Bigger better?

Everyone we tell we are building a home insists we have to make it bigger. We are building on the in laws 100acres so plenty of space but we have a very limited budget. I have no issue with having a small house, its 3 large bedrooms, ensuite, walk in pantry but the living and dining areas are quite small. When we are home we are usually on the lounge watching TV. We have one child and don't intend on having more. Do we really need heaps of living space? I don't want to build it then regret not making it bigger. It has 131m² of living space.

I think smaller is better if you don't need the room. Cheaper to heat and cool, less money spent furnishing/decorating, less time spent cleaning the house. Plus it sounds like you have plenty of space if you want to extend in the future. Build what you think will suit you, ignore everyone else. My parents raised two kids in a small house, but with a rather decent backyard, nobody ever told them their house was too small. But now for some reason we think we need a 4 bdr house with a media room, butler's kitchen, etc... when most people are actually having fewer kids. Plus a smaller space means you get to spend more time together as a family, rather than your kids disappearing into their rooms.

We downsized, smaller block and smaller house ( 3 bed , 2 bath, open lounge, kitchen dining) suits us perfectly! Our 21 yr old baby left home as we started our build. We don't need the space!!

No, smaller is better unless you love cleaning lol

I think 131 is fine

I think ours will be about 170m2, plenty big enough when only for a couple , it is 3 bedroom though, and I admit I did start to worry about the size when I saw most houses were a lot bigger than mine, even saw some 450m2! Then I realised that why worry, what we have chosen is the right size for us and if people want to go mad building huge houses leave them to it lol.
Some people have a large family and want each to have a bedroom, some just want to say look at my house, me I want to spend my time doing other things besides cleaning.

As long as you are happy with your choice then it's all good.

Thanks everyone this is exactly my thought. But its hard when everyone else is saying BIGGER. It makes me second guess. I know a lot of people who have down graded after the kids leave home, it just makes sense to me to not go big in the first place.

I agree with all the other comments especially aloenyx
I know a few people with really big homes and only a couple of kids who spend a fortune on energy bills both summer and winter. Both the ones I have in mind have big open areas where the main foyer and living area downstairs is open to a large void upstairs. They have to effectively heat the whole house rather than being able to close off parts of it.
Just consider also though that as your youngster gets older they ( or you or both ) may want a separate living area when friends come over.

Stewie

I don't think there's anything wrong with bigger, but don't go bigger just 'because'. You'll find a way to fill whatever space you have, but I think you'll be fine with a more compact house.