious, wide space that connects others together can be a great use of space. Once again, layout is everything!

I don't think basements are ever included in sq footage, Our last house had a walkout basement and it was not included in that sq footage calc.

Did I read correctly that the 85,000 sq foot house is costing 6.5mn to build? How can that be?

We moved from our 1225sq ft log cabin on 1.5 acres; 2 adults, 2 children, 1 large dog:). We needed more space for kids & well, their friends. After our children move out I think 600- 800 sq ft would be perfect for us with 2 large dogs;). We are currently in 2524sqft on 4+acres.

In our area, they measure 'living area', so if you finish the basement and put in HVAC, it becomes taxable. Very few people ever finish their basement (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

In our area, a walkout basement is included in the square footage.

Any room that is below grade at any point is not included in square footage of an appraisal in our state. However, conventions in MLS vary between states, cities and regions with respect to the reported square footage---some states do not report square footage at all because of previous lawsuits against realtors. Here, for a basement to even be considered as having value beyond that as a storage space (although not "official" sq footage in the appraisal) it must be heated and cooled in the same manner as the rest of the home. Regardless of how they are counted--or not counted---these spaces can be so liveable they are strong selling points.

@YoursTINiagraFalls - I don't know of a tv show highlighting small house living, but check out this website for small homes in Vancouver. SmallWorks They do some AMAZING things with small cottages. Canada, at least certain areas, is light years ahead of us with space utilization and wonderful small homes - Australia, too. Also check Small House Swoon. You'll get lost in that site!

Trying out a tiny house (article in my local paper today):

Rent a Tiny Home

"Did I read correctly that the 85,000 sq foot house is costing 6.5mn to build? How can that be?"

Even in our area that amount would build a big featureless box of that size.

I know that Florida is incredibly reasonable, but I really can't even fathom $76 a square foot. And I'm not even talking about my experience in Connecticut or Maine, which I know cannot be used for comparison at all. I did some quick googling and came up with Tampa at $150 a square foot. Not to mention one would think that someone looking for that size house is going for relatively nice finishings. So I just totally don't believe that number. I mean it would have to be an awfully bare bones house… And that would seem like a strange decision.

While the small/tiny house thing has a lot of appeal to me, I have to admit that it does seem that many of their poster children bail on the idea pretty quickly.

For example, I'm sure there are a lot of folks here who remember Kitty Lonsdale's fabulous tiny apt in Tudor City, which was immensely popular here at the time:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/kitties-miniature-masterpieceh-104222

This is her current Tudor City nest:

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/28/an_interior_designer_brings_the_english_countryside_to_tudor_city.php?utm_campaign=issue-40256&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Curbed+NY

Quite a change.

And the famous Little House in Little Rock is now just a VRBO:

http://www.vrbo.com/631595

I think a lot of times the price/sqft comes down when the house becomes very large... large drywall boxes aren't expensive... it's the kitchen and bathrooms with expensive tile, cabinets, fixtures, etc in the house, and expensive millwork, etc that is really expensive and most really large homes don't have all that stuff throughout the entire home.... that's what I either read or was told...

Well, here goes:

5 BR, 2 BA, 2000 sqft outside Stockholm, Sweden

1 BR Stockholm, 900 sqft

The stairs would scare me, but I'm sure that could be fixed.

That city apartment would be perfect for one person. The house might work for a family of four, or two living there with room for infrequent and short-stay guests. I love the architecture and furnishings of both properties, thanks for posting those nosoccermom.

The stairs would not be to code anywhere in the US !

I love that house so much NSM!!! I'd find a way to squeeze a giant family in there if I had Sothebeys $$$. Wow! My house is less square feet than that and I think could easily accommodate a 5-6 person family.

I love that Stockholm house too. And I don't think there have been many houses that appeal to me, KSWL, and Robo simultaneously.

As a Mom, I found this brilliant. My kids insist on doing schoolwork in bed on occasion and this would make ever so much sense! I assume it's on wheels.

That's an IKEA malm table on casters but I don't think they still make it...but of course would be easy to have one made.

I wonder how many of life's activities could realistically be conducted from a sauna? I'd be willing to find out.

Right now we are in a 1923 square foot condo. 3 BR/2Bth. It's just a bit too small for us. The third bedroom doubles as DH's office so when we have guests (and we have plenty since we're in FL for 1/2 the year) he loses his office. The third bedroom is my studio and it's just about the right size.

Our living room/dining room/ kitchen could all be a bit bigger and when we have guests it would be nice to have an extra 1/2 bathroom.

We also have 4 balconies; three of which are never used.

We are building a new house that will greatly increase our living space because we intend to live much of our time outdoors. Our new house will be 2600 sq feet on a 65 x 93 lot. DH will now have his own study downstairs and we'll have a separate guest bedroom with a murphy bed which will double as our gym. We will have a much larger living/dining/kitchen area for entertaining; something we don't have room to do right now.

While the majority of our time is spent in our offices, we do use all our condo now and expect to use all of our new build too. Anything that wouldn't be used, I got rid of.

My kids, too, did/do their work in bed. Here's another option, the Vittsjo laptop stand.

Comes in black and red but can be spray painted...

KSWL is correct that in our state anything below grade doesn't count as square footage in an appraisal, but it does add value. Bedrooms in a basement don't count as bedrooms either. In a fun twist, according to our appraisal, we have a 3 BR/2 BA, but we are taxed on a 5 BR/3 BA house because the tax assessor's office counts both the basement guest bedroom and the office that no one would ever use as bedroom as bedrooms. Sigh.

Well yes, there are tax assessments, there are appraisals, and then there are selling prices. The first two are bound by funny rules in many cases. In our last house the tax assessment included a rating of our view and our finishes (on a scale of 1-24 iirc). Rarely do all three align!

In Canada there's MLA and TLA - I always assumed that's main living area and total. I think main includes just aboveground and ceiling heights over 7.5 feet (e.g. a low sloped ceiling would not count) and TLA includes finished spaces below grade.

NSM I really enjoyed looking at those photos of the house outside Stockholm. I've always been a fan of "Danish Modern" or in this case "Swedish Modern" style, although other than being an IKEA devotee, I don't have any examples of the really nice things in my house and probably wouldn't since I have inherited so much traditional style things. But I really appreciate the overall aesthetic!

thanks, NOSMom

"And I don't think there have been many houses that appeal to me, KSWL, and Robo simultaneously." Too true!

P&H, you can challenge your tax assessment. It's a hassle but surprisingly often the value is changed in favor of the homeowner.