The space you really need?

[iris lilies]

I think the trend, here anyways, is smaller bathrooms than in the past but lots of them.

I sttended a picnic for new residents in our neighborhood and one of the young folks was lamenting the huge jacuzzi tub in her house. I told her “yep, that's what we did to these houses in the 80’s, made a bedroom into a big ass bathroom with a giant ass tub.”

I am happy to see a return to small bathrooms with showrs and no tub.

[Float On]

Love the rail car. There are few videos on youtube of people living in rail cars.
The little cottage is cute as well. One BNB we stayed in was a converted old small 2 car garage. Room for bedroom, bathroom, sitting area with kitchenette (I love those small ovens like in the one you stayed in) and a deck. Perfect.

I love staying in the little cabin my dad built. It's really big enough to live in but I'd build a 3/4 wall around the bed area if living in it.cabin.jpg

[Teacher Terry]

My office is also my guest room which works well. DH is too messy to have his be a guest room. In this house we use all our rooms. Our kitchen is strictly a galley work kitchen so eat in the dining room all the time which overlooks the backyard. We also have 2 outside patios that we use a lot. If we have more than 2 guests people can sleep in our RV. When all my high school friends came for a week 4 slept here and the other couple got a hotel room. There is something really fun about sitting around at night talking and no decisions need to be made about what time to leave. Same thing in the morning people got up when they wanted and helped themselves. Everyone participated in meal set up and clean up too. We sat around in our pjs and talked over coffee in the morning and it was so fun. We did add a second bathroom when we bought this old house which really helped.

[Tybee]

Terry, that sounds like my dream, to be able to entertain like that and a second bathroom! Sounds so fun.

[iris lilies]

In thinking about this, I believe my preference is for large public spaces and quite small private spaces. In other words bathrooms and bedrooms do not need to be large. I like walk-in closets to contain mess and would be happy with no bedroom furniture other than a bed and, I suppose a nightstand. Bathrooms need to have only a shower, one sink , and toilet, although I keep hearing that houses need to have a bathtub to bathe small children and dogs.

[happystuff]

All I know is that right now I am in too much house. Have "things" going on for at least the next 3-4 years, but my hope is to dramatically downsize by then. Working on the decluttering and know it will probably take that long. lol.

[Gardnr]

Downsizing will be a continuing conversation for DW and me.

There would have to be real conversations about, say, guests: While we have a somewhat steady stream of people visiting throughout the year, it's seldom more than half-a-dozen for an afternoon/evening and it's never more than two or three overnight. That railroad car and the cottage could accommodate the afternoon/evening visitors. But overnight guests would require a level of "closeness" with which I think neither us nor our guests would be comfortable. So, hotel nearby? In our near-the-kids scenario, have guests stay overnight in the kids' McMansion? Enough space for one guest room? And what of the extra chairs and the "fancy" set of dishes and serving pieces we have for when guests come over?

Just as it does not make sense to buy a pickup truck if you have to carry big items only once a month or so, does it make sense to buy/maintain a much larger home which remains empty most of the time? A topic of discussion. But it was nice for this experience to jog us into thinking about it more seriously.

For sure points of discussion. My quilting studio has a murphy bed for guests-we can only sleep 2. My 4x8 sewing table is a melamine slab atop 2 short bookcases and it can be moved around and my huge pressing station can be dismantled in a minute. If others want to stay they can create a bed out of a stack of quilts or bring a sleeping bag. (I have a nephew who has done both). I like being able to host overnight guests but I don't have a room dedicated. Murphy beds are a great option-hubby built ours. I have card tables/chairs for extras and yes, I do have the extra dishes.

[jp1]

In thinking about this, I believe my preference is for large public spaces and quite small private spaces. In other words bathrooms and bedrooms do not need to be large. I like walk-in closets to contain mess and would be happy with no bedroom furniture other than a bed and, I suppose a nightstand. Bathrooms need to have only a shower, one sink , and toilet, although I keep hearing that houses need to have a bathtub to bathe small children and dogs.

I agree totally! I don't have kids or dogs and don't need a bathtub. My mother much preferred baths and I just thought they were gross. Our bathroom is 5x10 feet with a 3x5 shower and no tub. It is the most perfect bathroom I have ever been in. We have a smaller downstairs bath that actually does have a tub but no one has ever bathed in it. It is great for holding a kitty litter box but a smaller shower stall would probably work just as well.

Our second bedroom, my den and weeknight sleeping room is 9x11 feet with a nice sized closet. I have no need for anything bigger.

[Teacher Terry]

Kids love baths with toys and you can bathe 2 or 3 at once. Occasionally we like to soak in a tub. Showers often scare very small children.

[razz]

When I am frozen or too hot, a relaxing soak in the tub is the most wonderful experience to warm up or cool down adjusting the water temperature to suit. Cannot imagine having no tub in a house although I do love my ensuite shower.