Small house thread - Page 34

[PNWmama]

Subbing to read later . We are putting an offer on a 1000 sq ft. 3 bed house tomorrow :! It is our first home and we are so excited! We currently rent a 2 bed duplex that is also around 1000 sq ft, maybe a little smaller. The only thing is that our current place has a garage and the place we our putting an offer on does not. We use the garage as storage, so we've got a lot of stuff to go through and get rid of. Frankly I've been wanting to do that for a long time anyway, but now I must.

[samstress]

we used to live in an apartment that was actually bigger than the house we're in now, but it's a HOUSE! with a yard that my daughter can play in. not to mention we're no longer sharing walls. doesn't get any better than that.

[bezark]

Originally Posted by samstress

we used to live in an apartment that was actually bigger than the house we're in now, but it's a HOUSE! with a yard that my daughter can play in. not to mention we're no longer sharing walls. doesn't get any better than that.

Us, too. Our apartment, while technically only 1 bedroom, was huge. Our old living room was bigger than our current kitchen and living room combined, and we had a SPARE living room, half bath and craft studio in the finished basement.
Even with all of that, we're still much, much happier in our new house. We have a yard that we don't have to share, we don't hear/smell our neighbors, we have a lot less junk lying around, and it's easier to clean.
For reference, we went from this (as far as living room space goes):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/026-4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/027-4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/013-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/014-2.jpg

To this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/005-6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/007-5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/010-2.jpg

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by bezark

Us, too. Our apartment, while technically only 1 bedroom, was huge. Our old living room was bigger than our current kitchen and living room combined, and we had a SPARE living room, half bath and craft studio in the finished basement.
Even with all of that, we're still much, much happier in our new house. We have a yard that we don't have to share, we don't hear/smell our neighbors, we have a lot less junk lying around, and it's easier to clean.
For reference, we went from this (as far as living room space goes):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/026-4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/027-4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/013-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/014-2.jpg

To this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/005-6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/007-5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...weet/010-2.jpg

I really dig your lamps. Way cool.

[isign]

Joining in on this thread. We have 1100sq ft, plus a garage that is also my laundry area. There are 4 of us, plus a 60 lb dog. I'm trying so hard to declutter and make storage work for us.

[HeatherAtHome]

Woohoo! We're buying a small house! A cute, cozy, country cottage. Three bedrooms, one bathroom. According to my rough calculations, it's possibly 950sq ft. We have just over a 1/3 acre surrounded by woods and hay fields. Plenty of room for chickens and a big garden. 5-8 minutes from DH's work/our little town. 15 minutes to our little city/shopping centre.

It needs major insulation everywhere and hope to get that finished by winter. : We are also thinking of moving the bathroom (have to rip it up anyways) so that everything flows so much better/get rid of empty/unusable space.

There's a pic of the outside of the house on my blog (the country cottage, not the red and white house; that was an older dream ) and I will be posting TONS of pictures once we really get started. Before and afters!

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

Woohoo! We're buying a small house! A cute, cozy, country cottage. Three bedrooms, one bathroom. According to my rough calculations, it's possibly 950sq ft. We have just over a 1/3 acre surrounded by woods and hay fields. Plenty of room for chickens and a big garden. 5-8 minutes from DH's work/our little town. 15 minutes to our little city/shopping centre.

It needs major insulation everywhere and hope to get that finished by winter. : We are also thinking of moving the bathroom (have to rip it up anyways) so that everything flows so much better/get rid of empty/unusable space.

There's a pic of the outside of the house on my blog (the country cottage, not the red and white house; that was an older dream ) and I will be posting TONS of pictures once we really get started. Before and afters!

What's the name of your blog?

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by isign

Joining in on this thread. We have 1100sq ft, plus a garage that is also my laundry area. There are 4 of us, plus a 60 lb dog. I'm trying so hard to declutter and make storage work for us.

What do you use your garage for? I have had to accept that our garage is storage. We don't have a basement or attic and the closets are barely big enough to contain our clothing. I used to struggle with the idea of parking our cars in the garage, but having realized that we need a place to store things that aren't in constant use or don't belong inside has been so liberating. We still need to organize our garage a lot better, but I can work on that a bit at a time.

[lexbeach]

We are in the process of buying our first house, and it's a PERFECT, charming, 1200 sqf farmhouse. I know that it might not qualify as "small" for some of you, but there are six of us (so far ), and the response we get from nearly everyone is, "but it's soooo tiny! You need more space!" I really wouldn't want it to be any bigger (though I realize that I might feel differently when we have four TEENAGE boys living with us, at which point we could build an addition if we so desire).

The main issue we're having is that it has radiators in every room, which really limit where you can put furniture. I suppose that it's something we could change at some point if it turns out to be a real problem (I'm thinking it might in the kids' room since we want to fit four beds/two bunkbeds in there eventually, and between the windows, doors, and the radiator, the options are limited). We are also planning to install a woodstove this fall, so we might be able to take out a couple of the downstairs radiators if we find that we're not using them.

But I must say that I feel so great about buying a smaller, more manageable house than some of the huge (and often falling-apart) 2,000 sqf+ houses that we looked at.

Lex

[HeatherAtHome]

Originally Posted by sabrinat

What's the name of your blog?

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to link. It's under my username, but here's a direct link to the post with a photo of our house:

http://heatherathomeinthetownships.b...y-cottage.html

It's a little wild looking.

[HeatherAtHome]

Originally Posted by lexbeach

But I must say that I feel so great about buying a smaller, more manageable house than some of the huge (and often falling-apart) 2,000 sqf+ houses that we looked at.

Lex

That's how we felt too. Our house will need some work on it, but I keep telling myself it won't take long because it's a smaller home. Remind me of that when we're in the middle of renovations.

We're hoping that once we get the house insulated well, our bills will be really cheap and the house will be easy to maintain. A larger home would overwhelm me, especially as we're first time home buyers.

[HeatherAtHome]

Booting this thread to the top because I love it so much!

We're still in the process of buying the house. Looking at a closing date of Sept 11 if not sooner. The owner really wants to get out. She's planning on living near her daughter to take care of her kids. Wants to get there before school starts. (Doesn't look like it will happen!)

I'm already feeling overwhelmed by the paperwork, never mind renovations! Soon, soon, soon.

So I have a really important question... HOW do you calculate square footage? Add up the square footage of each room? Or just take the dimensions of the outside walls of the house?

[samstress]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

So I have a really important question... HOW do you calculate square footage? Add up the square footage of each room? Or just take the dimensions of the outside walls of the house?

i think it's easier to just measure the outside. there are certain rules about ceiling height and if a space is intended for human occupancy and it's accessibility and if it's heated, etc., but if you're just looking for a rough estimate this method works just fine.

btw, your cute, cozy country cottage is lovely.

[wombatclay]

The outside footprint gives you a rough idea... but things like closets and stairwells don't "count" towards an "official" sq ft number. And often bathrooms, utility rooms, hallways, and other "non living spaces" are excluded from the official number as well.

[mummy2jess]

hi

I love this thread i have had a few ideas for my own house already !
I have no idea how big my house measurement wise but from reading the posts here it seems about the same size as many peoples houses on here although I dont think it is considered that small around here as most of the house are old and small in my town lol

I dont actually know when it was built but is was here in 1841 because it appears in the 1841 England census. It is a terraced house on a teeny side street (the street is only just wide enough for an average car to drive down) and there are terraces on both sides. which is the main reason we dont own a car as there is no where to put it!

The original part of the house was two rooms downstairs (front room and kitchen) and two room upstairs (two bedrooms) plus outside toilet. I know that the outside toilet was there until until the 1960s when one of the upstairs bedrooms was turned into a bathroom. There are also two more extensions one on he back which added a small dining room area (it is actually the biggest room of the house though) we have the dining table and a small bedsette in there for guests to sleep on.

the living room is the major problem downstairs because we have two small couches (two seaters) and a tv in there and it totally full lol.We did think of switching the two downstairs rooms around but the dining room is just open to the kitchen so i think it would be odd having the living room attached to the kitchen.

on the second floor is the bathroom and the main bedroom, in the bedroom we have our bed, a cot and a computer desk and chair plus wardrobe so its pretty much standing room only!

the top floor was added at some point after the 1950s and added to more bedroom into the attic space - they are actuallu ok sizes the one you coud fit a double bed into and the other is big enough for a single.

we have two adults, and three children plus two cats in here.

there are no built in cupboards at all apart from a couple int he kitchen for pots n pans etc and we cannot make any major changes because its rented!.

I think that our major problem space wise is downstairs and in the main bedroom. The two smaller bedroom are fine for the kids. The oldest girl has (who is 4) has her own room soon to be shared with her younger sister( who is now 6 months) and my son who is 2 has his own bedroom - if we have another it needs to be a boy lol.

the main bedroom is cramped because of my husband computer desk - he works in IT and so he is in love with it though and it takes up a huge amount of room!

downstairs it is just that the room ar every small and when everyone is in them very cramped in.

I wish i had more decorating talent!

sophie

[HeatherAtHome]

Thanks for the house love!

Ok, I took measurements of each room instead of taking the outside measurements of the the house. I wanted it to be accurate. So, the official square footage of our house is 935 sq feet including the bathroom, not counting stairs or a hallway.

On the main floor: We have a large, open kitchen & dining room 10'3"x20'9". A small living room towards the front of the house 9'9"x11. A playroom at the back of the house 13x11'3". A good sized bathroom with washer and dryer (and cat litter).

Upstairs: one bigger bedroom with tiny room beside that will be turned into a walk in closet (sewing table for sewing). 2 smaller bedrooms great for kids. A small closet under the eaves.

Basement: Fieldstone basement with dirt floor. Won't ever be pretty. Hot water heater, an old furnace, possibly storage of Christmas items? Needs some work down there.

Outside: Tons of space!

Living there: My husband and I with two cats. We plan on fostering and would have space for 2 or more kids (depends on rules for square footage of bedrooms.)

We close in two weeks. :

[wombatclay]

congrats! hope the closing goes smoothly... it sound like a lovely space!

Depending on ground water issues, you may be able to put concrete on the basement floor or use a modular dry-ply system to create a floor. Not exactly a "convert to living space" renovation but it could make the space more functional for storage or to move the washer/dryer into (gaining space in the bathroom... though I've also seen people remove washer/dryer from the bath, wall off that space, and add a door on a "non-bathroom wall to create a closet or small "fold out" hobby space).

[HeatherAtHome]

Thanks for the ideas Wombat!

We aren't really planning on doing much with the basement besides insulating and tidying. The inspector suggested that we put sand down on the floor, some type of moisture barrier with more sand on top. We might do that eventually. I can't see using the space for anything other than storage (with items in plastic totes) or once it's fixed up semi decently, maybe store some canning/garden produce down there.

We don't live there yet, but I feel like we have quite a bit of space. Honestly, the house seems HUGE to me. I think it has a very good layout with plenty of "away" spaces, little nooks and crannies (did I spell that right? looks so odd!) and storage options. :

And did I mention it's a good $30,000-50,000 less than other houses we looked at and has everything on our wish list? yeah, I'm pretty happy. :

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

Thanks for the house love!

Ok, I took measurements of each room instead of taking the outside measurements of the the house. I wanted it to be accurate. So, the official square footage of our house is 935 sq feet including the bathroom, not counting stairs or a hallway.

On the main floor: We have a large, open kitchen & dining room 10'3"x20'9". A small living room towards the front of the house 9'9"x11. A playroom at the back of the house 13x11'3". A good sized bathroom with washer and dryer (and cat litter).

Upstairs: one bigger bedroom with tiny room beside that will be turned into a walk in closet (sewing table for sewing). 2 smaller bedrooms great for kids. A small closet under the eaves.

Basement: Fieldstone basement with dirt floor. Won't ever be pretty. Hot water heater, an old furnace, possibly storage of Christmas items? Needs some work down there.

Outside: Tons of space!

Living there: My husband and I with two cats. We plan on fostering and would have space for 2 or more kids (depends on rules for square footage of bedrooms.)

We close in two weeks. :

Hey! Almost time for your closing! Congrats!

[HeatherAtHome]

Originally Posted by sabrinat

Hey! Almost time for your closing! Congrats!

Ha! You would think! The date has been moved. We're looking at possibly the 18th (next Friday) just need to call mortgage lender to see if it's fine then make apt with notary and seller... assuming they're available on the date. But, the seller *IS* moving out the 20th, that date is set in stone. She's moving kind of far away so were hoping to have it done before.

(We're in Qc, so we go through a notary, we're special that way. )