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mamaslearning
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| Posted: Feb 02 2013 at 12:30pm | IP Logged
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Not sure if it belongs in this forum, so please move as needed. Thanks!
We are selling the house and we might be building our new home if we cannot find something already on the market. I have been browsing all over for house plans but can't seem to find something I like (I know I'll end up designing our own). Just wondering if you have any links that I haven't found yet? We are currently in 1800 sqft, but would like to downsize to as small as comfortably possible. We have four children, 1 girl and 3 boys, and my husband is pretty sure he wants a total of four bedrooms (1 for us, 3 for the kids, but I might use the one for a playroom).
I LOVE the tiny house movement and the simplicity in small design!
Any suggestions?
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
St. Francis de Sales Homeschool
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VanessaVH
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Sarah Susanka has several books on similar topics. I read 2 of them years ago and really loved what she had to say!! (but I am not sure exactly which ones I read....)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Not-Big-House-Blueprint/dp/1600851 509/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1359832993&sr=8-10&keywords=smal l+house
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JodieLyn
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oh I have suggestions. First off, I am all for smaller.. but there is also such a things as too small.. so I'm gonna address that a little bit.
1 - make sure you have enough storage.. for now and when the kids are bigger.. bigger kids take up more space, their clothes take more space, their shoes take more space etc. If the storage is complicated (everything has to fit just so and you have to move stuff to get to or put away something else.. you'll be fighting to get it all put away again.
2 - I'm a big believer in kids sharing bedrooms.. though obviously with one girl, she wouldn't.
3 - a second bathroom is lovely but not necessary and it does take up space.. having a bathroom in the masterbedroom isn't necessary either.
4 - really think about how you want to use the main rooms of the house. the one thing that has bothered me the MOST about our small house is not having two living areas for entertaining. The kids either have to go play in bedrooms or they're in the same room and it' impossible to hold a conversation with others while the kids are playing in the same room. Also, are you going to want boys and girls in the bedrooms when they get older.
5 - space to put coats.. I use the wall behind the door for hooks for coats but it still takes up a good bit of space.
Now that said.. let me point out that I have 12 people in 1064qft. We're hoping to remodel and bring us up to not quite 1800sqft BUT we're also adding a room for my mom to live with us half the year (my sister get her the other half) Our remodel will get us larger bedrooms for dh and I and the girls plus a bedroom for my mom (boys already have a large room), it will gain us a second living space for a tv room that will be open to the living room area but will block some of the noise but we may look at pocket doors so that we have the option of closing off the tv room.. for instance if dh and I or the older kids are watching something that the youngers don't need to be overhearing/seeing. I will also gain a small space for an office area instead of in my kitchen which would give me all of the small kitchen as just kitchen and a little more space for our dining area.. oh and an entry way to change the direction of the front door so the prevailing winds will stop breaking my storm door CONSTANTLY. Plus gives me a whole wall (about 8 ft of it) for coat hooks.. bliss! And we hope to have a small room for storage since we'll be losing half the single car garage to the tv room. Plus it'll be inside storage.. much nicer for quite a few things. The tools and such will get a shed in the backyard.
So my suggestions are.. bedrooms - 3 (4 if you might have parents moving in with you when they get older).. just be sure that the size is appropriate.. one girl can have a pretty small bedroom.. but three boys need more space. 2 living areas for entertaining and for accomodating different family activities without noise overload. 1 bathroom is sufficient. And generous storage space (big closets in each room etc. And space at the door for a coat closet or a wall of hooks.. whatever works.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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stacykay
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I wish I had some good ideas for you, Lara, but we are struggling to accomodate the eight of us into our home, which is just a smidge under 2100 sq. ft. We have four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. Being the only female in the house, I do like having the master bath. The six boys share the other one.
I can only talk about needs of boys, but Jodie did point out that planning should take into account littles growing up. Our home felt spacious for many years, but as we now have four boys who are over 6' and have man-sized bodies, their rooms are getting really cramped! Add in sports equipment, college and high school texts, computers, etc., and I feel like we are bursting at the seams!
Today, I am cleaning out my youngest two boys' room (they are 8 and 11.) They still have lots of space, even though theirs' is the tiniest bedroom. Their clothes still fit into their drawers and closets. They just don't have the "baggage" or "bulk" that the older four have.
I don't know how much time you spend in your bedroom, but perhaps that is an area to save on space? I occasionally watch one of those home-buying shows on hgtv, and I always wonder why folks want such large master bedrooms, as I spend very little time in mine (mostly just to sleep!,) and I always think that is wasted space. I don't need more square feet to sleep. I never thought we needed the living room and family room and wanted a great room, but now, I find it is helpful as the boys have their friends over (who are adult-sized, too!,) because they can each have a place to be with their buddies.
We did not anticipate that we would have adult children living at home, but the economy has dictated otherwise, and I am grateful we have the space.
I am not sure this was what you were looking for, but thought I'd add on a bit to what Jodie mentioned about future needs.
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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CrunchyMom
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I love Sarah Susankah's books and have checked them from the library many times for inspiration, but in terms of actual houseplans (of the sort I could ever dream of building, lol), I would look to Marianne Cusato. Her New Economy Home is inspiring, imo, and she has other house plans, too.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Kathryn
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I will also ditto the fact that little people become big people with big stuff! And their friends are big people too. And they don't always smell so great! It's been a shocker!  
Also, as a former Realtor, THINK RESALE...ALWAYS!  You don't want to build something so specific that if you ever need to sell you are stuck taking a huge loss or worst, having to foreclose b/c you can't sell.
Good luck!
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(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Kristie 4
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Kids get bigger- that is the reality of it.
Second living space- I love our tv room in our unfinished basement- who wants to hear a housefull of 9-12 year olds play Wii???
Second bathroom- I couldn't imagine life without it now. We only had one in our old home and it always slowed down the mornings and bedtimes. Those are the two times of day where my patience is slightly strained(not the only two!). Teenagers also shower more (or should) and then it is hard to get in there.
My oldest turns 18 in 3 weeks and he is living in a walk in closet! We have to figure out a room for him!!
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mamaslearning
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What wonderful thoughts and advice!  It's nice to hear from those with grown (almost grown) boys, because mine are so small right now. I tend think in terms of how they fit today, but need to realize that they will grow into large boys one of these days.
Storage - I want to take advantage of every inch and utilize spaces with built-ins or access panels if possible.
If we build, we'll definitely have at least a partial basement, so I'm going to reserve some of that space for a kid's play/tv/romp area with friends. We have basement space now and it is such a great space especially when our large extended family comes to visit.
Keep the ideas and links rolling! Thanks!
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
St. Francis de Sales Homeschool
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JodieLyn
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Well, I want to have space where my older girls or boys could entertain friends of the opposite sex and be easy to keep an unobtrusive eye on them without making them feel overly watched.. so for me a basement space isn't so great.. though I think it would be great for a bunch of big boys who are goofing around 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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mamaslearning
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| Posted: Feb 04 2013 at 9:30am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Well, I want to have space where my older girls or boys could entertain friends of the opposite sex and be easy to keep an unobtrusive eye on them without making them feel overly watched.. so for me a basement space isn't so great.. though I think it would be great for a bunch of big boys who are goofing around |
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Good thought! I think of these types of things, and my husband just rolls his eyes  at me. Some things that I have concerns about:
Basement Bedrooms - too much temptation to sneak out easily. Plus, I worry about someone breaking into their room (I lived in a basement apartment and someone tried to get in our window one night while we were watching a movie - scary stuff).
Split bedrooms - I'm afraid that when the kids need us in the middle of the night that they might hurt themselves coming down the stairs to a first floor bedroom. Or, if they are sick at night I might not hear them.
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
St. Francis de Sales Homeschool
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: Feb 11 2013 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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I really look forward to downsizing! It will be another 10 years of so..lol
We have only 4 kids. We own a 1200sqft home. Technically a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. Renovations made it into a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house. Each child has a room.
I questioned the need of each their own room, the single boy find, but the rest? But with a bleak outlook on the economy, I can see they will be home for a long long time. Possibly with a spouse at some point. It's not ideal, but it would definitely be more affordable for everyone. once upon a time multi-generation homes were common in some areas, and I think it will be making a comeback out of necessity.
I also worry about my mom if dad passes first. She'll be lost, and I don't know what she'll do. I see her living with us. I think the conversation that would need to happen, would we want to consider building/buying a duplex, so she has her own independence, but we're there to help where necessary. I don't see her living with us, she has a good retirement fund and dad will leave her well cared for, but she hates the town she lives in, and would be lost here in the city without us.
I love the tiny houses movement. In my ideal world, one the kids are grown, dh and I would by land, small acreage and build one of the small houses with many off grid features, a 2 bedroom only. And for company, we'd build the tiny houses, for guest houses, everyone would have the privacy they love, but altogether! Don't need permits for them, as they are technically RV's!
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Feb 11 2013 at 4:02pm | IP Logged
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mamaslearning wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
| Well, I want to have space where my older girls or boys could entertain friends of the opposite sex and be easy to keep an unobtrusive eye on them without making them feel overly watched.. so for me a basement space isn't so great.. though I think it would be great for a bunch of big boys who are goofing around |
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Good thought! I think of these types of things, and my husband just rolls his eyes at me. Some things that I have concerns about:
Basement Bedrooms - too much temptation to sneak out easily. Plus, I worry about someone breaking into their room (I lived in a basement apartment and someone tried to get in our window one night while we were watching a movie - scary stuff).
Split bedrooms - I'm afraid that when the kids need us in the middle of the night that they might hurt themselves coming down the stairs to a first floor bedroom. Or, if they are sick at night I might not hear them.
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We live in a split level, and the kids are on the uppermost level while we are one level down. It worried me at first, but it has not been bad. Granted, it is a half flight of stairs, not a full one, and with their bedroom practically next door to ours, we can hear what is going on with them pretty well, but all in all, it has worked out better than I'd feared.
Also, I think that layout can have a lot more impact than square footage alone. And, too, outdoor space can be cultivated to make your living space seem much more cozy. Though it is obviously a bit tighter in the winter, our generous screened in porch gets a lot of use during the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I think having some spaces to go outside can be utilized for teens and the like. We have a large gathering for the fourth of July with families of all ages, and everyone seems to find a corner of the yard or porch or house with relative ease, even though I wouldn't call our house large. We do have a living room AND a family room (no separate dining room, though) as part of a finished walk out basement level. Even at our older home, which was tiny, we were able to entertain, in nice weather anyway, because our yard was nicely situated for it, so outdoor spaces can really help with some of the challenges of a smaller home, ime.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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kbfsc
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| Posted: Feb 16 2013 at 7:55pm | IP Logged
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Chiming in late, but we found some nice plans in various places online. I really like Southern Living plans. We settled on one that an architect modified for us to accommodate some changes like those suggested here: more storage (like under the stairs), an extra living space that could be turned into a bedroom down the road should the need arise, eliminating a powder room, enlarging pantry, etc. It's a good exercise to think it all through! Now, we have yet to build... but when (if?!) we do, we're ready! I think that designers are waking up to the economic situation of lots of folks, so they are offering more modest, sensible options.
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Small House plans
