Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 19, 2015 11:08 am Hi all, We are about to request a tender from a builder but we are unsure whether to build a 41 or 36 square home. They are both exactly the same plan, except the 36 has slightly smaller rooms. We have seen both in person, however, the 41 was a display home and the 36 was an unfurnished build (no carpet yet). We of course preferred the 41. We live in a small home at the moment so either will be a major change, however, in the long term we don't know whether we will regret building the smaller home. There is just over $20,000 price difference and we thought that this money would be able to go towards the pool or upgrades. We have a decent size block so not restricted at all by size. Just after feedback and advice from anyone else that has found themselves in the same dilemma. What did you do? Are you happy with your choice? Thanks in advance! Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 2Jul 19, 2015 2:34 pm I've never regretted smaller houses. My biggest regrets have been about a house I built that was too big. Cost more to heat/cool, furnish, build. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 3Jul 19, 2015 5:58 pm I find it hard to relate to a 335m2 house as being "smaller". It depends on how many people you plan on having live there, but I'd go through the room sizes and see if the extra size on each is actually going to be a benefit to you. One reason we're doing another house is that the current one is a bit short on storage area, but then it's only 190m2. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 4Jul 19, 2015 6:11 pm Well maybe I should rephrase the question....do you regret builder a smaller home than you initially planned to? Our house at the moment is absolutely tiny (3 bed, 1 bath, dining, lounge, that's it!). This is a massive step for us but is our 'dream home'. We have 3 children and my main concern is that bedrooms need to be a good size as they may be living there forever!! Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 5Jul 19, 2015 6:40 pm I don't think size is the issue. It is a question of house design/ layout. I have seen plenty of big houses with poorly designed spaces- where all the space isn't used or is unusable for how the home owner wants to live or there is little/ no storage. I have seen smaller houses with fantastic layouts for families and work wonderfully. I think you should make sure you have 'space' where you want/ need it the most. In my opinion- I don't see the point of large bedrooms over smaller living areas. There use to be the requirement to have a study or larger bedrooms for kids to complete homework etc. Now society has the ability to 'work' anywhere as long as you have a laptop and wifi. Storage is the clincher Good luck. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 6Jul 19, 2015 7:02 pm I think it depends on how you think you are going to use the house. That might sound funny but people live different ways. For us, we wanted rooms big enough for a queen bed and room to walk around it so if our kids need to stay at home for a while, they can. If the bedroom sizes and living areas of the smaller house will suit what you need then go for it. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 7Jul 20, 2015 10:39 am I'm with some of the comments above. Poor design where you have dead spaces that could have been used for storage or badly designed traffic areas can make or break a house. Little or no storage, little natural light etc. Some smaller houses can be very efficient in all these regards. Make the bedrooms a decent size for kids ( now ) with a view to them being older ( later ). Have a look at the houses of friends and family to see what size rooms - particularly bedrooms, that you are happy with. Stewie Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 8Jul 20, 2015 10:54 am I would consider both of those homes big, and bigger than I would want to build (or currently live in). Personally, I would prefer a smaller house which has good design specific to the location, and good environmental factors. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 9Jul 20, 2015 12:41 pm VandM We have 3 children and my main concern is that bedrooms need to be a good size as they may be living there forever!! My vote would be to keep the bedroom smaller so it will encourage them to move out when they get older The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 11Jul 21, 2015 1:33 pm Those houses sound pretty big to me! I regret not being able to make our master bedroom larger and our living areas 1m wider but we couldn't, it isn't really an issue, just me being greedy. Less area to clean now Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70984 Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 13Jul 24, 2015 10:05 pm dolphinblu I don't think size is the issue. It is a question of house design/ layout. I have seen plenty of big houses with poorly designed spaces- where all the space isn't used or is unusable for how the home owner wants to live or there is little/ no storage. I have seen smaller houses with fantastic layouts for families and work wonderfully. I think you should make sure you have 'space' where you want/ need it the most. In my opinion- I don't see the point of large bedrooms over smaller living areas. There use to be the requirement to have a study or larger bedrooms for kids to complete homework etc. Now society has the ability to 'work' anywhere as long as you have a laptop and wifi. Storage is the clincher Good luck. I totally agree with this comment. When we designed our house we had no size in mind but went from room to room and worked out our requirements for each one, then we ended up with a size at the end. My build thread: Custom build on 40 acres viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75656 Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 14Jul 26, 2015 10:26 am I think more and more people regret not having enough backyard. Its really what distinguishes properties these days. People focus to much on the inside. Need to get the right balance. A big house is no good with a small back yard. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 15Jul 26, 2015 10:51 am VandM, Our situation is very similar to yours. Right now to save money our family of 5 is living on top of each other in a cramped house 3 bed, 1 bath home. It is driving me INSANE!!! We are just about to start building a 340sqmtr house. While I am ok with the idea that the kids will probably be living at home until their mid 20's perhaps, I dont want them staying too much longer than that! In our place, we have gone about a meduim size room everywhere. The kids rooms are 3x3.6, the main is 4x4. Our living/dining area certainly isnt huge (according to our colours lady) but we do have a media and games room. What we have gone for, seeing our house isnt all that huge, is bigger outdoor areas. Get those kids outside. For me, I would rather spend the extra on upgrades and a pool, rather than the bigger house. All the best. Sandra Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 16Jul 27, 2015 10:35 am Quote: I think more and more people regret not having enough backyard. Its really what distinguishes properties these days. People focus to much on the inside. Need to get the right balance. A big house is no good with a small back yard. That's OK if you are talking about in an older area like ours where the average block size is 600-700sqm but these days a lot of newer suburbs are in the range of 400-450 sqm. Its a lot harder to achieve that particularly if you have a family including three or more kids. Stewie Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 17Jul 27, 2015 6:07 pm Stewie D Quote: I think more and more people regret not having enough backyard. Its really what distinguishes properties these days. People focus to much on the inside. Need to get the right balance. A big house is no good with a small back yard. That's OK if you are talking about in an older area like ours where the average block size is 600-700sqm but these days a lot of newer suburbs are in the range of 400-450 sqm. Its a lot harder to achieve that particularly if you have a family including three or more kids. Stewie I agree and yet people are still lining up for them. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 18Aug 01, 2015 5:18 pm I think you should make a list of pros & cons: Bigger house: bigger mortgage & less money to spend on other things more surfaces to clean less backyard more flexibility in use and arranging furniture (especially as needs change over the years) Smaller house: unless your a minimalist you will eventually fill up your space and wish for bigger rooms Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 19Aug 01, 2015 5:27 pm I disagree that kids don't need good size bedrooms anymore. Before buying our current house (which we're about to leave) my brother advised me that small kid's bedrooms is fine because they always play in the living areas anyway. That was a mistake! For young kids, even if they play in the living areas, they should have enough space in their bedrooms to store their toys. In fact, from a young age my son liked to spend most of his time in his bedroom and expect will increase as he gets older. He could do his homework anywhere, but his room gives him a quiet, comfortable, distraction-free environment. Kid's need their own space. Re: Do you regret building a smaller home? 20Aug 02, 2015 3:32 am We have 220sqm of indoor living, about 36sqm metre deck, a similar size garage and are left with about a 7x 4 patch of really want usable backyard plus a narrow strip along the rest of the back and the usual side allowance. Our setback is 6metres. We found a lot of the project homes had so much wasted space. We have far more storage and bigger bedrooms than lots of the plans far bigger than our custom one. We wanted a house where every inch would be used and we think we've achieved the right balance. Let's see when it's built! We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16275 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110567 |