We all know that in addition to building envelope, mechanicals, design details (passive solar, etc.) that the size of the home has a big (probably the biggest) impact on efficiency.  To that end, when my wife & I decided to build, we knew we wanted to keep it reasonable & not build a mcmansion.  I THOUGHT we were doing a pretty good job of that. 

Now that our house is going up, we keep hearing comments from family, friends...even our builder...that this is a big house.  It got me thinking...what I think of when I think "big" is probably different than some others. 

Some background...my wife & I are in our mid 30's, no kids (but working on it), both grew up in the area & don't plan to move.  In short, we wanted to build a house that we would be comfortable in for a long time.  It's a ranch, just under 2000 sq ft (1985).  It's a walkout basement, but we don't plan to finish it any time soon.

So...is 2000 sq ft "big"?  What does everyone else think?

Kind of a silly question......It's YOUR house, hopefully tailored to YOUR lifestyle with plenty of space to raise YOUR family. It can only be too 'BIG' if you decide it is!

Enjoy your new home!

psammy

Posted By psammy on 19 Apr 2010 03:39 PM
Kind of a silly question......It's YOUR house, hopefully tailored to YOUR lifestyle with plenty of space to raise YOUR family. It can only be too 'BIG' if you decide it is!

Enjoy your new home!

psammy

well...yeah...I suppose.  I'm comfortable with what we're building - just curious about what others consider to be a big house, etc.

I do think that part of the reason we're hearing those comments is that it's a very open concept, so the entire front foyer/living room/dining room is one big open space so it feels big now.  Once drywall goes up & stuff, I think it will 'close it in' some & hopefully people stop saying that stuff. 

The funny thing is, if we don't have the smallest house on the block, it's pretty darn close - so to hear people say how big our house is kind of shocks me.

Jerky,
Relax. The visual impact of the room and wall arrangement will make a huge difference in how large or small your house 'feels'. I once built two homes at the same time, both ranches, one almost 4000 sf, the other just over 2500. The larger home had each room separated by full walls, several rooms had tall ceilings with trays and faux vaults everywhere. It felt cramped and claustrophobic. With furniture in place, you had to walk a maze to get from A to B. The smaller home had a 'great room' concept with 9' ceilings throughout. A much more comfortable home that 'lived' far better that the other, larger, home. BTW, the larger home has been on the market 3 times since it was built. It is a beautiful home that people just don't like living in.
Your house will grow and shrink as the construction proceeds. With just the subfloor, it seems large, with just stud walls, it shrinks, and grows with drywall, etc. I don't know about the size of homes in your neighborhood, but 2000 sf is a relatively small home these days. Though it seems plenty big enough to me.

People will say the dumbest things, jerkylips. This is just the beginning.

Posted By Jelly on 19 Apr 2010 09:10 PM
People will say the dumbest things, jerkylips. This is just the beginning.

no, the dumb comments started years ago.  "so when are you guys getting married?", "so when are you guys having kids?" 

I guess this is just the natural progression.  My mom did comment that the house seems big enough that when they're not able to live on their own, they can move in with us.  yikes.

Everyone had a different idea of what they want.
Personally I wanted to build a 500 ft^2 house on top of a 2000 ft^2 workshop. Unfortunately that is not exactly what the town zoning allows. In the end I built 1050 ft^2 living space on top of 1050 ft^2 shop. For me personally, the living space is too big, just more space to clean every week. If I had a wife and or a child it would probably be OK size wise but not laid out too well. The shop is of course too small

Cheers,
Eric

I saw a 7,000 square foot LEED Platinum house in Palo Alto. I thought that that house was too big.

Uh oh....your mom invited herself to live with you? maybe your house is too big!!! ;-)