Comments on: Some Thoughts on the Small House Movement: Is It Something Worth Considering?

By: dugnjes

dugnjes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:51:10 +0000

Our dream house is 1976 square feet. It’s got five bedrooms, three baths, a loft, kitchen, dining, living, and laundry rooms, a studio for me, a craft nook for my wife, and closets for everybody. That’s for Mom & Dad, seven kids, two dogs, two cats, and various uninvited arthropods. People who hear us say “dream house” and then see it generally react with “…Oh.” because the concept of “dream house” may, in the collective American psyche, invoke images of heated garages and helipads. No, it’s our dream house because we designed it that way, and our lives there are fabulous. A house is just a shell, and cannot be any happier than the people who live there.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:56:42 +0000

#21, Dear KC, “I’ll use only electric lawn equipment….” Are you aware that coal fired plants produce your “clean” electricity? That coal fired plants produce the electricity to power any battery operated machine including cars? Most electricity, unless powerd by solar, wind, or water, is coal fired. Your electric equipment isn’t “clean” in the sense you indicate. A person powered reel type lawn mower would be non polluting if you have a lawn or a hand powered clippers would be non polluting if you want to trim the hedge. Anything electic is a polluter unoless you’re hooked up to your wind / solar / water fall powered generator.

By: Gardening 4 Life

Gardening 4 Life — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:51:05 +0000

3000 sq ft? Are you kidding me? We are a family of 4 living in a house about half that size and are fine. We’ve lived in a 2400 sq ft home and I really didn’t like paying the taxes and utilities that came with it. We even have lived in a 37 ft camper for 2 years and really did find it sufficient to meet our “needs”. When we moved into our 1600 sq ft, we couldn’t believe the wasted space and thought we’d really hit it big.

I think lessons learned from living in an average NYC apartment should be further explored for efficiency ideas. :)

By: Cindy B.

Cindy B. — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:13:20 +0000

Susan Susanka is the architect that designed the principles of the Not So Big House. I read her books extensively before remodeling our home in 2006. We ended up with a modest 1800 sf 3bd 2ba home that is plenty roomy for our family of 4. Smaller homes allow you to spend your remodel dollars on built-ins and details instead of square footage. And you end up with spaces that are used – not closed off for special events or specific use only rooms.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:43:08 +0000

I’ve spent the last 10 years living in a 750sq ft house with my husband, his niece, three dogs, 3 cats, various lizards, and now our infant daughter. We have five rooms: a kitchen/dining, a living room/office (we work from home, me fulltime), two small bedrooms, and a bathroom. Believe you me, it is NOT enough space. We’re moving in with my mother to a 2000+ sq ft house with 3 bathrooms. I consider that excessive, but when buying a manufactured home, 1500sq ft to 2100 sq ft are all about the same price.

By: laurie

laurie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:02:11 +0000

You should check out http://www.notsobighouse.com/

This architect (who has at least 2 great books out) focuses on functionality in small spaces rather than huge houses with a separate room for everything.

I can’t wait until I can build my own Not So Big house!

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:28:37 +0000

We just downsized a bit. We gave up our 1500 square foot townhome (3 beds, 2.5 baths ,1 car garage) and moved into a 2 bedroom condo. I was nervous about my boys sharing a room (they are 3 years old and 7 months old) but it’s worked out wonderfully. I actualy prefer the layout of the smaller place and having less to clean means more time to play with the kids. We’re also saving $260 each month. I always thought I wanted a big house, but I like our smaller place so much that I believe my dream home has shrunk!

By: Kt

Kt — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:09:57 +0000

I’d *LOVE* to be living in a small home. This dreams is nearly impossible where I live, though, for the following reasons:
1. There are very few small homes in this area. (NW NYC Metro Area)
2. Even the smallest of small homes is unaffordable to me as a single person on one salary. The small, “starter homes” in my area start at about $350k and up. I’d have to move way outside my commuting range to find something I can afford.
3. While a 1 bdrm condo is almost affordable ($200k range), the idea or making monthly maintenance payments, coupled with living restrictions such as no pets allowed is a very unappealing thing. (mortgage + taxes + another bill just to live there)

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:46:35 +0000

Our family and friends thought we were crazy for purchasing a 2 bed/1 bath 1,100 SF condo in a low cost of living area when we could have afforded a 4 bed/3 bath 3,000 SF house pretty easily. Some of those same people now decry us as ‘rich’ because we can afford to take a vacation out of the country each year. I know for a fact that our salaries are beneath many of theirs, but they are house rich and cash poor.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:14:23 +0000

AnnJo has this thread pegged. Jim and Frugal Bachelor are left-wing fascists who would take us into the future by taking everything away from people who aren’t left with much as it is.

By: Kin

Kin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:00:45 +0000

I just converted our rental to square feet – 1400. For a family of 3 adults, 3 children and a dog.

Most of the time it’s fine, but 3 children in one bedroom is starting to become a problem. With virtually no yard it’s just lucky there’s only 3 of us at home during the day.

Buying/renting more than you need is wasteful in the worst sense – it removes that opportunity from someone who needs it.

Mind you I’m still paying top dollar for my rental – 36% of our take home pay. Anything bigger was more again.I couldn’t even afford to buy this place – the payments alone would be 53% of our take home pay.

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:47:22 +0000

I'm a big fan of smaller houses. Certainly my post of 'Living it Down Small' was very well received. It turns out that a lot of people are in the same boat and want to live in a smaller, cheaper, more environmentally friendly house. My current one bedroom places is the smallest I've lived in for years and I'm loving it.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:17:11 +0000

I think that buying a smaller house is a beautiful idea. People have to realize that a house is a material item, just like anything else!

The equity in a home is nothing more than a lower interest fixed credit card. You can’t get the money until you sell it, otherwise you must borrow.

The banks bamboozled everyone into believing that net worth (a ficticious number) was the key to retirement.

Truth be told, if you want to be wealthy, take that extra money and invest it. If you get rich, THEN by a “dream” home.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:36:04 +0000

We don’t live in a small house, but it’s not huge. I’m very comfortable in our 1500 s/f home. It has nice large rooms and lots of closets with built-in shelves. I have lots of storage. We have no plans on ever moving. We own this house and we are remodeling it on a budget. I also have an acre of land so we have a nice garden, and we are planting fruit trees. I agree you can make your house more energy efficient with many little things.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:22:14 +0000

AnnJo: “But for now, until our federal government brings “The Change We Need” into every corner of our lives, let’s all just rejoice in being allowed to choose a cozy condo, an RV, a modest bungalow, a McMansion, or anything in between we think, however foolishly, we can afford. Soon enough, the right to make foolish choices will be too troublesome or inconvenient for our wise and benevolent rulers to allow. Can’t you just see Frugal Bachelor at #41 as neighborhood commisar?”

Are you implying that Obama or others here want to take away your freedom? Do you imagine jack booted Democrats throwing your poor family into a Democratic reeducation camp or something? Your language kinda leads that direction.. but maybe I don’t get your point.

What is your point?

Do you really think that Americans should “foolishly” buy homes they can’t afford? Thats what millions of people have done and we can all see how well that is working out for the country now can’t we? Do you think thats a good thing that people bought $600k McMansions on 3 year interest only negative amortization balloon mortgages with a special prize inside?

Maybe if we had all had the sense to live within our means then the economy wouldn’t have taken a giant nose dive in the past few months?

People will not have the choice to waste money excessively if they are laid off and their McMansion is foreclosed on. Thats the reality we’re facing. Not the evil federal government stealing our freedom to be wasteful and foolish.

Jim

By: partgypsy

partgypsy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:32:05 +0000

We have a 1450 sf home for 2 adults, 2 kids and dog and cat. But to tell you the truth I would love to renovate the attic to give ourselves another 400 sf of space, for a studio and bedroom. There are many things people can do to houses to make them more environmentally conscious, such renovating older homes versus tear down, making them more energy efficient, using passive heating/cooling design, and also using good design to maximize the use of space and provide organization. Although I think as someone call the “boutique dog houses” are maybe not the answer for alot of us, they can start a conversation with with what we want out of a house, and that the aspiration need not be size or granduer but functionality.

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:31:49 +0000

I am all for it. There is a lot to be gained from a small house. The good thing of being “confined” to a smaller house is that family relationship actually get stronger and you can handle annoyances better.

By: s

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:48:50 +0000

comment #50. I meant I am happy I can upkeep but dont need to keep up with the jones is what I meant.

By: s

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:46:44 +0000

I really enjoy reading these comments. I really learn a lot. I myself have a two bedroom, 1 bath home. It is approx. 1,200. I am happy with what I have. I have an 18 year old daughter. She has her own room. She is free to come and go. She knows she always has a room of her own. I redecorated for her.She is into beauty pageants. I put beautiful pictures of her up and it can also serve as a guest room. I use my office in my room. I am very thankful. I have a sister who moved from California to Tennessee. She is much happier and loves it there. So, anyway. I like knowing that I can upkeep but can keep up with the Jones which is okay with me.

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:55:28 +0000

I know a family of three that had a modest size house – probably 1500 sq ft and they were almost done paying it off. Well the keeping up with the Jones’ bug bit and they purchased a 3000+ sq ft. with an itty bitty patch of land. Now they have a 30 year mortgage when they are 20 years from retirement. There are 4 bathrooms – for 3 people. Wasteful and pretentious.