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26
Jul
When we first toured our current home, we fell in love with it in part because of its master bath. We envisioned it as our private retreat. I loved the idea of soaking in warm water after we tucked our children in bed. And Matt, I think, thought the walk-in closet would organize me.
At least nothing is on the floor.
But after we moved in, to our surprise our master bath felt cramped.
“Maybe we should build separate closets,” Matt said, as we talked about how to lay out our new home.
“Or an alcove for the bath,” I said. Because we always seemed to be bumping into each other.
However, after reading Sarah Susanka’s The Not So Big House book, I realized we’d fallen into a trap home builders and buyers often do: we think bigger is better.
But the issue wasn’t that our master bath wasn’t big enough. It was how we lived in the space.
Homes, Susanka writes, require both private and open spaces. “Sometimes we feel like being with others, and other times we need solitude.” Yet our bathroom has no door on it. Which makes it a sort of gathering space. And not a very sanitary one.
Well, this is awkward…
And by putting our only bath in our master suite, our children, their toys, and their towels are constantly underfoot. Before I bathe, I must clean. So much for a private retreat.
Mommy, can I get in, too?
Susanka says we often mistake quantity for quality. But size and volume do not equal comfort. A bathroom door does.
What room in your house works for you?
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Recent accomplishments: three wonderful children and a shower. Former accomplishments: author of 52 Fights, creative consultant on its ABC pilot, and a firm stomach.
– Jennifer Jeanne Patterson
9 Responses to “How much space do you need in a house?”
One of the best decisions we ever made was to build our house with separate his/her walk in closets. Seriously, a marriage saver.
If I could change anything, it would be our bathroom. It’s enormous–wasted space. I would make a bigger walk-in shower and maybe instead of a long counter/sink make two separate his/her sinks. See the pattern, here? 
So excited to follow along with your house building adventure. 
Look into Japanese baths. Ours was amazing! I can email you pics. The whole thing was done by Toto. The Japanese have taken bathing to a whole new level.
I totally agree that it isn’t about how much space, it’s about how you use it. I’ve really been wanting to read The Not So Big House.
We have learned a lot, having lived in a 2,000-square-foot house as a family of three and a 1,250-square-foot house as a family of five. I’m confident in saying that 1,250 is not enough space. LOL.
But we have made lots of adjustments that have made it work better than some might think. Using all your closet space and cabinet space by having good organizing structures is key. And so is having two bathrooms.
Recently I was coveting the 4000+ sq. ft new build next door to our 1200 sq ft house. We were a family of 7 in our home before two of our five children moved out and on to college. My son (21) heard me longing for that space and said, “I loved growing up so close together. I’d hate to have that much space between us.” He was right, there is something great about shared bedrooms and baths, tripping over towels and toys. Some day, sooner than we think, we will have more than enough empty rooms. And, you’re so right, privacy does not always mean you need more space. Sometimes it just means learning how to give each other a little space. Sometimes as simple as having a door to close! Great topic.
Love, love, love Susanka’s books and wish she would design a house for us! I’m glad Steve and I are on the same page about not wanting a gigantic house even though our brood expanded unexpectedly.
This is so true. I love how you say it. There is really never enough space. Yet somehow there can definitely be too much space.
When we renovated I had a choice to have 2 full hall baths to service the 4 children’s rooms or to have His and Her baths in the Master Suite. I took a poll at my gym and every woman I asked said “I would love my own bathroom”. So I designed the Master Suite with His and Her bathrooms with an adjoining shower. My husband loves not having to share his bathroom with me and my LONG brown hair. And I thought it was time that he had his own space. So far it’s worked out very well for us. And his bathroom is so masculine with taupe and gray and a cherry vanity. And my bath is vintage 1930′s…it’s gorgeous!
And I finally have the closet to my dreams with no problem storing all my shoes. And my husband his a smaller but very nicely designed closet that totally suits his needs as well.
One other thing I did was to include a walk-in hall linen closet. I was to tired of trying to stuff all our towels, sheets and winter blankets into the small hall linen closet. With a 5-bedroom home it was just too darn small. But now with my walk-in linen closet we have plenty of room, I can see everything with just a glance and I love it!
I’ve been here before from the Comment Club on BF, but I just had time to poke around some more tonight. I really like your writing style, and I will most definitely be back!
Oh, and I love this post. We have had to adjust to smallish spaces, and I almost couldn’t do it any other way. I wouldn’t even know what to do with more than 1600 square feet!
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