How Big is Too Big

In searching for a home big enough to house all of our extended family members, how do you know when big is too big? Taking a poll from each person, including the grandkids, pretty much gave us a house the size of a mini mansion. So, we had to scale it down a bit, (actually a lot) in order for us not end up with a house with large square footage and house poor at the same time. Although I do like homes with just about a room for everything you can think of, I also like to have water, electricity and food. Plus having to decorate and/or fill-up all the rooms in a large house, was very daunting along with being extremely expensive.

We did want enough bedrooms so that each person would have their own room, with the exception of the two girls who would share a room together. My husband and I would occupy the master bedroom, which then left the question of bathrooms. The kids would share one bathroom with double sinks, and my mother, son and my brother would share a bathroom and my mother would have her own bathroom.

There was also the issue of gathering and get away space. The family room, which would most likely be next to the kitchen would suffice as gathering space, for family movies, games or just conversation. After that we would need a play room or play area just for the kids and an adult area just for the adults to watch movies, play games, crafts, office or just gather for conversation.

With all this in mind, a tri-level house is where we began our search. It would need to have a bedroom and full bathroom on the main level for my mom, who now finds stairs a bit of a challenge. A dining room big enough for an extension table that seats up to 10, along with a kitchen big enough that 4-5 adults could be cooking or baking in at the same time.

We would also need a finished walk-out basement with at least one bedroom and full bathroom, and space for an adult area, office and craft room.

There were items that we had to take off the list, sorry grand-kids but there's no horse barn especially since we do not have any horses. Room for a playhouse and swings were a better trade off, along with a back yard for playing and gardening.

So far, we've been able to narrow our extensive search down to one house that just about met all of our needs and then moved in.

Stay tuned to see what we choose and how it all comes together to create a home and a village.