I was in a conversation today and was told the following:
A family should have at least 1000 square feet of communal space - the kitchen, dining room and one living room - and then 300-500 square feet per family member, this would include additional communal space and private bedrooms. Bathrooms weren't included in the total.
See AlsoHow Much Does It Cost to Build a House?McMansion: A Closer Look at the Big House TrendDetermining the Best Wedding Venue Size - Midlothian Conference CenterHer example was: a family of four should live in a home with a minimum of 2200 square feet, ideally 3000sf.
I won't list her reasons because I think they are a tad crazy but I would like to know what everyone else thinks. Is this what 'people' or the hypothetical 'they' believe?
I know my family doesn't come anywhere close to her ideal and I am thinking that most families probably do not.
What do you think?
I'd say that person has:
had a pampered and/or cluttered life
hasn't had to clean such a residence herself
hasn't looked at WHY people might live in the spaces they do, only sees things from her own limited perspective.
The majority of my life I shared a room with my sister. For two years that room was barely big enough for one bed and a dresser, yet we fit in bunk beds, 2 dressers, and some book shelves (and walked sideways between the bed and the other furniture). Later, when the new farm house was finally finished I had my own room that was twice as big, and I felt trapped. I felt I had to spend time in it to show appreciation for it, since my folks worked so hard on it (and to be available whenever my Mom wanted me to do something), when what I wanted most was to wander the fields with our dog.
Clutter expands to overfill the spaces we have, unless we are good at banishing clutter. When it builds most people tend to think "I need more space" -- if they go and get more space they then feel "I need/can have more stuff". Our family of 4 lives in a 2-story house of 2800 sq. ft. with a 3-car garage, shed, and no basem*nt. More space has NOT done us any favors -- now we have even more junk to get rid of. Since we had more space it was easier to ignore the accumulation and spend our precious time on more important or more urgent matters. And the more stuff you have the longer it takes to do even basic house cleaning.
My biggest architectural gripe -- the oh-too-prevalent trend to eliminate utility spaces in order to maximize "living" space. It's the utility spaces that keep the living spaces livable. Our vacuum cleaner moves from room to room because we have no place to store it. There are woefully few (and undersized) non-bedroom closets in this house, and badly planned.
