Having a mental conversation with myself this week about “right sizing”. We have been on a LONG house looking journey and there is a house we are scheduled to see later this week that absolutely wins the “location, location, location!” game. But the house is smaller than we were thinking. We don’t have a large house right now…about 2000 sq feet. And now 90+% of the time it’s just H, myself and pup living in our space. But this house is being listed at about 1500 sq feet. It meets (though pics not yet available) requirements of main floor bed/bath, basement for storage, 2 other bedrooms for guests. Only one “official living space, a living room” BUT 2 spare spaces - smaller office type spaces - one could maybe be made a small den. The yard is right size. And did I mention the location?
Can we adjust to the smaller size? Will it “right size” for us as we age - which would be a positive IMO. Might we be able to add just one room (like a 4 season sun porch which we’d love)?
I have often felt silly when we look at homes that are larger than our current 2000 sq ft. Like, what do we need NOW with a house closer to 3000 sq feet?
I have often said, it’s not about the sq footage it’s about the rooms/space.
What have you found as you “downsized” or “right sized”? How have you dealt with finding that sweet spot???
We never upsized so don’t need to downsize. Our home for our family of four and now two is about 1,650. I love this size, and I love our layout. One thing we did is convert part of our garage into an office – where I am now. I love being out here, away from everything and everyone. It’s not fancy, but has AC and heat and desks and shelves and a TV and the beer fridge. Just an extra 10x10ish space separate from the main part of the house. Is that possible, to create more space? Or convert part of that basement?
We have not been able to see pics of inside yet, only a description and don’t have full view of the yard so don’t know about space for a small addition. But in the current market there is not time to mull things over…houses are listed on a Friday and by end of weekend will have multiple offers!
But yes, that’s my thought is that a second living space doesn’t need to be large - but I would prefer it be ground level w/windows! H and I do many things NOT together - we like our own space, tv watching space, etc. That isn’t likely to change!
We’ve been lightly looking and I’m definitely having a difficult time finding the right sized house. Our current house is 3500 sq ft and 6 bedrooms, well 5 bedrooms and an office functionally. It has a huge upstairs gameroom for the kids, plus a downstairs flex space we have our pool table in. We’ll be down to our last of four kids at home, and my 16 year old certainly doesn’t need the giant gameroom to himself… it’s like he has his own apartment. Every house we discuss I deem too small. My husband is now convinced I want a 3,000 sq ft house, but you know, with only 2 or 3 bedrooms. He’s not wrong. I want a huge kitchen and family room. I want the square footage downstairs where we’ll use it. I am not finding any houses like that. Fewer bedrooms in meaning smaller common areas and that’s just not what I’m looking for.
My cousin is a retired school teacher and her husband a retired judge—they did not want to own anything after they retired. They sold their house and began renting and traveling. First, they went to live in a high-rise building in Chicago (they were from the suburbs and grew up in the suburbs and wanted to try urban living). They travel for 6 months every year; so far they have been to Indonesia, Bora Bora, China, Australia and New Zealand. They didn’t travel at all during the pandemic–they rented a place in Vero Beach, FL and stayed there for 16 months. They have two grandchildren now, so they spend all of November and December with them. This year, they plan on going to the Azores.
As I have said before on here our townhome is small (less than 1500 square feet), but we are in such a great location and we have made it work for us. We are currently redoing the guest bedroom (new hardwood floors hopefully go in soon!) and it will have a sofa sleeper so that I can have my desk in there without having a bed in the middle of the room. I am looking forward to this redone space for me. We know at some point the stairs will be too much for us, but hopefully that won’t be for at least another 15 or more years.
Being 2.5 miles from the ocean, which we walk to most days, brings joy to both of us. Two wonderful medical centers are within a couple of miles of us and can be reached by public transit which is a 10 minute walk from our house. A beautiful hiking trail above the coast is also 2.5 miles away. There are 3 grocery stores, retail, restaurants and a movie theatre within a 5 to 10 minute walk. A large upscale shopping mall (with additional restaurants) is just over a mile away and can be reach via the trolley.
Our home is paid off and in the current market would sell for $1.2 million, but there is no where else we would rather be at this point in life. D1 and her fiance live 20 minutes away and D2 is a mile away. So for now we will enjoy all that our area offers, but any time we travel we ask ourselves is this a place we could see ourselves living in the future?
Often they refer to “location, location, location” for the point of selling…but I SO value a great location for LIVING purposes - if my neighborhood has me out of the house more, I don’t have to rely on my house for being in 24/7!
But what about your husband and his “stuff”. Any way to build an outbuilding?
I wouldn’t want any clutter in 1500 sqft. If both of you could drastically pare down, I think it could work.
We lived in a 1500 sqft house. We upsized to 2400. It’s pretty perfect. The husband has the basement for his hobbies. A 2 car garage for the cars and all the lawn implements. And a first floor primary and laundry room. Those are key to me.
Well you’re right, he has the clutter! Again, yet to be seen on site, but my thoughts are if the basement is usable, he can have that and if needed get a storage unit. I’m touchy about it, but I’m tired of a deciding factor for a house being where he can store his stuff!
It totally might not be the right fit. We shall see.
One of my house hunting habits is once I see the photos I literally start planning/placing our stuff in the house. I’ve had to throw out A LOT of blueprints in my mind!!!
Oh, I’ve already been on the county website looking at pictography! Lol, but yes need a closer look. We have a 4 season sunporch now and love it. That would def fulfill a lot of needs. I think it would really be the “only” missing space unless the room configurations are really off or poorly planned. HATE when listings don’t post pics right off the bat - it’s often done now that way - everything is “coming soon” to wet your appetite and if you’re lucky, pics post a day or two before showings open.
@socalmom007 - we are near UCSD which does cause us to have a bit more traffic, but having the large, open campus within walking distance is very nice as we walk through on our way to the beach.
Has this house been on the market within the last decade? Redfin might have old listing pictures. I always look for those. “Beautifully updated kitchen!” Hmmm… no. Looks the same as 5 years ago when the house changed hands. Hard pass!
abasket - what I’ve found helping in learning about what size would be good for ‘one couple + dog/cat + two (occasional0 visiting kids’ is to stay in smaller Air BnBs.
We stayed in a 1200 sq ft cabin in the mountains a while back for 3 nights - it actually wasn’t bad! As others have mentioned - the outside liveable space made it feel larger (very big covered porch reached by huge, sliding-glass doors).
I’m thinking through the ‘how will size impact noise’ issue now though. Hub likes to keep the stock channel on a lot whereas I like peace and quiet and the occasional NPR on the radio.
I think layout in terms of managing noise can also make a difference (e.g., might need less space if constructed properly).
We have a decent sized deck (one story up) in our townhome that is set up with outdoor seating, a dining table and grill so this expands our living space. Since it is up one story the cats can also enjoy outside time! Our front patio area is private and H has lots of plants and flowers growing. Our community pool is also close by which has lounge chairs and tables and chairs with umbrellas that we also use as entertaining space.
Believe me, I’ve skimmed and googled and searched! I think the current owners have been there since 2010. This home does also have nice outdoor space - a full covered front porch, back deck, patio…which we very much take advantage of…but not in Ohio in January!
It may be a total bust…but it was the first house that in my mind I’ve had to consider sq footage on the low side as opposed to the high side!
I hope it works out. A lot can depend on layout etc. Our first house was 1200 square foot. With its 9 closets (some roomy) and attic and basement it worked with 2 kids. We had tried to upgrade because the 1 bathroom and small corner lot and 1 car detached garage and lack of family room, but space wise it was better than you’d expect. The 3 season sun porch and enclosed back porch (picture a little tykes picnic table in it) helped a lot.
