Does Size Really Matter Part #1 - Goldilocks and The Three Bears

The big question is does size (of your home) really matter? Maybe the maximum allowable building footprint and your budget allows you to build a 10,000 square foot house, does that mean you should do it? In the United States, the trend has been bigger and bigger homes over the last fifty years. In fact, the size of homes has more than doubled while the average family size has shrunk by one. As Americans, we have been busy trying to keep up with the Joneses. The National association of Home Builders is reporting that trend has begun reversing itself since 2007. It will be interesting to see if that trend holds up once the recession subsides. I believe we have reached a breaking point with the size of housing. Interest rates have nowhere to go but up, incomes are not rising as fast as they once were and the younger generation is not as addicted to work as the baby boomers are. All this leads me to believe housing sizes will shrink over the next ten or more years.

Green building encourages smaller square footage than larger square footage, which will we discuss in more detail tomorrow. However, there are a number of practical reasons to carefully consider the size of your home.

• Affects the Initial Building Cost

• Often Leads to Sacrificing Higher Finishes & Amenities

• Costs More to Furnish and Decorate; or

• Rooms Never Get Furnished-Not Comfortable to Live In

• Bigger and Bigger Spaces are Less & Less Comfortable

• Higher On Going Utility Costs

• Means More to Clean & Maintain

• More to Update Later

• Both Spouses Need to Work (e.g. House Poor)

• House Poor=Sacrificing Vacations, Children Education, Retirement, Etc

• At Risk Financially When One Earner Gets Sick

• Family Never in Same Room Together

• Stress factor(s)

Conversely, the current and future needs of the whole family should be considered. Do you have elderly parents that might be living with you in the next five to ten years? Do you have adult children (with their own children) that may be living with you in the future? Are you planning on having more children? When the kids are teenagers, where will they hang out? Is the family history 6’6” adults that weigh 250lbs? Are there special needs that need to be considered?

Amaris Company does not subscribe to the idea of building the maximum your budget will allow, but recommends taking all of the family factors into consideration and building the “right” size home. I call it the Goldilocks and The Three Bears approach sizing your home: Let’s us build your home “just right”!