Is “small” becoming Americas new “big”?

To be to the point I would say 500²ft/person would be the smallest that I would feel comfortable living in. That would mean for a family of 4, 2000²ft house. My wife and I live in a modest house of 1800²ft and it is quite enough room with an extra bedroom for guests. It is a little more house than what we need... no need for a formal room, formal dining room, living room, office, etc... but by no means is it the 5000²ft house my grandfather grew up in or the 3500²ft house I grew up in as a child. When I was in college I shared a 2-bedroom with 4 guys and it was a nightmare. A lot of 'taking a walk' when the girlfriend came over if you know what I mean. I lived in a 500²ft apartment before I was married and a 800²ft apartment afterwards when our house was being built. GREAT question Zelo

I wouldn't mind that small. I am small :) my husband will, especially if we still have the cat with us sharing with others in a place that small, maybe not. both of us tend to dress recklessly, so not wise to have anyone else with us for a long time. a week is OK, we can behave :)

ME and hubby have lived in a studio apt. in Hammond. and we had a house with only 2 rooms and slept 8 people But dont think I could do it now I love the space I have here.

Well I guess it depends if it's small because there's no need for bigger or because that's all that one can afford. In Europe the tendency has been small for quite some time, but even small there seems to be more space. One of the things that I first noticed when I came here was the fact that everything seemed to be over sized, furniture and appliances included. I was used to have the same things in Europe, that had the same effect and purpose but in a smaller scale, and I liked it. I still prefer it in general. Could I live in a small studio with kitchen and bath? If I was alone or lived with just one person I could. IN my case, of course it is different since there's the kids. I find that in North AMerica, because there still is a lot of space, houses tend to be bigger and consequently so does the furniture, the stove, fridge, dishwasher etc. In the end, a house that is not small at all ends up feeling cramped and .. well, small. Now I do need space. I have trouble when I"m in a place that feels cramped , that I have to "ask" the furniture permission to move around freely. But I also think that with the proper furniture arrangement and choices a smaller place can be made to feel much more spacious. As to your question, too small for me is any place that doesn't have 3 bedrooms. I can cope with a living room/dinning room/kitchen all together if it's well designed - European design is quite good for that , or was.But I would need the 3 bedrooms, can't compromise in there. I would also need a proper sized bathroom. Other than that, all that would come extra are... extras that I enjoy having but could live without.

We have a two bedroom apartment with a living room, kitchen and bathroom. I don't know the square feet of it but it's not huge but not tiny either. It's a good size for us and seems even bigger when I clear out clutter LOL I'd love to live in one of those old rambling Victorians with the turrets (sp?) those little pointy rooms with the windows all around. I love to read about those too. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

Yes ah,a lot of people 1. Small housing nothing I find it very warm 2.I would like to living alone ,I feel that the relatively more freedom 3.Generally the size of 80 square meters for me

A person makes due in what they have to make do with. Yes if it was a situation out of necessity that would be the only house available than I would take it. It would be hard to share with others with that small of a place but not impossible. I live in a small house right now and it is just perfect for my husband and myself.

We used to live in a 750 sq ft. mobile home and it was just fine for us. In fact, we were looking for some land to move it to but had no luck so ended up selling it. We now live in a 2280 sq ft manufactured home on an acre of land but now wish we could go back to a smaller house. We saw what was actually a big shed with a porch and full loft. We both love it and eventually will buy one to put on our property to turn into a small cabin with sleeping quarters in the loft and add a couple walls for a small bathroom. Simiilar set-up to a studio apt. but with a wood stove for heat/cooking.

Hi polachicago! Here in our country, it is the same thing! only the rich can afford a bigger and spacious place. A small place for me is when i can't hide from my husband when we're playing hide and seek..hehe..Small is when I can see everything in my house in one corner of my eye. I don't think I want to live in a small studio with kitchen and bath and then share it with another. I do prefer living in a house with a spacious house area and garden area. Just my thoughts. Take care and have a nice day!

If I absolutely had to I could live in the studio and I could share if it was necessary to have a place to live. I like space and I like solitude. I feel claustrophobic at just the thought of living in that small of a space let alone having to share it. I am very thankful I don't have to live in such a small place.

I once lived in an apartment that was maybe 500 sf at the most. A very small kitchen in the corner of a bigger living room area, a "master suite" that barely fit a full size bed with a bath and WALK-IN closet the same size as the bathroom...yes, a walk-in. lol. It was rather ingenious how they designed it. Anyway, there are times I wish for those simple days again...if only I had known at the time that was "simple." :) Now I have a family of 5 and we are building a 1400 sf house with three modest sized bedrooms. We put a room-in-attic system that added another 800+/- sf upstairs. We figure when the kids move out (they do move out eventually, right?!?) We can close off the upstairs and live on the main level only. I think everything is modest-sized- bedrooms are 12x12 except for our master suite is a little bigger. The kitchen is maybe 14x16 and the living is fairly small and oddly shaped but we won't use that one for most stuff- we'll be upstairs in the family room.