Houses - how big would you go?
Discussion
Following in the wake of the excellent "Whats it really like to live in a mansion??" and the property porn threads I was wondering that, in the event of the hypothetical Euromillions jackpot win, is there a limit to the size of the house you'd want to live in?
To set the scene; I am married with two kids and currently live in a four bed house of about 100m2 / ~1000 sq ft (visualise of a footprint of just bigger than 4m by 8m x2 floors though I also have a separate double garage). The house is quite compact and given the chance I wouldn't hesitate to buy somewhere bigger if I could afford it.
My parents live in a place about three times the size. I think this represents the limit of the size of place I'd feel comfortable living in. Much bigger than this and I would dislike the feeling of rattling around in a huge mansion.
So, without diverting the thread onto house styles, location or running/purchase costs, how big a house would be your limit? Is there anyone who has downsized and felt more comfortable in a smaller place?
To set the scene; I am married with two kids and currently live in a four bed house of about 100m2 / ~1000 sq ft (visualise of a footprint of just bigger than 4m by 8m x2 floors though I also have a separate double garage). The house is quite compact and given the chance I wouldn't hesitate to buy somewhere bigger if I could afford it.
My parents live in a place about three times the size. I think this represents the limit of the size of place I'd feel comfortable living in. Much bigger than this and I would dislike the feeling of rattling around in a huge mansion.
So, without diverting the thread onto house styles, location or running/purchase costs, how big a house would be your limit? Is there anyone who has downsized and felt more comfortable in a smaller place?
98elise said:
Total floor area is the norm, not footprint.
Houses in the UK start at around 5-600sq ft for very small victorian terrace's. These come with negligable land/gardens. Even by UK standards these are small.
Property is at a premium in the UK, even with the downturn. My current house is worth about £300k, and is 1200 sq ft. Its a good size by UK standards.
An average size family home will be closer to 1000sq ft, however with building land still rare and costly, the average property size has probably been shrinking for the past 10 years. Also the housing density on new builds is getting stupid.
This is very true. Bear in mind if you're reading this from outside the UK that people stating they're living in 3000 sq ft houses are way above average in terms of home size.Houses in the UK start at around 5-600sq ft for very small victorian terrace's. These come with negligable land/gardens. Even by UK standards these are small.
Property is at a premium in the UK, even with the downturn. My current house is worth about £300k, and is 1200 sq ft. Its a good size by UK standards.
An average size family home will be closer to 1000sq ft, however with building land still rare and costly, the average property size has probably been shrinking for the past 10 years. Also the housing density on new builds is getting stupid.
I appreciate the comments from wiffmaster and renmure about how a house is presented in terms of layout and rooms can make a big difference to how comfortable it feels to live in, and probably makes more of a difference than the absolute size of the place.
I still don't think I'd ever need more than 3000 sq ft, though I suspect it's the relative jump from what I'm used to than any other reason.
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