Size Matters: What Square Footage Is Right for Your Custom Home?

How to Determine the Right Square Footage When Building a Custom Home

There are many considerations to keep in mind when building a new custom home, but few are as important as square footage. The size of your home will have a dramatic affect on the lifestyle that you life in it. So, how do you determine how big you want your home to be? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

What to Keep in Mind When Choosing the Square Footage of Your Custom Home

Your first instinct might be to make your home as big as possible, but have too much square footage in a custom home presents a number of drawbacks:

Increased tax and insurance burdens
Higher mortgage payments
Higher utility costs
Increased time and expense for cleaning
More space to furnish
Larger environmental impact
Less usable outdoor space

At the same time, if you think too small you’ll encounter several other problems:

No space for family expansion
Lack of storage
Lack of space for entertaining
No room for home office or hobbies
Lack of privacy and personal space

Questions to Ask When Determining the Square Footage of Your New Home

With the above concerns in mind, ask yourself a few questions:

Do I work from home?
Do I entertain often?
Do I have children or plan to have children?
Will I ever have an elderly parent move in?
Do my hobbies require extra space?
Do I plan on living here for the long-term?
How much time/money do I want to put into cleaning, decorating, and maintenance?
Would I prefer more useable outdoor space?