Minimum house size for family of four to be comfortable, not too elaborate

I would be interested to know peoples opinions. I think the minimum I would need would be about 200sqm house. 3 bedroom, 1 study, 2 lounges, 1 dining, double garage, outdoor BBQ area. 600sqm block.

I agree with your "minimum"
I have single storey 2 lounge, kitchen/dining, formal dining, DLUG + 2 undercover spots, 3 bed + study, ensuite, 3x4 b/s/t laundry + pool & big covered area at the back.and reckon it's small for 4 ppl.

Though according to some here it's a "monster" lol
20 squares is a shoebox.

And yeah MCS 80, some of it may luxury, but of the type that I won't get (or need) in a Pine Box. So I better have it now :)

I'm not seeing dedicated home theatre room there? Surely that's a minimum requirement?
One of the lounges works fine as a TV/theatre, small one being 5x7m + minibar.

But I aint the one to judge based on the size of a home, each to there own, and to what they can comfortably afford. The time will come.
They only ones I poke fun at are the "poor millionaires" :rolleyes:
 
You should have worded your original question better - as in not what forumites find sufficient, but what the average renter/family would like! :p

What people 'like' and what they afford might be different things. Of these the latter determines what is bought/rented.

According to the new home magazines and display villages, the standard is 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms/2 garages/2 living areas/internal garage access/rear deck with flow through from living. And surely these days you'd have to have at least an alcove for the computer and a large tabletop charging station for all the mobiles/laptops/PDAs/cameras etc.

Pretty much every family (though note that the majority of renter households are not families with kids) would aspire to this or better.

But when you go out to Dallas, Doveton, Frankston, Laverton, etc nearly everything is 3 x 1. No garage, ensuite or second living area. If you're lucky there'll be a carport but the drive might be gravel or pavers rather than full concrete.

Yet nearly all those houses are full, despite them not satisfying 2010's middle-class standards of comfort. The rents are less, but so is the purchase price so things even out.

Such smaller homes will continue to be in demand as there'll always be less affluent people who will regard them as being the best compromise between amenity and budget available at the time, and hence of enduring value.
 
Do you have a "dedicated cinema room"?

I'm curious to know how many people on here have a dedicated cinema room? I think they are a waste of space, unless they can double as something else.

Our big TV is in our family room/kitchen area where we can watch from one eating area whilst having brekky (The Today Show) or from the couches, but I can do things in the kitchen with the bench facing the TV.

We have surround sound in this area and I cannot imagine not being able to keep the movie running whilst moving to the adjoining kitchen and make a cuppa, or grab a drink of water in the break, or get a tissue. I don't like the idea of having to get organised with everything I want for the next two hours and cart it to a separate room to watch a movie.

Am I unusual, or do others think this "dedicated cinema room" is a bit of an "aspirational" waste?

Does anyone on SS have one and actually use it?
 
Wylie I agree, I like to be able to go get a cuppa without stopping and starting the movie.
as for original post we have 4 br, 2 bath (necessity!!) and we have built a dedicated shed for the teenager parties outside just off our pergola (9mx6m) we are on 5 acres though. I couldn't stand having the soccer team trash my lounge room anymore so now the wii is out ther with a fridge, drum set, vcr, etc etc and I get to keep my lounge for grownups.
Once you have teens no house is big enough.:D

I meant the shed for the kids is 9x6 (with sliding doors instead of rollers).
and PB I only have one TV so I can't watch it any room other than the one it's in! lol
 
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All you need is a little transmitter and a few receivers.
You go from one room to another watching the same program.
So when the soccer is on, wherever i go it's on.
As for "cinema room" i would assume it's a room whose only purpose is to watch a movie, and not a lounge room with a big TV. It is a bit of a waste, but again each to their own. Some people seem to spend their time watching movies and like to brag about how many movies they watched. Good luck to 'em.

I'd also repeat that the original post stated "minimum" & "comfortable", not "just enough".
And I'd say 20sq is minimum comfort, but not everybody has my needs.
And coincidently i just measured my back area at 9x6m.
And for those who don't really know what a "pergola" really is (which is almost everybody), I have linked some pics:
large_09-10-HM-GRAPES.jpg

690448343_8a28f47384.jpg

pergola.jpg
 
Rumpled Elf - Good, simple design

Bayview, no worries.

I don't see any point in having a theatre room either, would rather go to the movies - who wants to spend 24-7 in their home anyway.

I'm leaning toward option 4, except having a granny flat rather than a house beside us so we have more land available and better cashflow.

I've been trying to attach plans, but it's not working for me. (sometimes I wish I was in IT) Will try again later.

At the moment our fromal dining is used as a passage to formal lounge. Formal lounge is used as main lounge. Main lounge is used as passage to kitchen and overflow when family wants to watch diff programs on TV.

Two back rooms are used on the odd occassion, 1/2 of the games room is used as computer room, other half is passage, except for when kids have bday parties.

My 40+ single neighbour has been on a bit of a bender lately, playing lots of techno really loud, so I've been having flashbacks to teenagers and thinking the granny flat could come to good use later, and the more land the better. Inspired by Piston Broke also.
 
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I'm curious to know how many people on here have a dedicated cinema room? I think they are a waste of space, unless they can double as something else.

Am I unusual, or do others think this "dedicated cinema room" is a bit of an "aspirational" waste?

Does anyone on SS have one and actually use it?

We don't... we have a casual lounge room, where the relatively small TV is situated(our only TV). We don't eat in this room, during the week at least, and there is no TV before school, during breakfast etc. We have a Wii, a broken DVD player, a video player and an old stereo. No surround sound!!
and we have a "Quiet" lounge room, where I am!! no TV or noise in here... only the click-clack of my laptop!!
We have Foxtel (Optus actually), but we have the basic package.... no sports or movies. We are really not into watching sports, and I think that is often the "impetus" to set up a cinema room, rather than movies!!

But, what we lack in TVs we make up for in computers. Each of us have our own computer, plus a couple of spares which are not set up currently. One of our bedrooms is converted into a study, and hubby and I have our computers in there. (mine is not set up, which is why I'm on my work laptop in the lounge room!). The kids have a computer in their bedrooms - both have gaming computers. We have superfast cable to all the desktops, high download limits and wireless throughout the house for the laptops. So, I guess we all have our vices!!

Pen
 
:eek::eek::eek: Who wouldn't know what a pergola is???

Nice photos, especially the last two. That last one is just gorgeous.

When's the last time you seen something like those picks in a back yard?
REAs call any type of back veranda a "pergola" cause it sounds nicer.

My limited understanding is that a "pergola" has plants.
Without plants it's not a pergola. And often they are grapes.
My 1600 page Italian dictionary, which i checked 3 mins ago, also agrees with me.

here's a nice doable one:
Morgan_pergola_with_grape_vines.JPG


Invstor I believe in doing the work, but also have enjoy it as well.
There's no point being cheap for cheap's sake.
I'll be saving a few yrs for my next ppor.
But as many invest in RE long term, we all know we can enjoy our investment and then move out CG free to the next one.
 
So that strange metal and wire contraption we have stuck over our two west windows with a grapevine and wisteria growing up it is a pergola? I've just been calling it a metal frame thing :D

Its going to look very nice when the wisteria is bigger. I've had a thing for wisteria ever since I had a 3 hour glucose test in the hospital lounge, overlooking a large rose garden and massive wall of wisterias in full bloom. Screw capital gains, one big reason to keep a house longterm is to watch the garden mature.
 
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