So how big is this new place, anyway?

When Colt and I first got married and began house-hunting, scouring floor plans, etc, I didn't want a house under 2000 sqft.

Then we bought our first home and realized that huge bedrooms are wastes of space and small living rooms are torture... ;-)


So when we designed our house plan (which I actually created using Floorplanner.com), we wanted two things: conservative bedrooms and an open living space. We ended up with a house that's about 1300 sq ft, which we are pretty excited about. I think it's small and simple, yet we can still add on across the back to add extra rooms later, if need be, creating a bedroom door underneath the staircase. {Of course, we would have to take down a tree to do this, but if we end up adding on, that'll be a relatively small job compared the the actual addition.}

Without going into  ALL the whys, here's our houseplan.

{click the image to enlarge}

   

As you can see in the image, the living area is entirely open, having no dividing walls between the kitchen/dining and living room areas. The bathroom is 8x11, which isn't huge, but truly it doesn't need to be! {The little two bedroom we've lived in for almost 6 years has a pretty spacious bathroom, and I have often wished that floor space had been used elsewhere instead. Who needs a sit down area in the bathroom anyway? That's what the toilet is for...}

The utility room {upper right of the house} was added as an afterthought. We had originally planned on stacking the washer/dryer into the bathroom, but after installing the well-pump and water tank, we decided that it would be best to just connect the pump-house to the main house anyway, making it easily accessible. Since the well was dug about 10 ft from the back of the house, the room automatically needed to be about 10-12 ft deep to make sure the tank had enough room to comfortably sit in a utility room.

As for the virtual floor plan that's laid out above, all that will probably change. Honestly, I am a bit notorious for moving furniture around periodically. The living room we have currently is 11x14, and for those of you that don't know, that's insanely small and hallway-like once you sit a couch and recliner in it. I am completely stoked about having a 32x24 area completely open to do whatever I like with. Using the couch to divide the spaces probably has me the most excited.

And the loft bedrooms are shown here: you might need to orient yourself using the staircase!

Like I said before, we did want the bedrooms to be smaller. Sure, huge bedrooms with their own seating areas look great in magazines, but we've lived with smaller bedrooms for 6 years now, and we've still somehow managed to junk 'em up. {ie- Ashley has a horrible habit of piling clothes everywhere. Every. Where. As in a nightmare episode of hoarders. I know; I'm working on it.}

Wyatt's room is measured at 10x11 {which is the same measurements as his current bedroom}. And the hubs and my bedroom is measured at 11.5x16 {which is just big enough to make me nervous about my piling/organization system}.

So, there it is. That's our little house plan. No, it's not extravagant; but we are trying to move away from the idea that your house has to be huge. A house is just a shell, a home is what you make it. We're hoping that the actual living will take place beyond its borders. :-)

 

*MrsG 

Update: I thought it might be nice to take a look at our current house, as I think it makes it SO MUCH more comparable to the above plan. All the fam keeps asking, "Are you sure this new house is going to be big enough?" Well, yes and no. We're positive it is big enough for our family today. But no, it wouldn't necessarily be big enough if we decide to have another baby. But we're open to adding a room or two at the back later, after we sell our current house. And speaking of the current one, I went ahead and whipped up a floor plan for it too! I don't think I added it, but our current house's outside measurement is 24x32 {and no, it does not have an up stairs...lol}