STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

What's a good square footage for 3 bed/2 bath?

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I think that's fairly average to slightly small? A lot will depend on the layout and if the space is set up in a way that allows you to use that square footage.

ETA for comparison's sake: Without the attic, our house is 1700 sq feet and has 3 BR/2 BA, living room, dining room, and kitchen. The living room is small, but the dining room is huge (the house was built before TVs, so this makes sense- the layout doen't really allow us to swap uses though), the bathrooms are an ok size, the kitchen is decent (would be great if it had been planned differently). The bedrooms are slightly small, but not totally cramped either. You can fit a queen bed, dresser (2 in the master) and nightstand in them and still have room for some smaller accessory type stuff. There is also ample closet space, including 2 large walkin closets off the hallway. For the 2 of us, its plenty of space but with kids it might be tight unless you have an attic or basement that you can expand into.

I don't think its to early to go to a few houses to scope thing out. We staretd looking in Febuary expecting to close in June/July. You want to allow yourself enough time to see lot of places and really figure out what you like

-- Edited by ILoveChoo at 19:09, 2007-10-15

NCshopper · Hermes

3 bed/2 bath houses really run the gamut. Our house is about 1,200 sq. ft. and I think it's on the small side. It depends on what other rooms your house has though--ours doesn't have a formal dining room or living room, so it ends up that the bedrooms are a decent size. If you're looking at a 3 bed/2 bath that's 1700 sq. ft. but has a formal dining room and living room, then the bedrooms are going to be on the small side. So it really depends.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

It totally depends on how that space is used. Some homes are generous on the living space but have small bedrooms. Others are opposite. 1600 square feet can feel completely different in two different houses.

You might feel like your house is larger if you get a single story, then it won't feel like you have two 800-sq-ft places.

I think, for 2 people, 16-1700 sq ft is a fine amount of space as long as it is a smart layout (3/2 set-ups help too). When you get under 1400, that can become difficult. 2000 sq ft can feel like too much for some. This is all subjective, of course.

Your desires will probably change as you start seeing homes in person. Ours did.

Tip: The activity that helped us the most when we were looking (for a year and a half...) was to write out two lists together: A "must-have" list and a "would-like" list. EXTREMELY helpful.

(update) idea - Look at house plans on www.houseplans.com, concentrating only on those in your size range. Even though you are looking at existing homes, floorplans can give you a better vision of what to expect. Be aware that- -if you are looking at significantly older homes- -the layouts will not be typical of what we see in modern homes (open floorplan, great room/family room-kitchen combo, 2-story ceiling heights, big bathrooms, etc.).

-- Edited by pollyjean23 at 22:00, 2007-10-15

Cortney1982 · Chanel

It sounds average to me. If it includes a family room, then it's on the small side.

halleybird · Hermes

I don't think it sounds that small. My husband's childhood home was 4BR/2BA and 1700 square feet, and it was fine for their family of 4. The average 3BR around here is about 1500 sf.

ETA: pollyjean is completely right about layout. Our old house was about 200sf bigger than this one, but it felt MUCH smaller because the space wasn't used as well.

-- Edited by halleybird at 22:59, 2007-10-15

Lilykind · Hermes

I think 1700 sq. ft. sounds like plenty, but in CA houses always seem smaller than the ones I'm used to on the East Coast. I agree that 3BR/2BA can run the gamut, especially with layout differences.

Our condo is a 2BR/2BA and 1142 sq. ft. but VERY well laid out so it feels more like 1300-1400. Our MBR is ginormous...we can fit a king bed and still have a very large seating/office area. It's plenty of room for two of us, though the bathrooms and kitchen are on the smaller side. I grew up in a 4BR/2BA house with 2200+ sq. ft. and I always felt like the place was a catchall for everything.

I would browse for houses now though...I think the more you see in person, the more you can gauge what you absolutely must have and what you can forgo if neccessary. We started browsing for places in March and found our condo in July.

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

Thanks everyone for the replies, it's overwhelming to me trying to look for houses! I think me and DH are just going to get out there and start looking now. I'm going through the pre-qualification loan process right now. I can't wait to own though!

FashionPrincess · Hermes

I agree, it really depends on the layout of the home. We have a 3br/3bath with living room and family room and dining room (which we use as an office), it is about 2100 sq ft. Happy house hunting! It can be a fun but stressful process.

sydney · Kate Spade

I think 1800 - 2200 is a nice medium sized house for 3 bedrooms - I guess it depends on what area of the country you live in

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

our house is 2300sq ft. 3 bedrooms + loft.

Sometimes it feels to small, but then again I dont really want to clean a bigger house either!

Suasoria · Chanel

I agree that how the space is used and how the house is laid out is more important than the actual square footage. Our house was 2+1 when we bought it in less than 1100 square feet, and it felt more spacious and was more logically designed and built than other homes we saw that were appreciably larger.

Then we added on, so it's 3+2.5 is about 2400 square feet. The new master bed/bath/closets and kitchen/dining rooms are on the large size. We also have both a family room and a living room and a lot of storage.

In other words, it would be really difficult to compare our house to other 3BDs in the neighborhood that are 1600 square feet.