Apt. Size For Individuals, Couples and Families (2024)

Started by lobster

Good conversation. Obviously it's all personal opinion. But would have to agree that 1000-1300 is more then enough for a couple.(2baths important) Family of 4 would need 2000+ to be comfortable. For singles 500-700 is ideal.

But if money is no object; add as desired.

i would say affordability and desire is the driver. while 2000 sf is great, where are you getting that in the city? What are your other requirements that will drive price, doorman, other amenities. Are you willing to own a townhouse?

But size i agree is about right. 650sf was my apartment on my own, about 900sf with the wife and child for a bit longer hten would have like 4 years old. now in 1500 sf, 3br for the 3 of us.

Lobster: as I was running outside (Riverside Park, gorgeous, even had some big waves over the fence), I was pondering your question. You can't think of size alone in isolation from $, from location.

For instance, my comfortable "minimum" would be different in a prime UWS location but you might get me to move to a bigger space in a less prime UWS location.

As for couples, there are couples and there are couples.

What if my partner & I were retired, in good health, and had our grandchildren in or around NYC? Maybe we would still like a 3-bedroom to accommodate overnight guests or maybe we would have very large 1-bedroom to encourage visitors but discourage guests? It's all so individual.

Curently I live with my wife and our 9 year old son in a 950 sf apartment, and we feel like we have plenty of room. Partially that is becasue of a good layout, but it is also becasue we chose furniture that maximized storage.

I've lived in other states in places up to 2500 sf, but we really don't miss the extra space.

I don't know about the choice of colors, but furniture can make a big difference in a 1400sf apt with 4 kids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjwvy691Kfc

If you're single, 330 sq ft you can still have a guest bed, a hammock and movie screening room and live clutter free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak

It's not the size folks, it's how you use it.

"If you're single, 330 sq ft you can still have a guest bed, a hammock and movie screening room and live clutter free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak

It's not the size folks, it's how you use it."

***

It's also how much CASH you have to pay an architect and engineer to custom-design and custom-build all those movable modular wall components.

I'm guessing to do that here in NYC would cost at least as much as the apartment itself.

Freewilly makes a good point. Average home size went up dramatically over 40 years: in 1970 it averaged 1400 sf and in 2004 it was 2330; meanwhile, family sizes decreased. People got used to having more space and more junk. If you're willing limit the Stuff you own and think creatively about space and storage, 950 square feet can work fine for a family of three or four. As the kids get older you might want to up that space a bit, but plenty of people have survived sharing a room with a sibling through high school.

I don't really understand the desirability of huge apartments. I'd *like* 1200 square feet and three bedrooms, but I'm happy with 950, too. Every time I visit family I always wonder, what's the point of maintaining this huge house when you use maybe three rooms regularly? All that vacuuming, running up and down stairs, cleaning all those bathrooms, etc. seems like such a waste of time and resources. To me the appeal of the city is that you don't need all that junk and thus get to spend more time doing things you enjoy.

Sure, it's fine to theorize on what the minimum space is. Ev, on a cautionary note, I know many couples IRL who've said they don't understand why families with children need more space ("pshaw, 3 bedrooms is plenty") have convenient amnesia when they have 2 kids in 1000 sqft. You can't know it until you've lived it. There are many people who put up with living 4-to-1000-sqft-2bedroom who chose not to move to a bigger space (different location). There are many more others who SAY that with a 'lil ole Container Store magic here, they could shoehorn it, but it doesn't happen.

2 bathrooms, when you have a "toilet-trained" kid is great. Strange how my kids all of a sudden have a desire to pee RIGHT here and now when I tell them I need to go.

i lived in a 1300 sq ft 3 br/2 bth with a fantastic layout. couple and 2 small kids. it was great. especially because we had 200 sq ft of outdoor space.

i see couples with 2 small kids in 950 sq ft and you can't walk around due to toys and "batchelor" furniture. if they would just get rid of the huge furniture and not buy toys every weekend, it would be manageable.

NYC gives the definitive answers:

"In a multiple dwelling erected after April 18, 1929 pursuant to plans filed and approved prior to December ninth, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, and classified and recorded in the department, at least one living room in an apartment shall have a minimum floor area of one hundred thirty -two square feet; if erected, constructed or altered pursuant to plans filed on or after December ninth, nineteen hundred and fifty-five one living room shall have a minimum floor area of one hundred fifty square feet."

Therefore one person can live in a studio apartment of 150sf.

The law goes on to specify that "Every other living room of an apartment in a multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine shall contain eighty square feet and have a least minimum dimension of eight feet, except: yada yada yada"

... so if not a studio, each bedroom needs only be 80sf.

And more to the point of the original post:

"Every person occupying an apartment in a class A or class B multiple dwelling or in a tenant-occupied apartment in a one- or two-family dwelling shall have a livable area of not less than eighty square feet. The maximum number of persons who may occupy any such apartment shall be determined by dividing the total livable floor area of the apartment by eighty square feet. For every two persons who may lawfully occupy an apartment, one child under four may also reside therein, except that a child under four is permitted in an apartment lawfully occupied by one person."

... so a family of four can get by with 320sf.