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We're in around 1300 sq ft. It felt great until we started acquiring baby stuff - now it feels a bit tight. We'll be totally fine until we have LO #2 though, then it'll be time to move. It's only 2 BRs so it also depends on how many rooms you have... I have a friend with twins in around 1300 sq ft but it's 3 BR and they seem to have plenty of space (although it's always cluttered).

I've also found lack of storage to be an issue.. if we had a basement or something it would be easier, but our place doesn't even have any closet space or a basement. We have squeezed some stuff into the garage (luggage, boxes of old papers we need to shred, bikes) but a basement would help us lighten our load a bit.

Our current house is 1500sq ft, and it feels too big for the 2 of us, but will probably be just about perfect when LO gets here. That being said, I think we could make 1300sq ft work, provided the layout was great and there was tons of storage space, or maybe a big yard that would serve as extra playspace!

We purchased a 1,400 sq ft home about 2 years ago after selling a 2000 sq ft home. At the time I questioned if it was too small and everyone told me no. I regret it now, its so cluttered because there isn't enough space for us. We are in the process of finishing the basement which I think will solve the problem. The house is too small for us and a LO but it may just be because we were used to so much more space. LO require so much stuff of their own and right now if we didn't finish the basement I don't know where we'd put it.

My house is only 900sq ft over two floors - and this includes the hall and the staircase etc. It is super small and yes I am struggling to fit everything in (and the LO isn't even here yet!!). But we will manage..... I think you make whatever living space you have work for you.

I grew up in a small 3 bedroom ranch (one bath) and it was fine. it was about 1000 sq feet maybe? I had a younger brother, and once i was 17 my parents actually adopted a third child. we had a dog and a rabbit, now they have a dog and a cat

We have a 1,600 sq foot bungalow and it's pretty spacious. We are finishing the basement though to ad another living space and two bedrooms. Is finishing a basement an options if you need more space in the future?

Our home is 1,445 sq ft and while the size is perfect for us and 1 LO, it would be too small if we had another LO in the future. And the way the house is built, storage space is pretty non-existent. That's our biggest complaint about our current home.

We live in a townhouse that is about 1150 sq feet - on 3 floors (upstairs 2 beds, main living area (kitchen & LR), and finished basement).... We are fine with 1 kid. It's a little tight perhaps with all the baby stuff, but we're trying to keep the "stuff" to a minimum. Once we have another though we feel like we will need more space.

I really love cozy spaces, too, and I think I would be just fine with that size. It really all depends on how much stuff you have/want to keep. I'm of the opinion that you can make any size house work for you, you just have to get rid of some/all of the non-essentials. And maybe not have overnight guests. 40% savings is a lot!

We just went from 1,100 to 2,500+ square feet and right now we live on the first floor because the second floor doesn't have air conditioning or heating. We have two little ones, six weeks and fourteen months. Throw in two adults and lots of furniture and it's cozy - living room, kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms and an office (no closet).

I would go with the larger square footage but that's because I know how much toddlers love to run around. What part of town are you looking to move to, @runnerd: ? Maybe we can meet up.

Just know that things feel a lot smaller with a baby. I would think that 1700 would be just about right!

@runnerd: It probably depends on what you're used to.

My "starter" townhouse as a single woman in Texas was 1600 square feet, and I didn't feel like it was big (two beds, 2 1/2 baths, 2 living areas) at all.

Then we got married and moved to NYC area and all the 2 bedroom condos we are looking at range from 1100 sq ft to 1300 sq ft, and a lot of people here have kids in smaller spaces. We looked at a 1200 sq ft condo where the owners had 3 kids under 5.

So...it just depends on how good you are at living in small spaces. I think 1300 sq ft is totally doable!

We have just under 1400 square feet and for us and LO it's the perfect amount of space! With LO #2 coming I'm a little worried about it but I think it should be fine until we have a third!

Definitely not too small! We hve about 1200 in a 2bdr/2ba right now with a 1 year old and it's great. 1300 is big for the Bay Area. Check out one of my favorite bloggers. She lives in a 500 sq/ft apartment with her 2 boys - you can make anything work ! http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2013/03/san-francisco-apartment-tour-500-square.html?m=1

I think it will all come down to how many bedrooms each option has and the available storage.

It's do-able with one child. Especially if there is a good layout. If you plan to have more than one, definitely too small. Also, I read somewhere that if you plan to stay in a house for less than 7 years - the costs are not worth it, rent is less expensive. I really wish we had waited an extra year to buy our first house so it would be a forever home. We bought a small house though and are now paying to sell it.

@HLK208: I think a lot of that depends on your area and the market, too. In Dallas, it was probably cheaper to rent...

But where we live now, the majority of people rent, so the prices are exorbitant and there are a lot of potential fees (broker's fees, deposits) that go along with renting. In our current rental building, if we rented a 2 bedroom with parking, it would be $$3500 a month. Plus a 1-month's rent deposit that you may or may not get back (some buildings around here replace the parquet floors after every renter leaves, and take that out of your deposit).

The buyer's market is extremely tight around here too, and you really *have* to have 20% down to buy. So no one pays PMI. If you were to buy a 2 bedroom condo in the $600,000-$700,000 range, the mortgage+tax+HOA fees payment might be anywhere from $3000-$3600 a month. And then you own! And your mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible from your federal taxes, so in the long run (or even over just a period of 2 years), you should save money in buying.

But probably the only markets that are like this are the NYC and SF markets. I'm not sure.

It's complicated! =)

@luckypenny: They have a beautiful home.

I grew up in a 1900 sq ft home until 16 then we moved to 3500 sq ft. We had the same number of rooms and bathrooms. The larger house just had a lot of wasted space. The master bedroom could fit three good size rooms. When I was looking at homes to purchase with children in mind 2300 sq ft started feeling small. I moved from a 1000 sq ft apartment, but it was just me.