Monday, May 18, 2009

sfpp

Warning: You need a pencil and piece of paper for this blog...you might be required to do math.


As I ponder/ dream/ wish for a new house - today I was mulling over square footage per person (sfpp).

During my googling I found some interesting facts...

-In 1950,the average sfpp was 292 sq ft
-In 2006,the average sfpp was 900 sq ft

That means that back in the 50's, my family of 8 would have lived in a roomy 2336 sq ft home...and in 2006 we should have been in a 7200 sq ft home. I think we missed that mark by more than 5000 sq feet in this house.

The numbers don't really take into consideration that the needs of a family of 4 (bathrooms, kitchen, living rooms, bedrooms, etc.) doesn't require another 900 sq feet for a new baby... although another baby and another and another might need a few more bedrooms.

I also don't believe that everyone in the family will pull their weight in the cleaning and maintenance of their 900 sq feet... so those new babies don't qualify for their own 900 sq ft in my bungalow.

Those numbers measure what they measure - people living in houses. It doesn't include the homeless or account for people without kids living in larger square footage, but we'll go with those numbers anyway.

Now, before I bemoan my current 234 sfpp... I thought I'd share an article about a New York couple and their 200 sq ft apartment - that's only 100 sq ft per person!

Sounds fascinating...and maybe my family could squeeze into an 800 sq ft apartment, since that's where my husband's heart longs to live anyway. Right in the middle of the city, close to a park and walking distance to everything. Just grab your backpack and go.

Since we aren't moving to New York this time around, here's one of the floorplans we like right here in Texas.

The main problem is location: Krum, Tx. What do you call people from Krum? Krumonians, Kruminites, Krumers, Krumcakes, Krumbly...

...but it would increase our square footage per person by 76 (that's another 600 sq ft bringing the new home total to 2487 sq ft.).

Enjoy your walk in closets and 3 or more potties today.
You know who you are.
I'll be joining you shortly!

1 comment:

Amy said...

Well my family of 4 lived in 100sfpp for a whoooooole year. But at what point do you count Gabriel. I would say he counted around 6 months because it was so hard to move around with the little doorways and the huge belly. That would move our sfpp to 80. WOW!
Marcus and I think you need at least 400 sfpp. Definitely hold out for the 3 bathrooms!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for you.