Is 2300 sq ft big enough?

lonnyek

Hi, hoping someone can reassure me. My hubby and I are building a two storey 2300 sq ft house and I am concerned it is not big enough. It is a four bedroom house. Can anyone reassure me that a two storey house of that size big enough? Don't want to sound snobby or painful but my concern is the sitting room size(4200*4775) and the kitchen/dining(8100*4775). We have 2 kids and this is our final home. We are living in a 989sqft 3 bed semi at the moment so need a bigger house. We have planning so if I want to change the size we have to apply again and I want to be sure this is the right size. What do you ye think? Am I losing it? Thanks!!!

BryanF

lonnyek wrote: »

Hi, hoping someone can reassure me. My hubby and I are building a two storey 2300 sq ft house and I am concerned it is not big enough. It is a four bedroom house. Can anyone reassure me that a two storey house of that size big enough? Don't want to sound snobby or painful but my concern is the sitting room size(4200*4775) and the kitchen/dining(8100*4775). We have 2 kids and this is our final home. We are living in a 989sqft 3 bed semi at the moment so need a bigger house. We have planning so if I want to change the size we have to apply again and I want to be sure this is the right size. What do you ye think? Am I losing it? Thanks!!!

imho that's adequate, but why not put up the layouts here for comment - worst that can happen is you get constructive criticism, while remaining anonymous.. (I'll start - it had better be some dining table to warrant a length of 8m )

a well designed 2300sqft house V a poorly designed house of the same size can make all the difference - alot of it is to do with how the circulation space is limited/controlled and whether the designed spaces will actually get used - (the second living room, floor space in bedrooms, storage areas.. and how the habitable rooms are orientated to south/view etc)

lonnyek

Thanks Bryan. The house is a block two storey house. You would draw the house its that simple looking. Downstairs on right there is the kitchen come dining room(length 8100), utility at back of house(width 2500), on the left is the sitting room(4775*4200), behind that a play room and next to that a shower/toilet room. Upstairs 4 double bedrooms, one ensuite with walk in wardrobe and upstairs also the bathroom width 3100. So all four bedrooms are on average 4400 * 3100 so not bad. What do you think?

sinnerboy

Size may be ok but is it well formed?
2300ft2 well laid out will work much better than 3000ft2 badly laid out.

And does the house know where the sun is ? You can get up to 30% of your spaces heating free if you size windows large to South , medium East West and small to North .

bbam

Size is good.
As for layout look at your current house, see what works and what doesn't for your family.
It's really what works for you personally that matters for the layout.

BryanF

lonnyek wrote: »

Thanks Bryan. The house is a block two storey house. You would draw the house its that simple looking. Downstairs on right there is the kitchen come dining room(length 8100), utility at back of house(width 2500), on the left is the sitting room(4775*4200), behind that a play room and next to that a shower/toilet room. Upstairs 4 double bedrooms, one ensuite with walk in wardrobe and upstairs also the bathroom width 3100. So all four bedrooms are on average 4400 * 3100 so not bad. What do you think?

i cant think anything, i haven't seen it.. and as sinnerboy says where's the sun? so

BryanF wrote: »

why not put up the layouts here for comment.

as i hinted at above - hows your

circulation space... and whether the designed spaces will actually get used

is something to consider very carefully as Bam suggests

Certified

lonnyek wrote: »

Hi, hoping someone can reassure me. My hubby and I are building a two storey 2300 sq ft house and I am concerned it is not big enough. It is a four bedroom house. Can anyone reassure me that a two storey house of that size big enough? Don't want to sound snobby or painful but my concern is the sitting room size(4200*4775) and the kitchen/dining(8100*4775). We have 2 kids and this is our final home. We are living in a 989sqft 3 bed semi at the moment so need a bigger house. We have planning so if I want to change the size we have to apply again and I want to be sure this is the right size. What do you ye think? Am I losing it? Thanks!!!

2,300 sq ft is plenty big enough

New build in sight

Hi, 2300sqf is absolutely plenty but as others suggest it might just need a bit of internal re-jigging to make the most of the space. However that is not to say the current layout is not already perfect for you.

My advice is look at your existing house and get a tape measure and measure each room and figure out what works for you. For example in my current bedroom i measured the clothes rail my clothes are on at the moment to work out how much space i needed for a walk in wardrobe. Most of the rooms in our house we are about to build are 4.2m x 4.3m average and this would work for us, as remember the bigger the space the bigger the bills
Another tip i learned from one of the TV home shows, is lie down in a room and look at the ceiling to get an idea of an empty space of a that size so you get a feel for what the room would look like empty. I dont know about you but i am useless with sizes unless i literally have a tape measure out and i can see it for myself.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

spcw

1. make sure utility is big 2500 x 3500 you will spend a lot of time there.
2. make sure utility is a seperate room not part of back hall so you can close the door on it.
3. get a large walk in hotpress.
4. Treat yourself to a large Bath and a top of the range power shower.
5. have one room for kids and one for yourselves its worth it when they are teenagers.
6. insulate/insualte/insualte.
7. Consider solar or thermodynamic water heating now or look forward to 2500 to 3k per year oil.
8. tarmac your drive while you have a budget.
9. buy the best windows you can afford. I have senator and they are great excellent sound proofing.
10. carpets work just as well as floor boards
11. get a BIG sink.
12. Get a Double oven
13. get an american Fridge the standard ones are never big enough.
14. whatever the quote is to build add 30%
15. did I say insulate even on the roof.
16. cable your entire house for phone system and TV in every room. 2 points in a big sittingroom left and right.
17. fit a wood burner linked to your heating system from day one.
18. allocate a play room so you can close a door on it and forget it it when its a tip.
19. allow 4 sockets a each tv point.
20. big windows on the south face.
21. make sure sun in the morning in kitchen and sittingroom in evening.
22. cove your hall and sitting rooms it finishes the celing.
23. dont skimp on your bed.
24 did I say insulate.
25. finish the attic if the budget allows or at least floor it and buy a stira.

Eoghan Barra

One other point: you may think that 2300ft2 risks not being big enough because we're become used to the massive houses that were so de rigeur in the boom years. But remember that those houses will became an absolute nightmare to heat (as well as maintain) in the future, if not already, and their owners will come to regret having built such white elephants.

The most important thing is the layout; as sinnerboy said, 2300ft2 well laid out will work much better than 3000ft2 badly laid out.

BarneyMc

I've just submitted plans for a 2 storey house and it's... 2,300 square feet! To be honest I've had the same thoughts... is it big enough? I've decided that I can use one of the rooms as an office during the day (I work from home) and as another tv room in evenings and weekends.

Remember, some day your kids will have flown the nest and you and your hubby will be left in a house that you'll want to be able to manage.

sas

I'm currently decorating a 3256sq ft house and I can tell you I'd rather not have to be buying flooring etc for that much space.

Due to the spec of my house I don't have concerns about heating bills.

Just echoing what has been said about good design, I have been in 2000sq ft houses that seemed huge and 3000sq ft houses that felt cramped.

Don't underestimate the difference the decorating choices will have on your perception of space.

Good luck with the build.

shibers

1. make sure utility is big 2500 x 3500 you will spend a lot of time there.
2. make sure utility is a seperate room not part of back hall so you can close the door on it.
3. get a large walk in hotpress.
4. Treat yourself to a large Bath and a top of the range power shower.
5. have one room for kids and one for yourselves its worth it when they are teenagers.
6. insulate/insualte/insualte.
7. Consider solar or thermodynamic water heating now or look forward to 2500 to 3k per year oil.
8. tarmac your drive while you have a budget.
9. buy the best windows you can afford. I have senator and they are great excellent sound proofing.
10. carpets work just as well as floor boards
11. get a BIG sink.
12. Get a Double oven
13. get an american Fridge the standard ones are never big enough.
14. whatever the quote is to build add 30%
15. did I say insulate even on the roof.
16. cable your entire house for phone system and TV in every room. 2 points in a big sittingroom left and right.
17. fit a wood burner linked to your heating system from day one.
18. allocate a play room so you can close a door on it and forget it it when its a tip.
19. allow 4 sockets a each tv point.
20. big windows on the south face.
21. make sure sun in the morning in kitchen and sittingroom in evening.
22. cove your hall and sitting rooms it finishes the celing.
23. dont skimp on your bed.
24 did I say insulate.
25. finish the attic if the budget allows or at least floor it and buy a stira.

This is a great list will keepit in mind. I wonder did the 2300 house get built and how did you get on??? We are starting ours later this year but first we have to scale back the size as initially designed the house during the boom and have been living in a small space for the past 7 years and its def over time to move. any extra space would be great and I reckon building 2300 will feel like you can get lost in it after living in a smaller space for some time.
Anyway just looking for a progress update to find out how the build is going?