It’s likely that you’ve heard of up-sizing or downsizing in home buying, but have you heard of “rightsizing”? The act of rightsizing is basically just what it sounds like – building a home that’s the right size for your family. There are several factors to consider when determining the ideal house size for your family.
Household Composition
There was a time when the general thinking was the perfect house size for a household of four was a four bedroom home. A bedroom for Mom and Dad, a bedroom for each of the kids and a spare room for when company came to visit. But with more and more multi-generational families and family compositions coming in to the mix, and a greater number of parents seeking the privacy that a first floor master affords them, traditional thinking has given way to more innovative home designs that include things like dual master bedrooms, a large bedroom devoted to more than one child with built-in bunk beds or an entire floor devoted as a guest or teen suite. If building a new home, talk about your current family’s composition, but remain forward-thinking. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average length of time a family stays in a home is 10 years. A lot can change regarding your family composition over the course of a decade – from adding new family members to inviting an aging parent to move in to college-bound children moving out.
Collective Personality
Does your family love its together time, or does everyone crave their own quiet space in the home? Are you a family that loves to entertain guests, host friends and family overnight or do you prefer to keep to yourselves? Your answers to both of those questions can impact your ideal home size. You may be that family who loves its together time but doesn’t really entertain others – meaning you could probably get away with a smaller home. However, you could fall into the other end of the spectrum – a family who appreciates space, but also loves to entertain – meaning you’ll need more room to spread out. For families who like together time and regularly invite others to join in the fun, an open concept design on the main level might be the ideal move for you.
Family Interests
This is another area where entertainment plays a major role. For one, if you like to entertain – changes are you’ve shared that “gene” with your offspring. If you have teenagers who like to host their friends at your house (the COOL house), you may want a dedicated space for them where they can watch YouTube or play video games on a big screen. This could be an upstairs bonus room, a space in the basement or a room you’ve never even imagined. A family of movie buffs may benefit more from a media room or home theater than they would a formal dining room. A health-conscious family may prefer an upstairs gym not far from their bedrooms for early morning workouts or a room in the basement where it’s quiet. If your household is full of family members who like to pamper themselves, you may want to put more of an emphasis on number of bathrooms and bathroom space. If you have a home full of aspiring chefs, kitchen space and configuration is a major consideration.
Long story short, no one knows better than you what’s the best size for your “home sweet home”. If you’re ready to “rightsize”, working closely with a new home builder like Mayberry Homes is a great way to determine not only the appropriate size of your home, but also the most beneficial uses of your living spaces. The Mayberry team welcomes the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the home of your dreams.
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