amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

Ariadne Umbrell · 08-15-2007, 03:10 PM

Okay, so the jr pastor read a Mother Jones study, voice vibrating in horror, when she said that houses are bigger, with more amenities than in the 1950's, and the 1970's.

Okay, so I hear things with different comprehension than when I read them. I'm not sure why. But...

This is a slanted study. In the 1950's, there was an explosion of house building. The builders cut corners everywhere they could- they were building insta- housing for an entire two generations, more or less- all the way around the world, since the housing stock had all been blown up in WW2. Also, people were horrified, then, too, at the lack of taste and style and refinement. Except, the people living in the houses- otherwise they'd be living in tenements with their families, stacked up in the slums. The builders expected people to expand and improve them.

The 1970's- a worldwide oil shock. Arguably, we aren't completely out of it yet, since we're still kind of nuts about mideast stability and oil supplies. Builders cut corners. People could not really afford big places.

And then, the women's movement- women could ask for, adn pay for, really nice tools- granite countertops for pastry, for instance. I have women's magazines from the 70's. And extraordinarily luxurious, exotic knit design for a coat, cost $100 worth of supplies. Today, in patternworks, you can read of a t-shirt design, using $400 of supplies. I have a housecleaning book where the author talks about a wife patiently asking, year by year, for a pressure cooker ($75) while the husband spends $125 on a fishing reel. This was to counsel the husband to "be a little nicer." Now, I know hardly anybody who expects a husband to provide all the money, all the time. If he does, it's considered an injury to the household budget. We do it like that, and I am so Looking forward to having something, so that I'm not dependent. I know I'm the fish in the middle, so.....

Oh- and that people might need maids. Um. That is a sumpturary prejudice. Men, statistically, don't clean. Individuals might, but on the statistical whole- they don't. So, in effect, the study authors are insisting that women put in X hours of work, comparative advantage be d^*&ed. That's a sumptuary shaming. It doesn't make sense to me.

Having said that- I've lived in 1,200 sq foot houses, except when I've been in apartments, or renting a room. I know the 'Not so Big" house books include houses up to 3,000sq ft.

So, it seems to me, that we are losing something in translation.

Like, a prosperous society will have larger houses, or people will have offices and workspaces at home-----or

Or something. I mean, I'm not sure it's just size- a tiny little mobile home is going to blaze with wasted electricity and heating. I'm not sure farmhouses with tons of children are all tiny. They don't look small in pictures.

What do you think? What do you think about your house?

Like, we have a ranch style house. It's open plan, 25 years old. We are insulating, and sealing, bit by bit, year by year. I don't like the layout. It's open plan, so in a family of introverts- it's horrible. I don't have a studio, my desk is in the bedroom, where dd sleeps, naps, where dh naps on weekends... dh has a library room, where he retreats....I can see what the builder imagined- it's a house built for lounging and display, not a work house. The kids rooms are tucked at the back, and tiny. They aren't really a priority.

Anyway, obviously, we are trying to get to a more sustainable, earth-friendly building world, but there isn't ---a bridge---shame and slanted statistics aren't particularly persuasive.....I'd like to know what the model of a society, or a set of houses that the critics have in mind, looks like. I know I read architecture books. About half the time, I just want to get very far away from some chilling, inhuman buildings. I'd like to know who is going to be doing the laundry- and where? Who is visiting?

Like, parlors- parlors have a function. They don't have a function for men, but they do have one for women. Our house does not have a parlor. I want a house with a parlor, and, seriously, a picket fence. I am not comfortable putting children in the front yard, without a defined border. It's not safe.

And, visiting? Who visits? This sounds stupid, but do you want door to door salespeople ebing able to see from the front of the house to the back?

gotogo
ari

Kbsmama · 08-15-2007, 05:40 PM

I live in one of the first "communities" that was built outside of a prosperous little town in 1963. It is exactly on the opposite side of the city line, so we don't pay city taxes (nor do we get city services, leaf clearing,etc.) We have a theory that there was something political that went on with the water. We get city water, but we pay waaay more than other communities in the area (nearly 50 years later).

Our house is a bi-level, 2100 square feet. It has a living room, laundry room, study (could be/may have been at one time a bedroom), and half bath, and kitchen downstairs. Upstairs, living area, two larger bedrooms, one smaller bedroom, and bath. When we moved here, we had two children. Many of the houses in our neighborhood are almost the exact same floorplan. The neighborhood turned over about the time we moved in. There is a woman across the street who moved in with her family when the houses were built, and we bought our place from the original owners. Once, she told me about each house and the number of kids each one housed. Her house held four, the houses in the cul-de-sac behind us, 4 and 5, now are home to families of 3 and 2 children. Our house held four, but DH tells me regularly that this house is too small for us, and we share our bedroom with our girls right now.
We have figured out though, we probably don't so much need a bigger house as a different layout. If we had a basement, or an upstairs that we didn't use for living in, it might work better for us. As it is, the whole house is a playroom.

If you drive to the suburbs of metropolitan America, there are some crazy, huge new houses. We landed in one community in the suburbs of Chicago (we were going to my brother's condo, but entered the wrong street number in the Magellan we borrowed from DH's work). Huge, huge houses. Some had swingsets in the backyard or trampolines, but it was Saturday afternoon, and there wasn't a soul to be seen, aside from some guys working on a driveway (and I'm guessing they didn't live there).

My sister lives in Plano. They have 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms (also 5 kids, but anyway). Her step-daughter, newly adjusting to her posh surroundings, made fun of a girl who got off the bus and "only lived in a one-story house."

I think, while so many are living in those places, there are many more Americans living an average lifestyle in older homes with formica countertops and white or almond refrigerators, YK? And, many, many more living in sub-standard conditions.

But that standard, and the houses being built? Yes, I think it's true. Everyone has to have their own bedroom with their own bathroom. Houses with no master suite don't sell like houses with master suites.

A parlor sounds nice...I have a foyer, and the stairs go up or down, so that works pretty well for people looking in through my front door, but a parlor where there are no kids toys sounds nice!

And so does a maid. Um, I am guessing men hire maids too, these days. And, if women are working out of the home just as many hours as men, why wouldn't there be more maids hired?

JenTwo · 08-16-2007, 10:51 PM

We went to a community yard sale in the ritziest neighborhood around here. Mostly retired couples, a few houses with children, all of the houses were enormous. I've lived in 3000+ sqft houses and this neighborhood made the 3000 sq ft houses look like one room shacks. Some of the houses were made to look like castles surrounded by a golf course.

Can the houses be afforded now? How many people will die in debt? How many of those people actually own their home? I think the number's fairly low. In the 50's didn't a much larger percentage actually own the deed to their home?

My IL's live in a low income area but a much greater percentage of the population owns their home than in other places I've lived (Arizona, California, even the larger So. Il town I'm in now). The money in IL's area is all family money and houses are passed from one generation to the next. They are small houses but livable. Several of the older houses have parlours.

We're in a 700 sq ft apartment built to withstand a cold war blast. Cement & paint with three windows. In my dreams I live in a stone "lodge" with barewood post and beams, fireplaces built into the stonework on either side. Center of the lodge open, (3)bedrooms and (1)office on the upstairs, along the sides of the open center. Downstairs: open kitchen & dining area, laundry under the stairs. I guess a bathroom would need to fit somewhere but I don't often dream of bathrooms. As far as size, I'm not sure. Large enough that everyone can have space and a place to comfortably sit and read, not so large that it's ridiculous, inefficient and a bear to clean. During non-hot weather we're rarely indoors so cavernous space isn't a family need.

Re: Cutting corners, cost, quality: When you are buying from the lowest bidder, the bidder will be cutting corners to make his budget work for him unless he truly cares about craftsmanship and pride. Craftsmanship and pride aren't usually the lowest bidder though. When DH and I were running the woodshop we'd get the emails asking if we could make it cheaper, if we could knock down the price. What is the customer asking for? A good product or an inexpensive knock-off? Is there an insinuation that my time is not valuable or that my work is poor, the materials of poor quality? Is that what people ask for when they ask for a low(er) bid?

BlueRoseMama · 08-17-2007, 04:50 PM

Schnooikes, your dream house sounds a bunch like mine, but I need mine made of wood. lol... I am even ok with plaster and perhaps dry wall, but something warmer than stone. Open concept on the bottom floor, nice quiet not to large bedrooms on the top floor. I HATE the trend of the masterbedroom/bath. Hate it. I would give it up in a heart beat to have all my kids have a nursery with their own bathroom. Seriously, I would. I don't like the idea that my sleeping space is also something else. I like my sleeping space quiet. A sacturary of sleep. A clock, perhaps a stereo. No phones, no computers, no huge bathtubs. I would love a large beautiful bathroom in the center of the house, but off my bedroom? No. Not for me.

Anyhow... I believe that the ideal of the "perfect house" is giving up so very much. The idea that we live inside, that our exsistance is one of living in our defined space out of the ellements just feels wrong to me. More people are trading bigger houses, bigger rooms, for smaller yards, settling for living on a professionally manicured postage stamp... unwilling to see or be part of the world outside their space, out side their neighborhood.

My friends all balk at me moving. Not becuase of my house, or where we live, but becuase of what I have done with my yard. They ask all the time "how can you think about moving when you have worked so hard on your yard?" And I always say without fail "I will never move to less." It is true. I won't move to less yard. I probably won't move to less house either, but we have a 'tiny' house (900 sq ft) that fits us all just fine as long as we are on top of the laundry (I wish this was a joke. Everything has it's place and when one large amorphis blob of laundry is taking up anyspace, it means there is less space for us to just BE). lol... But the fact remains (and drives my husband mad) I will take less house, for more yard. I will take brokendown, have to fix it ourselves, over brandnew in a subdivision with postage stamp yards. Any day... no doubts, no hesitations.

Housing is such an interesting market. I don't understand it. It is nearly impossible to walk into a realistate person and say "I want a 1400 sq ft house with a 1/2 acre yard" and have them come up with anything. This is an unheard of number. This 1400 sq ft. Comfortable size for me is WAY to small for the mainstream market, and they think I am nuts for having chickens and growing my own food on my city lot.

We live in a strange world...

Val

brayg · 08-17-2007, 06:06 PM

y'know...when I'm stumbling to pee in the middle of the night, I'm thankful I have a toilet a mere 10 steps from my bed. lol But ours is strange because we only have a 1/2 bath off our bedroom.

I don't like living spaces meant to be "showy". I abhor formal living rooms. We recently moved from a nearly 2000 sq. ft. 4 bedroom 2 bathroom 7 year-old home on 1/4 acre city lot to a 3000 sq. ft. 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom 20 year-old home on over 1/2 acre in a small country neighborhood.

While my old home was large enough at 2000 sq. ft., it was laid out in a way that was very user un-friendly. A split-entry forced you to come in and go either up or down. I really disliked it, though I convinced myself of the true blessing I had the entire 7 years we were there. And it *was* a blessing to have our very own home. Many people don't have that.

But...our "new" home is a ranch style with 1500 sq. ft. up and the same down (complete with a 12x15 root cellar downstairs). We have 4 bedrooms on the main level, which means that we can all be fairly close during our slumber...something we were not in our last home (2 bedrooms up and 2 down).

This home was built by my fil (he physically built it) so we know it's strong. It was built using quality materials and well insulated. I'd like to replace the windows sooner than later, though 20 years ago when he put them in, the triple-pane, top of the line Andersen windows were a definite upgrade.

I was worried when we moved here that we were going to be house poor. A bigger home, bigger mortgage, bigger bills, etc. But I've been pleasantly surprised that it's meant that with more storage space, I can buy in bulk. I can save things for use at a later time, rather than having to get rid of it due to lack of space. With a larger outdoor space, that means we can (and do) have a larger garden. It also means that we can enjoy our outdoors more and not have to seek entertainment away from home (which adds up). In fact, that's the case with the inside of our home as well...we have a family room downstairs with video games, a dart board, foosball/pool table, etc. I want to encourage my kids, as they get older, to hang out *here* with their friends as opposed to them going elsewhere that may be less safe. That was a goal for me. I guess maybe it's because I wanted to really be able *live* in my home. And we do.

Our living room is *lived* in. It's our main gathering area. Our main bathroom is large enough to be able to allow me to comfortably hang out in there while my kids take their baths (I know it sounds silly, but I always longed for that). But it's not overly big. We have a "school" room. We have space for guests to stay over (that's another thing I wanted for a long time). I *love* being able to say "you can stay here" to an out of town family member or friend.

We also have a well here, which means, IMO, better water (unadulterated, lol) and no city water bill. We have a heated garage, which means a bit more on our gas bill, but we no longer have to start our vehicles and let them run for 15-20 minutes in the cold Minnesota winters.

I have plans to make us even more self-sufficient, such as possibly raising some chickens, increasing the size of our garden, etc.

brooken · 08-17-2007, 06:33 PM

Great topic...
I do see Mc Mansions as wasteful, its hard to argue for them even with lots of kids. Not just the house itself, but relating to the issue of urban sprawl, decaying inner cores of cities, long gas guzzling commutes, etc. Around here there's a rehab resurgence of older houses in the city which I see as a good thing. I also think houses need to be viewed in the context of their environment and community. What can you walk to? Is it safe, etc.
I have to admit I'm kind of a privacy feak when I'm in my house, and I really like it for that reason. It's small and has 2 ft thick brick walls, and if I want to I can close the curtains and be a complete hermit.

My dream is to live collectively in a city four-plex with like-minded friends that we love. That way we can close the doors if we want privacy, have our own kitchens to not fight over the dishes, but also open them when we want company and share the yard, garden, childcare, lawmower, etc.

BlueRoseMama · 08-17-2007, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brayg

y'know...when I'm stumbling to pee in the middle of the night, I'm thankful I have a toilet a mere 10 steps from my bed. lol But ours is strange because we only have a 1/2 bath off our bedroom.

That would be totally fine with me, it is the biggest best and most beautiful spaces being THROUGH my bedroom that bug me... you know? I have a bathroom 10 feet from my bedroom too... but it is the only one and in the middle of our three bedrooms just down the hall. I just have a tiny house.

I totally understand the need for a bathroom off of the bedroom. I would enjoy it... it is just that when that is the "nice" bathroom... that bugs me. Like the kids don't get the "nice" spaces. I am not discribing what really bothers me about this very well....

Gotta go to a homeschool meeting.

Interesting topic.

Val

brayg · 08-17-2007, 11:05 PM

I understand.

It was kind of tongue in cheek when I said that. I do prefer to have the toilet close by, though. lol

xt · 08-18-2007, 12:21 AM

Val, if it makes you feel better, some of us actually use our so-called master bathrooms as the family bathroom.

My kids use theirs once in a while, but they bathe, brush teeth, shower, and even get up and walk through my room to pee in the master bathroom.

Of course, I'm expecting we won't have a house like this soon. And that's fine by me - I've never really understood double sinks and garden tubs.

Ariadne Umbrell · 08-18-2007, 01:43 AM

" Painted cement....nuclear blast" I think you are living in the apartment we lived in, when we got together, and when we married. I'm so sorry!!!

We started in an SRO. It's this horrendously ugly, uncomfortable building that had been a guys dorm after ww2. Cement block, battleship grey, cold in winter, hot in summer, damp and moldy all the time......I insisted we move when babyboy one was born- I even went and stayed at my MIL's until he found a new place for us. On the good side, it was within walking distance of campus, bookstores, a movie theatre, multiple bus lines, and chock full of interesting students. And b/c there was no Air Conditioning ( I might add, this is TEXAS- so it got to be over 100, for weeks on end) we would leave the door open, and people could stop by, and we could stop by their places, too. Oh, wait, I forgot the precarious stairs (did I mention pregnant?) ( Enormously pregnant?)

I don't like it that the kids rooms are so small. I thought that was kind of strange, but I've read that builders do it deliberately. I've read the explanations on size. Like, if you estimate that your customers think their kids are important- the rooms get bigger. But if you think you and your comfort are more important- you'll take that space and make a bigger master bedroom, and bigger bathroom, and so on. And since most people don't take a wrecking ball to a house, we have this record in plasterboard of majority opinions about family size, shape and importance.

And, cali ranch style- it's designed so that someone at the front door can see all the way back to the pool- so you look really cali lifestyle rich. And since California is a style leader- a vacuum salesman can knock on the door, and see, basically, my house's tonsils and appendix. And if I open the front drapes, any passerby can see half way into the house, and with strategically placed builder mirrors- you know, so you can feel like you are in a hotel with the giant mirrors? They can see curved into closets, too. It's horrible.

However,,,, I have a backyard. I can put my kids in the backyard without being on stranger danger alert. So, the theorists who insist I ought to live in a city and take advantage of the park- well- I'd have to be at the park, too. And my kids would have to be on social good behavior, and so would everyone else. Which works fine for some- but what if I want that hour with them outside, and me inside? What if we're all tired of dealing with strangers?

Like, my dad is all about apartments. He has never, ever, not even close, lived in a house. It was his excuse for not raising us ( No Room) Our grandparents sent us from a suburban 3/2, in a bland suburb ( carrollton- south plano, basically) to his apartment, and insisted he keep us. It sucked. It sucked so bad. In theory, it's brilliant concentrating people. In practice? The kid upstairs blasted super jumbo giant speakers blasting rap music until his mom got home ( that would be around 9 pm) My brother had to figure out how to turn the electricity off for the entire building. So, we're in the dark and quiet, or in the bright, and nauseatingly loud. Or, let's see, no garden, no flowers, no fruits, no yard, no hanging out in the backyard with your friends without being haunted by creeps with an interest in teenage girls. It put the natural world off limits.

So, while I'm in urban planning outer circle of hell- a bland suburb- I'd like to point out that it's a good life. It's not a life at the opera, or socializing on the boulevard, but it's safe, and quiet, and my kids have a good school.

My dad gets so freaked out and uncomfortable and ranty about how bad suburbs are, and how evil exurbs are, and oh, how the only good life is found in a city, in an apartment near the center of town.....so I get to hear the full city planning goodness rant a few times a year. My mom- she's scary- she's a firm believer in pave over everything. She's a right wing Republican nut job. So, I can see that it's not the best to devoutly espouse the "more concrete" philosophy ( god wants you to vote for the godly man- that would be george bush, if you had questions)

I don't have answers. What's funny is that what makes me twinge with desire, housewise, is different if I factor in children, or not. And I'm not even sure I know what I want. I'm trying to learn to not be so helpless and hapless and dependent. It's really hard. Like, even being able to think about choice in the matter of housing...it's odd. I know most people who are into it are architects, and it's like architects have professional opinions, and they are more definite- Like, knitters- knitters make a lot of the same simple things over and over and over. Knitwear designers make extraordinarily individual things that are asking and answering different questions than regular knitters. I feel that, maybe, that goes on with architects.

Like, there are some houses in town, sold for $100,000. They are modernist. They make it into design books. They make it into admiring articles about new houses. Well, when they were built, the neighbors begged the city council to oppose them, b/c they were so radically different than their surrounding houses. Not, they are nice, and this neighborhood is bad. But, this was a historically prestigious, very nice black neighborhood with turn of the century clapboard houses. The asymmetrical cement boxes looked like, well, if your grandma had a hip replacement on the outside, and showed it off. It has the feeling of a scarring. They are doing it in more neighborhoods now, too. It's really peculiar seeing a house go up, and then seeing it in a design magazine. Again, the "dialogue with the outside" "space for the family" " rhythmic design" and it looks like a martian tenement landed in a 1940's neighborhood. I think the only place it looks like it fits in is on one street where there are three in a row, and one catty corner. It looks kind of third world- skyscrapers set amidst shacks. Nice, candy colored, beaded woodworked, landscaped, toys in the front yard, shacks.

The city is actually fighting over design ordinances, and size reviews, since people have been going to council meetings, and crying. Yep, crying- an 800 sq ft house that is in permanent shadow from the surrounding new ostentatious homes. Or the house with the elevated back deck that can see into everyone's yards and (glass door) bathrooms.

Oh, yeah, schnookies- I think what you are describing is what I draw, when I draw my dream house. It's what I sketched when I was trying to motivate myself to do a job that ---anyway, my friend built her dreamhouse at this job .I could not. So, you could make blueprints for the Schnookiehaus, yah?

sorry if I'm rambling. I've been reading blogs today. I pick up styles like a paper towel blotting up koolaid.

ari

mamabear · 08-19-2007, 07:13 PM

A wooden box...I'm more and more thinking of maximizing space and simplifying and figuring out how to do it in 950 sf, which is what we have (plus 2 outbuildings and one wet, unfinished basement).

I moved in here swearing I'd need more space. It's tiny. You can take in the house in one glance. There's little privacy. There's one very small bathroom. But...it works. Because of the land. There are huge porches and a deck. There are open meadows, woods, and a brook. You look out onto wilderness everywhere.

It's a cabin, not anything more. It's a box, with a loft and one boxed-off bedroom and one small rectangle of a bathroom and the rest open. But more and more it feels like enough space...talk to me again in January.

But I love it here...I was overwhelmed in my 1888 sf suburban California-style ranch in central Florida (built in 1983). Double sinks and garden tub...yes. Everything open, lots of mirrors, high ceilings, funky high windows that didn't open. It never felt cozy enough to me...it was cold in a very strange way (white popcorn ceilings didn't help). I feel very at home in a cabin, with wood interior walls.

simplespirit · 08-26-2007, 08:34 AM

This is an interesting thread... sorry I caught on so late... Val knows how I feel about this one. It's all about the land.

I would happily sleep in a tent for years (okay; maybe a yurt) for the right piece of property. I have a love affair with dirt, vegetables, berries and trees. Trees, trees and more trees. The open house in which I first saw my home was held on a sunny October afternoon. The tiny brick ranch was bathed in colors; red, orange and a bright, golden yellow. At just 1100 sq. feet, I knew the 6 of us would have a tight fit. I could not say no to this house. With the instillation of an egress window in the basement, the 2 bedroom, one bath house provided enough sleeping quarters for my kids and a family room, too. We have no need for a dining room, masterbath or all of the extras others may feel necessary.

I am not judging those who need these spaces; no. I am just saying my family loves to pile on to 2 pieces of furniture in one room and fight over the remote. My teenagers rarely stay in their rooms and have learned the time honored traditions of banging on the bathroom door yelling "hurry up!" and calling "seat check!" on the loveseat.

I look at a house -home- differently than some. Yes, my kids live here, for now, but won't forever. Unless I plan on down sizing in my empty nest years, this will be my house for a long time. I can't imagine buying a home every few years. I know many folks that "upgrade" with employment advances, neighborhood changes, and even school sporting programs. For me, I think of a home as not only a long-term investment, but a commitment in the structure, the community and the land.

I have just one acre. It is walking distance from the schools, the library, groceries, etc. I am so blessed to have found a home on the very edge of the village/county line (I am on the county side) so I don't have to follow strict ordinances like fence permits and no chickens (!) I have nearly a quarter of my yard dedicated to food production and a large area zoned for football. A compost pile and a fire pit, mini barn and redwood deck finish off my not-so-classy landscape design. It is home.

That is one thing I would never ever do. I would never live in a neighborhood or platt or whatever that tells me how to cut my grass, what size my shed needs to be or limits the type of pool I can install... I have even heard of garden limitations and permits. No vegetables in the front yard. WTF? Screw 'em. I pay the house payment, I pay the taxes. If I want a tomato hedge in my front yard and chickens on my deck; that's my business!

So for me, my dream house is not really about the house itself. There are so many that have nothing, we are rich in comparison. Our roof does not leak. The furnace works. We have running water and an indoor toilet. Most of the world's population can not boast about such luxuries.

The only thing I would change (grin) is the mortgage. A mortgage free house is my dream house!

Kbsmama · 08-27-2007, 12:54 PM

DH wants to build a new house in the next couple years. After October, we should be able to drop our PMI insurance, and we have 12 payments left on our van, so our monthly payments will drop significantly. And, DH stands to make more money in the coming year. So, this is a great opportunity to get a handle on our debt and get maintainence and some updating done on our house. We don't want to go too crazy, as we would not be likely to get our money back in this neighborhood (and I don't think I'm going to convince DH to stay here forever).

I am trying to convince him that we can make this house work for us for another five or six years. It will take some re-organizing and rearranging. But I think some new furniture in the scheme of things is more reasonable than a new house...I'm thinking trundle beds and dressers and maybe some toy shelves. This would allow the boys more space in their room and allow us to make the spare bedroom into a room for the girls (who are in our room and will likely be for a couple more years). Then we can convert the office/playroom into an office/guestroom.

Anyway, If there were land around us rather than a slightly larger than average lot, I would be pushing for just doing whatever needed to make this "the house." It's in a great neighborhood. We have wonderful neighbors and good schools.

tara · 08-27-2007, 02:13 PM

This is a subject I've thought about a lot, maybe because I've lived in so many kinds of houses. From 4-figure square footage to just over 600 square feet, I reeeeally have lived this issue and thought hard about it.

Our current place is about 1200SF, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, living room, tiny EIK (really, it's made for a cafe table and 2 small chairs, but we make it work for 3 people), no dining room. Small "bonus room" that is about 12'x5' that is used as an office. Full unfinished basement. Really, it's all we need for our family of 3. Sometimes I mourn the lack of a dining room or larger eat-in kitchen (we can't really entertain when it's cold outside), but otherwise, it doesn't feel too small for me. I love that we have a decent-sized backyard with a nice 6' privacy fence - it's one of the main reasons we bought the house.

We know this place isn't our final house. (Yes, we have a bit of wanderlust.) Our final place will be on acreage. I don't have too many specific requirements about the house beyond stuff like a full dry basement, arable land, good well, etc. At that point, a lot of our desires have to do with self-sufficiency (or the potential to get there in a pinch).

But no, we don't have anything fancy in our house, and our house isn't big. I know it's important for some people. As a family we're very focused on being debt-free, and less concerned with stuff like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. We're on a path that is directly opposite to the American Dream.

Tara

mamabear · 08-28-2007, 12:14 PM

I just found out our "real" square footage - cutting off the eaves area where you can't stand upstairs - 800 sf.

Now, plus basement, and a garage and shed that are nicer quarters than most of the world lives in.